Glenn
08-27-2007, 12:09 PM
:langlois:
Monday, August 27, 2007
Terence (West Bloomfield): I was watching Team USA play Venezuela and Bill Walton was one of the commentators. He said if he was a Pistons fan, he’d be concerned. He said the Pistons needed more frontcourt help if they want to compete with Kevin Garnett and the Bulls. Would you agree?
Langlois: I love Walton, Terence, but you’ve got to take him with a grain of salt. He speaks off the top of his head. What he says today he’ll contradict next week. When the Fab Five were freshman at Michigan, he lauded them beyond all reason. When they were sophomores, he labeled them the greatest disappointments in college basketball history – they went to the national championship game each season. Go figure. The Pistons think they’re just fine up front with Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess the mainstays, Nazr Mohammed good for a solid 20 minutes a night and young colts Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson ready to push for greatly expanded roles. If the front office is right about the two young kids – and I’m guessing Walton is completely discounting them – then the Pistons will have a frontcourt as deep as anyone’s in the East.
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L.B. (Detroit): Did Joe Dumars try to trade for Zach Randolph? I believe the Pistons had more to offer Portland than New York gave them. Despite Zach’s troubles he would have been worth the risk, just like Rasheed was when we traded for him. I feel the Pistons didn’t try to trade for him.
Langlois: I feel you’re right, L.B. – the Pistons didn’t try to trade for him. There are two red flags with Randolph – he’s got major character questions and his contract is really, really big for a guy who only plays one end of the court. I wouldn’t compare him to Rasheed, who plays both ends, except for their common Portland past. Rasheed has never been seen as a divisive teammate. Randolph has been. The guy’s one of the five best interior scorers in the league, but most NBA people look at him and don’t think it’s worth the baggage when you consider the contract obligation.
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Fran (Southfield): With the risk of injury and getting worn down during the season, how does Pistons management feel about Billups and Prince being on Team USA?
Langlois: Because of the makeup of the team, Fran, I don’t think they’re alarmed. Prince played a team-high minutes in the opening win over Venezuela – but he only played 24 minutes. Those two guys would be playing basketball at this time of year, anyway. The teams that have a problem with their players competing for their national teams are usually ones with foreign players who carry a far greater burden than anyone on Team USA will. Pao Gasol needs to be on the floor nearly every minute for Spain. Ditto for Dirk Nowitzki and Germany, Steve Nash and Canada, Manu Ginobili and Argentina, etc. Those are the players who put their welfare at risk by playing summer international basketball, which explains why so many of them are beginning to beg off.
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Phil (Fraser): I would like to know what you think about the possibility of a trade with Boston for Kevin Garnett. Boston has an intriguing threesome but any chance at a championship is pretty unrealistic considering they have absolutely nothing after that. How about Wallace, Mohammed, Murray, Afflalo and Maxiell for Garnett?
Langlois: About a 1 percent possibility, Phil. Ask yourself this: Would Boston have sent the players it dealt to Minnesota – including talented young Al Jefferson, Gerald Green and Ryan Gomes – plus two No. 1 draft picks for that package of Pistons players? I don’t think so. And since acquiring Garnett, interest in the Celtics – and season-ticket sales – has spiked. I can’t imagine the PR setback it would be if Boston turned around and traded him – unless, perhaps, Kobe Bryant or LeBron James were coming back in return.
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Sam (Troy): You always hear that players work on their individual skills during the off-season, yet they really focus on one skill to improve. What do you think the Pistons’ core players need to improve on?
Langlois: That’s a great question, Sam. I talked to Tayshaun Prince last season about that, giving him the example that Magic Johnson used to say he would focus on one aspect of his game every off-season. Prince disagreed, saying that he thought if he did that then other areas of his game would slip. He just plays a lot of basketball, keeps himself in shape and aims for gradual all-around improvement. I talked to Speedy Walker, who runs Rip Hamilton’s basketball camps, this summer and he said that he tells Rip he needs to add a move or two off the dribble to his repertoire to make his trademark mid-range jumper even more effective. Some veterans, like Antonio McDyess, work on low-impact conditioning over the summer to reduce the stress on their legs as they get older. It’s a mixed bag.
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Lee (Oklahoma): I'm a big Chris Webber fan, but don’t you think that the Pistons should sign him in self-defense? Chris was an All-Star in Washington because he didn’t have to play center. Chris was an All-Star in Sacramento because he didn’t have to play center. Boston has Garnett to play center. How could the Pistons or any other team match up against Garnett, Pierce, Allen and Webber? If we wanted to have a championship team we would have to move to Boston and talk funny like those folks do.
Langlois: The difference between Webber the All-Star and Webber today isn’t position but health. If I were the Celtics, yeah, I’d be intrigued by the possibility of adding Webber to the lineup. At worst, he’d be a nice complement to projected starter Kendrick Perkins. But the Pistons can’t worry about where Webber might land. They’re putting their team together based on what they believe gives them the best chance to win a title.
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Milton (Detroit): What does Joe Dumars have against pure point guards? We are in dire need of a ball distributor and I can’t believe Joe passed on Brevin Knight. Is he still in search of a veteran point guard or does he still believe Rodney Stuckey will fill that void?
Langlois: How many do you want on the roster, Milton? The Pistons already have 16 players under contract – one more than they’ll be able to carry into the regular season. They’ve got Chauncey Billups penciled in for about 35 minutes a game and love what they saw from Stuckey this summer. Behind them they have Flip Murray and then there’s always Lindsey Hunter for emergencies. That’s pretty enviable depth. No, none of them are perhaps “pure” point guards, but how many of them are out there. The Pistons could have had Brevin Knight in trade last summer but passed. He’s OK and you could do worse than having Knight as a backup point. But the Pistons don’t see that as a need.
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Jack (Texas): What is the overall quality of Team USA? I really liked the addition of Michael Redd and Chauncey Billups, but why Mike Miller? Why not Jason Terry or even Rip Hamilton? Any why is Deron Williams always on these teams? I think USA can take gold if they play like a team and actually care.
Langlois: Kobe Bryant and LeBron James look like they’re determined to set a tone defensively, knowing if they buy in then others will surely follow suit. It’s a good team, but dominating the weak field in the Tournament of the Americas qualifier isn’t going to prove much. Miller is on the team because he can stroke it from 3-point distance like few others. Deron Williams is new to the team this summer and he’ll probably be a Team USA mainstay for most of the next decade because he’s one of the game’s best young point guards along with Chris Paul, who couldn’t play this summer due to injury.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Terence (West Bloomfield): I was watching Team USA play Venezuela and Bill Walton was one of the commentators. He said if he was a Pistons fan, he’d be concerned. He said the Pistons needed more frontcourt help if they want to compete with Kevin Garnett and the Bulls. Would you agree?
Langlois: I love Walton, Terence, but you’ve got to take him with a grain of salt. He speaks off the top of his head. What he says today he’ll contradict next week. When the Fab Five were freshman at Michigan, he lauded them beyond all reason. When they were sophomores, he labeled them the greatest disappointments in college basketball history – they went to the national championship game each season. Go figure. The Pistons think they’re just fine up front with Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess the mainstays, Nazr Mohammed good for a solid 20 minutes a night and young colts Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson ready to push for greatly expanded roles. If the front office is right about the two young kids – and I’m guessing Walton is completely discounting them – then the Pistons will have a frontcourt as deep as anyone’s in the East.
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L.B. (Detroit): Did Joe Dumars try to trade for Zach Randolph? I believe the Pistons had more to offer Portland than New York gave them. Despite Zach’s troubles he would have been worth the risk, just like Rasheed was when we traded for him. I feel the Pistons didn’t try to trade for him.
Langlois: I feel you’re right, L.B. – the Pistons didn’t try to trade for him. There are two red flags with Randolph – he’s got major character questions and his contract is really, really big for a guy who only plays one end of the court. I wouldn’t compare him to Rasheed, who plays both ends, except for their common Portland past. Rasheed has never been seen as a divisive teammate. Randolph has been. The guy’s one of the five best interior scorers in the league, but most NBA people look at him and don’t think it’s worth the baggage when you consider the contract obligation.
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Fran (Southfield): With the risk of injury and getting worn down during the season, how does Pistons management feel about Billups and Prince being on Team USA?
Langlois: Because of the makeup of the team, Fran, I don’t think they’re alarmed. Prince played a team-high minutes in the opening win over Venezuela – but he only played 24 minutes. Those two guys would be playing basketball at this time of year, anyway. The teams that have a problem with their players competing for their national teams are usually ones with foreign players who carry a far greater burden than anyone on Team USA will. Pao Gasol needs to be on the floor nearly every minute for Spain. Ditto for Dirk Nowitzki and Germany, Steve Nash and Canada, Manu Ginobili and Argentina, etc. Those are the players who put their welfare at risk by playing summer international basketball, which explains why so many of them are beginning to beg off.
----------
Phil (Fraser): I would like to know what you think about the possibility of a trade with Boston for Kevin Garnett. Boston has an intriguing threesome but any chance at a championship is pretty unrealistic considering they have absolutely nothing after that. How about Wallace, Mohammed, Murray, Afflalo and Maxiell for Garnett?
Langlois: About a 1 percent possibility, Phil. Ask yourself this: Would Boston have sent the players it dealt to Minnesota – including talented young Al Jefferson, Gerald Green and Ryan Gomes – plus two No. 1 draft picks for that package of Pistons players? I don’t think so. And since acquiring Garnett, interest in the Celtics – and season-ticket sales – has spiked. I can’t imagine the PR setback it would be if Boston turned around and traded him – unless, perhaps, Kobe Bryant or LeBron James were coming back in return.
------------
Sam (Troy): You always hear that players work on their individual skills during the off-season, yet they really focus on one skill to improve. What do you think the Pistons’ core players need to improve on?
Langlois: That’s a great question, Sam. I talked to Tayshaun Prince last season about that, giving him the example that Magic Johnson used to say he would focus on one aspect of his game every off-season. Prince disagreed, saying that he thought if he did that then other areas of his game would slip. He just plays a lot of basketball, keeps himself in shape and aims for gradual all-around improvement. I talked to Speedy Walker, who runs Rip Hamilton’s basketball camps, this summer and he said that he tells Rip he needs to add a move or two off the dribble to his repertoire to make his trademark mid-range jumper even more effective. Some veterans, like Antonio McDyess, work on low-impact conditioning over the summer to reduce the stress on their legs as they get older. It’s a mixed bag.
-----------
Lee (Oklahoma): I'm a big Chris Webber fan, but don’t you think that the Pistons should sign him in self-defense? Chris was an All-Star in Washington because he didn’t have to play center. Chris was an All-Star in Sacramento because he didn’t have to play center. Boston has Garnett to play center. How could the Pistons or any other team match up against Garnett, Pierce, Allen and Webber? If we wanted to have a championship team we would have to move to Boston and talk funny like those folks do.
Langlois: The difference between Webber the All-Star and Webber today isn’t position but health. If I were the Celtics, yeah, I’d be intrigued by the possibility of adding Webber to the lineup. At worst, he’d be a nice complement to projected starter Kendrick Perkins. But the Pistons can’t worry about where Webber might land. They’re putting their team together based on what they believe gives them the best chance to win a title.
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Milton (Detroit): What does Joe Dumars have against pure point guards? We are in dire need of a ball distributor and I can’t believe Joe passed on Brevin Knight. Is he still in search of a veteran point guard or does he still believe Rodney Stuckey will fill that void?
Langlois: How many do you want on the roster, Milton? The Pistons already have 16 players under contract – one more than they’ll be able to carry into the regular season. They’ve got Chauncey Billups penciled in for about 35 minutes a game and love what they saw from Stuckey this summer. Behind them they have Flip Murray and then there’s always Lindsey Hunter for emergencies. That’s pretty enviable depth. No, none of them are perhaps “pure” point guards, but how many of them are out there. The Pistons could have had Brevin Knight in trade last summer but passed. He’s OK and you could do worse than having Knight as a backup point. But the Pistons don’t see that as a need.
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Jack (Texas): What is the overall quality of Team USA? I really liked the addition of Michael Redd and Chauncey Billups, but why Mike Miller? Why not Jason Terry or even Rip Hamilton? Any why is Deron Williams always on these teams? I think USA can take gold if they play like a team and actually care.
Langlois: Kobe Bryant and LeBron James look like they’re determined to set a tone defensively, knowing if they buy in then others will surely follow suit. It’s a good team, but dominating the weak field in the Tournament of the Americas qualifier isn’t going to prove much. Miller is on the team because he can stroke it from 3-point distance like few others. Deron Williams is new to the team this summer and he’ll probably be a Team USA mainstay for most of the next decade because he’s one of the game’s best young point guards along with Chris Paul, who couldn’t play this summer due to injury.