MrVociferous

July 6th, 2009 at 12:07 PM ^

Personally, I would like this to happen even though Boozer has a history of injury problems. But, I just don't see how this makes sense for Utah. They would have to throw in some bad contracts or something for it to make any sense. The only reason they want to ship out Boozer is save money and make room for Milsap. Acquiring Rip puts Utah on the hook for a lot of money over the next 3 years.

ggoodness56

July 6th, 2009 at 12:50 PM ^

that we just lost Wallace, no surprise....but is Boozer the answer? Leaving Gordon and Stuckey to lead the way.....hmmm. I am just not buying it. I don't understand how Hamilton has gone from the cornerstone to bait in 8-9 months. Hamilton is our most consistent scorer over these years. Our best guard coming off the bench would be....Afflalo or Bynum...

MrVociferous

July 6th, 2009 at 1:05 PM ^

I'm not sure if Boozer is THE answer, but he's at least an answer. The Pistons absolutely have to get someone in here that can help out inside. Playing a season with Charlie V, Kwame, and Max as our bigs just isn't going to cut it. Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando will just kill us in the paint. Adding someone like Boozer at the expense of Rip would be worth it. Plus, the Pistons really only have 2 pieces to offer in a trade: Rip or Tayshaun. I'd rather the Pistons trade Rip becasue we've basically signed his replacement and we need Tayshaun's defense. After all, someone on this team has to play some.

Bottom line...its going to be a couple of years before the Pistons are a legit threat to win a playoff series. In fact, they should be happy just to make the playoffs, becasue the way this team is now, its a lottery team. They're looking at a couple of years of hovering around 40 wins.

chitownblue2

July 6th, 2009 at 1:30 PM ^

You don't pay a back-up player (which is what Hamilton would be) $12 million for the next 3 years. He's not a good defender, he's a poor ball-handler, and he can't get his own shot. He's a spot-up jump shooter without 3-point range.

Brian

July 6th, 2009 at 1:08 PM ^

That trade would just about redeem this weird Pistons offseason, as it would get Boozer off the cap in 2010 and allow the Pistons to take a big swing at one of the 2010 free agents with a pretty decent nucleus of Gordon/Stuckey/Villanueva/Prince.

Dhani Bowtie

July 6th, 2009 at 1:54 PM ^

Exactly, but don't you find it odd that the Jazz would make this trade due to Rip's contract? I'm a big fan of Rip and think he would fit in well in Utah but I don't really think he is worth the money... Utah has always run its organization a bit differently than most teams in the NBA so maybe they just have no interest in the 2010 FA market. Regardless as a Pistons fan I'd like to see this trade go down. It would be sad to see Rip go but like you said, if everything works out we'd have a strong nucleus and a shot at a major gun in 2010.

TTUwolverine

July 6th, 2009 at 1:10 PM ^

This has it's pros and cons. On Utah's side, I think pairing Rip with D-will could potentially be really freaking awesome. Utah would definitely have to clear some more cap space to make room for Milsap, but I think it would be worth it. They better guess right on Milsap though, because if it turns out he hit his ceiling already this move wouldn't be all that fantastic. For the Pistons, we would be a very high scoring and exciting team with Boozer in the lineup, and I think it would send us into the top 5 in the east, at the very least. Plus, he only has 1 year on his contract, which is a plus for next season when we can go after someone else (a.k.a. Bosh, unless Boozer immediately signs an extension). One concern is that this will leave the roster without a legitimate true center, which has been the case since Big Ben left. We could use someone down low to block some shots, but I think we could make it by with Boozer. Also, Boozer is injury prone, which is a bit scary.

ggoodness56

July 6th, 2009 at 1:13 PM ^

only has one year left on his contract? And how much money will that give us for next summer? I would take that action I suppose, but who are the big names next summer and how would they fit in?

Bosh, Wade, James....that's all I really know.

Stephen Y

July 6th, 2009 at 1:27 PM ^

I posted this in another topic...

Carlos Boozer for Rip Hamilton... and one more trade..

Tyson Chandler for Jason Maxiell and Kwame Brown.

We should see this culminate in the next couple weeks. "Insider" info from someone at the Palace.

tricks574

July 6th, 2009 at 1:32 PM ^

Just because of the d he brings, which will be desperately needed. It certainly isn't out of the question that they could get both though, and that would b a well put together team.

tricks574

July 6th, 2009 at 2:19 PM ^

But I'd rather take my chances that he will get motivated than have kwame brown as the best 5 on the team. He can be a defensive force if you can get it out of him, and I think joe will be looking for a coach who can hopefully do that, not just for chandler, but gordon and villeneuva as well.

chitownblue2

July 6th, 2009 at 1:33 PM ^

No joke - a starting 5 of Stuckey, Gordon, Prince, Villanueva, and Boozer is top 3 in the East.

Will Trade Sou…

July 6th, 2009 at 3:53 PM ^

That may be a bit bold. That is a seriously porous starting five on the defensive end. Boozer is physically brittle and Villanueva is inconsistent and mentally fragile.

Boston just got better with Sheed (and would have been top 3 in East even with just a healthy Garnett), Orlando will probably be just as good as last year (and the Pistons don't have Sheed to stop Howard anymore), and Cleveland is showing no sign of slowing down.

The Pistons barely made the playoffs this year and I don't think they got much better this year. I would rather have Atlanta's starting five, and maybe even Toronto's or Washington's.

jmblue

July 6th, 2009 at 4:11 PM ^

Keep in mind that the Pistons suffered a much worse injury toll this year than usual. Pretty much everyone except Tayshaun was out for at least one extended period. If they'd been as healthy as in previous years, they would have had a decent shot at winning 50 games. (Also, I don't think Michael Curry won too many people over with his coaching style.)

jmblue

July 6th, 2009 at 1:44 PM ^

This would be a fantastic move for the Pistons. I'm not exactly sure why Utah would go for it but if they do, great.

A_Maize_Zing

July 6th, 2009 at 2:10 PM ^

If we were able to land Boozer as a stop gap to next season then I'm all for it.

Boozer would free up 12 mil of cap room and could be valuable as a mid season trade piece for a big name.

If Kwame doesn't get traded then that would free up another 4 Million

Fabricio Oberto has a 1.8 million cap number this year even though he won't be playing that would also be gone next year. Plus Will Bynum and and Walter Sharpe would both be free agents as well. That would be right around 20 million in cap room with a core of Gordon, Villanueva, Prince, Maxiell, and Stuckey.

If we trade Maxiell, Kwame and the rights to Fabricio for Chandler and Julian Wright then we will have a pretty good core of

Prince, Chandler, Stuckey, Villanueva, and Gordon with 12 million or so of cap room.

Also last years starting five averaged 32 years old. This years team with Boozer would be right around 25 average age. That means a whole team of Guys either entering or in their prime.

Anyway you look at it, if we obtain Boozer, Joe Dumars has been able to rebuild a quality product while staying competitive. That is almost unheard of in pro sports today...good job Joe Dumars.

grsbmd

July 6th, 2009 at 2:34 PM ^

It always amazes me how quickly a team can turn over in basketball or baseball. We could have Tayshaun Prince as the only remaining starter from one year ago.

That being said, I would definitely be in favor of this trade. But I don't know why the Jazz would do it. There would almost have to be something else in it for them.

MRG

July 6th, 2009 at 2:41 PM ^

...the key to a Boozer/Rip deal is to not sign Boozer to a ridiculous extension, which Dumars is often prone to do. Bank the cap space for 2010 along with Kwame's expiring $4M and see what you can get next summer.

wolverineinnc

July 6th, 2009 at 3:19 PM ^

Could we trade RIP to Chicago in a sign and trade for Gordon, giving us some cap room right now to use in a trade for bosh, amare, or just save for next year?

MichFan1997

July 6th, 2009 at 4:46 PM ^

When he's healthy, he's a pretty decent player. A 1 year deal is not a big risk to take on, especially if they player you are giving up is into his 30's now and just had another player, six years younger, signed at his position. Also, I would love to take the chance on Chandler. A Max/Kwame deal for him would be fine by me. At the least, Chandler is a defensive player to put under center. New Orleans is in need of that cap space trading him would provide as well.