Glenn
08-17-2009, 03:03 PM
:kennythejet:
Summer Playlist
The top 10 hits of Joe D's off-season
:langlois:
by Keith Langlois
The broad strokes applied to the gaping white space in what remained of the Pistons’ canvas came as June melted into July for Joe Dumars, first the draft and then the wild opening rush of free agency. The finishing touches were added over the last few days when the final piece of the frontcourt and the last addition to the perimeter came on board. It was a wild summer, but now Joe D’s work is largely finished – and the real work for the coaching staff and players is about to begin.
Here’s a look back at the summer that was with an eye toward how the sequence of 10 moves affects the Pistons out beyond the horizon, ranking them in order of significance to the franchise’s future, both immediate and long-term:
1. Ben Gordon – Here were the top eight scorers from the NBA’s most recent postseason: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Tony Parker, Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki, Brandon Roy and … Ben Gordon. Gordon scored better than 24 points a game against one of the league’s top defenses, Boston’s, and played half the series on a strained groin that would have shut him down during the regular season. It’s become increasingly difficult to win in the NBA without a scorer who defies the most well-planned and executed defensive schemes. There probably aren’t more than three handfuls of such players in the NBA. Gordon’s one of them. Skeptics wonder how Gordon and Rip Hamilton will mesh. Here’s betting that Hamilton, who’s led the Pistons in scoring all seven of his seasons in Detroit, will become a more efficient scorer now that he’s lining up with the best pure scorer he’s ever had flanking him.
2. Charlie Villanueva – When I was talking to Chris Wilcox about Villanueva, he shook his head and said, “Man, you look at the stats after the game and you see he had 25 points, he just gets them kind of quiet.” Villanueva is a natural-born scorer. He had 48 as a rookie in one game for Toronto. Now the other parts of his game – really, just the understanding of the physical and mental demands and the acceptance of responsibility within the team framework that comes with maturation – are catching up. He’ll just be 25 by the time camp opens. Villanueva comes with the label of being a mediocre defender – which applies to about 95 percent of young big men. He’ll be surrounded by strong defenders up front in Kwame Brown and Ben Wallace. He more than holds his own on the boards, grabbing seven a game last year in 27 minutes a night.
3. John Kuester – Joe D told me that sometimes, when he makes the most significant decisions his job entails, he drives home at night with a pit in his stomach, not because he’d like to have the move back, but because the reality of the trap doors is apparent. He said the night he drove home after striking the deal to bring in Kuester as coach, his stomach was pit-free. He feels really, really good about Kuester – about his temperament, about his vision, about the respect he engenders from players, about the comfort Kuester has exhibited so far with sitting in the No. 1 chair. The veterans with whom Kuester has a relationship – Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Ben Wallace – all strongly endorse him. The caveat here is that you never know until the bullets start flying, but all signs point to John Kuester being a very nice fit for a young team with legit playoff aspirations.
4. Austin Daye – Not sure what I expected going into Las Vegas, but Daye exceeded the baseline by a mile. It might take him the better part of his rookie year to feel comfortable with the physical nature of NBA basketball, but the kid oozes offensive skills. He shoots it effortlessly and has a sweet, pure stroke that time after time barely ruffles the net. He has great touch off the glass. Even though he was at times turnover prone in Vegas, he shows a passer’s feel that makes me think someday he could average five assists. Throw out his two-rebound debut in Vegas and he averaged double digits – not exactly the sign of a shrinking violet. And he showed his savvy when defending quicker, smaller players by using his outsized length to keep them in front of him. Three or four years down the road, the Pistons could have themselves a truly unique frontcourt weapon. Until then, he can help them win games with his scoring and playmaking skills alone.
5. Chris Wilcox – Intriguing guy. He sure passes the look test at a solid 6-foot-10 with broad shoulders and lean, muscular athleticism. The book on him has included raps on his basketball IQ and fire, but Wilcox has been mired in such hopelessly bad situations, first with the Clippers and then the Sonics/Thunder, that there’s reason to believe a winning environment can transform the career of a player who was the No. 7 pick, at 19 years old, in the 2002 draft after helping Maryland to a national title. He has plenty of incentive, too, as Wilcox will have to fight for playing time and signed a relatively modest two-year deal, the second at his option. With little risk to them, the Pistons added a lottery talent who could flourish in the first stable situation he’s experienced since leaving college.
6. DaJuan Summers – Scouts looked at Summers during his Georgetown days and saw prototypical size and a feathery shooting touch and wondered why it didn’t translate into consistent production. But the Pistons main personnel evaluators, Scott Perry and George David, have high regard for Georgetown players and understand that the system run there by John Thompson III isn’t conducive to piling up stats. Their hunch on Summers moved a long way toward vindication with his Summer League showing. He averaged 18 a game and scored in every way possible – taking it to the basket, knocking down 20-footers, mid-range jumpers and in the post, and he put himself at the free-throw line frequently. He also has the quick feet and upper-body strength to defend either forward spot. Of the three rookies, Summers might be the one who makes a case for playing time first.
7. Jonas Jerebko – Jerebko had a promise from Charlotte, picking 40th, that it would keep him on its NBA roster and not ask him to play additional years in Europe. With that in their back pocket, Jerebko’s agent called the teams picking immediately ahead of the Bobcats to scare them off. The scare tactics didn’t work with the Pistons, who were certain after Jerebko’s showing at the Reebok Eurocamp in June that he was ticketed for the first round. He tested either first or second in athleticism among the 50-plus players the Pistons brought to The Palace for individual workouts. Pistons assistants Darrell Walker and Pat Sullivan both likened him in Las Vegas to New York’s David Lee for the way he runs, jumps and mixes it up around the basket. Jerebko played small forward in Italy, but at a legit 6-foot-10, he’ll probably play more power forward for the Pistons, where his ballhandling, shooting and mobility will make him a threat. His 100 percent effort and utter fearlessness caught everybody’s attention in Vegas.
8. Ben Wallace – Hard to place Big Ben in the pecking order, just as it was always difficult to make the case for him as an All-Star based on the numbers. With Wallace, it’s always more about what you can’t measure. This time around, it won’t necessarily be in things like “not a blocked shot, but a shot not taken for fear it would be blocked” – though there’s enough of that still in him, too – but more along the lines of what he can do to help off the court while he’s still playing sturdy defense and rebounding on it. In Cleveland, they say Wallace became more of a vocal leader than ever last season, and, of course, his dedication to the weight room inspired those around him to step up. That will be a wonderful eye-opener for the rookies, especially, who will learn a level of work ethic they never before imagined. Mentoring duties aside, Wallace can still do the dirty work as well as anyone – he just can’t do it for 38 minutes a night or make dirty work look spectacular quite as frequently any longer.
9. Brian Hill – It’s not unusual for an ex-NBA head coach to go back to being an assistant. It’s a little more rare that someone becomes an assistant to a coach who once was his underling. It speaks volumes about both Kuester’s sense of self and Hill’s lack of pretension that Kuester thought first of Hill and Hill jumped at the chance to join Kuester, leaving a similar position in New Jersey, as his first lieutenant with the Pistons. Hill will be a terrific sounding board for Kuester, both on in-game adjustments and the broader issues that confront an NBA head coach on a daily basis. Hill became widely respected during his three stints as an NBA head coach for his grasp of the game and no one would be surprised if somebody decides to give him another shot. He’ll be a terrific asset to Kuester, and, by extension, to the Pistons as a young team that offers many teaching moments.
10. Deron Washington – He’s raw offensively and might not see the floor much as a rookie, but Washington has the type of energy that lifts teams even if he’s not playing. He’ll liven up practices and make Rip Hamilton work harder to score there than he will in games. If he gets enough playing time to show off his wares, he’ll become a fan favorite for his once-a-game highlight reel put-back dunks that have made the 59th pick in the 2008 draft a You Tube sensation. If the Pistons ever hit a stretch in their season where Kuester thinks the tempo needs to be turned up defensively, Washington could be the guy he turns to for four- or five-minute bursts to set that tone.
Summer Playlist
The top 10 hits of Joe D's off-season
:langlois:
by Keith Langlois
The broad strokes applied to the gaping white space in what remained of the Pistons’ canvas came as June melted into July for Joe Dumars, first the draft and then the wild opening rush of free agency. The finishing touches were added over the last few days when the final piece of the frontcourt and the last addition to the perimeter came on board. It was a wild summer, but now Joe D’s work is largely finished – and the real work for the coaching staff and players is about to begin.
Here’s a look back at the summer that was with an eye toward how the sequence of 10 moves affects the Pistons out beyond the horizon, ranking them in order of significance to the franchise’s future, both immediate and long-term:
1. Ben Gordon – Here were the top eight scorers from the NBA’s most recent postseason: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Tony Parker, Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki, Brandon Roy and … Ben Gordon. Gordon scored better than 24 points a game against one of the league’s top defenses, Boston’s, and played half the series on a strained groin that would have shut him down during the regular season. It’s become increasingly difficult to win in the NBA without a scorer who defies the most well-planned and executed defensive schemes. There probably aren’t more than three handfuls of such players in the NBA. Gordon’s one of them. Skeptics wonder how Gordon and Rip Hamilton will mesh. Here’s betting that Hamilton, who’s led the Pistons in scoring all seven of his seasons in Detroit, will become a more efficient scorer now that he’s lining up with the best pure scorer he’s ever had flanking him.
2. Charlie Villanueva – When I was talking to Chris Wilcox about Villanueva, he shook his head and said, “Man, you look at the stats after the game and you see he had 25 points, he just gets them kind of quiet.” Villanueva is a natural-born scorer. He had 48 as a rookie in one game for Toronto. Now the other parts of his game – really, just the understanding of the physical and mental demands and the acceptance of responsibility within the team framework that comes with maturation – are catching up. He’ll just be 25 by the time camp opens. Villanueva comes with the label of being a mediocre defender – which applies to about 95 percent of young big men. He’ll be surrounded by strong defenders up front in Kwame Brown and Ben Wallace. He more than holds his own on the boards, grabbing seven a game last year in 27 minutes a night.
3. John Kuester – Joe D told me that sometimes, when he makes the most significant decisions his job entails, he drives home at night with a pit in his stomach, not because he’d like to have the move back, but because the reality of the trap doors is apparent. He said the night he drove home after striking the deal to bring in Kuester as coach, his stomach was pit-free. He feels really, really good about Kuester – about his temperament, about his vision, about the respect he engenders from players, about the comfort Kuester has exhibited so far with sitting in the No. 1 chair. The veterans with whom Kuester has a relationship – Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Ben Wallace – all strongly endorse him. The caveat here is that you never know until the bullets start flying, but all signs point to John Kuester being a very nice fit for a young team with legit playoff aspirations.
4. Austin Daye – Not sure what I expected going into Las Vegas, but Daye exceeded the baseline by a mile. It might take him the better part of his rookie year to feel comfortable with the physical nature of NBA basketball, but the kid oozes offensive skills. He shoots it effortlessly and has a sweet, pure stroke that time after time barely ruffles the net. He has great touch off the glass. Even though he was at times turnover prone in Vegas, he shows a passer’s feel that makes me think someday he could average five assists. Throw out his two-rebound debut in Vegas and he averaged double digits – not exactly the sign of a shrinking violet. And he showed his savvy when defending quicker, smaller players by using his outsized length to keep them in front of him. Three or four years down the road, the Pistons could have themselves a truly unique frontcourt weapon. Until then, he can help them win games with his scoring and playmaking skills alone.
5. Chris Wilcox – Intriguing guy. He sure passes the look test at a solid 6-foot-10 with broad shoulders and lean, muscular athleticism. The book on him has included raps on his basketball IQ and fire, but Wilcox has been mired in such hopelessly bad situations, first with the Clippers and then the Sonics/Thunder, that there’s reason to believe a winning environment can transform the career of a player who was the No. 7 pick, at 19 years old, in the 2002 draft after helping Maryland to a national title. He has plenty of incentive, too, as Wilcox will have to fight for playing time and signed a relatively modest two-year deal, the second at his option. With little risk to them, the Pistons added a lottery talent who could flourish in the first stable situation he’s experienced since leaving college.
6. DaJuan Summers – Scouts looked at Summers during his Georgetown days and saw prototypical size and a feathery shooting touch and wondered why it didn’t translate into consistent production. But the Pistons main personnel evaluators, Scott Perry and George David, have high regard for Georgetown players and understand that the system run there by John Thompson III isn’t conducive to piling up stats. Their hunch on Summers moved a long way toward vindication with his Summer League showing. He averaged 18 a game and scored in every way possible – taking it to the basket, knocking down 20-footers, mid-range jumpers and in the post, and he put himself at the free-throw line frequently. He also has the quick feet and upper-body strength to defend either forward spot. Of the three rookies, Summers might be the one who makes a case for playing time first.
7. Jonas Jerebko – Jerebko had a promise from Charlotte, picking 40th, that it would keep him on its NBA roster and not ask him to play additional years in Europe. With that in their back pocket, Jerebko’s agent called the teams picking immediately ahead of the Bobcats to scare them off. The scare tactics didn’t work with the Pistons, who were certain after Jerebko’s showing at the Reebok Eurocamp in June that he was ticketed for the first round. He tested either first or second in athleticism among the 50-plus players the Pistons brought to The Palace for individual workouts. Pistons assistants Darrell Walker and Pat Sullivan both likened him in Las Vegas to New York’s David Lee for the way he runs, jumps and mixes it up around the basket. Jerebko played small forward in Italy, but at a legit 6-foot-10, he’ll probably play more power forward for the Pistons, where his ballhandling, shooting and mobility will make him a threat. His 100 percent effort and utter fearlessness caught everybody’s attention in Vegas.
8. Ben Wallace – Hard to place Big Ben in the pecking order, just as it was always difficult to make the case for him as an All-Star based on the numbers. With Wallace, it’s always more about what you can’t measure. This time around, it won’t necessarily be in things like “not a blocked shot, but a shot not taken for fear it would be blocked” – though there’s enough of that still in him, too – but more along the lines of what he can do to help off the court while he’s still playing sturdy defense and rebounding on it. In Cleveland, they say Wallace became more of a vocal leader than ever last season, and, of course, his dedication to the weight room inspired those around him to step up. That will be a wonderful eye-opener for the rookies, especially, who will learn a level of work ethic they never before imagined. Mentoring duties aside, Wallace can still do the dirty work as well as anyone – he just can’t do it for 38 minutes a night or make dirty work look spectacular quite as frequently any longer.
9. Brian Hill – It’s not unusual for an ex-NBA head coach to go back to being an assistant. It’s a little more rare that someone becomes an assistant to a coach who once was his underling. It speaks volumes about both Kuester’s sense of self and Hill’s lack of pretension that Kuester thought first of Hill and Hill jumped at the chance to join Kuester, leaving a similar position in New Jersey, as his first lieutenant with the Pistons. Hill will be a terrific sounding board for Kuester, both on in-game adjustments and the broader issues that confront an NBA head coach on a daily basis. Hill became widely respected during his three stints as an NBA head coach for his grasp of the game and no one would be surprised if somebody decides to give him another shot. He’ll be a terrific asset to Kuester, and, by extension, to the Pistons as a young team that offers many teaching moments.
10. Deron Washington – He’s raw offensively and might not see the floor much as a rookie, but Washington has the type of energy that lifts teams even if he’s not playing. He’ll liven up practices and make Rip Hamilton work harder to score there than he will in games. If he gets enough playing time to show off his wares, he’ll become a fan favorite for his once-a-game highlight reel put-back dunks that have made the 59th pick in the 2008 draft a You Tube sensation. If the Pistons ever hit a stretch in their season where Kuester thinks the tempo needs to be turned up defensively, Washington could be the guy he turns to for four- or five-minute bursts to set that tone.