3 parts so far, not sure if there will be more.

Joe Dumars Q&A - Part I (http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/dumars_090501.html)
Joe Dumars Q&A - Part II (http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/dumars_090504.html)
Joe Dumars Q&A - Part III (http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/dumars_090505.html)

Just read part 3.

I think Joe likes the three point shot.

yeah, I gathered that.

JD: The cap space, the draft picks and the assets we have on our roster puts you in a position where you can affect change with your team. That is the whole foundation of this ’08-09 season – it really is. It’s a strong foundation to have the space and the picks and the assets to get better and that’s the only way you can get better. As I said yesterday, I’m pretty sure we could still be rolling in the second round right now if nothing was touched. But I’m sitting here wondering, at the same time, if that happens, what are we going to do in the future? Because when this runs out, there’s nothing left. And I didn’t want to be faced with that prospect. I just didn’t. So you take the hit this year, then try to regroup and add the pieces that you need to add and get back up and get rolling again.

Pharaoh will like this one:


KL: So people will look at your roster and say they’ve got Stuckey at point guard and Bynum backing him up, they won’t be looking for another point guard. But if you’re going to be playing them together, there seems like there’s room for another point guard – and when you look at the draft, at 15 where you’ll be picking, it seems like the strength there will be at point guard. Is it possible you’ll be looking at that position in the draft?

JD: We have four draft picks. So I wouldn’t say it’s the No. 1 priority for us, but it is the deepest part of the draft, as you say. But with four draft picks, two of them being very high second-round picks, we’ll look from there all the way to 15. But I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily our No. 1 priority. It can’t be when you have Stuckey and Bynum here already, but the facts of the matter are there are going to be some good point guards on the board at 15. And if they’re the best player, then you have to look at them.

it really is

I'm having a good time laughing about this for some reason. JoeD doing a sell job.

Time to turn the page, nothing but positiveness going forward from this post.

is their another 3 point shooting bigman out there, except maybe Memo?

We could probably have Troy Murphy for a draft pick.

Matt Bonner
Diaw
Brad Miller
Bargs in Toronto
VladRad

We could probably have Troy Murphy for a draft pick.

I'd be happy with Murphy next to a post up center. Murphy rebounds well, which is something Sheed did not do.

We could probably have Troy Murphy and a draft pick.


Fixed. No way we take that crap for nothing.

I've never been a big fan of the "perimeter big man" (Memo, Sheed, etc.)

I'd much rather have the bigs near the rim.

but we've got 2 PGs who can't shot the 3...

I hope Stuckey works on that this summer a lot.

Joe D’s summer to-do list includes 3-point solution

:langlois:

Getting younger and better up front figures to be the first priority of Joe Dumars’ off-season. That issue has sat in the middle of the Pistons’ dinner table all season and been discussed and analyzed ad nauseum with names like Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire in the mix.

But a close second has been discussed only peripherally: The Pistons need to address their 3-point shooting this summer, too, after finishing in a tie for 26th with Utah in 3-point accuracy last season and in 28th in points generated from behind the arc, ahead of only Philadelphia and Oklahoma City.

The Pistons as we’ve known them in this generation were never a team that leaned heavily on the 3-point shot, but they always used it efficiently. But with Chauncey Billups departing and Rasheed Wallace aging, the character of their offense changed this season.

Rip Hamilton is a solid 3-point shooter from the corners, but he’s not a prolific deep shooter. The 190 he attempted this season, even though the 67 games he played were the fewest in his seven seasons as a Piston, were a career high by 44 attempts. He still took less than three per game. And he’s the definition of an average NBA 3-point shooter. Hamilton, a career .348 3-point shooter, connected on .368 from behind the arc this season; the league average was .367.

Tayshaun Prince is an above-average 3-point shooter – he hit .397 this season – but he hoists it even less than Hamilton with 1.7 attempts per game.

Contrast that with the seven per game taken by Orlando’s Rashard Lewis – a power forward, no less.

As a team, the Pistons attempted 13.8 triples a game this season; the league average was 18.1. The Pistons made an average of 4.6 triples a game; the average NBA team made 6.65. That means the Pistons spotted the other team a little more than six points a game from the arc this season, one in which their per-game scoring differential was minus-0.5. And with the likelihood that Wallace has played his last game for the Pistons, the urgency of their 3-point pursuit becomes greater. Wallace, though he played only 66 games, took more triples than any other Piston by a margin of 129.

Here’s what Joe Dumars said about his team’s 3-point deficiency last week, comments that came from Part III of the Q&A I did with him that will be posted on Pistons.com on Tuesday:

“I’m a fan of the 3-point shot. I like the 3-point shot. I like 3-point shooters. They affect the momentum of the game. They allow you to get back in games when you’re down. I just think it’s a huge weapon. I’m going to try to address that this summer. I’m going to try to bring some guys in that can knock down threes. That’s a weapon. I love the 3-point shot. I’m biased, but I love the 3-point shot. That’s definitely a weapon we need to get better at. Definitely.”

And, serendipitously, that roughly $20 million in cap space Dumars has at his discretion this summer comes at a time the free-agent class – though not teeming with All-Stars as the class of 2010 could be – is loaded with potent 3-point shooters.

Four of the top 14 most prolific 3-point shooters last season and six of the top 22 will be or could be free agents, if all exercise player options.

They are: Al Harrington (third, 470 attempts), Mike Bibby (seventh, 428), Ben Gordon (eighth, 422), Jamal Crawford (14th, 394), Nate Robinson (17th, 385) and Hedo Turkoglu (22nd, 376).

Harrington, Crawford and Turkoglu all have player options that could make them free agents, while the other three are all hitting the market as unrestricted free agents. The field doesn’t stop there, either, with other 3-point role-playing snipers like Eddie House (player option), Wally Szczerbiak and Kyle Korver (player option) potentially up for grabs.

What it means is that Dumars could use a combination of his cap space and players on the roster now to upgrade both critical areas of need – his frontcourt and his perimeter shooting.

It could well be that Dumars will dangle Hamilton and Prince – one, the other or both – in trade talks with the three young big men: Boozer, Bosh and Stoudemire. Of the three, Stoudemire seems the least likely to be in play this summer. Phoenix shopped him aggressively at the trade deadline, then got cold feet and pulled him back. But if the Suns can’t find a home for Shaquille O’Neal in the last year of his $20 million contract, then Phoenix might revisit the idea of trading Stoudemire for the chance to rebuild.

Boozer and Bosh are likelier to be moved.

Utah can plug Boozer’s void with a cheaper version in restricted free agent Paul Millsap, a move that could keep the Jazz under the luxury-tax line while remaining competitive and allowing them to re-sign both Korver and Mehmet Okur, should they choose to opt out.

Toronto risks the probability of losing Bosh for nothing next summer if they don’t move him first. It’s possible the Raptors will delay the decision until the trade deadline on the hopes that they can improve enough this summer to encourage Bosh to sign on long term. But that seems a long shot. Prudence could motivate GM Bryan Colangelo to act now, when he would figure to have a willing trade partner in Dumars.

Both Utah and Toronto figure to have high interest in Prince and, quite possibly, in Hamilton.

What acquiring either of those players via the trade route would mean for the Pistons is that Dumars would still have all (or most, depending on how the trades are structured) of his cap space in play to pursue perimeter free agents.

Of the pending free-agent perimeter players, Bibby seems likely to return to Atlanta and, as a point guard, would be unlikely to be a Pistons target; Crawford would be hard-pressed in free agency to match the $19 million he has coming over the next two seasons should he opt out; and Harrington and Robinson’s 3-point numbers might be skewed by the Knicks’ unique offensive system.

But Gordon and Turkoglu are intriguing. Obviously, signing one or both would make more sense if the Pistons had ample playing time available for them – which would mean a trade involving Hamilton or Prince for the young big man would likely be a part of the equation.

If it’s Gordon in and Hamilton out, some of the concerns Chicago has had about Gordon being undersized for a shooting guard would be lessened in Detroit. If matchups dictate as much, Rodney Stuckey, at 6-foot-5, could guard the opposition shooting guard in most instances and allow Gordon to play defensive point guard.

If it’s Turkoglu in and Prince out, the Pistons would be giving something away defensively but would be getting back a truly unique offensive player. At 6-foot-10, Turkoglu is not only a proficient 3-point shooter – he’s a .385 career shooter from the arc – but is dangerous off the dribble, too, another area where the Pistons need help.

Gordon, of course, would be the easier get for the Pistons, first because he’s certain to be a free agent and second because of his history of acrimonious negotiations with Chicago. Turkoglu must first opt out, though he’s indicated he’s leaning in that direction for long-term security, and then be pried away from Orlando, where he’s happy and management would like to keep him. But finances might force their separation; the Magic need to do some maneuvering to avoid paying the luxury tax.

Mix and match any of the combinations possible for Joe Dumars this summer and it doesn’t seem terribly far-fetched that not only could he affect the type of significant roster change he’s said he expects, but also that he could address the Pistons’ biggest needs in doing so.

Turkoglu must first opt out, though he’s indicated he’s leaning in that direction for long-term security,

So Fool, with as much fun as you attempted to have at my expense about Rip potentially opting out this summer if he hadn't gotten an extension, you can see that a guy like Turkoglu, who is in a similar position that Rip would have been, is planning on doing exactly that.

Do you still think that there would be zero chance that Rip would have opted out?

He might not have, since only three teams have cap room, but he could have forced a S&T if he wanted to, and after the way that this season went, that's exactly what he might have done, despite his comments that he wants to retire a Piston (comments made after he signed the extension, IIRC).

I'm glad that Joe got him re-signed, because that's a big shadow that would/could have been cast over this offseason, and it could have very easily limited some of Joe's potential moves.

Of course, another $11.6m in cap room might have had it's benefits, too.

it sounds more and more like we go after Gordon... could Stuckey Gordon become a championchip backcourt? i'm not so sure...also you need to get rid of RIP...which team would take on RIP and give us a good big in return?

how about RIP for an extended Memo?

Rip for a good big and then signing Bibby still works for me.

How about a S&T'ed Boozer for Rip, then signing Bibby?

I only see Gordon if the price is right. I'm not paying him 15 mil or anything like that. If he's getting 8-9 mil that is palatable.

The other problem is that Gordon plays a lot like AI (better 3P shooter and not as good midrange). Stuckey and AI did not play that well together. How would Gordon and Stuckey work out?

Some scenarios I've been throwing around in my week off all involve trading Rip and signing Gordon to a starting salary of $8 million.

The 3 point shooting was not much of a factor in the my choices, but it helps. The fact that Stuckey has great size also helps.

For those that doubt Gorodn/Stuckey would mesh well you do have to remember that we are looking at them both in their current systems - not a system designed for both of them together.

With Curry back it's highly unlikely we'll have any system at all but I wouldn't mind us signing Gordon and trading Rip for a young big man.

On the Draft Thing: I'm all for us drafting a PG if he's the best player available. That doesn't mean we have to keep the guy! Trade him for something that we do need.

It's obvious to everyone that Stuckey and Bynum are our PG's and likely will be for the next few years. No point drafting a PG at #15 and having him sit and watch for 2 seasons. Trade to a team that needs a PG...

UNLESS our scouts actually think this rookie PG is going to turn out better than Bynum and/or Stuckey. If they believe in the rook that much then move Bynum or Stuckey to help us fill another need. Just don't get it wrong like normal.

BTW, I know I have stated I wanted to trade Prince because we needed "more" from the SF position. I tried a few different things and really couldn't come up with many options that one could say was "better" than Prince, so I will admit I was wrong on that one.

Joe Dumars: Both Maxiell and Amir maintained where they were from the previous year,
Yeah... you keep telling yourself that... shit...