Glenn
07-21-2008, 10:58 AM
:langlois:
MONDAY, JULY 21, 2008
Bingo (Detroit): What’s the status of Rodney Stuckey’s injury and do you think he’ll return this summer?
Langlois: He told me last week that there was just some mild discomfort in his big toe. He still anticipates going to camp this week with the U.S. Select team.
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Jasnoor (Sterling Heights, Mich.): Do you think the Pistons have any shot at signing Eddie House? And which of the Pistons’ trade rumors have the best chance of being completed?
Langlois: Eddie House is more than likely headed for a veteran’s minimum contract with somebody, though it’s possible he could convince someone to cough up something closer to the biannual exception, which is for roughly $2 million. I don’t see where he fits with the Pistons at present. When a team’s top four guards are Billups, Hamilton, Stuckey and Afflalo, that doesn’t leave a lot of room and it doesn’t make a lot of sense to invest any precious payroll dollars in further backcourt help. If the Pistons sign another guard, it will be someone capable of playing point guard – as the Celtics learned last year, House is not a point guard – and defending. That’s why they’re intrigued by Will Bynum, who showed the ability to play harassing defense and handle the point in Summer League. As for trades, it would be unwieldy to list the possibilities. There are a million of them and they change, expanding or contracting, with every other roster move that’s made by other teams.
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Ron (Chicago): Do the Pistons plan on keeping Juan Dixon?
Langlois: He’s an unrestricted free agent who probably will find a better opportunity elsewhere. Dixon might have to take a one-year offer from a team without a proven backup guard – he can play either position – and hope that he plays well enough next season to coax a multiyear contract out of somebody. The Pistons like him well enough, but he’d be no better than No. 3 at either guard spot for them – and you don’t offer No. 3 guards more than a minimum deal.
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Lee (Durham, N.C.): The Pistons really need a center and Kwame Brown is just what Detroit needs. Trading your core is not necessary. The starting five should be Kwame, Rasheed, Tayshaun, Rip and Chauncey. I know Kwame hasn’t worked out yet, but he’s the right fit for Detroit.
Langlois: He’s 25 with terrific size and above average athleticism. It hasn’t translated to production, for whatever reason. Even with his disappointing track record, I’m surprised somebody hasn’t gone after him in free agency so far. I mean, when DeSagana Diop gets a full mid-level deal, Kwame should be attracting something close to that. So somebody has a chance to pick up a pretty solid player – though I don’t know how you would project him as a starter at this point – with some upside at a reasonable price.
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Matt (Redford, Mich.): I was listening to the radio the other day and I heard the most realistic trade on the board for the Pistons is Tayshaun Prince and draft picks for Josh Smith. I think that’s a pretty good move, although if that goes through you know Smith isn’t going to be the fourth scoring option as Prince was. So who would become the fourth scoring option? Billups?
Langlois: I don’t think any team numbers their scoring options. That’s something that develops based on chemistry and productivity. And with all due respect to talk radio, some of the trade proposals I’ve heard there don’t make sense on any number of levels – impossible to do given the salary cap’s constraints or merely illogical. I think Josh Smith is an unbelievable talent and of course any team would want him – at the right price, meaning what you’d give up in trade and how much it would cost to sign him. I’d love Josh Smith at a reasonable salary, but if you start him off at about $12 million a year – which is about what the guesses on a contract offer that would give the Hawks pause whether to match or not – it would grow to about $18 million a year by the end of the contract. He’d be collecting nearly 25 percent of the salary cap number by then. I don’t know if I love him so much at that point. The other thing about that deal: Who plays small forward? Smith really hasn’t shown that ability in Atlanta. He’s not a polished player, which wouldn’t be a concern in someone so young except there are questions about his coachability. He’s clashed with Mike Woodson, who has a pretty easygoing reputation. A lot of folks think the Hawks are perfectly willing to do a sign-and-trade deal for Smith, which makes you wonder.
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Josh (Chicago): Count me among the unbelievers when it comes to the Pistons’ young core. I watched the full video recap of a couple of their Summer League games and was unimpressed. Afflalo went 1 of 13. Sure they might have intangibles, but that doesn’t seem to translate into winning many games.
Langlois: Afflalo was terrific up until the fourth game when he struggled with his shot. The best basketball I saw in Vegas came when the Pistons held a scrimmage with Philadelphia and Rodney Stuckey and Afflalo were both terrific, each missing one shot. Then Afflalo hit 8 of 10 and all nine of his foul shots in a win over the Clippers, scoring 19 in the second half when Stuckey sat with his toe injury. Wins and losses aren’t insignificant, but they sure aren’t the most important thing about Summer League.
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Scott (Orion Township, Mich.): Besides the starters, who has impressed or surprised you most on the Summer League team? Besides players currently under contract, who has a chance to make the 15-man roster this fall?
Langlois: The only player not under contract who has a chance to stick is Will Bynum. The Pistons really like his fearlessness and his understanding of the situation. Even though Bynum has always been a flat-out scorer, he knows that his niche with the Pistons would be coming off the bench with defensive energy and doing his best to get the team into their offense. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Bynum goes to camp with the Pistons on a make-good basis, though he has an attractive offer to play in Italy. Walter Sharpe was impressive in Las Vegas, not so much for his production as for his potential. You see very quickly in Sharpe someone with tantalizing offensive skills. His ballhandling, passing and size give him a shot to be a matchup nightmare for opposing teams.
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Logan (Monroe, Mich.): I’d like to know anything about the Tracy McGrady rumors. The Pistons are a defense-first team that lacks a go-to scorer. T-Mac could provide offense as both a scorer and a facilitator.
Langlois: It’s been acknowledged that the two sides talked but all indications are that nothing is imminent. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen three or four weeks down the road when teams have picked over the free agents and look at their rosters and those of their competitors. Joe Dumars is on record as saying he’d like to shake up the Pistons’ chemistry and there is ample reason to believe Houston would be similarly open to change. But the Rockets might see a better fit elsewhere if they decide to move McGrady and the Pistons might find a less splashy but effective way of reshaping the roster without having to commit such a whopping percentage of their payroll to one player.
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Jackson (Petoskey, Mich.): I just read on SI.com that Darius Miles is trying to make a comeback. Have the Pistons looked in to working him out? I think he’d be a steal. He’s a big-name player coming back from injury just like Antonio McDyess was when we picked him up.
Langlois: Except that McDyess was an All-Star-caliber player before getting hurt and Miles has never been close to that. To the extent Miles was a useful NBA player before suffering knee injuries serious enough that Portland successfully argued them to be career ending, he was only that because of off-the-charts athleticism. He always lacked even moderate NBA-level basketball skills. Now without that athleticism, I’m not sure what teams would think they’d be getting. And Miles has never turned any heads for being a positive character influence.
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Joe (Kalkaska, Mich.): Having been a solid rotation player in addition to helping the Pistons numerous times over the last three years, why has Jason Maxiell not yet received the contract he’s so well earned? I think there would be few people who believe Amir Johnson is worth more to the Pistons than Maxiell at this point and he was given a relatively lucrative contract solely based on potential. Could the Pistons use part of the MLE to extend Maxiell for what he’s earned?
Langlois: No, because Maxiell isn’t a free agent. Maxiell and Johnson were both 2005 draftees. As a No. 1 pick, Maxiell was locked in to a five-year contract with the team having options on the last three of them. The benefit to Maxiell was that the first two years were guaranteed. Johnson, as a second-rounder, had no guaranteed years on the original two-year deal he signed. When that expired after last season, Johnson became a restricted free agent. That gave him leverage, which he parlayed into a three-year deal for roughly $11 million. Maxiell could become a restricted free agent after next season. The Pistons, though, are intent on signing him to a contract extension that would start with the 2009-10 season. One contract that will be potentially useful in determining Maxiell’s market value is the offer sheet Ronny Turiaf signed with Golden State that calls for him to make $17 million over four years.
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Hameed (West Bloomfield, Mich.): Will the Pistons have ample cap space in 2010? There are so many good players and I don’t want the Pistons to miss out on signing a great player.
Langlois: As of now, they would be in pretty decent shape, Hameed. They have roughly $24 million in salary committed for the 2010-11 season to four players – Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo. If Rip Hamilton opts out of his contract after next season and works out a long-term deal with the Pistons, he would add another $12 million or so. They also would likely have worked out an extension with Jason Maxiell by then, and Amir Johnson will be a free agent again after the 2010 season. Cheikh Samb is a restricted free agent after next season who likely will get a new contract. And Walter Sharpe is also in the mix. So you’re probably looking at about $50 million or so if the Pistons keep all of those players. If the salary cap ticks up incrementally, as it usually does, that would give the Pistons maybe $12 million in cap room. But, remember, Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess will have come off the books by then and it’s possible the Pistons would have invested a hefty sum in replacing at least one of them. So much can change between now and then. The bottom line is that the Pistons could be in position to make a run at one from among the class of 2010’s free agents, but almost every team in the league can say that at this point. Between now and then, however, many of those teams will be forced to commit a lot of money to keep their own free agents or sign somebody else’s, so it’s not very likely that many teams will get to 2010 with the $15 million or so they would need under the salary cap to even begin bidding on players like Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. Any business plan made today that is focused on pirating one of those players away is unsound, to begin with. It wouldn’t be a surprise if James winds up playing for one of the two New York teams, but I’d be a little taken aback if any of the other big-name guys switches teams.
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Marco (Southfield, Mich.): I was looking at David West’s 2008 playoff profile and he was really good – 21.2 points and 8.5 rebounds. So are the Pistons interested in him?
Langlois: Interested? Like 28 other teams, they recognize his ability. But New Orleans wouldn’t be interested in giving him up unless you bowled the Hornets over with an offer. Young, productive big men are generally not available in trade unless the other team takes back a superstar. Even if the Pistons were to offer New Orleans, say, Rip Hamilton, who replaces West’s rebounding and frontcourt scoring?
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K.C. (Toledo, Ohio): I know you hear many trade proposals, but what do you think of Chauncey and Tayshaun for Tracy McGrady, Luther Head and either Chuck Hayes or Aaron Brooks?
Langlois: It would be within a role player either way of being acceptable to either team, I would think, with one caveat. If the Pistons decide to seriously pursue McGrady, they would have to be convinced of his fundamental soundness of health. Because of McGrady’s long history of back and assorted other issues, any deal for him contains more inherent risk for the team that gets him.
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Bryan (Montrose, Mich.): I know Joe Dumars said nobody was safe besides Stuckey, but do you think if the right scenario came around he could be shipped out? Similar to the Tigers and Maybin and Miller?
Langlois: If Cleveland called and offered LeBron James for Stuckey and assorted parts, or Orlando proposed Dwight Howard for Stuckey and others, sure. But it’s so highly unlikely as to make it a non-possibility.
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Josh (Ann Arbor, Mich.): Do you think the Pistons even need to make changes? They got beat by the Celtics, who demolished the Lakers in a series where we were in position to win every game on the road. There’s no question the Pistons were the only team in the league that could have beaten Boston. I’d frown at anyone who says the Pistons with this same roster don’t have as good a chance as any other team next year.
Langlois: Las Vegas pretty much agrees with you, Josh. The 2009 favorites, according to the oddsmakers, are the Celtics at 3:1, followed by the Lakers at 7:2 and the Pistons and Spurs at 8:1. If the Pistons don’t make any significant trades – which is a possibility despite Joe Dumars’ desires, because he’s also said he won’t trade just so he can say he delivered on his intention to shake things up – I fully believe that the change to Michael Curry as head coach could be enough by itself to alter the chemistry sufficiently.
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Shane (Grand Rapids, Mich.): I would love to see Carmelo Anthony come to Detroit. Is there any chance of that happening?
Langlois: Not if you believe Denver management, which has said it will not trade Anthony.
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Jason (Jamestown, N.D.): I saw in the previous Mailbag that the Pistons were worth $6 million in 1974. What are they worth today?
Langlois: According to Forbes magazine, as of last December, the Pistons were worth $477 million, ranking them fourth in the NBA behind the Knicks ($608 million), Lakers ($560 million) and Bulls ($500 million).
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Matt (Windsor, Ontario): If we get McGrady from Houston, I think in the same trade we should try to get Yao, too. We’d have to give up a lot, but it would be worth it.
Langlois: When Jack McCloskey took over as Pistons general manager in 1979, he offered his entire roster to the Lakers for Magic Johnson. The Lakers turned him down. I’m not sure how Houston would react if Joe Dumars offered his whole roster for McGrady and Yao – never mind the salary-cap impossibility, for a second – but let’s think about this for a second. If Houston would reject two of the core four starters for McGrady, if you believe the rumors, and it values Yao more than McGrady, then what would it possibly take to get both of them? And what type of team would you be left fielding? Remember, McGrady and Yao together haven’t exactly torn up the Western Conference.
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Ryan (Manistee, Mich.): Joe Dumars claimed there would be some big changes, but coming toward the end of July there is no one left now that Tracy McGrady seems out of the picture. I know he didn’t guarantee roster change, but with other teams in the East improving I just don’t see the Pistons having any chance to make it back to the conference finals. Do you think the young guys will be able to step it up and actually give the Pistons a chance this year?
Langlois: See what the Las Vegas oddsmakers above have to say. I just came from Vegas, where every crane in the air building yet another new hotel and casino represents 10 million people who were sure they knew more than those guys. So, yeah, I think the Pistons have a shot to win it all again, and, yeah, I think the young guns will play a significantly bigger role next season than last. But when you say “no one left,” think again. Just because the McGrady rumor made its way into print and then was debunked doesn’t mean that was the only iron Joe D had in the fire. He’s probably got a handful of potential deals in some form of discussion now. That doesn’t mean any of them will come to fruition, but we’ve said all along a trade was more likely to happen later in the summer than earlier.
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Greg (Salt Lake City): Most fans are impatient with the lack of activity, but they forget that Joe D has already made a significant change by bringing in Michael Curry as coach. Given the current roster, what sort of playing style or emphasis are we likely to see from Curry?
Langlois: Roster changes aside, Curry was pretty clear and direct when he talked about what he values. He wants a team that gets points in the paint, rebounds and gets to the foul line. He said if you win those three battles, most nights you’ll win the game. Now, points in the paint is a grossly misunderstood category. Most people think “throw the ball in to someone in the low post” when they hear points in the paint. In truth, most points in the paint are scored through dribble penetration that results in getting a defense on the move and opens up passing lanes for cutting players or – and this is equally important – creates rebounding lanes. Tony Parker is consistently one of the league leaders in points in the paint. The “low post” really isn’t in the paint, normally. Players can’t set up there to receive the ball for fear of being whistled for three seconds. Post position usually starts about 10 to 12 feet from the rim. All of that said, yeah, I think you’ll see Curry make more of an attempt to initiate offense out of the post. But the Pistons really don’t have a natural back-to-the-basket post player among their veterans other than Rasheed Wallace, who at 34 isn’t going to be asked to spend a clear majority of his time banging down low.
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Brent (Belleville, Mich.): Is it true that Walter Sharpe has narcolepsy? My brother-in-law works for 97.1 FM and he was told Sharpe does.
Langlois: Doesn’t exactly make your brother-in-law a newshound, Brent. It was widely reported on draft night that Sharpe’s narcolepsy was only recently diagnosed. He’s now on medication for it and claims it has done nothing less than turn his life around.
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John (Macomb Twp., Mich.): I was a bit puzzled by the interest the Pistons reportedly had in bringing back Carlos Delfino before he signed with a Russian team. He struck me as a pretty marginal player during his tenure here, not someone worth investing a reported three years and $12 million into when the luxury tax is such a pressing concern when he wouldn’t add significant value to the roster over a player like Arron Afflalo.
Langlois: I’ve speculated on the reported Pistons’ interest in Delfino before to this effect: I could see the Pistons interest in bringing Delfino back under the right circumstances because they could have easily convinced themselves that a year away from the organization to let Delfino see what it’s like elsewhere would have been good for him. Even though Delfino had his best year as a pro in Toronto, his role waxed and waned as his play dictated under a stern head coach, Sam Mitchell. Delfino was a little high maintenance in his first tour of duty with the Pistons, but I think the notion that his talent would be recognized elsewhere might have been drummed out of him by the Raptors, who also didn’t give him minutes until he earned them. But their interest in Delfino was in no way a repudiation of Afflalo. They just don’t want to be thrust into a situation where Afflalo is also the No. 1 backup at small forward just yet. He can handle spot minutes there, but he’d be a little undersized against certain small forwards.
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Alex (Grand Rapids, Mich.): Has Walter Sharpe extended his range out to the NBA 3-point line since college or has it been in his range? In all of his college games, he didn’t shoot any threes. I was thinking it might be because he was playing out of position at power forward.
Langlois: Sharpe was 0 for 1 from the arc in his first three Las Vegas Summer League games, then made 3 of 4 over the final two games. I wouldn’t expect the 3-point shot to be a major part of his arsenal early in his career, but most young players add a foot or two to their shooting range every year over the first three or four years. The thing with Sharpe is he’s had such little playing experience over the last three years that his learning curve is impossible to predict. He was a high-risk, high-reward type of draft pick – pretty much the exact opposite of Arron Afflalo, taken five spots higher a year earlier. The Pistons knew what they were getting with Afflalo, who might never be a huge stats guy but will almost surely be in the league for a decade or more. Sharpe could be an All-Star or could be a bust – but his Summer League performance was highly encouraging, numbers aside.
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Steve (Rochester, Mich.): The Pistons are always one of the top teams in the league during the regular season, then slow down during the playoffs. Is it because the Pistons don’t have a next level? The Celtics played well all season, but there wasn’t another team that gave the Pistons trouble during the year yet everyone did during the playoffs. I wonder if that’s because the players didn’t listen to Flip Saunders, as Chris Webber suggested. Do you think Curry will command respect?
Langlois: The Celtics were taken to seven games in each of the first two rounds, which was completely unexpected. I bring that up to underscore the fact that the playoffs are a different test than the regular season for every team. The Dallas Mavericks found that out the previous season when they were eliminated in the first round by the No. 8 seed after winning 67 games. Webber said he didn’t mean to imply the players ignored Saunders, only that it was a veteran team that wasn’t going to be moved by a rah-rah halftime speech. Yeah, I think the No. 1 asset Curry has going for him right now is a tremendous level of respect for his toughness and his integrity. I think his players know Curry will have a very high expectation level for focus and effort and – more importantly – that he won’t gradually allow his expectations to be compromised, no matter any player’s status.
MONDAY, JULY 21, 2008
Bingo (Detroit): What’s the status of Rodney Stuckey’s injury and do you think he’ll return this summer?
Langlois: He told me last week that there was just some mild discomfort in his big toe. He still anticipates going to camp this week with the U.S. Select team.
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Jasnoor (Sterling Heights, Mich.): Do you think the Pistons have any shot at signing Eddie House? And which of the Pistons’ trade rumors have the best chance of being completed?
Langlois: Eddie House is more than likely headed for a veteran’s minimum contract with somebody, though it’s possible he could convince someone to cough up something closer to the biannual exception, which is for roughly $2 million. I don’t see where he fits with the Pistons at present. When a team’s top four guards are Billups, Hamilton, Stuckey and Afflalo, that doesn’t leave a lot of room and it doesn’t make a lot of sense to invest any precious payroll dollars in further backcourt help. If the Pistons sign another guard, it will be someone capable of playing point guard – as the Celtics learned last year, House is not a point guard – and defending. That’s why they’re intrigued by Will Bynum, who showed the ability to play harassing defense and handle the point in Summer League. As for trades, it would be unwieldy to list the possibilities. There are a million of them and they change, expanding or contracting, with every other roster move that’s made by other teams.
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Ron (Chicago): Do the Pistons plan on keeping Juan Dixon?
Langlois: He’s an unrestricted free agent who probably will find a better opportunity elsewhere. Dixon might have to take a one-year offer from a team without a proven backup guard – he can play either position – and hope that he plays well enough next season to coax a multiyear contract out of somebody. The Pistons like him well enough, but he’d be no better than No. 3 at either guard spot for them – and you don’t offer No. 3 guards more than a minimum deal.
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Lee (Durham, N.C.): The Pistons really need a center and Kwame Brown is just what Detroit needs. Trading your core is not necessary. The starting five should be Kwame, Rasheed, Tayshaun, Rip and Chauncey. I know Kwame hasn’t worked out yet, but he’s the right fit for Detroit.
Langlois: He’s 25 with terrific size and above average athleticism. It hasn’t translated to production, for whatever reason. Even with his disappointing track record, I’m surprised somebody hasn’t gone after him in free agency so far. I mean, when DeSagana Diop gets a full mid-level deal, Kwame should be attracting something close to that. So somebody has a chance to pick up a pretty solid player – though I don’t know how you would project him as a starter at this point – with some upside at a reasonable price.
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Matt (Redford, Mich.): I was listening to the radio the other day and I heard the most realistic trade on the board for the Pistons is Tayshaun Prince and draft picks for Josh Smith. I think that’s a pretty good move, although if that goes through you know Smith isn’t going to be the fourth scoring option as Prince was. So who would become the fourth scoring option? Billups?
Langlois: I don’t think any team numbers their scoring options. That’s something that develops based on chemistry and productivity. And with all due respect to talk radio, some of the trade proposals I’ve heard there don’t make sense on any number of levels – impossible to do given the salary cap’s constraints or merely illogical. I think Josh Smith is an unbelievable talent and of course any team would want him – at the right price, meaning what you’d give up in trade and how much it would cost to sign him. I’d love Josh Smith at a reasonable salary, but if you start him off at about $12 million a year – which is about what the guesses on a contract offer that would give the Hawks pause whether to match or not – it would grow to about $18 million a year by the end of the contract. He’d be collecting nearly 25 percent of the salary cap number by then. I don’t know if I love him so much at that point. The other thing about that deal: Who plays small forward? Smith really hasn’t shown that ability in Atlanta. He’s not a polished player, which wouldn’t be a concern in someone so young except there are questions about his coachability. He’s clashed with Mike Woodson, who has a pretty easygoing reputation. A lot of folks think the Hawks are perfectly willing to do a sign-and-trade deal for Smith, which makes you wonder.
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Josh (Chicago): Count me among the unbelievers when it comes to the Pistons’ young core. I watched the full video recap of a couple of their Summer League games and was unimpressed. Afflalo went 1 of 13. Sure they might have intangibles, but that doesn’t seem to translate into winning many games.
Langlois: Afflalo was terrific up until the fourth game when he struggled with his shot. The best basketball I saw in Vegas came when the Pistons held a scrimmage with Philadelphia and Rodney Stuckey and Afflalo were both terrific, each missing one shot. Then Afflalo hit 8 of 10 and all nine of his foul shots in a win over the Clippers, scoring 19 in the second half when Stuckey sat with his toe injury. Wins and losses aren’t insignificant, but they sure aren’t the most important thing about Summer League.
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Scott (Orion Township, Mich.): Besides the starters, who has impressed or surprised you most on the Summer League team? Besides players currently under contract, who has a chance to make the 15-man roster this fall?
Langlois: The only player not under contract who has a chance to stick is Will Bynum. The Pistons really like his fearlessness and his understanding of the situation. Even though Bynum has always been a flat-out scorer, he knows that his niche with the Pistons would be coming off the bench with defensive energy and doing his best to get the team into their offense. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Bynum goes to camp with the Pistons on a make-good basis, though he has an attractive offer to play in Italy. Walter Sharpe was impressive in Las Vegas, not so much for his production as for his potential. You see very quickly in Sharpe someone with tantalizing offensive skills. His ballhandling, passing and size give him a shot to be a matchup nightmare for opposing teams.
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Logan (Monroe, Mich.): I’d like to know anything about the Tracy McGrady rumors. The Pistons are a defense-first team that lacks a go-to scorer. T-Mac could provide offense as both a scorer and a facilitator.
Langlois: It’s been acknowledged that the two sides talked but all indications are that nothing is imminent. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen three or four weeks down the road when teams have picked over the free agents and look at their rosters and those of their competitors. Joe Dumars is on record as saying he’d like to shake up the Pistons’ chemistry and there is ample reason to believe Houston would be similarly open to change. But the Rockets might see a better fit elsewhere if they decide to move McGrady and the Pistons might find a less splashy but effective way of reshaping the roster without having to commit such a whopping percentage of their payroll to one player.
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Jackson (Petoskey, Mich.): I just read on SI.com that Darius Miles is trying to make a comeback. Have the Pistons looked in to working him out? I think he’d be a steal. He’s a big-name player coming back from injury just like Antonio McDyess was when we picked him up.
Langlois: Except that McDyess was an All-Star-caliber player before getting hurt and Miles has never been close to that. To the extent Miles was a useful NBA player before suffering knee injuries serious enough that Portland successfully argued them to be career ending, he was only that because of off-the-charts athleticism. He always lacked even moderate NBA-level basketball skills. Now without that athleticism, I’m not sure what teams would think they’d be getting. And Miles has never turned any heads for being a positive character influence.
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Joe (Kalkaska, Mich.): Having been a solid rotation player in addition to helping the Pistons numerous times over the last three years, why has Jason Maxiell not yet received the contract he’s so well earned? I think there would be few people who believe Amir Johnson is worth more to the Pistons than Maxiell at this point and he was given a relatively lucrative contract solely based on potential. Could the Pistons use part of the MLE to extend Maxiell for what he’s earned?
Langlois: No, because Maxiell isn’t a free agent. Maxiell and Johnson were both 2005 draftees. As a No. 1 pick, Maxiell was locked in to a five-year contract with the team having options on the last three of them. The benefit to Maxiell was that the first two years were guaranteed. Johnson, as a second-rounder, had no guaranteed years on the original two-year deal he signed. When that expired after last season, Johnson became a restricted free agent. That gave him leverage, which he parlayed into a three-year deal for roughly $11 million. Maxiell could become a restricted free agent after next season. The Pistons, though, are intent on signing him to a contract extension that would start with the 2009-10 season. One contract that will be potentially useful in determining Maxiell’s market value is the offer sheet Ronny Turiaf signed with Golden State that calls for him to make $17 million over four years.
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Hameed (West Bloomfield, Mich.): Will the Pistons have ample cap space in 2010? There are so many good players and I don’t want the Pistons to miss out on signing a great player.
Langlois: As of now, they would be in pretty decent shape, Hameed. They have roughly $24 million in salary committed for the 2010-11 season to four players – Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo. If Rip Hamilton opts out of his contract after next season and works out a long-term deal with the Pistons, he would add another $12 million or so. They also would likely have worked out an extension with Jason Maxiell by then, and Amir Johnson will be a free agent again after the 2010 season. Cheikh Samb is a restricted free agent after next season who likely will get a new contract. And Walter Sharpe is also in the mix. So you’re probably looking at about $50 million or so if the Pistons keep all of those players. If the salary cap ticks up incrementally, as it usually does, that would give the Pistons maybe $12 million in cap room. But, remember, Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess will have come off the books by then and it’s possible the Pistons would have invested a hefty sum in replacing at least one of them. So much can change between now and then. The bottom line is that the Pistons could be in position to make a run at one from among the class of 2010’s free agents, but almost every team in the league can say that at this point. Between now and then, however, many of those teams will be forced to commit a lot of money to keep their own free agents or sign somebody else’s, so it’s not very likely that many teams will get to 2010 with the $15 million or so they would need under the salary cap to even begin bidding on players like Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. Any business plan made today that is focused on pirating one of those players away is unsound, to begin with. It wouldn’t be a surprise if James winds up playing for one of the two New York teams, but I’d be a little taken aback if any of the other big-name guys switches teams.
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Marco (Southfield, Mich.): I was looking at David West’s 2008 playoff profile and he was really good – 21.2 points and 8.5 rebounds. So are the Pistons interested in him?
Langlois: Interested? Like 28 other teams, they recognize his ability. But New Orleans wouldn’t be interested in giving him up unless you bowled the Hornets over with an offer. Young, productive big men are generally not available in trade unless the other team takes back a superstar. Even if the Pistons were to offer New Orleans, say, Rip Hamilton, who replaces West’s rebounding and frontcourt scoring?
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K.C. (Toledo, Ohio): I know you hear many trade proposals, but what do you think of Chauncey and Tayshaun for Tracy McGrady, Luther Head and either Chuck Hayes or Aaron Brooks?
Langlois: It would be within a role player either way of being acceptable to either team, I would think, with one caveat. If the Pistons decide to seriously pursue McGrady, they would have to be convinced of his fundamental soundness of health. Because of McGrady’s long history of back and assorted other issues, any deal for him contains more inherent risk for the team that gets him.
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Bryan (Montrose, Mich.): I know Joe Dumars said nobody was safe besides Stuckey, but do you think if the right scenario came around he could be shipped out? Similar to the Tigers and Maybin and Miller?
Langlois: If Cleveland called and offered LeBron James for Stuckey and assorted parts, or Orlando proposed Dwight Howard for Stuckey and others, sure. But it’s so highly unlikely as to make it a non-possibility.
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Josh (Ann Arbor, Mich.): Do you think the Pistons even need to make changes? They got beat by the Celtics, who demolished the Lakers in a series where we were in position to win every game on the road. There’s no question the Pistons were the only team in the league that could have beaten Boston. I’d frown at anyone who says the Pistons with this same roster don’t have as good a chance as any other team next year.
Langlois: Las Vegas pretty much agrees with you, Josh. The 2009 favorites, according to the oddsmakers, are the Celtics at 3:1, followed by the Lakers at 7:2 and the Pistons and Spurs at 8:1. If the Pistons don’t make any significant trades – which is a possibility despite Joe Dumars’ desires, because he’s also said he won’t trade just so he can say he delivered on his intention to shake things up – I fully believe that the change to Michael Curry as head coach could be enough by itself to alter the chemistry sufficiently.
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Shane (Grand Rapids, Mich.): I would love to see Carmelo Anthony come to Detroit. Is there any chance of that happening?
Langlois: Not if you believe Denver management, which has said it will not trade Anthony.
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Jason (Jamestown, N.D.): I saw in the previous Mailbag that the Pistons were worth $6 million in 1974. What are they worth today?
Langlois: According to Forbes magazine, as of last December, the Pistons were worth $477 million, ranking them fourth in the NBA behind the Knicks ($608 million), Lakers ($560 million) and Bulls ($500 million).
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Matt (Windsor, Ontario): If we get McGrady from Houston, I think in the same trade we should try to get Yao, too. We’d have to give up a lot, but it would be worth it.
Langlois: When Jack McCloskey took over as Pistons general manager in 1979, he offered his entire roster to the Lakers for Magic Johnson. The Lakers turned him down. I’m not sure how Houston would react if Joe Dumars offered his whole roster for McGrady and Yao – never mind the salary-cap impossibility, for a second – but let’s think about this for a second. If Houston would reject two of the core four starters for McGrady, if you believe the rumors, and it values Yao more than McGrady, then what would it possibly take to get both of them? And what type of team would you be left fielding? Remember, McGrady and Yao together haven’t exactly torn up the Western Conference.
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Ryan (Manistee, Mich.): Joe Dumars claimed there would be some big changes, but coming toward the end of July there is no one left now that Tracy McGrady seems out of the picture. I know he didn’t guarantee roster change, but with other teams in the East improving I just don’t see the Pistons having any chance to make it back to the conference finals. Do you think the young guys will be able to step it up and actually give the Pistons a chance this year?
Langlois: See what the Las Vegas oddsmakers above have to say. I just came from Vegas, where every crane in the air building yet another new hotel and casino represents 10 million people who were sure they knew more than those guys. So, yeah, I think the Pistons have a shot to win it all again, and, yeah, I think the young guns will play a significantly bigger role next season than last. But when you say “no one left,” think again. Just because the McGrady rumor made its way into print and then was debunked doesn’t mean that was the only iron Joe D had in the fire. He’s probably got a handful of potential deals in some form of discussion now. That doesn’t mean any of them will come to fruition, but we’ve said all along a trade was more likely to happen later in the summer than earlier.
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Greg (Salt Lake City): Most fans are impatient with the lack of activity, but they forget that Joe D has already made a significant change by bringing in Michael Curry as coach. Given the current roster, what sort of playing style or emphasis are we likely to see from Curry?
Langlois: Roster changes aside, Curry was pretty clear and direct when he talked about what he values. He wants a team that gets points in the paint, rebounds and gets to the foul line. He said if you win those three battles, most nights you’ll win the game. Now, points in the paint is a grossly misunderstood category. Most people think “throw the ball in to someone in the low post” when they hear points in the paint. In truth, most points in the paint are scored through dribble penetration that results in getting a defense on the move and opens up passing lanes for cutting players or – and this is equally important – creates rebounding lanes. Tony Parker is consistently one of the league leaders in points in the paint. The “low post” really isn’t in the paint, normally. Players can’t set up there to receive the ball for fear of being whistled for three seconds. Post position usually starts about 10 to 12 feet from the rim. All of that said, yeah, I think you’ll see Curry make more of an attempt to initiate offense out of the post. But the Pistons really don’t have a natural back-to-the-basket post player among their veterans other than Rasheed Wallace, who at 34 isn’t going to be asked to spend a clear majority of his time banging down low.
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Brent (Belleville, Mich.): Is it true that Walter Sharpe has narcolepsy? My brother-in-law works for 97.1 FM and he was told Sharpe does.
Langlois: Doesn’t exactly make your brother-in-law a newshound, Brent. It was widely reported on draft night that Sharpe’s narcolepsy was only recently diagnosed. He’s now on medication for it and claims it has done nothing less than turn his life around.
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John (Macomb Twp., Mich.): I was a bit puzzled by the interest the Pistons reportedly had in bringing back Carlos Delfino before he signed with a Russian team. He struck me as a pretty marginal player during his tenure here, not someone worth investing a reported three years and $12 million into when the luxury tax is such a pressing concern when he wouldn’t add significant value to the roster over a player like Arron Afflalo.
Langlois: I’ve speculated on the reported Pistons’ interest in Delfino before to this effect: I could see the Pistons interest in bringing Delfino back under the right circumstances because they could have easily convinced themselves that a year away from the organization to let Delfino see what it’s like elsewhere would have been good for him. Even though Delfino had his best year as a pro in Toronto, his role waxed and waned as his play dictated under a stern head coach, Sam Mitchell. Delfino was a little high maintenance in his first tour of duty with the Pistons, but I think the notion that his talent would be recognized elsewhere might have been drummed out of him by the Raptors, who also didn’t give him minutes until he earned them. But their interest in Delfino was in no way a repudiation of Afflalo. They just don’t want to be thrust into a situation where Afflalo is also the No. 1 backup at small forward just yet. He can handle spot minutes there, but he’d be a little undersized against certain small forwards.
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Alex (Grand Rapids, Mich.): Has Walter Sharpe extended his range out to the NBA 3-point line since college or has it been in his range? In all of his college games, he didn’t shoot any threes. I was thinking it might be because he was playing out of position at power forward.
Langlois: Sharpe was 0 for 1 from the arc in his first three Las Vegas Summer League games, then made 3 of 4 over the final two games. I wouldn’t expect the 3-point shot to be a major part of his arsenal early in his career, but most young players add a foot or two to their shooting range every year over the first three or four years. The thing with Sharpe is he’s had such little playing experience over the last three years that his learning curve is impossible to predict. He was a high-risk, high-reward type of draft pick – pretty much the exact opposite of Arron Afflalo, taken five spots higher a year earlier. The Pistons knew what they were getting with Afflalo, who might never be a huge stats guy but will almost surely be in the league for a decade or more. Sharpe could be an All-Star or could be a bust – but his Summer League performance was highly encouraging, numbers aside.
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Steve (Rochester, Mich.): The Pistons are always one of the top teams in the league during the regular season, then slow down during the playoffs. Is it because the Pistons don’t have a next level? The Celtics played well all season, but there wasn’t another team that gave the Pistons trouble during the year yet everyone did during the playoffs. I wonder if that’s because the players didn’t listen to Flip Saunders, as Chris Webber suggested. Do you think Curry will command respect?
Langlois: The Celtics were taken to seven games in each of the first two rounds, which was completely unexpected. I bring that up to underscore the fact that the playoffs are a different test than the regular season for every team. The Dallas Mavericks found that out the previous season when they were eliminated in the first round by the No. 8 seed after winning 67 games. Webber said he didn’t mean to imply the players ignored Saunders, only that it was a veteran team that wasn’t going to be moved by a rah-rah halftime speech. Yeah, I think the No. 1 asset Curry has going for him right now is a tremendous level of respect for his toughness and his integrity. I think his players know Curry will have a very high expectation level for focus and effort and – more importantly – that he won’t gradually allow his expectations to be compromised, no matter any player’s status.