Glenn
06-30-2008, 01:30 PM
:langlois:
MONDAY, June 30
Bruce (Detroit): I know there’s a lot of talk about Walter Sharpe out of UAB. I don’t know much about him. But I do know about Deron Washington out of Virginia Tech. He’s amazing. What do you think about these two guys who play the same position?
Langlois: I wouldn’t worry about that, Bruce. Washington is going overseas, in all likelihood, for at least a year. Right now he probably doesn’t have enough offense to be anything more than an NBA niche player as a perimeter defender. I don’t see a whole lot of overlap between Sharpe and Washington.
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Christian (St. Clair, Mich.): Who do you think the Pistons are most likely to trade? Also, do you think Sharpe will have a better career than DeAndre Jordan or Bill Walker?
Langlois: I don’t think there is anyone that’s most likely to be traded. It depends on which player Joe Dumars targets to bring back in trade. He’ll be looking for a good fit with an eye toward what the other team’s needs would be. It’s pure speculation to guess who’ll have the better career of those draft choices. But you have to like Sharpe’s chances to have a successful NBA career based on the track record of Joe Dumars.
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Jerry (Walled Lake, Mich.): Do you know the status of Alex Acker and Sammy Mejia? Will they be on our Summer League roster?
Langlois: Acker, yes. Mejia was supposed to be, but recently suffered another ankle sprain, an injury that hurt his cause to stick with the Pistons out of training camp last October. It’s uncertain whether Mejia will be signed later this summer and brought to training camp.
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Stephen (Clarkston, Mich.): The starting lineup for our Summer League roster should be Stuckey, Afflalo, Sharpe, Amir and Samb, correct? If that is the lineup, that’s an amazing starting five for Summer League.
Langlois: That would be my guess, Stephen, with Dee Brown and Alex Acker backing up at guard and Trent Plaisted and Deron Washington coming off the bench up front. My guess is the Pistons aren’t going to push Stuckey or Johnson all that hard and probably will want to give Acker a long look, too, because they clearly know what they have in Afflalo. They probably want to give Sharpe minutes at both forward spots and Washington will likely get looks at both the two and the three, Plaisted at both the four and the five. It will be a very interesting Summer League for the Pistons this year.
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Ron (Hanford, Calif.): How is Amir Johnson’s development coming along and what impact do you think he can have in the future?
Langlois: Michael Curry told me after he was hired as coach that Johnson is at a point where he needs to have a consistent role. Joe Dumars said he fully expects Amir to be in the rotation next season. We’ll have a better handle on how high Johnson’s ceiling is a year from now, but he’s a guy who consistently makes things happen even in limited exposure.
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Nawaf (Calgary, Alberta): What happens if a second-rounder didn’t sign with the team that drafted him? Can that player sign with any team he wants? And is it the same with first-rounders?
Langlois: Draft choices are the property of the team that selects them until they choose to relinquish those rights, no matter the round. Under the current collective-bargaining agreement, first-round picks get a two-year guaranteed contract with the team having options to pick up the third, fourth and fifth years. Second-round picks do not receive guaranteed contracts – meaning if they get cut, no money is obligated.
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Richard (Salt Lake City): What’s your favorite spot to watch a game? Mine is directly to the right or left of the basket, so I can watch the big boys fighting for the paint. It’s the closest I can get to the running track above the court at the old YMCA.
Langlois: My junior high had a running track above the court as you describe. Terrific vantage point. I’ve been watching games so long from press row that any other vantage point now seems foreign to me. By the way, it’s not always the best seat in the house. We’re always having our view obstructed by the coaches and referees who stand in our line of sight. I probably spend about 25 percent of the time watching the TV monitor along press row because I can’t see through the coach or official.
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Evan (Howell, Mich.): The Clippers are looking for a point guard. I don’t even know who they have to play it right now with Cassell gone and Livingston injured. Do you think it’s possible to get Brand and perhaps Cuttino Mobley for Rasheed and Chauncey?
Langlois: I think that would be a most attractive trade from the Clippers’ perspective. Would it be worth pursuing for the Pistons? Maybe. Two things scare me about Brand – a man that large and bulky, already coming off an Achilles tendon injury, might have durability issues; and his contract is going to eat up a large percentage of the team’s salary cap.
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Kothar (Dearborn, Mich.): Does Joe Dumars feel pressured to make a big trade because of the trades that happened on draft night? I don’t think he should make any trades.
Langlois: He’s not making any trades that he doesn’t see as benefiting the Pistons, no matter what any other team does. He’s said it’s his intent to do something to alter the chemistry, but even that isn’t going to compel him into doing something that doesn’t have a better chance of helping than hurting.
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Jonathan (Waxhaw, N.C.): How about Rasheed Wallace for Josh Smith? He is young, athletic and he took his team to Game 7 with the Boston Celtics.
Langlois: Smith is a restricted free agent with the Hawks, but it would be a major upset if Atlanta lets him get away. He, Al Horford and Joe Johnson give Atlanta a young nucleus that should have the Hawks on an upward course for several years. As talented as Wallace is, you wouldn’t give up the 10-year difference in ages if you’re Atlanta.
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Nick (Sydney, Australia): I’m not sure about the D.J. White trade, but maybe the Walter Sharpe pick might be worth it. What do you think?
Langlois: Sharpe’s talent has been known for a while, Nick. He was a McDonald’s All-American coming out of high school. The narcolepsy diagnosis appears to be the key to harnessing that talent. Who knows where he might have been drafted had he played a full season in college after diagnosis and treatment of the affliction? I know Joe Dumars thinks the Pistons got someone who could be a home run pick a la Tayshaun Prince at 23. I’m eager to see him play in the Las Vegas Summer League.
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Erges (Tirana, Albania): I understand Joe D saw something in Sharpe, but why didn’t he pick Walker or Douglas-Roberts?
Langlois: He thought Sharpe had more to offer, Erges. I do believe the Pistons liked Walker, but when they decided they only could commit one roster spot to the 2008 draft and Walker was not open to playing in Europe, they passed on him at 46, as well. Walker went with the next pick.
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Mike (Birmingham, Ala.): The Pistons need a true center and a backup small forward. What about trying to sign free agents Jamaal Magloire or DeSagana Diop at center and Bonzi Wells or Mickael Pietrus at forward?
Langlois: I think Joe Dumars goes into the summer intending to use his mid-level exception and he’s told me he’s probably more inclined to split it up over two players. Diop would be interesting. Magloire hasn’t done much on some really bad teams the past few years, so I don’t know that he brings anything to the table. Pietrus would be someone who’d get a long look, I think.
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Joseph (Portland, Mich.): I know everyone is focused on the draft, but I was wondering about Lindsey Hunter – if he is brought in to the front office, is it possible he comes back in the middle of the season if a roster spot opens if they are thin at guard?
Langlois: Possible? Sure. But my guess is that if Hunter decides to retire, he’s finished. I don’t know how someone who relies on being a defensive catalyst at age 38 would be able to switch gears that quickly and get himself in the kind of physical conditioning to be any kind of factor after doing a desk job for several months. But, yeah, I suppose it would be an option.
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Tyler (Lima, Ohio): I love the Pistons and love Joe Dumars, but this was a return of the old Joe. Shades of Mateen Cleaves, Rodney White and Darko Milicic. He had the chance to add a player that could help us this year. Instead, he got three guys who won’t even make the roster.
Langlois: He’s pretty confident Sharpe is going to be here next year. He’s already said picks 46 and 59, Trent Plaisted and Deron Washington, are headed for Europe – though, of course, those players have the opportunity to change his mind with strong summer showings. I think you’ve got to give him the benefit of the doubt, Tyler. His track record’s been pretty good. By the way, go back and look at the 2000 draft when he took Cleaves. That was one of the worst drafts in NBA history. It’s not like he passed on anybody great at 14.
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Milton (Richmond, Va.): With not having to guarantee a contract, why did Joe D pass on Bill Walker three times?
Langlois: Twice, Milton. If he would have taken him at 29, he would have had to guarantee a contract for a guy with two torn ACLs and a recent third knee injury of lesser severity. He traded down to 32 and took a guy he feels has tremendous upside. Could he be wrong? Sure. There are no guarantees in the NBA draft even when you’re picking in the top 10, as history has proven. He passed on him at 46 in large measure because Walker was not open to playing in Europe and Dumars didn’t think he’d have a roster spot available for him next season.
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Junaid (Burke, Va.): Are the Pistons actually going to trade Billups and Wallace for Baron Davis? That is not worth it, giving up two key players for just one. I think the Pistons should get Davis but maybe by trading some good bench plays and some money or maybe trading McDyess.
Langlois: That one’s been roundly debunked. My suspicion is it was generated by his agent, trying to leverage interest in a client facing a decision on opting out and headed for free agency.
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Nima (Windsor, Ontario): Would Stuckey benefit from backing up Billups for one more year? And do you think with the recent allegations by Tim Donaghy that the NBA fixed games to make it a Lakers-Celtics final?
Langlois: I don’t think he needs another year of nurturing, Nima, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to come back with Billups, Hamilton and Stuckey. As Joe Dumars told me, the history of the franchise would suggest that there is room enough for three highly skilled guards. Remember Thomas, Dumars and Johnson? As for the second question, no, I don’t for a second believe the NBA would risk its very existence by actively conspiring to get a Finals matchup that it knew would generate the best TV ratings. I don’t for a second believe David Stern, who has always taken the long view, would all of a sudden taken such a myopic view.
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Maurice (Middletown, Conn.): Should we make a move for Ben Gordon? Since they got Rose, I hear that they could be moving Gordon.
Langlois: Gordon is a restricted free agent. How he fits in Chicago anymore is anybody’s guess. New coach, new system. The problem with Gordon is he’s an undersized shooting guard who presents his team with defensive challenges. But the Pistons have Rip Hamilton at that position and Arron Afflalo behind him. Unless the Pistons are looking to move Hamilton, they surely aren’t going to spend the kind of money it would take to woo Gordon away so he could serve as a backup.
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Seggie (Las Vegas, Nev.): What are the chances we could work out a deal for Elton Brand?
Langlois: I think any team that makes a deal for Brand would want ironclad assurance that he would be willing to stick around for the long haul. Brand has one year left on his contract and there is already speculation that he will be pitched heavily by Miami, although the drafting of Michael Beasley would seem to give the Heat a logjam at power forward. Any team would be interested in Brand, of course; it all comes down to how much do you have to give up to get him and how much of your payroll are you willing to allot to him?
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Darren (Eastpointe, Mich.): I called into a popular sports talk show and suggested we trade Rasheed and Tayshaun for Amare Stoudemire and got laughed at. They said it was bunk. I think it makes sense. And then I read the June 26 Mailbag where you said the Pistons would have to sweeten the pot a little in a Rasheed-Stoudemire trade. What do you think about Rasheed and Prince for Stoudemire?
Langlois: I guarantee you, Darren, that if Joe Dumars called Phoenix and proposed that deal, he would not get laughed at. Anybody who’s followed the NBA at all knows the Suns-Stoudemire marriage is lukewarm. They have concerns about his defensive lapses and he’s chafed at the management innuendo that’s made him a scapegoat from past failures.
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Gil (Charlotte, N.C.): I know a lot of Mailbag readers are talking about possible trades, but I think they need to get away from the concept of the established “superstar” trade idea. Joe Dumars is looking for hungry players and that usually doesn’t describe guys who that are already huge. Chauncey, Rip and Ben Wallace weren’t highly sought players when they were brought in. Readers waiting on the big superstar trade might end up being needlessly discouraged.
Langlois: You raise a valid point, Gil. I think people are only reacting to the comments Joe D made – first, when he said everyone was on the table and, second, when he said he’d talked to several teams and he wasn’t talking to anyone about their second- or third-best players. The expectations are that something major will be consummated. I’ve been cautioning that Dumars also said he wasn’t going to do a deal just to say he did a deal. I do think it’s more likely than not that something gets done, but I don’t think it’s a slam dunk.
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Ryan (Grand Rapids, Mich.): Any chance the Pistons will make a run at Kwame Brown? The last mid-level exception they spent on an underachieving lottery pick seemed to work out well (Chauncey Billups).
Langlois: Brown won’t get the full MLE, I don’t think, but he’ll be a pretty solid signing for somebody as long as they understand what they’re getting – not somebody who warrants the No. 1 overall pick but a big man capable of playing 20 minutes a night. Whether he fits the Pistons’ needs or not remains to be seen. I would expect other dominos to topple first.
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John (Chesterfield, Mich.): I read that Joe Dumars was going to address the press after the draft was over, but I never saw what he said. Did he mention any trades or players he was considering acquiring?
Langlois: He can’t talk about trade proposals because he can’t talk in that fashion about players under contract to another team. He talked for about five minutes about Walter Sharpe and how the process unfolded to where a relative unknown became his first pick. I had an interesting conversation on Saturday with Sharpe’s agent, Danny Servick, and I’ll be blogging about that later today.
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Doug (Oden, Mich.): I’ve been hearing people compare Walter Sharpe to Amir Johnson. Would you agree with that?
Langlois: Never having seen Sharpe play, I can’t offer a valid assessment of his game. But it doesn’t sound like he plays too much like Amir. Where Amir is more comfortable around the basket, Sharpe’s strengths are in his ballhandling and passing ability for a big man. If Sharpe is reasonably close to Johnson as an athlete, that makes him a pretty intriguing prospect.
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Trent (Detroit): Why the quick pronouncement that Trent Plaisted and Deron Washington will be bound for Europe? There could well be roster spots available for them depending on how free agency goes.
Langlois: I think they’d have to show Joe Dumars and Michael Curry something in Las Vegas that they haven’t yet shown them in order for Dumars to back away from signing free agents and creating roster spots for them. It’s pretty up in the air right now with the specter of trades looming, but the Pistons expect that those two rookies will start their careers overseas.
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Kelley (Marquette, Mich.): What are the chances Alex Acker will be on the roster come the start of next season?
Langlois: Way too soon to hazard a guess, Kelley. The first step will be Acker impressing in Las Vegas. He’ll be competing with Arron Afflalo, essentially, to be the fourth guard, and Afflalo has a pretty significant leg up on him at this point because of the impressive way he handled everything thrown at him as a rookie. Would the Pistons keep him in addition to Afflalo? Sure. But he has to show them that he can do something that their other role players don’t offer.
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Jack (Conroe, Texas): I’m still trying to understand why the Pistons didn’t take Chris Douglas-Roberts with the 32nd pick they acquired from Seattle in the trade for D.J. White. A first-time All-American going at 40?
Langlois: The fact he went 40th means it wasn’t just the Pistons who passed on him. That doesn’t mean he won’t be an effective NBA player, but it does mean pretty much every team has question marks about him. The fact he wouldn’t come to Auburn Hills to work out for the Pistons didn’t help his chances of landing here.
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Alex (Hamburg, Mich.): My brother was diagnosed late in life with narcolepsy. It was easily treated with medication and he totally turned his life around. It had knocked him out of grad school; now he has a Ph.D. If that’s all that was holding Sharpe back, Joe might have pulled another rabbit out of the hat.
Langlois: Thanks for sharing that story, Alex. I’ve talked to four people about Sharpe now and everyone says he’s a very likeable young man who feels like he’s been given a new life with the diagnosis and treatment of his condition. It’s going to be fun to watch him in Las Vegas to see what he can offer.
MONDAY, June 30
Bruce (Detroit): I know there’s a lot of talk about Walter Sharpe out of UAB. I don’t know much about him. But I do know about Deron Washington out of Virginia Tech. He’s amazing. What do you think about these two guys who play the same position?
Langlois: I wouldn’t worry about that, Bruce. Washington is going overseas, in all likelihood, for at least a year. Right now he probably doesn’t have enough offense to be anything more than an NBA niche player as a perimeter defender. I don’t see a whole lot of overlap between Sharpe and Washington.
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Christian (St. Clair, Mich.): Who do you think the Pistons are most likely to trade? Also, do you think Sharpe will have a better career than DeAndre Jordan or Bill Walker?
Langlois: I don’t think there is anyone that’s most likely to be traded. It depends on which player Joe Dumars targets to bring back in trade. He’ll be looking for a good fit with an eye toward what the other team’s needs would be. It’s pure speculation to guess who’ll have the better career of those draft choices. But you have to like Sharpe’s chances to have a successful NBA career based on the track record of Joe Dumars.
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Jerry (Walled Lake, Mich.): Do you know the status of Alex Acker and Sammy Mejia? Will they be on our Summer League roster?
Langlois: Acker, yes. Mejia was supposed to be, but recently suffered another ankle sprain, an injury that hurt his cause to stick with the Pistons out of training camp last October. It’s uncertain whether Mejia will be signed later this summer and brought to training camp.
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Stephen (Clarkston, Mich.): The starting lineup for our Summer League roster should be Stuckey, Afflalo, Sharpe, Amir and Samb, correct? If that is the lineup, that’s an amazing starting five for Summer League.
Langlois: That would be my guess, Stephen, with Dee Brown and Alex Acker backing up at guard and Trent Plaisted and Deron Washington coming off the bench up front. My guess is the Pistons aren’t going to push Stuckey or Johnson all that hard and probably will want to give Acker a long look, too, because they clearly know what they have in Afflalo. They probably want to give Sharpe minutes at both forward spots and Washington will likely get looks at both the two and the three, Plaisted at both the four and the five. It will be a very interesting Summer League for the Pistons this year.
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Ron (Hanford, Calif.): How is Amir Johnson’s development coming along and what impact do you think he can have in the future?
Langlois: Michael Curry told me after he was hired as coach that Johnson is at a point where he needs to have a consistent role. Joe Dumars said he fully expects Amir to be in the rotation next season. We’ll have a better handle on how high Johnson’s ceiling is a year from now, but he’s a guy who consistently makes things happen even in limited exposure.
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Nawaf (Calgary, Alberta): What happens if a second-rounder didn’t sign with the team that drafted him? Can that player sign with any team he wants? And is it the same with first-rounders?
Langlois: Draft choices are the property of the team that selects them until they choose to relinquish those rights, no matter the round. Under the current collective-bargaining agreement, first-round picks get a two-year guaranteed contract with the team having options to pick up the third, fourth and fifth years. Second-round picks do not receive guaranteed contracts – meaning if they get cut, no money is obligated.
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Richard (Salt Lake City): What’s your favorite spot to watch a game? Mine is directly to the right or left of the basket, so I can watch the big boys fighting for the paint. It’s the closest I can get to the running track above the court at the old YMCA.
Langlois: My junior high had a running track above the court as you describe. Terrific vantage point. I’ve been watching games so long from press row that any other vantage point now seems foreign to me. By the way, it’s not always the best seat in the house. We’re always having our view obstructed by the coaches and referees who stand in our line of sight. I probably spend about 25 percent of the time watching the TV monitor along press row because I can’t see through the coach or official.
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Evan (Howell, Mich.): The Clippers are looking for a point guard. I don’t even know who they have to play it right now with Cassell gone and Livingston injured. Do you think it’s possible to get Brand and perhaps Cuttino Mobley for Rasheed and Chauncey?
Langlois: I think that would be a most attractive trade from the Clippers’ perspective. Would it be worth pursuing for the Pistons? Maybe. Two things scare me about Brand – a man that large and bulky, already coming off an Achilles tendon injury, might have durability issues; and his contract is going to eat up a large percentage of the team’s salary cap.
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Kothar (Dearborn, Mich.): Does Joe Dumars feel pressured to make a big trade because of the trades that happened on draft night? I don’t think he should make any trades.
Langlois: He’s not making any trades that he doesn’t see as benefiting the Pistons, no matter what any other team does. He’s said it’s his intent to do something to alter the chemistry, but even that isn’t going to compel him into doing something that doesn’t have a better chance of helping than hurting.
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Jonathan (Waxhaw, N.C.): How about Rasheed Wallace for Josh Smith? He is young, athletic and he took his team to Game 7 with the Boston Celtics.
Langlois: Smith is a restricted free agent with the Hawks, but it would be a major upset if Atlanta lets him get away. He, Al Horford and Joe Johnson give Atlanta a young nucleus that should have the Hawks on an upward course for several years. As talented as Wallace is, you wouldn’t give up the 10-year difference in ages if you’re Atlanta.
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Nick (Sydney, Australia): I’m not sure about the D.J. White trade, but maybe the Walter Sharpe pick might be worth it. What do you think?
Langlois: Sharpe’s talent has been known for a while, Nick. He was a McDonald’s All-American coming out of high school. The narcolepsy diagnosis appears to be the key to harnessing that talent. Who knows where he might have been drafted had he played a full season in college after diagnosis and treatment of the affliction? I know Joe Dumars thinks the Pistons got someone who could be a home run pick a la Tayshaun Prince at 23. I’m eager to see him play in the Las Vegas Summer League.
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Erges (Tirana, Albania): I understand Joe D saw something in Sharpe, but why didn’t he pick Walker or Douglas-Roberts?
Langlois: He thought Sharpe had more to offer, Erges. I do believe the Pistons liked Walker, but when they decided they only could commit one roster spot to the 2008 draft and Walker was not open to playing in Europe, they passed on him at 46, as well. Walker went with the next pick.
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Mike (Birmingham, Ala.): The Pistons need a true center and a backup small forward. What about trying to sign free agents Jamaal Magloire or DeSagana Diop at center and Bonzi Wells or Mickael Pietrus at forward?
Langlois: I think Joe Dumars goes into the summer intending to use his mid-level exception and he’s told me he’s probably more inclined to split it up over two players. Diop would be interesting. Magloire hasn’t done much on some really bad teams the past few years, so I don’t know that he brings anything to the table. Pietrus would be someone who’d get a long look, I think.
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Joseph (Portland, Mich.): I know everyone is focused on the draft, but I was wondering about Lindsey Hunter – if he is brought in to the front office, is it possible he comes back in the middle of the season if a roster spot opens if they are thin at guard?
Langlois: Possible? Sure. But my guess is that if Hunter decides to retire, he’s finished. I don’t know how someone who relies on being a defensive catalyst at age 38 would be able to switch gears that quickly and get himself in the kind of physical conditioning to be any kind of factor after doing a desk job for several months. But, yeah, I suppose it would be an option.
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Tyler (Lima, Ohio): I love the Pistons and love Joe Dumars, but this was a return of the old Joe. Shades of Mateen Cleaves, Rodney White and Darko Milicic. He had the chance to add a player that could help us this year. Instead, he got three guys who won’t even make the roster.
Langlois: He’s pretty confident Sharpe is going to be here next year. He’s already said picks 46 and 59, Trent Plaisted and Deron Washington, are headed for Europe – though, of course, those players have the opportunity to change his mind with strong summer showings. I think you’ve got to give him the benefit of the doubt, Tyler. His track record’s been pretty good. By the way, go back and look at the 2000 draft when he took Cleaves. That was one of the worst drafts in NBA history. It’s not like he passed on anybody great at 14.
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Milton (Richmond, Va.): With not having to guarantee a contract, why did Joe D pass on Bill Walker three times?
Langlois: Twice, Milton. If he would have taken him at 29, he would have had to guarantee a contract for a guy with two torn ACLs and a recent third knee injury of lesser severity. He traded down to 32 and took a guy he feels has tremendous upside. Could he be wrong? Sure. There are no guarantees in the NBA draft even when you’re picking in the top 10, as history has proven. He passed on him at 46 in large measure because Walker was not open to playing in Europe and Dumars didn’t think he’d have a roster spot available for him next season.
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Junaid (Burke, Va.): Are the Pistons actually going to trade Billups and Wallace for Baron Davis? That is not worth it, giving up two key players for just one. I think the Pistons should get Davis but maybe by trading some good bench plays and some money or maybe trading McDyess.
Langlois: That one’s been roundly debunked. My suspicion is it was generated by his agent, trying to leverage interest in a client facing a decision on opting out and headed for free agency.
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Nima (Windsor, Ontario): Would Stuckey benefit from backing up Billups for one more year? And do you think with the recent allegations by Tim Donaghy that the NBA fixed games to make it a Lakers-Celtics final?
Langlois: I don’t think he needs another year of nurturing, Nima, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to come back with Billups, Hamilton and Stuckey. As Joe Dumars told me, the history of the franchise would suggest that there is room enough for three highly skilled guards. Remember Thomas, Dumars and Johnson? As for the second question, no, I don’t for a second believe the NBA would risk its very existence by actively conspiring to get a Finals matchup that it knew would generate the best TV ratings. I don’t for a second believe David Stern, who has always taken the long view, would all of a sudden taken such a myopic view.
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Maurice (Middletown, Conn.): Should we make a move for Ben Gordon? Since they got Rose, I hear that they could be moving Gordon.
Langlois: Gordon is a restricted free agent. How he fits in Chicago anymore is anybody’s guess. New coach, new system. The problem with Gordon is he’s an undersized shooting guard who presents his team with defensive challenges. But the Pistons have Rip Hamilton at that position and Arron Afflalo behind him. Unless the Pistons are looking to move Hamilton, they surely aren’t going to spend the kind of money it would take to woo Gordon away so he could serve as a backup.
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Seggie (Las Vegas, Nev.): What are the chances we could work out a deal for Elton Brand?
Langlois: I think any team that makes a deal for Brand would want ironclad assurance that he would be willing to stick around for the long haul. Brand has one year left on his contract and there is already speculation that he will be pitched heavily by Miami, although the drafting of Michael Beasley would seem to give the Heat a logjam at power forward. Any team would be interested in Brand, of course; it all comes down to how much do you have to give up to get him and how much of your payroll are you willing to allot to him?
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Darren (Eastpointe, Mich.): I called into a popular sports talk show and suggested we trade Rasheed and Tayshaun for Amare Stoudemire and got laughed at. They said it was bunk. I think it makes sense. And then I read the June 26 Mailbag where you said the Pistons would have to sweeten the pot a little in a Rasheed-Stoudemire trade. What do you think about Rasheed and Prince for Stoudemire?
Langlois: I guarantee you, Darren, that if Joe Dumars called Phoenix and proposed that deal, he would not get laughed at. Anybody who’s followed the NBA at all knows the Suns-Stoudemire marriage is lukewarm. They have concerns about his defensive lapses and he’s chafed at the management innuendo that’s made him a scapegoat from past failures.
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Gil (Charlotte, N.C.): I know a lot of Mailbag readers are talking about possible trades, but I think they need to get away from the concept of the established “superstar” trade idea. Joe Dumars is looking for hungry players and that usually doesn’t describe guys who that are already huge. Chauncey, Rip and Ben Wallace weren’t highly sought players when they were brought in. Readers waiting on the big superstar trade might end up being needlessly discouraged.
Langlois: You raise a valid point, Gil. I think people are only reacting to the comments Joe D made – first, when he said everyone was on the table and, second, when he said he’d talked to several teams and he wasn’t talking to anyone about their second- or third-best players. The expectations are that something major will be consummated. I’ve been cautioning that Dumars also said he wasn’t going to do a deal just to say he did a deal. I do think it’s more likely than not that something gets done, but I don’t think it’s a slam dunk.
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Ryan (Grand Rapids, Mich.): Any chance the Pistons will make a run at Kwame Brown? The last mid-level exception they spent on an underachieving lottery pick seemed to work out well (Chauncey Billups).
Langlois: Brown won’t get the full MLE, I don’t think, but he’ll be a pretty solid signing for somebody as long as they understand what they’re getting – not somebody who warrants the No. 1 overall pick but a big man capable of playing 20 minutes a night. Whether he fits the Pistons’ needs or not remains to be seen. I would expect other dominos to topple first.
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John (Chesterfield, Mich.): I read that Joe Dumars was going to address the press after the draft was over, but I never saw what he said. Did he mention any trades or players he was considering acquiring?
Langlois: He can’t talk about trade proposals because he can’t talk in that fashion about players under contract to another team. He talked for about five minutes about Walter Sharpe and how the process unfolded to where a relative unknown became his first pick. I had an interesting conversation on Saturday with Sharpe’s agent, Danny Servick, and I’ll be blogging about that later today.
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Doug (Oden, Mich.): I’ve been hearing people compare Walter Sharpe to Amir Johnson. Would you agree with that?
Langlois: Never having seen Sharpe play, I can’t offer a valid assessment of his game. But it doesn’t sound like he plays too much like Amir. Where Amir is more comfortable around the basket, Sharpe’s strengths are in his ballhandling and passing ability for a big man. If Sharpe is reasonably close to Johnson as an athlete, that makes him a pretty intriguing prospect.
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Trent (Detroit): Why the quick pronouncement that Trent Plaisted and Deron Washington will be bound for Europe? There could well be roster spots available for them depending on how free agency goes.
Langlois: I think they’d have to show Joe Dumars and Michael Curry something in Las Vegas that they haven’t yet shown them in order for Dumars to back away from signing free agents and creating roster spots for them. It’s pretty up in the air right now with the specter of trades looming, but the Pistons expect that those two rookies will start their careers overseas.
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Kelley (Marquette, Mich.): What are the chances Alex Acker will be on the roster come the start of next season?
Langlois: Way too soon to hazard a guess, Kelley. The first step will be Acker impressing in Las Vegas. He’ll be competing with Arron Afflalo, essentially, to be the fourth guard, and Afflalo has a pretty significant leg up on him at this point because of the impressive way he handled everything thrown at him as a rookie. Would the Pistons keep him in addition to Afflalo? Sure. But he has to show them that he can do something that their other role players don’t offer.
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Jack (Conroe, Texas): I’m still trying to understand why the Pistons didn’t take Chris Douglas-Roberts with the 32nd pick they acquired from Seattle in the trade for D.J. White. A first-time All-American going at 40?
Langlois: The fact he went 40th means it wasn’t just the Pistons who passed on him. That doesn’t mean he won’t be an effective NBA player, but it does mean pretty much every team has question marks about him. The fact he wouldn’t come to Auburn Hills to work out for the Pistons didn’t help his chances of landing here.
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Alex (Hamburg, Mich.): My brother was diagnosed late in life with narcolepsy. It was easily treated with medication and he totally turned his life around. It had knocked him out of grad school; now he has a Ph.D. If that’s all that was holding Sharpe back, Joe might have pulled another rabbit out of the hat.
Langlois: Thanks for sharing that story, Alex. I’ve talked to four people about Sharpe now and everyone says he’s a very likeable young man who feels like he’s been given a new life with the diagnosis and treatment of his condition. It’s going to be fun to watch him in Las Vegas to see what he can offer.