Glenn
06-17-2008, 09:57 AM
:langlois:
Monday, June 16, 2008
You think Iowa got flooded. You should see Mailbag. We’re still including Mailbag Overflow – where I post comments and rants without responding – but from now on we’ll just tack them on to the end of Mailbag so Pistons fans can get a sense of what their brethren far and wide are thinking. On with Mailbag ..
T.J. (Rochester Hills, Mich.): We don’t know how the roster will look after trades, but do you think Joe will make a move for James Posey with the mid-level exception? Delfino, Evans and Hayes haven’t cut it. We need more consistency from that spot. We have room to offer the full mid-level while staying under the tax.
Langlois: Joe Dumars told me last week in our Pistons.com Q&A that he’ll look at using the mid-level once the dust settles, but that he didn’t anticipate using the full chunk on one player, T.J. He said he could probably pick up two pretty good players by splitting the mid-level.
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Kevin (Detroit): Do you think the best thing for the Pistons right now is to try and get Tracy McGrady?
Langlois: McGrady’s name is being mentioned a lot, so it makes you wonder if Houston really is looking to move him. It wouldn’t surprise me. The Rockets went out in the first round again and probably are feeling a little desperate to make a move in the crowded West. The Pistons would have to be comfortable with McGrady’s injury history. If they get involved in talks for him, you can bet they’ll be leaning heavily on Arnie Kander’s opinion.
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Casey (Ann Arbor, Mich.): What about Tayshaun, Jason Maxiell and a draft pick or two for Caron Butler? It seems the Wizards are going to invest heavily in Arenas and Jamison. Prince would be a nice third wheel there.
Langlois: I like Butler very much, Casey, but that’s an awful lot to give up for him.
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Keith (Utica, Mich.): Do you think any of the Pistons feel resentment toward Dumars for coming out and publicly declaring he’s willing to trade them?
Langlois: They understand the way the business works, Keith. And Dumars was up front with them about this for the past year. Everybody knew there would be consequences if the Pistons went out this year the way they had the past few years. I guess the only surprise was that Joe D was so emphatic publicly that he was looking to shake up the mix.
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Pete (Detroit): How many NBA championships and Eastern Conference championships would the Pistons have had to win for Flip and the core to keep their jobs?
Langlois: Well, Flip was only here for the last three years. If he’d have won one championship, my guess is he’d still be here. But even if these Pistons had won another championship since 2004, it might have been time to tweak things, anyway. You don’t want a nucleus to pass through the pipeline together when they’re all approximately the same age and risk suddenly getting too old all at the same time.
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Richard (Port Huron, Mich.): Why not get a big man who can rebound. Remember Big Ben? The Pistons have been getting killed on the boards since he left. They definitely need that presence back. It’s embarrassing to see them get killed on the boards game after game after game.
Langlois: Boston got the better of them, Richard, but over the course of the season, what you’re contending simply isn’t true. The stats show the Pistons were one of the best rebounding teams in the league this year by measure of percentage of rebounds grabbed. They outrebounded their opponents by better than two a game – a pretty significant number over the course of a season. In contrast, the Pistons were outrebounded by their opponents in Ben Wallace’s last year and were never a dominant rebounding team even when he was among the league leaders.
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Tyler (Shelby Twp., Mich.): Do you think the Pistons should sign Arenas? Do you think it would help them make future trades involving Rip or Chauncey?
Langlois: The Pistons couldn’t come close to signing Gilbert Arenas without first clearing millions of dollars from the salary cap. Not sure how they’d do that unless they shipped out a big-time player to a team already millions under the cap – and there aren’t more than a couple of those teams out there. I think Arenas is the longest of long shots to join the Pistons. In fact, I think it’s about 80 percent likely – if not more – that Arenas winds up back in Washington.
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Richard (Howell, Mich.): Now that the Pistons have hired Michael Curry, I don’t think they should trade Rasheed. Rasheed obviously gets along with and respects Curry. If he stays and doesn’t play harder under curry, then deal him at the trade deadline. Do you agree?
Langlois: It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Rasheed is back, Richard. The Pistons know he’s an asset whose appeal to other teams might become even greater at the trade deadline, especially considering his expiring contract. But they also know how valuable he can be to them – and it might be worth a look under Curry’s firm hand. This much is for certain – if they do trade him, it will be for another really good player.
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Brad (West Bloomfield, Mich.): Your thoughts on this scenario: Trade Rip and Maxiell for Boozer, then Tay for Eddy Curry and the No. 6 pick, then Rasheed and McDyess for Tracy McGrady and with the No. 6 pick take Anthony Randolph. A Stuckey, Billups, McGrady, Boozer core with Curry, Johnson and Randolph would be sickening.
Langlois: Pretty intriguing, Brad. That might be a lot for the Knicks to give up. I think a lot of people think Curry could be productive again if he wasn’t playing alongside Zach Randolph. But Curry scares a lot of people, too. I recall what Scott Skiles said when Curry was with the Bulls and reporters asked him what Curry, a notoriously weak rebounder, could do to improve his rebounding. Skiles’ reply: “Jump.”
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Arjun (West Bloomfield, Mich.): Trade Maxiell (painful, but bear with me), Afflalo and this year’s first-rounder to the Knicks for Jamal Crawford and the No. 6 pick. Now send Chauncey, Tay and the No. 6 to Miami for Shawn Marion (assuming he doesn’t opt out) and the No. 2 pick. That would leave us with a potential starting five of Rasheed, Marion, Michael Beasley or Antonio McDyess, Rip and Stuckey. Our bench would still be quite good and our mid-level exception would be intact – not to mention, we’d have a veritable boat load of cap space for the following seasons.
Langlois: Any Mailbagger who can use “veritable” correctly gets free first-class postage. Nicely done, Arjun! You know what? Don’t read this as an endorsement of the deal, but it’s very creatively done and credible – not one of those trade Theo Ratliff (free agent, can’t trade him anyway), Rip and Walter Herrmann for Dwight Howard things. The only thing I wonder with that frontcourt is lots of guys who like to face up and shoot and maybe not enough post-up threats. Talented, though. Awfully talented.
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Roy (Northstar, Mich.): Last year we seemed to shoot more 3s in the regular season but during the playoffs it looked like we got away from that. It also seemed to me other teams beat us with the 3-ball in more than one game. Do you think Curry will go the other way?
Langlois: The Pistons actually shot a few more triples this season than last, though it was pretty much the same, 1,330-1,305. Rasheed Wallace’s struggles after the opening-round series with Philadelphia made it a less effective weapon for the Pistons in the postseason. My guess is Curry is going to be a coach who preaches tough defense and rebounding but will encourage his team to be aggressive on offense. That doesn’t mean shooting reckless triples, but to take what’s there.
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Philip (Dresden, Ontario): Could you submit a list of future draft choices the Pistons possess?
Langlois: The Pistons owe no future picks to anyone. They have two second-rounders coming to them next year – one from Minnesota in the Ronald Dupree deal, one from Toronto in the Carlos Delfino deal. They also have a 2011 second-rounder coming from the Delfino trade.
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Brandon (Lapeer, Mich.): What about sending Rasheed and Detroit’s 2008 and ’09 first-rounders to Phoenix for Amare? Those first-rounders won’t be real high picks.
Langlois: You can’t trade first-round picks in consecutive years, Brandon. I don’t know that the Pistons would throw in two first-rounders in that scenario, but I do feel that Rasheed and Stoudemire could indeed be the basis of a trade between the Pistons and Suns. There continue to be strong rumblings that Phoenix wants to go all in to win it while Shaq and Steve Nash have something left and Stoudemire is rumored to be unhappy with some of the whispers about him that have surfaced in the Phoenix press. That definitely is one to watch.
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Chris (West Bloomfield, Mich.): Maybe John Hammond is interested in a few former friends. Move Sheed and the 29th pick for Charlie Villanueva and the No. 8 pick.
Langlois: The money doesn’t match, Chris. I don’t think the Pistons would be interested in that trade. I don’t think they feel strongly enough about anybody that would be there at No. 8 to give up Wallace for such an inconsistent talent as Villanueva. In last year’s draft, yeah, that would have been interesting.
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David (Highland Twp., Mich.): With the hiring of Michael Curry, do you believe the Pistons are rebuilding?
Langlois: No. Dumars and Curry are pretty firm on this – they fully expect to be competing for an NBA title next June. I know he hasn’t coached a game yet, but I’ve been to a lot of introductory press conferences for coaching hires over the last 25 years in a lot of sports at both the high school and college levels, and Curry’s ranks right up there with the most impressive first impressions I can recall. It wasn’t a Marty Mornhinweg press conference, is what I’m saying.
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T.J. (Andrews AFB, Md.): How likely do you think it is that the Pistons will trade for Carmelo Anthony?
Langlois: Like the talk about Stoudemire, I think the Anthony thing has some legs to it, T.J. I think that when Joe Dumars said he talked to 10 or 12 teams, it’s likely that Denver and Phoenix were two of those teams. Teams in the West are so tightly packed and so many of them are feeling a sense of urgency to make a bold move now to keep up with the Lakers and the teams at the top of the conference that I think we’re going to see lots of maneuvering done around the league, starting with draft night. And because Dumars went so emphatically public with his decision to shake up the roster, the Pistons are going to be actively courted as trade partners.
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Pat (Pittsburgh, Pa.): Joe D has the opportunity to sign James Posey last year. This was a player who played a significant role in Miami beating the Pistons a few years ago. Instead, he signed Jarvis Hayes, who can shoot but not in the clutch and plays no defense. If Posey is a Piston, it is Detroit vs. the Lakers in the NBA finals.
Langlois: When the Pistons went shopping for a backup to Tayshaun Prince last summer, after the first wave of free agency, they identified Posey as their first choice. But Boston had more to offer Posey in terms of a certain role. As thin as the Celtics’ roster was at that time, he was pretty sure he was going to get significant minutes in Boston. In Detroit, it was less certain. So Posey signed with Boston and the Pistons turned to Plan B, Hayes. Posey has been terrific in the postseason, no question about it.
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Melanie (Omaha, Neb.): As the season ends, I’d like to share what a great time I had when I flew to Detroit in December with my husband to watch some Pistons basketball. We were so impressed with The Palace of Auburn Hills and all its amenities – it’s a real class act. We had such a great time watching Dee-troit Basketball from some excellent seats at an affordable price. I’d like to thank the Pistons for another great season and hope they take it all next year. Thanks, Detroit!
Langlois: Thanks, Melanie! While I certainly enjoy all the creative trade proposals, it’s nice to get a note like yours every once in a while, too. We’re always delighted to hear that fans enjoy their game-day experience at The Palace. A lot of effort from a lot of very dedicated people goes into making it happen. Thanks again – hope you make it back next season, too.
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Salo (Las Vegas): Is there any way possible to get the No. 1 pick the Bulls have? If so, who would the Pistons take?
Langlois: The Bulls would probably be a little leery of taking players off the Pistons’ hands after their experience with Ben Wallace. But, sure, there’s always a way to get something done. I think it’s an extreme long shot, though. The Pistons would have to take some dead weight off Chicago’s hands to make the money work under the salary cap. My hunch is that if the Pistons had the No. 1 pick, they’d take Michael Beasley. With Rodney Stuckey, they’ve got their point guard of the future. And I know the Pistons have been awfully impressed with Beasley.
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Scott (Sterling Heights, Mich.): The only thing I don’t like about Joe Dumars’ comments is that he is putting everyone in the same boat. Nobody has more of a burning desire to win than McDyess.
Langlois: He’s putting everyone in the same boat because how could he do otherwise, Scott? That doesn’t mean he privately regards them all similarly. Besides, McDyess was dead serious a year ago when he said he would have retired rather than accept a trade away from Detroit. The risk of that nullifying a trade would argue against including him, too. I don’t think McDyess is going anywhere. I’d also be surprised if Rip Hamilton were to be traded. Think about that Game 6 loss to Boston – nobody played harder than Hamilton, despite his elbow injury. Dumars won’t forget that.
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Charles (Kansas City, Mo.): I understand Joe Dumars’ frustration, because I’m equally frustrated. But I hope Joe doesn’t trade more than one of his core players. What do you think of Joe working a trade with the Knicks for Zach Randolph? Randolph may have issues but he is productive.
Langlois: Zach Randolph would stun me, Charles. He does put up awfully pretty numbers, but I just don’t see him as a Dumars or Curry type of player. I think it’s possible that two of the core players could be moved this summer, but I’d be surprised if it were any more than that.
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Paul (Santa Barbara, Calif.): We need dramatic changes this off-season. All players should be expandable except Stuckey, Hamilton and McDyess. Billups, Wallace and Hayes should go. The rest of the roster could go either way.
Langlois: I think the three guys you mentioned – along with Amir Johnson – are likeliest to stay. I don’t think anybody outside of that group is more likely than anyone else to be leaving. In other words, I don’t think Joe Dumars is disenchanted with any one player, just determined to change the mix.
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Jeff (Des Moines, Iowa): With the trade rumors about Carmelo ending up in Detroit, don’t you think we should keep Rasheed on the roster to serve as a (gulp!) mentor to Melo? With all the drama Wallace brings, it sounds like he makes up for it be being a great teammate.
Langlois: Carmelo is a five-year NBA veteran. He doesn’t need mentoring so much as a sound structural environment. The Pistons had that before Wallace got here and they’ll have it for as long as Joe Dumars is calling the shots. But I do think that if there’s an Anthony trade, the likeliest Pistons to be involved would be Chauncey Billups – the Nuggets really need a point guard – and Tayshaun Prince, who would take Anthony’s spot in the lineup. Hey, Jeff – here’s a wish from Pistons Nation that you stayed safe during the Des Moines flooding.
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Amire (Kalamazoo, Mich.): What if we traded Rasheed for the No. 7 pick in the draft? Then we could select Eric Gordon.
Langlois: You can’t trade Rasheed for the No. 7 pick in the draft alone, Amire. The Pistons would have to take back roughly the same amount of salary Rasheed makes, so it would have be a lot more complex than that. But I think Gordon’s going to be one of the best players to come out of this draft, maybe as good as anyone. It might take him a few more years, but I think a lot of Gordon. I had one NBA personnel executive this year tell me Gordon was “Chauncey on steroids.” I think that’s a pretty apt description. As a young player, he has terrific shooting range and is dynamic going to the rim.
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Monica (South Bend, Ind.): I was always a big fan of Bill Laimbeer. I would have loved to see his name in the mix for head coach, but I have an even better idea. They should fire Mike Brey at Notre Dame and hire Laimbeer. He gets experience and eventually gets his shot with the Pistons. What do you think?
Langlois: Mike Brey probably doesn’t think it’s such a great idea.
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Simon (Melbourne, Australia): I don’t want Joe to give up his team-first philosophy, so why is a guy like Carmelo Anthony even in the picture? The only trade idea I’ve liked so far is Billups to Portland essentially for LaMarcus Aldridge. What are the chances of that happening?
Langlois: Pure speculation, as far as I can tell. Portland is known to be hunting for an upper-tier point guard, so it makes sense it would have interest in Billups. Aldridge would have a lot of trade value as a talented young big man. We’ll have to wait to see if that one goes anywhere.
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Jason (Algonac, Mich.): We should gather enough odds and ends to buy a superstar big man. I heard Elton Brand is a free agent and we could sure thrive with him anchoring us. I say go for Brand at the possible cost of losing Rasheed.
Langlois: Brand will only be a free agent if he opts out of the final year of his contract – and he isn’t expected to do so.
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Joe (Detroit): Did anybody in the organization question Flip as to why he didn’t play Amir Johnson or Jarvis Hayes?
Langlois: Joe Dumars has said publicly that he was disappointed Johnson didn’t see any time against Boston. As for Hayes, he just had a difficult time guarding players like Andre Igoudala, Hedo Turkoglu and Paul Pierce in the playoffs without picking up fouls.
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Adam (Kalamazoo, Mich.): Would the Pistons consider drafting Joey Dorsey? He seems like a hard worker and rebounder, which would fit the Pistons’ mentality.
Langlois: Most people don’t have Dorsey pegged as a first-round talent, Adam, and he’ll probably be gone by the time the Pistons pick in the second round.
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Marcus (Richmond, Va.): Do you think the Pistons would listen to offers involving Richard Jefferson? I’ve heard he is on the market.
Langlois: His name sure comes up a lot. Not sure how the Pistons would feel about him. He’s got a pretty big contract that might scare some teams off.
Monday, June 16, 2008
You think Iowa got flooded. You should see Mailbag. We’re still including Mailbag Overflow – where I post comments and rants without responding – but from now on we’ll just tack them on to the end of Mailbag so Pistons fans can get a sense of what their brethren far and wide are thinking. On with Mailbag ..
T.J. (Rochester Hills, Mich.): We don’t know how the roster will look after trades, but do you think Joe will make a move for James Posey with the mid-level exception? Delfino, Evans and Hayes haven’t cut it. We need more consistency from that spot. We have room to offer the full mid-level while staying under the tax.
Langlois: Joe Dumars told me last week in our Pistons.com Q&A that he’ll look at using the mid-level once the dust settles, but that he didn’t anticipate using the full chunk on one player, T.J. He said he could probably pick up two pretty good players by splitting the mid-level.
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Kevin (Detroit): Do you think the best thing for the Pistons right now is to try and get Tracy McGrady?
Langlois: McGrady’s name is being mentioned a lot, so it makes you wonder if Houston really is looking to move him. It wouldn’t surprise me. The Rockets went out in the first round again and probably are feeling a little desperate to make a move in the crowded West. The Pistons would have to be comfortable with McGrady’s injury history. If they get involved in talks for him, you can bet they’ll be leaning heavily on Arnie Kander’s opinion.
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Casey (Ann Arbor, Mich.): What about Tayshaun, Jason Maxiell and a draft pick or two for Caron Butler? It seems the Wizards are going to invest heavily in Arenas and Jamison. Prince would be a nice third wheel there.
Langlois: I like Butler very much, Casey, but that’s an awful lot to give up for him.
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Keith (Utica, Mich.): Do you think any of the Pistons feel resentment toward Dumars for coming out and publicly declaring he’s willing to trade them?
Langlois: They understand the way the business works, Keith. And Dumars was up front with them about this for the past year. Everybody knew there would be consequences if the Pistons went out this year the way they had the past few years. I guess the only surprise was that Joe D was so emphatic publicly that he was looking to shake up the mix.
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Pete (Detroit): How many NBA championships and Eastern Conference championships would the Pistons have had to win for Flip and the core to keep their jobs?
Langlois: Well, Flip was only here for the last three years. If he’d have won one championship, my guess is he’d still be here. But even if these Pistons had won another championship since 2004, it might have been time to tweak things, anyway. You don’t want a nucleus to pass through the pipeline together when they’re all approximately the same age and risk suddenly getting too old all at the same time.
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Richard (Port Huron, Mich.): Why not get a big man who can rebound. Remember Big Ben? The Pistons have been getting killed on the boards since he left. They definitely need that presence back. It’s embarrassing to see them get killed on the boards game after game after game.
Langlois: Boston got the better of them, Richard, but over the course of the season, what you’re contending simply isn’t true. The stats show the Pistons were one of the best rebounding teams in the league this year by measure of percentage of rebounds grabbed. They outrebounded their opponents by better than two a game – a pretty significant number over the course of a season. In contrast, the Pistons were outrebounded by their opponents in Ben Wallace’s last year and were never a dominant rebounding team even when he was among the league leaders.
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Tyler (Shelby Twp., Mich.): Do you think the Pistons should sign Arenas? Do you think it would help them make future trades involving Rip or Chauncey?
Langlois: The Pistons couldn’t come close to signing Gilbert Arenas without first clearing millions of dollars from the salary cap. Not sure how they’d do that unless they shipped out a big-time player to a team already millions under the cap – and there aren’t more than a couple of those teams out there. I think Arenas is the longest of long shots to join the Pistons. In fact, I think it’s about 80 percent likely – if not more – that Arenas winds up back in Washington.
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Richard (Howell, Mich.): Now that the Pistons have hired Michael Curry, I don’t think they should trade Rasheed. Rasheed obviously gets along with and respects Curry. If he stays and doesn’t play harder under curry, then deal him at the trade deadline. Do you agree?
Langlois: It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Rasheed is back, Richard. The Pistons know he’s an asset whose appeal to other teams might become even greater at the trade deadline, especially considering his expiring contract. But they also know how valuable he can be to them – and it might be worth a look under Curry’s firm hand. This much is for certain – if they do trade him, it will be for another really good player.
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Brad (West Bloomfield, Mich.): Your thoughts on this scenario: Trade Rip and Maxiell for Boozer, then Tay for Eddy Curry and the No. 6 pick, then Rasheed and McDyess for Tracy McGrady and with the No. 6 pick take Anthony Randolph. A Stuckey, Billups, McGrady, Boozer core with Curry, Johnson and Randolph would be sickening.
Langlois: Pretty intriguing, Brad. That might be a lot for the Knicks to give up. I think a lot of people think Curry could be productive again if he wasn’t playing alongside Zach Randolph. But Curry scares a lot of people, too. I recall what Scott Skiles said when Curry was with the Bulls and reporters asked him what Curry, a notoriously weak rebounder, could do to improve his rebounding. Skiles’ reply: “Jump.”
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Arjun (West Bloomfield, Mich.): Trade Maxiell (painful, but bear with me), Afflalo and this year’s first-rounder to the Knicks for Jamal Crawford and the No. 6 pick. Now send Chauncey, Tay and the No. 6 to Miami for Shawn Marion (assuming he doesn’t opt out) and the No. 2 pick. That would leave us with a potential starting five of Rasheed, Marion, Michael Beasley or Antonio McDyess, Rip and Stuckey. Our bench would still be quite good and our mid-level exception would be intact – not to mention, we’d have a veritable boat load of cap space for the following seasons.
Langlois: Any Mailbagger who can use “veritable” correctly gets free first-class postage. Nicely done, Arjun! You know what? Don’t read this as an endorsement of the deal, but it’s very creatively done and credible – not one of those trade Theo Ratliff (free agent, can’t trade him anyway), Rip and Walter Herrmann for Dwight Howard things. The only thing I wonder with that frontcourt is lots of guys who like to face up and shoot and maybe not enough post-up threats. Talented, though. Awfully talented.
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Roy (Northstar, Mich.): Last year we seemed to shoot more 3s in the regular season but during the playoffs it looked like we got away from that. It also seemed to me other teams beat us with the 3-ball in more than one game. Do you think Curry will go the other way?
Langlois: The Pistons actually shot a few more triples this season than last, though it was pretty much the same, 1,330-1,305. Rasheed Wallace’s struggles after the opening-round series with Philadelphia made it a less effective weapon for the Pistons in the postseason. My guess is Curry is going to be a coach who preaches tough defense and rebounding but will encourage his team to be aggressive on offense. That doesn’t mean shooting reckless triples, but to take what’s there.
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Philip (Dresden, Ontario): Could you submit a list of future draft choices the Pistons possess?
Langlois: The Pistons owe no future picks to anyone. They have two second-rounders coming to them next year – one from Minnesota in the Ronald Dupree deal, one from Toronto in the Carlos Delfino deal. They also have a 2011 second-rounder coming from the Delfino trade.
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Brandon (Lapeer, Mich.): What about sending Rasheed and Detroit’s 2008 and ’09 first-rounders to Phoenix for Amare? Those first-rounders won’t be real high picks.
Langlois: You can’t trade first-round picks in consecutive years, Brandon. I don’t know that the Pistons would throw in two first-rounders in that scenario, but I do feel that Rasheed and Stoudemire could indeed be the basis of a trade between the Pistons and Suns. There continue to be strong rumblings that Phoenix wants to go all in to win it while Shaq and Steve Nash have something left and Stoudemire is rumored to be unhappy with some of the whispers about him that have surfaced in the Phoenix press. That definitely is one to watch.
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Chris (West Bloomfield, Mich.): Maybe John Hammond is interested in a few former friends. Move Sheed and the 29th pick for Charlie Villanueva and the No. 8 pick.
Langlois: The money doesn’t match, Chris. I don’t think the Pistons would be interested in that trade. I don’t think they feel strongly enough about anybody that would be there at No. 8 to give up Wallace for such an inconsistent talent as Villanueva. In last year’s draft, yeah, that would have been interesting.
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David (Highland Twp., Mich.): With the hiring of Michael Curry, do you believe the Pistons are rebuilding?
Langlois: No. Dumars and Curry are pretty firm on this – they fully expect to be competing for an NBA title next June. I know he hasn’t coached a game yet, but I’ve been to a lot of introductory press conferences for coaching hires over the last 25 years in a lot of sports at both the high school and college levels, and Curry’s ranks right up there with the most impressive first impressions I can recall. It wasn’t a Marty Mornhinweg press conference, is what I’m saying.
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T.J. (Andrews AFB, Md.): How likely do you think it is that the Pistons will trade for Carmelo Anthony?
Langlois: Like the talk about Stoudemire, I think the Anthony thing has some legs to it, T.J. I think that when Joe Dumars said he talked to 10 or 12 teams, it’s likely that Denver and Phoenix were two of those teams. Teams in the West are so tightly packed and so many of them are feeling a sense of urgency to make a bold move now to keep up with the Lakers and the teams at the top of the conference that I think we’re going to see lots of maneuvering done around the league, starting with draft night. And because Dumars went so emphatically public with his decision to shake up the roster, the Pistons are going to be actively courted as trade partners.
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Pat (Pittsburgh, Pa.): Joe D has the opportunity to sign James Posey last year. This was a player who played a significant role in Miami beating the Pistons a few years ago. Instead, he signed Jarvis Hayes, who can shoot but not in the clutch and plays no defense. If Posey is a Piston, it is Detroit vs. the Lakers in the NBA finals.
Langlois: When the Pistons went shopping for a backup to Tayshaun Prince last summer, after the first wave of free agency, they identified Posey as their first choice. But Boston had more to offer Posey in terms of a certain role. As thin as the Celtics’ roster was at that time, he was pretty sure he was going to get significant minutes in Boston. In Detroit, it was less certain. So Posey signed with Boston and the Pistons turned to Plan B, Hayes. Posey has been terrific in the postseason, no question about it.
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Melanie (Omaha, Neb.): As the season ends, I’d like to share what a great time I had when I flew to Detroit in December with my husband to watch some Pistons basketball. We were so impressed with The Palace of Auburn Hills and all its amenities – it’s a real class act. We had such a great time watching Dee-troit Basketball from some excellent seats at an affordable price. I’d like to thank the Pistons for another great season and hope they take it all next year. Thanks, Detroit!
Langlois: Thanks, Melanie! While I certainly enjoy all the creative trade proposals, it’s nice to get a note like yours every once in a while, too. We’re always delighted to hear that fans enjoy their game-day experience at The Palace. A lot of effort from a lot of very dedicated people goes into making it happen. Thanks again – hope you make it back next season, too.
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Salo (Las Vegas): Is there any way possible to get the No. 1 pick the Bulls have? If so, who would the Pistons take?
Langlois: The Bulls would probably be a little leery of taking players off the Pistons’ hands after their experience with Ben Wallace. But, sure, there’s always a way to get something done. I think it’s an extreme long shot, though. The Pistons would have to take some dead weight off Chicago’s hands to make the money work under the salary cap. My hunch is that if the Pistons had the No. 1 pick, they’d take Michael Beasley. With Rodney Stuckey, they’ve got their point guard of the future. And I know the Pistons have been awfully impressed with Beasley.
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Scott (Sterling Heights, Mich.): The only thing I don’t like about Joe Dumars’ comments is that he is putting everyone in the same boat. Nobody has more of a burning desire to win than McDyess.
Langlois: He’s putting everyone in the same boat because how could he do otherwise, Scott? That doesn’t mean he privately regards them all similarly. Besides, McDyess was dead serious a year ago when he said he would have retired rather than accept a trade away from Detroit. The risk of that nullifying a trade would argue against including him, too. I don’t think McDyess is going anywhere. I’d also be surprised if Rip Hamilton were to be traded. Think about that Game 6 loss to Boston – nobody played harder than Hamilton, despite his elbow injury. Dumars won’t forget that.
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Charles (Kansas City, Mo.): I understand Joe Dumars’ frustration, because I’m equally frustrated. But I hope Joe doesn’t trade more than one of his core players. What do you think of Joe working a trade with the Knicks for Zach Randolph? Randolph may have issues but he is productive.
Langlois: Zach Randolph would stun me, Charles. He does put up awfully pretty numbers, but I just don’t see him as a Dumars or Curry type of player. I think it’s possible that two of the core players could be moved this summer, but I’d be surprised if it were any more than that.
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Paul (Santa Barbara, Calif.): We need dramatic changes this off-season. All players should be expandable except Stuckey, Hamilton and McDyess. Billups, Wallace and Hayes should go. The rest of the roster could go either way.
Langlois: I think the three guys you mentioned – along with Amir Johnson – are likeliest to stay. I don’t think anybody outside of that group is more likely than anyone else to be leaving. In other words, I don’t think Joe Dumars is disenchanted with any one player, just determined to change the mix.
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Jeff (Des Moines, Iowa): With the trade rumors about Carmelo ending up in Detroit, don’t you think we should keep Rasheed on the roster to serve as a (gulp!) mentor to Melo? With all the drama Wallace brings, it sounds like he makes up for it be being a great teammate.
Langlois: Carmelo is a five-year NBA veteran. He doesn’t need mentoring so much as a sound structural environment. The Pistons had that before Wallace got here and they’ll have it for as long as Joe Dumars is calling the shots. But I do think that if there’s an Anthony trade, the likeliest Pistons to be involved would be Chauncey Billups – the Nuggets really need a point guard – and Tayshaun Prince, who would take Anthony’s spot in the lineup. Hey, Jeff – here’s a wish from Pistons Nation that you stayed safe during the Des Moines flooding.
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Amire (Kalamazoo, Mich.): What if we traded Rasheed for the No. 7 pick in the draft? Then we could select Eric Gordon.
Langlois: You can’t trade Rasheed for the No. 7 pick in the draft alone, Amire. The Pistons would have to take back roughly the same amount of salary Rasheed makes, so it would have be a lot more complex than that. But I think Gordon’s going to be one of the best players to come out of this draft, maybe as good as anyone. It might take him a few more years, but I think a lot of Gordon. I had one NBA personnel executive this year tell me Gordon was “Chauncey on steroids.” I think that’s a pretty apt description. As a young player, he has terrific shooting range and is dynamic going to the rim.
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Monica (South Bend, Ind.): I was always a big fan of Bill Laimbeer. I would have loved to see his name in the mix for head coach, but I have an even better idea. They should fire Mike Brey at Notre Dame and hire Laimbeer. He gets experience and eventually gets his shot with the Pistons. What do you think?
Langlois: Mike Brey probably doesn’t think it’s such a great idea.
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Simon (Melbourne, Australia): I don’t want Joe to give up his team-first philosophy, so why is a guy like Carmelo Anthony even in the picture? The only trade idea I’ve liked so far is Billups to Portland essentially for LaMarcus Aldridge. What are the chances of that happening?
Langlois: Pure speculation, as far as I can tell. Portland is known to be hunting for an upper-tier point guard, so it makes sense it would have interest in Billups. Aldridge would have a lot of trade value as a talented young big man. We’ll have to wait to see if that one goes anywhere.
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Jason (Algonac, Mich.): We should gather enough odds and ends to buy a superstar big man. I heard Elton Brand is a free agent and we could sure thrive with him anchoring us. I say go for Brand at the possible cost of losing Rasheed.
Langlois: Brand will only be a free agent if he opts out of the final year of his contract – and he isn’t expected to do so.
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Joe (Detroit): Did anybody in the organization question Flip as to why he didn’t play Amir Johnson or Jarvis Hayes?
Langlois: Joe Dumars has said publicly that he was disappointed Johnson didn’t see any time against Boston. As for Hayes, he just had a difficult time guarding players like Andre Igoudala, Hedo Turkoglu and Paul Pierce in the playoffs without picking up fouls.
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Adam (Kalamazoo, Mich.): Would the Pistons consider drafting Joey Dorsey? He seems like a hard worker and rebounder, which would fit the Pistons’ mentality.
Langlois: Most people don’t have Dorsey pegged as a first-round talent, Adam, and he’ll probably be gone by the time the Pistons pick in the second round.
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Marcus (Richmond, Va.): Do you think the Pistons would listen to offers involving Richard Jefferson? I’ve heard he is on the market.
Langlois: His name sure comes up a lot. Not sure how the Pistons would feel about him. He’s got a pretty big contract that might scare some teams off.