that could help this Pistons team?

Throwing some names out there that I like, some feasible, some probably not. A lot hinges on what we do with our big contracts, if anything, or potential S&Ts with Tay or Stuckey.

JJ Barea (UFA, wants to start)
Andray Blatche
Sam Dalembert (UFA)
Greg Oden (RFA)
David West (coming off injury, has ETO)
Kris Humphries (UFA)
Jonny Flynn
Shane Battier (UFA)
Marc Gasol (RFA)
DeAndre Jordan (RFA)
Nene (ETO)
Tyson Chandler (28, UFA)
Big Baby (UFA)
Elton Brand (would still trade Rip for him)
Jose Calderon (Rip)
JJ Hickson
Ramon Sessions (still only 25 years old)
Brandon Jennings (only 21, will likely improve)
Kirk Hinrich (S&T for Stuckey?)
Josh Smith (rumored to be on the block)
Brandon Bass (only 26, could we get him for Maxiell?)
Chris Kaman (S&T for Tayshaun?)
Pau Gasol (see Hermy's thread, will they need to move him due to personality conflicts?)
Jason Thompson (Kings have a lot of bigs)
Hasheem Thabeet (24, could he still make it?)
Raymond Felton (they seem to want to go with Lawson, probably won't keep both)
Timofey Mozgov
Cole Aldrich (buy low? he's about 5th on their Center depth chart)
Devin Harris (seems like a poor fit w/Jazz, S&T for Stuckey?)

Feel free to shoot these names down, just throwing them out there out of desperation/boredom.

I like Jamal Crawford (UFA), too, but obviously we don't need him unless we're moving 2 or 3 SGs out of here. Also, still mad we didn't go after Gortat.

I like Ray Felton. He certainly has his flaws but he'd be a vast improvement.

that could help this Pistons team?

Throwing some names out there that I like, some feasible, some probably not. A lot hinges on what we do with our big contracts, if anything, or potential S&Ts with Tay or Stuckey.

JJ Barea---Joe loves tall PGs too much.

Andray Blatche---redundant with Charlie V

Sam Dalembert---complete moron, already 30, heading to Miami for the MLE

Greg Oden---worth a shot

David West--if he ever spent significant time at the 5, such that I could determine his viability there, I would.

Kris Humphries---yes. He's a banger and a rebounder and a double double threat. Only 26

Jonny Flynn---yes, but I don't know if he's a starter on a playoff team.

Shane Battier-guy deserves a championship, not a rebuilding project

Marc Gasol-don't think he leaves a playoff team for one that's rebuilding in a tougher conference

DeAndre Jordan---Joe would have to throw huge bills at the guy, and I would probably want to choke him for passing on the guy during draft day

Nene---too old, Monroe will be better.

Tyson Chandler---Cuban will pay him, and he'll start for a contender

Big Baby---I hate this guy.

Elton Brand---I agree. I'd play him at the 5. He's got the wingspan of a 7 footer and the standing reach of typical centers, plus he's strong as hell and has some weight on him. He's a year younger than Rip, so why not?

Jose Calderon---I'd do it. But he'd need GREAT team defense to cover for his suckitude

JJ Hickson---Depending on the price tag, absolutely. He's shown flashes.

Ramon Sessions---His contract isn't too unreasonable, but what happens to Bynum?

Brandon Jennings---He's arguably the face of the franchise and will be hard to pull away for that reason alone.

Kirk Hinrich--we'd go five years older, but get a truer PG and a good defender. We already know he's a great complement to Gordon. I'd make a trade for him IF we had rebuilt to teh point that we're at least #2 in our division.

Josh Smith---I want him so bad. He needs to cut out the jumpshooting, though.

Brandon Bass---there's no way he could be less serviceable than JMAXXX

Chris Kaman (S&T for Tayshaun?)---Yep. Coupled with the Kaman trade, and we're suddenly competitive.

Pau Gasol---Of course you do this. He's very skilled and it would be great for whoever remains out of Monroe/Jerebko/Villaneuva to learn from him offensively.

Jason Thompson---He'd make a great F-C to pair with Monroe.

Hasheem Thabeet---worth a shot. We could buy really low.

Raymond Felton---Would he complement Gordon?

Timofey Mozgov---Knicks need a true C. They keep him.

Cole Aldrich---I'd throw a 2nd rounder or two for him.

Devin Harris---I don't think he'd make teh team much better than Stuckey does.

Feel free to shoot these names down, just throwing them out there out of desperation/boredom.

I like Jamal Crawford (UFA), too, but obviously we don't need him unless we're moving 2 or 3 SGs out of here. Also, still mad we didn't go after Gortat.-----Agreed on both counts.

Jose Calderon just had the second highest assist per turnover ratio in the league and dished almost nine dimes a game. It's even more impressive when you look at the roster he did it with. Basically, he's Steve Nash lite. I know we used to bash the dude, but I can't think of why anymore.

Thanks for the comments.

Knicks traded Mozgov to Nugs in Melo deal, btw.

I would like a bunch of these guys but since I have no faith in Joe D, what's the point???

I would also take a shot at yi jianlian as another complement to jerebko at the forward position.

Also, one of Utah bigs could be available between favors and millsap and Jefferson, especially if they draft a post guy. Jefferson could be bought low I bet.

I would also take a shot at yi jianlian as another complement to jerebko at the forward position.
Disagree on Yi, I'd stay away.


Andray Blatche---redundant with Charlie V
You're joking, right?

No. He is another guy with center height that wants to be a small forward, and has been quoted as such. He is better off the dribble than villanueva and more athletic, but his character issues concern me. He is a better value than CV but I wouldn't want both on the roster.

And yi would just be a buy low utility guy to see what he has.

tl;dr



NO!!!

I don't like the "i'd take (insert mediocre player here)". We have enough mediocre players. We need to make some trade and get some freaking impact players. Face it, we suck right now and we could cut half the team and not be much worse. I think that is the definition of mediocre players.

We have roster imbalances and have gone through two terrible coaches. Move some of that mediocrity around and have somebody reasonable calling reasonable plays, and we won't suck as bad.

and after seeing the Pistons win 50 games with scrubs, back when Carlisle was around, I don't underestimate anyone.

Lospistones that sounds like a recipe to be the Pacers. Some good seasons, many many average ones and no chance at a ring. With teams sporting 3 superstars in this era, you will never get a call against that. Btw that travel on lebron against chicago was a travesty.

Seeing the Pistons mentioned in some Jonny Flynn rumors/speculation this morning.

We are in the wrong conference for winning rings. There is Miami in one division, a potential superteam in new York, and an mvp led ECF team in the central. Anything that Orlando does for Howard just pushes us further down the rankings.
At this point, I just want a team I can root for again, even if it is mediocre. I started watching intently when we had Michael curry on the floor during tip offs, but at least they were worth tuning in for. Joe needs to know when to consolidate talent and pull the trigger on time, which is the only way I can see us gradually building to a Dallas mavericks type of squad, sans mvp talent.

Set your standards low and you'll never win. So wrong.

I'm not setting low standards, but we have to be realistic. Stars don't sign here as free agents, even when we have MAX cap space available. We don't have the assets yet to trade for a star, as all of our talent has been marginalized and have low value (Gordon, Hamilton, Villanueva, etc.). We draft in the later half of the lottery, not a position to get Jason Kidd's or Derrick Rose's or LeBron/Wade/Bosh or Westbrook/Durant.

We have to build a team with chemistry, develop talent and trade value (keep Afflalo's, Amir's, and trade Hamilton/Dice/Sheed's when their value is high), and then hope for another Chauncey Billups type MLE signing, a Dirk Nowitzki type draft pick (#9), or another Pau/Sheed type deal.

I'm surprised anybody would knock a suggestion that we need to do the best we can without a superstar, when the last title we won was with a group of borderline all-stars that made it due to team success.

I guess i am knocking using up our cap space to acquire mediocre players. Even if a superstar won't likely sign here, being in a position to offer a max deal or have the space to acquire and impact player in a trade is paramount. I'm willing to suck as long as we put ourselves in a position to win in the future.

i still like Sessions a lot, with Irving/Baron at point in CLE he could be had for cheap i guess

i still like Sessions a lot, with Irving/Baron at point in CLE he could be had for cheap i guess

They may just go small a lot, though. Their SGs are Anthony Parker (36 years old, IMO a scrub) and Manny Harris (still no jumpshot).
They still have Boobie Gibson, though, and if they were to move somebody it'd probably be Sessions.

But shit, I'd rather have Sessions at point guard than Stuckey. Never looked at his PER36 numbers before, but he's a 18/7/4 guy when given minutes.

I guess i am knocking using up our cap space to acquire mediocre players. Even if a superstar won't likely sign here, being in a position to offer a max deal or have the space to acquire and impact player in a trade is paramount. I'm willing to suck as long as we put ourselves in a position to win in the future.
Yes. This is why we are stuck in the position we are in, and now we're stuck waiting out all those contracts (Rip, Gordon, CV, Max, etc). No need to add more contracts that we're just going to have to wait out.

I don't want to get that Clipper/Twolf/Kings mindset where getting to the second round of the playoffs earns a parade.

I like the Oden/Arnie idea

I am not willing to chance on Oden for anything above the minimum or LLE. I don't think that he will ever play again and even if he did, not much above back-up level.

He'll probably get his 1 year qualifying offer from the Blazers (which I think is about $8-9m) if for no other reason than to give them another shot at saving face on the pick.

^ this
We may not be the ideal FA destination but if the owners get 1/2 of what they want then cap room will never be more valuable... especially for trades...
A hard cap will force prime FAs to go where the money is.

Here are some other buy low guys I would consider:
Wilson Chandler. The Nuggets also have Gallinari at SF.
Goran Dragic. Loved the guy when he was with Phoenix, now he's a backup for the Rockets.
Terrence Williams. The guy was considered a triple double threat of a point forward when with the Nets. I'd bring him on as a utility player, third on the depth chart at all positions in the backcourt.
Ersan Ilyasova. For the same reasons I'd give Yi a shot.
Anthony Randolph. I'm still sold by his highlight reel (derp), and he'd be an amazing complement for Monroe.
Thaddeus Young. Not a starter anymore, but putting up 13/5 and is just about to turn 23 :-o
Robin Lopez. Nobody on our team has big hair anymore.
Omri Casspi. He's more viable as a starter than Daye would be.

I don't think we'd be able to buy low on a few of those guys.

Chandler is looking for a $10m+/yr payday.

Thad Young was probably the Sixers best player down the stretch.

It wouldn't shock me to see Dragic beat out Lowry as Rockets starting PG.

If the Mavs keep JJ Barea, I wonder if we could snag Roddy Beaubois?

If the Mavs keep JJ Barea, I wonder if we could snag Roddy Beaubois?
Cuban loves the guy... his deep pockets will prevent movement unless the hard cap succeeds.
Kinda strange facing a lockout in a couple weeks... this will be worthy of a thread... some big names could be available on the cheap (or who do we have to let loose?)