Glenn
09-29-2008, 01:24 PM
:langlois:
MONDAY, September 29, 2008
Mark (Grand Rapids, Mich.): I was wondering if one could create the best starting five ever it might include Magic Johnson at point guard, Michael Jordan at shooting guard, Larry Bird at small forward, Shaquille O’Neal at center and Rasheed Wallace at power forward. I know Sheed might be a stretch, but I truly believe his talents are in that realm. Your thoughts?
Langlois: While I would say that Wallace wouldn’t look out of place with a lineup of the game’s all-time greats, you couldn’t put him in the starting five if you’re picking the greatest players ever. Tim Duncan at power forward, maybe. Magic, Jordan and Bird are pretty hard to argue with. You could make a case for any one of a number of centers – Wilt, Hakeem, Shaq, Russell and Kareem, foremost.
Ben (Grosse Pointe, Mich.): I’m curious about Will Bynum. What kind of contributions can we expect him to make?
Langlois: He was signed as the No. 3 point guard. Joe Dumars told me over the summer that they were looking for someone who brought something a little different than Chauncey Billups or Rodney Stuckey, both of them big, strong and physical points. Bynum is more of a waterbug type who knows his primary roles are going to be to cause defensive disruption on the ball and penetrate and break down defenses.
John (San Marcos, Texas): How does Amir Johnson compare to Carl Landry concerning their defensive and offensive abilities?
Langlois: I didn’t get to see too much of Landry as a rookie with Houston, but I remember him well from his days at Purdue. I don’t think he and Johnson have too much in common other than the fact they both seem to have a knack for coming up with loose balls. Johnson is taller and more athletic. Landry is stronger and probably the more fundamentally grounded of the two right now. Johnson has a higher ceiling. But Landry is going to have a long career as a valuable role player if he stays healthy. There are some concerns about his knee.
Tim (Roscommon, Mich.): I love our bench this season, but do you think the acquisition of Kwame Brown was such a good idea? We saw how inconsistent he was with the Lakers a couple of seasons ago. Do you think under Michael Curry he will come around in Detroit?
Langlois: Signing Brown was a very good idea, Tim, because it carries very little risk. The annual salary – $4 million this season, $4.1 next if Brown exercises his option – is more than manageable and, most importantly, doesn’t obligate the Pistons for the long term. Compare Brown’s contract and career to the contract the Dallas Mavericks gave DeSagana Diop this summer – the full, five-year mid-level exception for roughly $33 million. If Brown has a very good season and exercises his option, he’ll be a free agent next summer and will command more money. But if he has a good season and is in position to command more money, the Pistons would be in the driver’s seat to re-sign him because, as Brown has observed, this was the first time in his career he got to choose his situation. It wouldn’t be very likely he’d look elsewhere after experiencing success for the first time in his career. And if he doesn’t have a great season and doesn’t exercise the option, his contract would do very little to tie Joe Dumars’ hands next summer. So, lots of upside with this signing, very little downside.
Josh (Ann Arbor, Mich.): I love the Mailbag and read it every week, but this is my first entry. Pistons fans have talked a lot about having a gold medalist on our team, Tayshaun Prince, but I don’t think a lot of fans realize we’ve already had one for a while. Walter Herrmann won one in 2004.
Langlois: Herrmann was a very important piece of the Argentinian national team, Josh. And he had a great 20-game stretch at the end of the 2006-07 season with Charlotte, then got lost in the shuffle when the Bobcats changed coaches last year. Herrmann will have to fight for a role with the Pistons, but they expressed a real measure of confidence in him over the summer when they chose to use the majority of their mid-level exception on a big man, Kwame Brown, and not on a potential backup small forward.
Jinna (Hamtramck, Mich.): My cousin said in 2010 when LeBron James becomes a free agent that he will go to New Jersey. Is that true?
Langlois: There has been speculation that James will leave Cleveland after the 2010 season ever since he negotiated his last contract that gave him the option of terminating his deal in July 2010. It’s widely believed that the Knicks and Nets are both positioning themselves to have enough cap room available that summer to offer James the maximum. But James himself probably doesn’t know what he’s going to do at this point. It will depend on how at least those three teams – the Cavs, Knicks and Nets – are positioned to compete for a title at that point. And there might be a wild card, too. There is some speculation that a Greek shipping tycoon or a Russian oil magnate will throw $50 tax-free million at James for a one-year deal to stroke his own ego. One of the reasons there is speculation that James is eyeing the Nets and Knicks is there are unconfirmed reports that Nike will pay James much more money if he is in one of the three major U.S. markets – New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. Los Angeles isn’t happening with Kobe Bryant there (and the Clippers are, well, the Clippers) and James, as his donning of a Yankees cap during the Indians playoff series last year indicates, isn’t shy about flirting with New York. Stay tuned.
Angelo (Malmo, Sweden): I have followed with attention all the discussion about who will take Antonio McDyess’ place in the starting lineup. I agree that Johnson has the opportunity to be a big surprise in that role, but I have another provocative solution. Why not start Herrmann?
Langlois: Yeah, that would be provocative. And I’m not dismissing it out of hand, but he is the only true backup small forward on the roster. If you start him – and I’d do it anyway if he demonstrates he’s the best option in camp – then you’re going to need to tinker with the roster to bring in somebody else as a backup to Tayshaun Prince.
Boris (Troy, Mich.): Are there signs the Pistons are coming to camp with the same kind of intensity and commitment that the Celtics had last year?
Langlois: We won’t begin to know that for a while yet, Boris. The key is that Boston was able to sustain their intensity over the course of a season – through the dog days and into the postseason. Showing up on the first day of training camp with intensity isn’t especially revealing. It’s how you keep it going when fatigue, injury or adversity hits.
Michael (Manila, Philippines): No offense to the Canadians, but getting about 10 Pistons games shown on local cable TV would be better than what Pistons fans have here in the Philippines. The only time we get to see them is the playoffs. I wish there was a way for the NBA to improve coverage outside the United States.
Langlois: I don’t have a handle on all of the issues, Michael, but given commissioner Stern’s ambition to globalize the NBA, I have to believe he’s working on ways to make the NBA’s TV signal more accessible to all. We do expect some news shortly on greater availability of games telecast via the Internet.
William (Grand Rapids, Mich.): Dave Cowens remarked that Amir Johnson can do things you can’t coach but also can’t do things you can coach. What does he mean by this? Is he saying Amir is having a difficult time learning the offensive and defensive schemes?
Langlois: I think Dave was partially joking there, but the underlying point is that Johnson is a very unique and instinctual player. His specialty is doing things that really aren’t reflected by conventional statistics. An example of something he does that you can’t coach: His great quickness for a big man allows him to cover much ground defensively and he’s drawn high praise from Michael Curry for smother pick-and-roll plays. An example of something he doesn’t do well: Knock down an open 15-foot jump shot. But he’s 21. Plenty of time to hone the rough edges.
Richie (Phoenix): I fully appreciate what the Pistons have accomplished the past six years, but I don’t think I can stomach another Eastern Conference finals collapse. Joe D said change was going to happen and all summer I watched that NBA ticker for something, but nothing happened. How can we believe that lineup can be competitive this season?
Langlois: To set the record straight, Richie, Dumars didn’t say change would happen. He said it was his intention to make a significant change if a deal presented itself that he thought would improve the roster. He said he wasn’t going to make a trade just so he could show up this season and say, see, I made a trade. I don’t know why anyone would need much convincing that this lineup can be “competitive” this season. They won 59 games last season, have everybody back and can very reasonably expect significantly more contributions from the likes of Rodney Stuckey, Amir Johnson and Arron Afflalo. Boston deserves all of the accolades it has received, but remember this: The Celtics were highly motivated last year and stayed remarkably healthy given the injury histories of their three stars who are all now into their 30s, yet there really wasn’t that much that separated the two teams. I think the Pistons would be happy to put it on the line against Boston in the playoffs again next May.
Tim (Ann Arbor, Mich.): I just read an article on Hoopsworld.com that said the Pistons could have $25 million in cap space for the summer of 2010, but that doesn’t seem accurate. Assuming that we’ll re-sign or extend Maxiell, Samb, Amir, Rip and maybe Rasheed and McDyess, we’d have to use up a lot of cap space by July 2010. What is the real story?
Langlois: You’re right, Tim. They “could” have a lot of cap space … if they choose to let a lot of their current players walk away for nothing. That won’t happen. I do not expect Joe Dumars to go into the summer of 2010 with enough cap space to play the market for potential free agents like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh because Dumars knows signing any of those guys would be long shots. Rasheed Wallace’s contract is up at the end of next season and, if he decides to continue playing, there will be a considerable market for his services. The Pistons would be interested in keeping him at the right price. They’ll surely work out something with Amir Johnson to keep him. They more than likely will work on an extension for Rip Hamilton before he opts out next July. So much of that possible cap space they would have will be chewed up long before July 2010.
Jason (Holland, Mich.): I’m excited about the Kwame Brown acquisition, but not for a reason cited so far in anything I’ve read. I think he can play a role like Elden Campbell played on the championship team, providing five or 10 minutes of smothering defense with his big body against Shaq. And Kwame is much younger and more athletic than Elden.
Langlois: There’s no question Brown is capable of that role. I think the Pistons see that as the worst-case scenario – a No. 5 big man capable of eating up minutes and being a defensive presence. But I think they’re expecting much more than that, actually. I’d be surprised if Brown didn’t carve out at least 15 minutes a game or so.
Tracy (Virginia Beach, Va.): During the 2003-04 season, the Pistons were getting easy baskets on alley oops from the defense of Lindsey Hunter and Mike James as well as inside scoring off the bench from Corliss Williamson. It seems to me we don’t get those easy baskets anymore. What, besides putting Rasheed into the post more, is Michael Curry going to do to get easy baskets?
Langlois: Two things, Tracy. Put the ball in Rodney Stuckey’s hands more, utilizing his slashing ability to get into the paint, and play more aggressive defensively, hoping to pressure teams into turnovers that lead to transition points.
Joeji (Muntinlupa, Philippines): I like what the coaching staff is doing with Kwame Brown, preparing him both physically and mentally. Brown needs to have his confidence back to help the Pistons. I’m looking forward to how the combination of Billups, Stuckey, Hamilton, Prince and Wallace works out. What do you think?
Langlois: As I’ve written over the summer, Joeji, I think it’s possibly that’s a unit that will finish some games for the Pistons this year. You’d have to pick your spots so you wouldn’t get overpowered defensively at two positions, but that’s a unit that would put enormous pressure on the opponent’s defense.
MONDAY, September 29, 2008
Mark (Grand Rapids, Mich.): I was wondering if one could create the best starting five ever it might include Magic Johnson at point guard, Michael Jordan at shooting guard, Larry Bird at small forward, Shaquille O’Neal at center and Rasheed Wallace at power forward. I know Sheed might be a stretch, but I truly believe his talents are in that realm. Your thoughts?
Langlois: While I would say that Wallace wouldn’t look out of place with a lineup of the game’s all-time greats, you couldn’t put him in the starting five if you’re picking the greatest players ever. Tim Duncan at power forward, maybe. Magic, Jordan and Bird are pretty hard to argue with. You could make a case for any one of a number of centers – Wilt, Hakeem, Shaq, Russell and Kareem, foremost.
Ben (Grosse Pointe, Mich.): I’m curious about Will Bynum. What kind of contributions can we expect him to make?
Langlois: He was signed as the No. 3 point guard. Joe Dumars told me over the summer that they were looking for someone who brought something a little different than Chauncey Billups or Rodney Stuckey, both of them big, strong and physical points. Bynum is more of a waterbug type who knows his primary roles are going to be to cause defensive disruption on the ball and penetrate and break down defenses.
John (San Marcos, Texas): How does Amir Johnson compare to Carl Landry concerning their defensive and offensive abilities?
Langlois: I didn’t get to see too much of Landry as a rookie with Houston, but I remember him well from his days at Purdue. I don’t think he and Johnson have too much in common other than the fact they both seem to have a knack for coming up with loose balls. Johnson is taller and more athletic. Landry is stronger and probably the more fundamentally grounded of the two right now. Johnson has a higher ceiling. But Landry is going to have a long career as a valuable role player if he stays healthy. There are some concerns about his knee.
Tim (Roscommon, Mich.): I love our bench this season, but do you think the acquisition of Kwame Brown was such a good idea? We saw how inconsistent he was with the Lakers a couple of seasons ago. Do you think under Michael Curry he will come around in Detroit?
Langlois: Signing Brown was a very good idea, Tim, because it carries very little risk. The annual salary – $4 million this season, $4.1 next if Brown exercises his option – is more than manageable and, most importantly, doesn’t obligate the Pistons for the long term. Compare Brown’s contract and career to the contract the Dallas Mavericks gave DeSagana Diop this summer – the full, five-year mid-level exception for roughly $33 million. If Brown has a very good season and exercises his option, he’ll be a free agent next summer and will command more money. But if he has a good season and is in position to command more money, the Pistons would be in the driver’s seat to re-sign him because, as Brown has observed, this was the first time in his career he got to choose his situation. It wouldn’t be very likely he’d look elsewhere after experiencing success for the first time in his career. And if he doesn’t have a great season and doesn’t exercise the option, his contract would do very little to tie Joe Dumars’ hands next summer. So, lots of upside with this signing, very little downside.
Josh (Ann Arbor, Mich.): I love the Mailbag and read it every week, but this is my first entry. Pistons fans have talked a lot about having a gold medalist on our team, Tayshaun Prince, but I don’t think a lot of fans realize we’ve already had one for a while. Walter Herrmann won one in 2004.
Langlois: Herrmann was a very important piece of the Argentinian national team, Josh. And he had a great 20-game stretch at the end of the 2006-07 season with Charlotte, then got lost in the shuffle when the Bobcats changed coaches last year. Herrmann will have to fight for a role with the Pistons, but they expressed a real measure of confidence in him over the summer when they chose to use the majority of their mid-level exception on a big man, Kwame Brown, and not on a potential backup small forward.
Jinna (Hamtramck, Mich.): My cousin said in 2010 when LeBron James becomes a free agent that he will go to New Jersey. Is that true?
Langlois: There has been speculation that James will leave Cleveland after the 2010 season ever since he negotiated his last contract that gave him the option of terminating his deal in July 2010. It’s widely believed that the Knicks and Nets are both positioning themselves to have enough cap room available that summer to offer James the maximum. But James himself probably doesn’t know what he’s going to do at this point. It will depend on how at least those three teams – the Cavs, Knicks and Nets – are positioned to compete for a title at that point. And there might be a wild card, too. There is some speculation that a Greek shipping tycoon or a Russian oil magnate will throw $50 tax-free million at James for a one-year deal to stroke his own ego. One of the reasons there is speculation that James is eyeing the Nets and Knicks is there are unconfirmed reports that Nike will pay James much more money if he is in one of the three major U.S. markets – New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. Los Angeles isn’t happening with Kobe Bryant there (and the Clippers are, well, the Clippers) and James, as his donning of a Yankees cap during the Indians playoff series last year indicates, isn’t shy about flirting with New York. Stay tuned.
Angelo (Malmo, Sweden): I have followed with attention all the discussion about who will take Antonio McDyess’ place in the starting lineup. I agree that Johnson has the opportunity to be a big surprise in that role, but I have another provocative solution. Why not start Herrmann?
Langlois: Yeah, that would be provocative. And I’m not dismissing it out of hand, but he is the only true backup small forward on the roster. If you start him – and I’d do it anyway if he demonstrates he’s the best option in camp – then you’re going to need to tinker with the roster to bring in somebody else as a backup to Tayshaun Prince.
Boris (Troy, Mich.): Are there signs the Pistons are coming to camp with the same kind of intensity and commitment that the Celtics had last year?
Langlois: We won’t begin to know that for a while yet, Boris. The key is that Boston was able to sustain their intensity over the course of a season – through the dog days and into the postseason. Showing up on the first day of training camp with intensity isn’t especially revealing. It’s how you keep it going when fatigue, injury or adversity hits.
Michael (Manila, Philippines): No offense to the Canadians, but getting about 10 Pistons games shown on local cable TV would be better than what Pistons fans have here in the Philippines. The only time we get to see them is the playoffs. I wish there was a way for the NBA to improve coverage outside the United States.
Langlois: I don’t have a handle on all of the issues, Michael, but given commissioner Stern’s ambition to globalize the NBA, I have to believe he’s working on ways to make the NBA’s TV signal more accessible to all. We do expect some news shortly on greater availability of games telecast via the Internet.
William (Grand Rapids, Mich.): Dave Cowens remarked that Amir Johnson can do things you can’t coach but also can’t do things you can coach. What does he mean by this? Is he saying Amir is having a difficult time learning the offensive and defensive schemes?
Langlois: I think Dave was partially joking there, but the underlying point is that Johnson is a very unique and instinctual player. His specialty is doing things that really aren’t reflected by conventional statistics. An example of something he does that you can’t coach: His great quickness for a big man allows him to cover much ground defensively and he’s drawn high praise from Michael Curry for smother pick-and-roll plays. An example of something he doesn’t do well: Knock down an open 15-foot jump shot. But he’s 21. Plenty of time to hone the rough edges.
Richie (Phoenix): I fully appreciate what the Pistons have accomplished the past six years, but I don’t think I can stomach another Eastern Conference finals collapse. Joe D said change was going to happen and all summer I watched that NBA ticker for something, but nothing happened. How can we believe that lineup can be competitive this season?
Langlois: To set the record straight, Richie, Dumars didn’t say change would happen. He said it was his intention to make a significant change if a deal presented itself that he thought would improve the roster. He said he wasn’t going to make a trade just so he could show up this season and say, see, I made a trade. I don’t know why anyone would need much convincing that this lineup can be “competitive” this season. They won 59 games last season, have everybody back and can very reasonably expect significantly more contributions from the likes of Rodney Stuckey, Amir Johnson and Arron Afflalo. Boston deserves all of the accolades it has received, but remember this: The Celtics were highly motivated last year and stayed remarkably healthy given the injury histories of their three stars who are all now into their 30s, yet there really wasn’t that much that separated the two teams. I think the Pistons would be happy to put it on the line against Boston in the playoffs again next May.
Tim (Ann Arbor, Mich.): I just read an article on Hoopsworld.com that said the Pistons could have $25 million in cap space for the summer of 2010, but that doesn’t seem accurate. Assuming that we’ll re-sign or extend Maxiell, Samb, Amir, Rip and maybe Rasheed and McDyess, we’d have to use up a lot of cap space by July 2010. What is the real story?
Langlois: You’re right, Tim. They “could” have a lot of cap space … if they choose to let a lot of their current players walk away for nothing. That won’t happen. I do not expect Joe Dumars to go into the summer of 2010 with enough cap space to play the market for potential free agents like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh because Dumars knows signing any of those guys would be long shots. Rasheed Wallace’s contract is up at the end of next season and, if he decides to continue playing, there will be a considerable market for his services. The Pistons would be interested in keeping him at the right price. They’ll surely work out something with Amir Johnson to keep him. They more than likely will work on an extension for Rip Hamilton before he opts out next July. So much of that possible cap space they would have will be chewed up long before July 2010.
Jason (Holland, Mich.): I’m excited about the Kwame Brown acquisition, but not for a reason cited so far in anything I’ve read. I think he can play a role like Elden Campbell played on the championship team, providing five or 10 minutes of smothering defense with his big body against Shaq. And Kwame is much younger and more athletic than Elden.
Langlois: There’s no question Brown is capable of that role. I think the Pistons see that as the worst-case scenario – a No. 5 big man capable of eating up minutes and being a defensive presence. But I think they’re expecting much more than that, actually. I’d be surprised if Brown didn’t carve out at least 15 minutes a game or so.
Tracy (Virginia Beach, Va.): During the 2003-04 season, the Pistons were getting easy baskets on alley oops from the defense of Lindsey Hunter and Mike James as well as inside scoring off the bench from Corliss Williamson. It seems to me we don’t get those easy baskets anymore. What, besides putting Rasheed into the post more, is Michael Curry going to do to get easy baskets?
Langlois: Two things, Tracy. Put the ball in Rodney Stuckey’s hands more, utilizing his slashing ability to get into the paint, and play more aggressive defensively, hoping to pressure teams into turnovers that lead to transition points.
Joeji (Muntinlupa, Philippines): I like what the coaching staff is doing with Kwame Brown, preparing him both physically and mentally. Brown needs to have his confidence back to help the Pistons. I’m looking forward to how the combination of Billups, Stuckey, Hamilton, Prince and Wallace works out. What do you think?
Langlois: As I’ve written over the summer, Joeji, I think it’s possibly that’s a unit that will finish some games for the Pistons this year. You’d have to pick your spots so you wouldn’t get overpowered defensively at two positions, but that’s a unit that would put enormous pressure on the opponent’s defense.