DetNews compares Burke to Cazzie Russell, fails history
There's an article on the Detroit News' website (not sure if it made the print edition, or if it will tomorrow) defending the Piston's draft choice by comparing Trey Burke to fellow Michigan all-time great Cazzie Russell.
As the article tells us, in the 1966 NBA Draft, the Pistons passed up on the opportunity to draft Cazzie Russell.
"The Pistons passed on one of the greatest college players of the day, the Wolverines' Cazzie Russell, who had just led his squad to three Big-10 Titles and consecutive appearances in the Final Four, in favor of Dave Bing of Syracuse."
Dave Bing, as you may be aware, turned out to be a pretty darn good NBA player. The implication here is that history is repeating itself, and we should not judge Joe Dumars harshly for his decision. The author even digs up a personal memory to give the article that extra bit of impact...
"Trey Burke is some player, and some man. The overwhelming sense is the Pistons are in dire need of both. But I remember feeling much the same as I did this morning, when I learned as a 10-year-old the Pistons had passed on a guy who was an absolute god to me at the time."
So what's the problem? The entire premise of the article is flawed, because the Pistons never "passed" on Cazzie Russell. The Pistons had the second pick of the 1966 Draft. The New York Knicks had the first, which they used to pick... Cazzie Russell. He was not available to the Pistons. Perhaps the author (sportswriter Gregg Krupa) was thinking of the Territorial Pick rule, in which an NBA team could select a local college player BEFORE the first round of the draft - but that rule ended in 1965. Or perhaps the author has gained Mitch Albom's mystical ability to make strong emotional connections to events that never took place.
This has been today's edition of "Why Print Media is Dying and We Will Not Mourn Them."
EDIT: Several hours after this topic was posted, the article on the News' website was editted. The bits quoted in this post have been replaced, and the Pistons are now said to have "missed out" on Russell rather than "passing on" him.
Maybe he meant they passed on (trading up) to get Cazzie Russell.
It's print media.... you have to read the fine unrpinted print.
I also heard something about Dewey defeating Truman 'er somethin'.
Indiana Pacers did the same exact thing that the Pistons did last night. The Pacers had a chance to draft Steve Alford, a God an Indiana but they chose Reggie Miller instead.
Pistons did not have first selection in '66. They lost coin flip-first one ever- to the knicks and then signed Bing, one of 50 best all time btw. Cazzie had good career; however, making all-start and w/o that loaded lineup might have been the "go to" guy. Dificult to say. Dave D., another area legend was probably their best shooter.
Several people have made this comparison, but anybody with any sense knew Steve Alford was not an NBA player. Please stop comparing Alford to Burke. There is no comparison. The whole Indiana offense was designed for Alford to run through pick after pick after pick for 30 seconds until he had an open jump shot. For someone of Alford's size and athletic ability, being able to hit open jump shots just does not translate to an NBA guard.
Big difference. Alford was a marginal prospect and ended up going in the second round, about 20 picks after Indiana "passed" on him. No team not named Indiana would have even considered him at the #11 spot.
Trey's "limitation" is height. Alford was a one-dimensional player and an undersized two-guard--without foot-speed, lateral quickkess and the ability to create his own shot. The Pacers likely had some pressure to take Alford, but, again, the comparison is a stretch.
Here are the season by season breakdowns of both teams after the 1966 draft. So maybe the Knicks wouldn't change a thing, either.
Dave Bing and the Detroit Pistons
| Season | Win Pct. | Note |
| 1966-67 | .370 | Rookie of the Year |
| 1967-68 | .488 | |
| 1968-69 | .390 | |
| 1969-70 | .378 | All Star |
| 1970-71 | .549 | All Star |
Cazzie Russell and the New York Knicks
| Season | Win Pct. | Note |
| 1966-67 | .444 | All Rookie Team |
| 1967-68 | .524 | |
| 1968-69 | .659 | |
| 1969-70 | .732 | |
| 1970-71 | .634 | NBA CHAMPIONS |
Note: he was an all star the next year, for the Warriors.
Agreed. It's newspaper writer logic, but I'm fighting fire with fire.
And hey, to further play devils' advocate, maybe Russell looks better without some of those stars on his team. All I know is the Knicks are very happy with the Championship trajectory that began in 1966.
The Pistons didn't end up fine though. Not that it was Bing's fault specifically, but the Pistons were lousy most of his career.
I don't care one way or the other about the Pistons, but I am confident that the moral of the writer's story is absolutely nothing.
For the Burke's own sake, and Michigan's sake in having successful players in the league, I'm glad he didn't get picked by the Pistons. The Jazz are a great landing spot and have a great GM and roster. Joe Dumars is a dumbass. He got so incredibly lucky in 2004 with the roster and with Larry Brown, and every season the Pistons have a losing record and/or fire a coach it becomes more and more clear. Drummond has a ton of potential, but they didn't play him enough last season to develop, and who knows what they'll do this season. It's too bad the new owner didn't cut Dumars loose when he was first able too. It looks like it might take a sexual harrassment scandal a la Isiah Thomas-Knicks to get Dumars out. Lol.
...print media itself isn't necessarily dying but rather a lot of the business-as-usual dinosaurs (Freep, Sports Illustrated, etc) inhabiting the current print landscape are dying. The internet has really opened up the marketplace to new comers.
Many people still have an appreciation for quality print media and there will be a trend of some of the internet newcomers making the leap into print publications. Don't believe me? I present Mgoblog's very own "Hail to the Victors" publication (and it's massive success via kickstarter) as exhibit A.
Whooboy. But didn't the article quote headlines that were also disappointed the Pistons drafted Bing? The real Whopper to me is comparing Bing to whatever duder they just brought in, who seems like Rip Hamilton lite.
Gregg Krupa is a fucking idiot. This is the same hammerhead that thought the Wings made a critical error in judgement a couple years ago when they talked Kirk Maltby into retirement. He makes Matt Charboneau (Det News resident MSU apologist) look like Grantland Rice in comparison.
I believe Caldwell-Pope is bound to become a very "regular" player. I think he will be something like Kawhi Leonard and Carlos Delfino at the same time-- good, but not great at defense, movementwith out the ball, well above average shooter, but not a ball handler, and only an average finnisher if he improves. Any other draft, he's a pick in the late teens.
not sure if it was updated, but if you actually read the article it clearly and accuratly discusses what happened. It is just the headline that is wrong (and probably not written by the author).
The entire article was changed after someone in the comments pointed out the stupidity. even the title has now been changed from "passed on" to "missed out on." The original quote that the OP sited was accurate to the original story, that the Pistons passed on Cazzie. It has since been changed. Print media, owning it's mistakes since 1965. Or, you know, never.
Even though its Utah (and most people here are/were Pistons fans) the Jazz are a much better place for Burke. They have a nice young core and its gonna be great to see Burke and Burks in the backcourt. I've visited a couple Jazz forums and they absolutely love the pick.
today on the radio, wass probably relying on that article.
Trey Burke will be a good, young, point guard.
There are like 35245764523 good, young, point guards in the NBA.
KCP will be a good, young, shooting guard.
There are not very many good, young, shooting guards in the NBA.
In my opinion, Burke will be a much better point guard than Brandon Knight or anyone the Pistons can sign in free agency. Knight will never be a floor general like Burke. Trey has the upside of becoming the next Chris Paul, with Knight you already know what you have. A combo guard that plays best on the wing where he has to make less decisions and just play. If Joe drafted Burke, traded Knight for a SF, signed Igoudala (not very young, but one of the best FA's available who's shown interest in Detroit) then you have something... especially if Burke becomes a special player.
That doesn't make the KCP draft choice bad though.
They can still flip Knight for someone like Eric Bledsoe, or if the Celtics make Rajon Rondo available, try to work out a trade there. Greivis Vasquez is also on the trading block now that the Pelicans have Jrue Holiday. The Pistons can also just re-sign Jose Calderon who is an extremely solid point guard.
There aren't a lot of good, young, 2 guards available, and if they wanted to, they could play Iggy at the 3, or sign someone like Martell Webster or Dorell Wright to reasonable deals, as 3 and D guys.
All of the top 2 guard free agents are guys the Pistons should avoid. OJ Mayo, Monta Ellis, JR Smith, Kevin Martin. You would have to overpay to get any one of those guys, and none of them are "winning" players.
Even Iguodala is someone I would avoid. The Pistons would probably have to give him 4 years $50mil or something similar to land him. He's going to be on the wrong side of 30 and his play slipped quite noticeably last year. That, and like I said, there are far cheaper options who would give the Pistons much more cap flexibility and do basically a lot fo things Iggy does. Martell Webster had an extremely similar stat line, is a much better 3pt shooter, and can be had for a third the price.
Drafting Burke would have been nice, but drafting KCP is by no means a worse choice.
I can't say I'm excited at the propect of Brandon Knight playing the point, if that is the direction the Pistons are headed, but he is only 21.
I think Chauncey's situation has made Joe D scared to give up on physically talented combo guards for fear that giving up early on Stuckey or Knight will come back to bite the Pistons in the ass the same way that Chauncey came back to bite the Nuggets and Celtics in the ass.
You make some great points. I was just looking at upside and "IT" factor. It seems like in the NBA, its hard to win a title if you don't have a superstar. KCP might become a very good player (no one knows) but we've seen Burke play many times and he looks like a special player. The number one thing people forget about him is that he's a winner. I want my team to have players who hate to lose. Trey has been that type of player, he won a B1G title as a true freshman. Was national player of the year and took a young team to the NT game. He came to Michigan and helped build something. This was not Kemba Walker winning with and established UConn program. I just really liked the idea of Trey coming to the Pistons and starting something special...
In an alternate universe, where Joe Dumars is still a genius, he would have....
Hung on to Rip Hamilton until his contract was expiring.
Amnestied Ben Gordon.
As soon as he found out James Harden was available in the offseason last year made an aggressive play for him.
If you were the Thunder, which package would you rather have?
Kevin Martin on an expiring deal, Jeremy Lamb, 2 1st round picks and 1 2nd round pick.
or...
Rip Hamilton on an expiring contract, Greg Monroe, a future 1st round pick and a 2nd round pick. The Pistons could even throw in Brandon Knight if the Thunder really pressed for another asset.
I understand the butterfly effect and all of that nonsense, but in my alternate universe, the Pistons would have James Harden locked up to a 5 year deal, Andre Drummond, and just selected Trey Burke. In addition to a great deal of cap space.
Now they have one bonafide superstar, a couple of potential young stars, and have turned themselves into an attractive destination for any other superstars looking to team up with Harden.
Sadly, none of this shit happened, but the Pistons do have a ton of assets, cap flexibility, and if they play their cards right, a potential trade for a superstar is still on the table.
My issue with the draft pick isn't about how good or bad it was for the pistons.
It's about the fact that I care so little about the NBA that I don't have a reason to watch a Pistons game unless a former Michigan player is playing for them
so something something draw and quarter joe dumars
Let's be honest. If the Pistons had drafted Trey Burke, you might watch a couple of games at the start of the year, but your interest would quickly wane, progressing to periodically checking up on his stats via ESPN.com or basketball reference. Then you'd probably just stop paying attention at all.
None of you are really going to start watching the Jazz. For one thing, you can't watch them, they're never on TV.
As a whole, Burke might initially put more asses in seats, but if the team sucks, it will be as if they never drafted him at all by the end of the year.
Maybe.
But my current over/under for Pistons games watched is at 0.5 and you'd be smart to take the under.
I will definitely try to catch at least one or two Jazz or Knicks games online, though, and I'll still be checking their ESPN pages to see how THJ and Burke are doing, which puts them far ahead of the pistons :\
I'll try to watch the Jazz every chance I get. Last year they showed some Jazz/Thunder and Jazz/Nuggets games. It was usually the late Wednesday night game on ESPN.
If he had gone to the Pistons, I had the chance to watch him in every game. Man I really hate Joe D....