OT: Chauncey Billups signs with Pistons
Per this article (HERE), it will be a two-year deal woth "$5 million plus" for Billups.
It will be cool to see Billups in a Pistons uniform once again. Supposedly, part of why Dumars brought him back was so that he could help mentor the younger players. From the article:
"Billups will play the part of mentor for young Detroit guard Brandon Knight, and be a rotation guard off the bench for Detroit."
Sigh
If only he was mentoring Trey
And then picked Peyton Siva.
And then signed back their old PG.
(I am happy they brought Chauncey though, probably my all time favorite Piston)
Peyton Siva is an extremely limited defensive specialist with a marginal chance of playing in the NBA on whom the Pistons took a flyer in the second round. He is not a point guard. Comparing the Siva pick with the hypothetical Burke pick is pretty silly.
That's a no-brainer! We gotta go with Billups!!!!"
I bet that was their line of thinking....not that they thought Caldwell-Pope is a better player and/or athlete.
Sheed under control
/s
And Tay? But we finally got rid of him!
I think Hamilton is available. I believe the Bulls just waived him.
It's a move I love if we don't sign Josh Smith. Bring in a guy you don't have to pay much, can put on the floor and won't make you very competative. Perfect. As is stands now, this franchise is digging a hole to nowhere.
How is signing a solid veteran backup PG and mentor for Knight for $2.5M/yr digging a hole to nowhere? Regardless of any signings, this team is a long way away from competing for anything.
The Pistons had $4M in cap room left. What's your alternate move that suddenly points them in the opposite direction of "nowhere?"
this is actually a brilliant signing. If only just as a "player-coach," I think that Billups in a Pistons uniform will bring a stabilizing presence to a very young team. Of all of the 04 championship players. Chauncey always put team before anything else and has always carried himself with class. He is injury plagued, but there is also no reason to think that he cannot be a productive player for a couple of years. He knows all of the tricks of the trade and could also be relied upon in clutch situations of he can stay healthy. This is going to be more beneficial than it appears at first glance.
Knows exactly what Knight is going through in trying to find his way through playing the PG position. Took Billups 6 years to find his niche at the position. Hopefully he helps Knight find it sooner.
The Pistons are firmly settled into the "Suck for Wiggins" competition.
I don't think the Pistons will be anywhere close to the worst team in the league next year. They certainlly won't be able to compete with the best in the East but it wouldn't surprise me if they contended for one of the final playoff spots (and then got swept in the first round by the Heat or the Pacers).
Making the playoffs in the East should be fairly easy next season. With a lot of teams in full on tank mode, it wouldn't surprise me to see a team make the playoffs with like 35 wins or so. I mean hell, the Bucks made the 8th seed last season with a 38-44 record. And with the Celtics in tank mode, the Pistons probably just need to win 6-7 more games than last year to grab a 7th or 8th seed.
are not going to be as bad as you think they are. Smith may not have been the ideal signing but the Pistons are going to be tough down low man. I don't think you are going to see a team that is in line to get the number 1 pick (even though that may be what most people want). I think they will be a fringe lottery team.
they wouldn't have signed Josh Smith. The team is nowhere near as bad as some of the teams who clearly are tanking for the #1 overall pick.
What?
First of all, the Pistons traded their 2014 pick (top 8 protected) in the Ben Gordon - Corey Maggette contract swap.
As bad as they were last year they still only managed to pick 8th.
This year's team has Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe, Brandon Knight, Kyle Singler, Slava Kravtsov, and Khris Middleton all getting a year of experience and growth.
Plus the addition of one of the top forwards in the league, Josh Smith.
Plus the addition of the Italian League MVP, Luigi Datome.
Plus bringing back Chauncey, and re-signing Will Bynum.
Plus drafting KCP, Tony Mitchell, and Peyton Siva.
And through some strange alchemy that roster is going to be worse?
Do you think Jose Calderon and Jason Maxiell are supermen or something? That is the only logical explanation for what you stated.
I like this comment TheLastHoke...you laid out a nice case as to why they are better...probably more than merely incrementally better.
Although I am not sure I could do better (except taking Trey instead of the Pope), not sure I like the overall Pistons strategy as they are clearly not close to contending and they are not rebuilding (the mistake Joe made with the BG and CV acquisition). If anything, it looks to me they might be trying to go the Pacers route with less talent (Hibbert, George >>> Monroe, Knight). I hate to think success for Proud Pistons fans is the 7th or 8th seed in a crappy conference, get shellacked by top tier teams, and we miss out on lottery picks in next year's stacked draft.
Still, feel better than last year. Thanks for the solid analysis.
The Pistons are going old school, grind you out, defense, defense, defense, type of basketball.
Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe, and Josh Smith has to be one of the most fearsome defensive frontcourts in the league. Who is going to score in the paint on those guys? Who is going to rebound over them? And when they crash the boards on offense, it will be a nightmare to try and box all of those guys out.
Kentavious Caldwell Pope is a good wing defender with size as a 2 guard.
BK needs to work on bulking up before he can be a good defender at the 1, but he is quick, and getting there.
Offense is going to be the problem. They need to let BK sink or swim at the point guard spot if that's where they feel his future lies. No more jerking him around.
They also need to bring in more shooters. Luigi Datome was the Italian League MVP, and is a 6'9" SF, who can shoot the lights out. Off the dribble he has a killer step back jumper, plus he can score off screens and has range for days. The guy is a dead eye 3 point shooter with plus athleticism. The Italian League has seen former MVPs Manu Ginobili and Anthony Parker go on the NBA success. Datome was also considered the #1 free agent in all of Europe. The Spurs, Grizz, Celtics, Rockets, Suns, and Bucks were all vying for his services.
Singler and Middleton also need to develop their long range games, and the Pistons will have plenty of opportunities to find more shooters in coming seasons as their frontcourt gels.
I think the defense will be fun to watch but the offense could be pretty brutal. Josh Smith is a turrible shooter so teams will be able to pack the paint when he's on the floor with Drummond and Monroe. Spacing will be a huge issue.
Trying to get some consistent scoring in the backcourt will be key going forward. I definitely like the size of the lineup being put together right now. We should have a pretty versatile rotation in that we can go big for defensive purposes or move Smith up to the 4 spot during stretches to bring another shooter off the bench. Alot of people are down on the Smith signing, but at least with Smith you know you're going to get rebounds and block shots regardless if he's hitting shots our not. Compare that to someone like Carmelo who gives you nothing on the other end. Smith might be overpaid, but this reminds me of the Tigers oversigning for Pudge years ago. This at least gives them momentum going forward and gives them something to build on.
I wish this were true, but sadly, the Pistons are going to be mediocre once again.
This team is built to compete for the 7 seed the next few years and get bounced from the playoffs in round 1.
Love Chauncey, but this signing doesn't really do anything for us but confirm our status as a mediocre team.
He'll bring locker room stability and leadership and come off the bench in small spurts and try and hit some perimeter shots. They're not bringing him in to build around him.
Y2K called -
They want their headlines back.
So, essentially what you're saying, is that T2 was real, it just had the dates messed up!?
EDIT: The scary part is, I don't even know if my reference makes any sense. I'm keeping the blinds closed tonight as not to get sniped just in case.
They were idiots to let chauncey go and idiots to pass on Trey. I'll be there only if the Jazz come to town. Yep, still bitter. I still think it's because a Spartan owns the team.
it is tough to see, but drafting Burke would have been an act of desperation that Dumars and the ownership did not believe was necessary. Their moves this off-season tell me that they do not believe they are that far off the mark right now. You have to remember that until Miami is broken up, the remainder of the East is playing for second place. It is about putting themselves in position to contend with the Pacers of the world right now.
Count me in as one who actually likes what Detroit is doing right now. If anyone is going to compete with Miami, you're going to need alot of size inside. This is the first time since Chauncey was traded that this team is starting to build an identity.
a combo guard. He always has been.
Give him a pretty small dose of minutes, play him at important times, let him mentor/coach some of the younger guys, and let him retire as a Piston. It may have been a long go around, but this should certainly work out better than bringing back Ben Wallace.
What didn't you like about bringing Ben back? I thought he was very productive given his contract.
All this Trey Burke complaining is getting nauseating. It's been almost 2 weeks and guess what....neither player has played in an actual NBA game yet. Yes it would have been nice to see Trey in a PIstons' jersey but who knows how this is going to pan out. Everyone needs to cool down and give KCP a chance.
I really expected to up-vote your post and then see a "-1 Normal" after doing it. Glad to see there are others that agree.
We all would like to see Michigan players on the pro teams we cheer about. The fact is, it rarely happens. And the reality is, that may be better both for the Pistons and for Trey, it's difficult to say right now.
All we are saying is give KCP a chance!!!
love,
jdon