OT: Pistons....Tanking with Purpose
What an embarrassing bunch of bums
and by "bums" you mean "millionaires"
March 30th, 2014 at 10:48 AM ^
76ers have been breaking records for incompetence with 26 losses in a row
It's genuinely sad. Outside of Monroe and Drummond, their roster is pathetic. If they don't manage to get a pick in this draft, they might as well fold that franchise because this is one of the deepest drafts I can remember and they need help bad.
March 29th, 2014 at 10:00 PM ^
March 29th, 2014 at 10:21 PM ^
I'm genuinely bummed when I see that they won a game. I'm happy to see they're truly committed to tanking. Losing by that much to a team that is trying to break records with their basketball icompetence is nothing short of impressive.
March 29th, 2014 at 10:00 PM ^
They wanted to help Philly get out of the loss column; if anything, they're G-D heroes!
March 29th, 2014 at 10:01 PM ^
It upsets me because Drummond has the potential to be an NBA great. Talent being wasted on a shitty team.
March 29th, 2014 at 10:01 PM ^
Do everything you can to try and keep that pick
March 29th, 2014 at 10:02 PM ^
March 29th, 2014 at 10:03 PM ^
So, yeah, the Pistons were 33-85 from the field, including 6-21 from downtown, which makes for an eFG% of all of 42.35%, a stat which just will not cut it in the NBA generally. That, of course, is in contrast to the inspired 58.62% eFG% that the Philadelphia players managed to get as a team. I suppose that coroner can pronounce the season dead at any point now.
March 29th, 2014 at 10:07 PM ^
March 29th, 2014 at 10:10 PM ^
I'm all for this roster/front office being exposed for the sinkhole that it is and hitting rock bottom once and for all.
March 29th, 2014 at 10:19 PM ^
March 29th, 2014 at 10:32 PM ^
I am still worried about the inevitable late season winning streak that puts us in the 9 slot instead of the 8. It seems like the pistons like to go on meaningless late season winning streaks that hurt our draft position the past few seasons. The stakes are higher this year though because that pick is gone if they finish 9th or higher. Please keep losing guys.
March 29th, 2014 at 11:22 PM ^
March 29th, 2014 at 10:34 PM ^
your team awaits!
March 29th, 2014 at 10:36 PM ^
March 29th, 2014 at 11:13 PM ^
Not only lose, but get their doors blown off. That was pitiful.
Fire Dumars tonight. Hire Jack McCloskey for all I care, 89 years old or not.
I don't suppose we can amnesty Josh Smith after 1 year, can we?
March 29th, 2014 at 11:21 PM ^
March 29th, 2014 at 11:23 PM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 12:10 AM ^
Technically we still have our one time only Amnesty Clause left, yay?
March 30th, 2014 at 12:26 AM ^
March 29th, 2014 at 11:04 PM ^
Normally I'm 100% against tanking, but in this case they need to tank with all their might.
They traded away their 1st round pick, but it's top 8 protected, meaning that if they finish in the bottom 8 they get to keep their pick. The Pistons desperately need to nab a guy from this loaded draft.
They also need to keep losing, because right now they have the 8th worst record, so they are technically safe. However, if a team ranked lower than them in the lottery gets lucky with the ping pong balls they could drop top 9th or 10th, meaning they'd lose the pick.
March 29th, 2014 at 11:34 PM ^
Which is why I think the lottery is stupid. Tanking exisits in every sport to get a high draft pick...not sure how to avoid it, but a lottery system doesn't help the situation.
March 30th, 2014 at 12:35 AM ^
The lottery (in its original format) was a great idea. The current weighted lottery, which gives the worst teams the most ping-pong balls, is what's wrong.
Relegation avoids it. I freaking love relegation. The Lions would be playing in Thursday night semi-pro by now. God damn it I wish every league had relegation.
Relegation is a total disaster from a financial standpoint and makes it extremely difficult for small-market teams to rebuild sensibly. It's fun for fans of teams not involved, but terrible for those affected.
But it's great for small-market teams in lower divisions who have a chance to play their way up.
That's really the issue. Major-league sports in the US are a monopoly; relegation would threaten that monopoly. Should these small markets have an eternal right to a top-league franchise, at least until their owner decides to move the club? If you live in a city that has one, you probably think the answer is yes. If you live in a city that might be able to support one but doesn't have it, you might think the answer is no.
March 29th, 2014 at 11:20 PM ^
March 29th, 2014 at 11:28 PM ^
March 29th, 2014 at 11:38 PM ^
We don't know yet. Depends on our record and how the lottery turns out.
What makes us think that Joe would do anything good with the pick anyway? Yes, it's a loaded draft, but this guy passed up Trey Burke et al. I really don't think anything matters until Dumars is gone (and maybe not until ownership changes).
If you're thinking that Dumars couldn't possibly miss in this draft, don't forget the Pistons' 1979 draft (http://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1979.html).
March 29th, 2014 at 11:44 PM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 12:28 AM ^
It's really amazing. They weren't good in the 90s either for a while but they still managed to get Rick Carlise and Larry Brown to come. Nobody that good would want to come anywhere near this franchise now. Amazing what can happen in just six years.
March 29th, 2014 at 11:45 PM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 12:07 AM ^
i've been in florida too long...i read this as "tanking with porpoise".
(this is the dawning of the age of aquariums.)
March 30th, 2014 at 12:15 AM ^
Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings are bums as long as they are on the Pistons they will be losers. No wonder no one wanted Smith and the Hawks couldn't wait to get rid of him. I would rather have Knight back and Middleton. They both are improving in Milwaukee. Middleton is what we needed a good three point shooting small forward. And Brandon is playing g a lot better than Jennings assists are the only thing Jennings seems to have an edge on Knight. Anyways Pistons should do whatever they can to get rid of Smith and Jennings. They might be able to win if they keep just Jennings but he has to shoot better than 35% from the field. Him and Smith take more shoots then anyone else on the team and they are the worse shooters. And Smith takes threes which he can't make. Joe Dumars has made the worst free agent signings in the NBA since signing lazy charlie and one good playoff series Ben Gordon who isn't even I. The NBA anymore.
March 30th, 2014 at 12:15 AM ^
March 30th, 2014 at 12:29 AM ^
The Pistons should be tanking. it's how teams are built in this era. Even with the private jet, etc, Detroit will never be a destination for free agents. Consequently, the Pistons have to build with savvy draft picks and trades. And occasionally, in years like this one, tanking. I just wish they had started earlier.
I think they should let incoming coach Tom Izzo (yeah, I said it) pick whoever he wants to keep and then try to trade everyone else for draft picks, releasing anyone they can't get any value for. Let Izzo build the team through the draft in his own image and we can see just how deserving he is of his "legend" status.
Next year, they would still get a nice draft pick without even having to tank. In two or three years, we might see a very good team. But they are going nowhere right now and tanking is their best strategy.
March 30th, 2014 at 12:32 AM ^
The NBA needs to go back to the original lottery format, where every non-playoff team had an equal shot at the #1 pick. The point was to discourage tanking. Having a worse record than other non-playoff teams meant nothing, so you could actually keep playing hard all season long. It was a good idea. But then Orlando won it twice in a row in the '90s and they freaked out and made the lottery weighted, which rewarded tanking again. Stupid.