I plan to be at the Pistons-Raptors game tomorrow, and the Pistons-Hawks game in a couple weeks.

Anyone else going to the games?

I am not, Mxy.

I will not be there as well.

Planning on not being there.

Going to go ahead and not go (this time).

I know it's a little last minute but you guys want to not go together or something? Not meet up for dinner before?

I know it's a little last minute but you guys want to not go together or something? Not meet up for dinner before?

Taco Bell or Subway?

I might be at the Atlanta game. Depends how early my flight gets in.

Taco Bell or Subway?
Why not both?

I am here. First thing I really notice that isn't a hottie is a picture of BG looking like he's dropping a pass.

Maybe dropping is too strong a word, but it surely looks like he's getting that shit swatted.

There can't be more than several hundred people here. Wow.

^ Caught a glimpse of the game. Kinda embarrassed.

Neither team can defend penetrating guards.

Max showed range.

The two girls on the camera looked like they thought they should kiss each other for just a second.

Jerebko makes immediate impact! Key rebound leading to a score. And another score!

Lemme know when Slava, Vitali or whatever his name is comes in!

Some dude yelling AMNESTY as CV checks in!

Some dude yelling AMNESTY as CV checks in!

So Gla's plans changed.

Mr. Drummond!

Dre is in da house.
Guarding him is Amir J.

So where are you sitting, Mxy?

Idiot Blaha says Monroe was drafted 10th overall.

He does wear #10 so it's not too hard a mistake to make

Still love our home unis. We've got that going for us.

CV looking active :-o

Fuck it, start Drummond or at least give him 24 minutes a game. He's killing it and he hasn't had a play ran for him yet.

Starting lineup with Dre instead of Moose

For about a minute.

It's only preseason, but holy fuck this kid is encouraging.

Oh, this isn't good.

Walking under his own power. That's a relief.

That was quite the unijntended backflip. Hope Stuckey's ok.

Nice almost 3P by Knight.

BOOM THERE GOES THE BYNUMITE!

Fuck me. That was too late?

Bynum and Drummond seem to have a good chemistry. That's 3 lobs this game.

Kid spilled pop all over my hoodie but we won and Dre is for fuckingREAL

Gores managed to do his sideways headtilt evev when dancing with Hooper.

Thanx for the posts Mxy. I seriously felt like I was not there.

Can we get a little more detail?

Dre looked impressive and...

I can't type too well on my phone, as you can see. :)

I didn't see much in the way of defense by any of the guards. Our guards could establish their position and score almost at will (except for wide open 3P shots), and so could theirs. We just traded baskets, without a lot of conscious stops defensively (especially among the starters). The big defensive intensity came from Jerebko and Drummond, with some surprising hustle by CV of all people! Drummond influenced a lot of shots just with his presence. I really wanted to see him (and|or Slava) paired up with Monroe, but it didn't happen. He's got some work to do, but his instincts seem solid on the floor and he's already better than Max. Jerebko was exactly the sort of hustle you want coming off the bench.

Singler has the smarts, but I'm not sure he has the ability. Maggette continues to have the ability, but not always the smarts. If I could merge the two together, Tayshaun would be out of a job.

Moose was ok, but I wouldn't say he was great despite the numbers he put up. Once we established that the guards could score, they were feeding Moose and he was doing what he should. Defensively, he was "ehh"... For most of the perimeter defense, Tayshaun was the one defending Bargnani, who had one good score but was otherwise unremarkable. Knight and Bynum seem about comparable at running an offense -- get the ball to the big man, or score if yoy can't. It worked for them against the Craptors, but not sure how well that translates to someone who actually plays disruptive D.

Clearly, our 3P shooting needs work. We had all the uncontested shots in the world, and bricked them. That was the only reason the game was close.

Other random thoughts as I have them... am awake a little too early after a game.

that first game was fun to watch, yes fun, the Pistons actually tried to push the ball and had some fastbreak points, Drummond showed his talent, its all good.
Frank has them really fired up, everyone plays hard, even Charlie, loving it.

I'm trying to curb my enthusiasm a little because it's pretty easy for bigs to look good against Toronto.
We know Amir and Aaron Gray can foul in bunches, and Bargnani is Italian for "Charmin".
That's why I'm going to the last preseason game before the start of the regular season (and I'd go to the opener if it weren't Halloween).

Dre's performance certainly exceeded my expectations. If that's a sign of things to come then BOOM! Fuck All Y'all - he's a steal

I'm enthusiastic about Knight, Monroe and Jonas "The Walls of" Jerebko look like being features of this team for a while...

and with plenty of cap space coming I'm pretty freaking excited about the future

IF we could clear Tayshaun off the books next off-season and spend that additional $7 million on a younger option I might just cream my boxers :)

But slow and steady wins the race, building a long term winner should be the goal. Quick fixes suck - we should be aiming for sustained success, a decade of domination

I hope No Quarter approves of the new sig.... I believe he's a believer too,

Love your work, you're a Legend and I personally miss ya (:

Shout out to Mola while I'm at it too - hope you're too busy getting paid to make music to post here bro

...how funny is it that after one preseason game, there are threads on almost every team forum that picked ahead of us in last summer's draft, panicking over passing on Andre Drummond.....

...how funny is it that after one preseason game, there are threads on almost every team forum that picked ahead of us in last summer's draft, panic hover passing in Andre Drummond.....

Truth is, I trust concensus of lotsa fans over 1 GM.

I'd be happy if he fulfils even 75% of his potential. But he seems like he is not the lazy guy that I read about. If he continues to work hard, he'll do just fine.

So...everyone's worst fears about Drummond....turns out they're all true for Kravitsov.

Holy shit that guy is uncomfortable out there.

Speaking of bad...Austin Daye still as selfish and sloppy as ever. After four years, he still thinks he can handle the ball in traffic.

Compared to singler in his first preseason game...the difference is obvious. Singler lets the game come to him. Daye forces everything.

Yeah, I'm not even there but I'm booing every time Daye touches the ball anyway.

Still kinda want to deck Singler, but if the dude can play I'll let it go.

Drummond again looks like a man among boys...he had 235-lb Ed Davis hanging on his left arm and still converted with his right.

Johnny Flynn isn't impressing me, but terrance Williams....we better find a spot for him. So much potential on the defensive end. Dude was a one man press out there.

Knight and stuckey look like they really enjoy playing together. You get that Chauncey/Rip vibe.

I wish I liked Maxiel more than I did. He seems pretty consistent.

I don't know what position terrance Williams plays. I just want him on this team.

His defense is outstanding. I am blown away by how good he is defending the perimeter.

KRAVITSOV! Wow! Back to back gorilla dunks!

Big fella just got revved up after the flagrant foul.

No idea what Kleiza did, but it looks like Slava is starting to get it going. Dude might really grow on me, and NOT just because I'm a Ukie.

Kravistov is far more agile than I expected.

Pretty entertaining for a preseason game.

Austin Daye can burn alive for all I care. Terrence Williams shouldn't lose out on a roster spot to that scrub.

I won't be seeing any pre-season games but based on the first 2 my position won't have to change.

TWill needs to make the roster and our future is bright as long as Monroe, Knight and Drummond are here.

Putting Dre into this environment has obviously helped him... we've got people who are willing to work with the kid, show and tell him what it takes.

Hate to see Daye getting trashed but if the dude isn't mentally up to the task at hand then such is life. He just re-enforces my 3 year rule for rookies.

1st year - have no fucking idea cause they are rookies
2nd year - should have some fucking idea
3rd - this is it buddy - time to show and prove

Game tonight? Cool. PPP!!

Excited about not going.

Game tonight? Cool. PPP!!

Pistons Playoff Push?

Pistons ___ Prevail?

Tonights game is FREE on NBA league PASS if you have satellite or digital cable.

Tonights game is FREE on NBA league PASS if you have satellite or digital cable.

oh snap!

Middleton sighting.

It is a joke how much better Andre Drummond is than every center he goes against.

End the charade, Frank. Play him with the starters.

If you're not watching the game, Drummond through three games looks like a carbon copy of Dwight Howard.

He had a block/dunk sequence tonight that only Dwight could have pulled off.

Taping it. Looking forward to seeing it later while reading this thread.

Making things more obvious is how horribly inept jerebko and CV have looked playing the 4 tonight.

I know frank is just putting guys out there to let them prove they dont belong in the rotation, but this is hard to watch.

Equally frustrating is through three games, we've seen three lottery picks on other teams play alongside the starters.

Drummond has outclassed all of them by a mile, and he has played zero minutes alongside Monroe.


It is a joke how bad jerebko And CV look at the 4, and when it's drummonds time to come in, who comes out? Monroe.

Andre Drummond has superstar written all over him. Not all star. Superstar.

He is good beyond my wildest expectations.

He's sitting on 19 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks and he hasn't even played half the game.

The more remarkable thing is the three air balled layups bucks players have had looking for him.

Drummond fouls out with 19/10/2 and 2 assists. The fouls werent really bad ones, either.

Andre Drummond has superstar written all over him. Not all star. Superstar.

He is good beyond my wildest expectations.

He's sitting on 19 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks and he hasn't even played half the game.

The more remarkable thing is the three air balled layups bucks players have had looking for him.

Are they running plays for him? Not many?

Are they running plays for him? Not many?

Zero.

His scores have all been : see ball, go get ball, score ball. The only exception was the fast break where he neary ripped the rim down on a reverse one-hand dunk.

Of course, it was only fair because the break was a direct result of him swatting a shot at the rim.

He's so big and quick. It makes him damn near impossible to box out. He just moves his man right out of the way and gets easy offensive rebounds.

Even better numbers for Drummond then.

Even better numbers for Drummond then.

That's what I'm saying, he looked like dwight howard tonight. He had 19/10 in half of a game almost exclusively due to him just athletically mauling the other team.

What is our weakest position on our roster? What is our weakest position in our starting 5? SF? SG?

Our starting power forward has been awful every game. Ou backup wings have been very bad too until Middleton and English started making shots.

So happy to read Drummond looks the real deal so far. It's better to be lucky than good and Joe has been extremely lucky on Draft Day 3 years in a row.

I'm hoping TWill has played well enough to force us to drop someone and give him a roster a spot. Should have just used the amnesty clause on Nova when we had the chance.

Also, our two best spot up shooters are English and Middleton. That's great, but it's also a big problem.

Middleton's value lies in his shooting form, which is a dream. Dunno how consistent he will be, but spotting up or off the dribble, this guy shoots an effortless ball from out to 23 feet.

So happy to read Drummond looks the real deal so far. It's better to be lucky than good and Joe has been extremely lucky on Draft Day 3 years in a row.

I'm hoping TWill has played well enough to force us to drop someone and give him a roster a spot. Should have just used the amnesty clause on Nova when we had the chance.

If they wanted to eat a salary for this season, they could just as easily do so will Daye or Bynum. Don't need to eat CV's deal for that.

Also, odd that TWill is clearly auditioning as a backup PG, not a wing.

Are our big men the real problem though?

Long term: Dre = 30 minutes, Monroe = 34 minutes.... leaves 34 minutes for Maxiell, Jerebko, Slava, Nova to fight for. And what we need on the night would determine who plays and who sits

From all the posts it appears that SF/SG is the issue, because Middleton, English, Singler and Daye have failed. Maggette is what he is but long term he's not going to be here. It would be nice for TWill to get a spot and a real shot at some playing time - he could solve this issue on his own if his head is screwed on right

I was willing to eat Nova's salary simply because I think he's harder to trade than Bynum, Daye and Maxiell

Does Williams deserve a roster spot? If he does then someone has to go. The chance to amnesty Nova has gone so it has to be someone else.

But maybe TWill won't get a spot?

TWill is frank's guy. I can't imagine he won't be lobbying hard for Joe to keep him if he continues his level of play.

Defensive, TWill is something we simply do not have. If frank feels his head is on straight, we would be idiots to pass up on him in favor of several guys we know can't play.

Are our big men the real problem though?

Long term: Dre = 30 minutes, Monroe = 34 minutes.... leaves 34 minutes for Maxiell, Jerebko, Slava, Nova to fight for. And what we need on the night would determine who plays and who sits

From all the posts it appears that SF/SG is the issue, because Middleton, English, Singler and Daye have failed. Maggette is what he is but long term he's not going to be here. It would be nice for TWill to get a spot and a real shot at some playing time - he could solve this issue on his own if his head is screwed on right

Woah.

Singler didn't fail. He shot poorly but made no other mistakes.

English and Middleton both shot great from the arc tonight. They really didn't ail either. They werent asked to do a ton aside from play D and make threes.

Daye has been a miserable failure, but the three rookies have been ok.

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Drummond has played all of 53 minutes over 3 preseason games.

That said....

33 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 blocks, 3 steals, and 0 turnovers.

Downside is he has 6 fouls and only 1-5 from the FT line, but holy crap all the same.

Woah.

Singler didn't fail. He shot poorly but made no other mistakes.

English and Middleton both shot great from the arc tonight. They really didn't ail either. They werent asked to do a ton aside from play D and make threes.

Daye has been a miserable failure, but the three rookies have been ok.

Ditto

damn its hard not to get excited about Dre Drum, Monroe and Drummond need to play together in the next game, no more horsing around, Drummond is ready to play 20-25 min a game, his offensive rebounding is already really, really good.

Woah.

Singler didn't fail. He shot poorly but made no other mistakes.

English and Middleton both shot great from the arc tonight. They really didn't ail either. They werent asked to do a ton aside from play D and make threes.

Daye has been a miserable failure, but the three rookies have been ok.

Fair call - I haven't seen any games and am just going by boxscores, recaps and what is posted.

Happy to read that Singler, Middleton and English are reasonable...

Would we keep all 3 over TWill?

Somehow I don't see Daye being dumped

Fair call - I haven't seen any games and am just going by boxscores, recaps and what is posted.

Happy to read that Singler, Middleton and English are reasonable...

Would we keep all 3 over TWill?

Somehow I don't see Daye being dumped

English and Middleton are both rookies-their jobs are safe.

Aside from that, they aren't in direct competition with TWill anyway. TWill is competing for a possible backup PG spot with Flynn.

Daye...I cannot see why we wouldn't dump him if we had to. He's got one year left on his deal and he's going nowhere.

I can see joe trying to trade Bynum and Daye for a bag of chips so he has room to guarantee TWills contract. Frank is all about perimeter defense, and TWill is showing a ton of potential on that end.

FUCKIN GAME DIDN'T RECORD. Damn it!

It said it was the Pistons but I got the Celts Knicks. WTF?

Thats what I get for not checking on the game itself and trusting the guide.

I wouldn't want to trade Bynum - but if it meant keeping T-Will I'd do it

Long term Bynum isn't really going to help us much. He's a fine role player but one we can afford to lose

Daye? What a waste of potential he turned out to be. Didn't someone used to crow about us landing a steal with him? How he was ranked #1 by NBADraft.net at some point? Can't recall who but WTF? Dude wasted his talent

Drummond 24 + Maxiell 24
Monroe 34 + Jerebko 14
Prince 28 + Maggette 20
Stuckey 32 + Middleton 16
Knight 30 + Williams 18

Slava is around for depth up front and English is around for perimeter depth.... Williams, Maggette and Jerebko could always play more if needed

Showcase Maxiell in his contract season, hope someone wants to either trade for him now or do a sign and trade where we take back someone that can help us long term.

I love the fact the internets are buzzing about Dre - and not just Piston fans! Here's hoping this is just the beginning for the kid

If TWill takes Bynum's job, there's no real point in keeping him. He's only got a year left on his deal as well.

As for Middleton and english, we're going to need spot up shooters if we're serious about this twin towers deal. I saw a glimpse of Joe's vision last night with them on the floor with Drummond.

Kstat - you wanna join this Fantasy Comp I've started?

Glenn is in, I'm in... need 1 more player and you know your stuff

ID# 918
Password: Paranoid

Wisdom beyond his years...




"I can't do it without the help of my teammates," Drummond told Pistons.com
after the loss to the Bucks. "Really, it all starts on the defensive
end. We got started well on the defensive end. Once you get going on
the defensive end, everybody gets going. That got me in the flow of the
game."

I'm actually kinda disappointed that there's no game tonight.

I'm actually kinda disappointed that there's no game tonight.
If I didn't have other plans, I'd be going to the game tomorrow. I bet you can still get free tickets.

Middleton and English are both very smooth shooters. Middleton has quietly been a pleasant surpris especially, with his ability to shoot it off the catch or the dribble.

The 5 minutes Monroe and drummond played at the same time were awesome. S many possibilities for the future.

Apparently last night was the first time Drummond/Monroe had been paired up, practice included :-?

I suspect Drummond is way ahead of where they thought he'd be.

I agree Mxy

I think they had/have the slow and steady approach to him.

We do have other options at C/PF but are they better than Drummond right now or for the future?

IMO it's only a matter of time before he's starting alongside Monroe.

It appears that SF is the big issue with this roster, despite our depth at that spot. Is that a fair comment? As stated I haven't seen any games

We have singler and jerebko behind tayshaun, so I don't think it's a huge issue, even with maggette hurt.

The main problem is whoever is starting up front with Monroe s getting smoked....for the exception of the 5 minutes it was Drummond.

Watching this.

Power forward continues to suck for us. Every one of the 5763563534 stretch four combinations frank has tried in preseason have all failed, maxiell included.

Drummond has amazing potential. Holy shit his dunks are awesome.

The slam put back was nice but I think I prefer the up and under by Dre.

BTW, Drummond and Monroe are on the floor together, and once again they're dominating the paint.

Wondering if Bynum's ankle is all better.

Think it was his ankle.

That'd be nice if Singler can hit those step backs.

How long will it take for Frank/Joe to accept the Dre/Monroe starting tandem is the way to go?

All we have to do is pep the young fella up if he gets down, get him a dunk or something to get his juices flowing...

The Future Is Now

I'm kinda wondering about Slava as a starter alongside Monroe -- not as a long-term thing, mind you.
He's got a learning curve, but he seems legit.

Here's my new breakdown based on Drummond proving himself.

Knight 32/Stuckey 8/Bynum 8
Stuckey 24/Maggette 16/English 8
Prince 32/Maggette 8/Singler 8
Jerebko 24/Monroe 16/Maxiell 8
Monroe 16/Drummond 24/Kravtsov 8

You really see a 7 man rotation of Knight 32/Stuckey 32/Prince 32/Monroe 32/Maggette 24/Jerebko 24/Drummond 24 with the bit players having their playing time fluctuate depending on matchups, back to back scheduling, injuries, hot/cold play, whatever. That looks like a 12 man rotation, but that's just the active roster. Villanueva, Daye, Middleton, all SOL.

I'd like to think that for 40 minutes, the center position is manned by Drummond or Monroe. For a decent amount of time they could even be on the floor together.

Nothing good has ever happened with jerebko playing the 4.

I think we can get away with playing one undersized guy at a power position when we have three other legitimate centers getting playing time. and, that's what'd have to happen if you wanted to play the best players. We're not talking about Daye or Tayshaun at the 4, here.
I don't think we'd lose just because Jonas Jerebko played half the game at one spot on the floor.

Weve been getting away with paying maxiell, and he is plenty undersized.

Jerebko cannot defend the 4. He is terrible at it. At least maxiell has some bulk to fight for position. Jerebko is a huge liability defensively up front.

We started 4-20 last season with jerebko starting at the 4 and finished 21-21 with maxiell there. That says all you need to know about how unbelivably bad he was.

Jerebko started the first 13 games.
Only David Lee (24>20). Jon Leuer (15>5), Carlos Boozer (23 and 19>15), and Amare Stoudemire (22>17.5) exceeded their season averages in the games that they started at PF against Jerebko. Besides Leuer, those guys are almost guaranteed to get their regardless of who is defending.
I guess 82games says he had a worse PER at PF and his opponents had a better one, but it's not too significant.

I'd say more of the bad start had to do with a) lockout, b) new coach, c) rookie point guard, d) Jerebko's first significant playing time since missing a season due to injury...than just Jerebko being a shitty defender.

You can't look at it in terms of that.

His post defense is average. His help defense at the 4 is abhorrant. He has zero shot blocking instincts. Guards drive right into him with zero fear. Our defense with him starting at the 4 was really, really bad.

It wasn't any different in his first year. Jerebko is even less suited to play the 4 than Austin Daye. At least Austin is a threat to block a shot every now and then. Jonas just sucks on every level defensively at the 4, and he is not nearly good enough offensively to make up for it.

I like Jonas as a starting SF. I love him as a combo 3/4 backup. As a starting 4, he is a liability.

the latest Drummond offerings...

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I agree with K - Jonas serves the team better as a 3/4 off the bench

And he should have that role next season IF Joe and his boys do some good work next off-season

In case anyone is wondering, Drummond's per-30 minute averages through 6 games:

16.6ppg
9.9rpg
0.5 assists
2.6 blocks
1.4 steals
1.4 turnovers
4.8 fouls

He's shooting %65 from the floor but only %27 from the line.

taking into account the foul issue, that is pretty encouraging...

My excite level? Pistons 6-8th seed as is. Pushing 6-7 games in first series and a legit darkhorse to upset.
2 complimentary all star level NBA bigs on the same team? It doesn't get any easier to play the game like that.

In case anyone is wondering, Drummond's per-30 minute averages through 6 games:

16.6ppg
9.9rpg
0.5 assists
2.6 blocks
1.4 steals
1.4 turnovers
4.8 fouls

He's shooting %65 from the floor but only %27 from the line.

taking into account the foul issue, that is pretty encouraging...

Also, Slava's per-30 is a double-double without being horribly foul-prone.

I grow weary of our bending backwards for stretch 4s and|or players who are a stretch playing the 4.

I agree stretch whores that can bend backwards are more fun... and playing with 4 is better.

Been thinking about free agency in 12-13. Only person who stands out to me is Paul Millsap. He's making like 8.6 million now in the final year of his deal with Utah, but he may be marginalized a bit by the presences of Al Jefferson, Enes Kanter, Marvin Williams if he plays PF at all, and Derrick Favors, the prize of the Deron Williams trade.

Judging by shamsports we should have enough cap space to sign him outright, but especially comfortably if we amnesty CV. I'd offer him 9 mill and see if he bites.

Millsap 32/Monroe 16
Monroe 16/Drummond 32

My inevitable goal would be exactly this. Have three starting caliber bigs with Monroe splitting time between the 4 and 5. I don't see how it's going to happen from within, and there's nobody in early draft projections that could ideally complement Moose and Dre, so it'd have to be free agency.. Thoughts?

Millsapp isn't going to agree to come off the bench, and we can't afford to start him.

In theory it's a great fit, but we'd have to really overpay to get him to be a backup. I don't want to see us take on another boozer type deal.

I'd take a long look at igoudala if he opts out.

Our two biggest needs right now are a scoring starting SF and a post up threat off the bench.

I'd love it if we signed Millsap

You start him with Monroe and then bring Drummond off the bench to change the game completely. 32 minutes per for those 3 with Jonas as depth at the 4 spot and Slava as depth at the 5 spot... sign some minimum wage bum as insurance

Iggy? I love the man. An all-round talent, quality defender... his outside shooting has been pretty fucking poor at times though. With Stuckey as the SG ideally we'd have a premier outside threat either starting or coming off the bench - even if we have to move Stuckey to PG or SF

Assuming we have the following guys on the books:

Monroe, Drummond, Slava
Jerebko
Prince, Singler, Middleton
Stuckey, English
Knight

Assuming we are under the cap by $24 million and are going to save plenty of that to accomodate extensions for our young guys:

Millsap = $9 million starting salary... compliments Dre and Monroe extremely well and the Jazz likely will lose Millsap or Al Jefferson next off-season. I don't recall him ever whining about anything in the past - doubt he'd start now, especially if he's teaming with 2 quality young big men.

With some of the remaining money I'd look to sign JJ Redick (starting salary of $6 million?). A deluxe shooter that might not be part of the future in Orlando, especially with Afflalo and his contract in town. Dude provides what we really need, even though his addition forces us to move Stuckey to PG or SF to get him the quality minutes he deserves

Obviously TWill would get a contract - but I don't think I'd need to give him millions :)

Whatever was left over after signing Millsap, Redick and TWill would be saved for extensions our young guys will want and/or IF we had the option of taking back more salary via trade and/or if a free agent popped up

My roster would see a 3 man rotation at C and PF (Monroe, Dre, Millsap) and a 3 guard rotation at SG/PG (Stuckey, Knight, Redick)

SF would be filled by Prince, Jerebko, Singler, Middleton, TWill... depends on who won the battle in camp

With Slava and English also around I think we'd have lots of depth... and that's without including any 2013 picks

FWIW Redick will turn 29 next June.... Millsap will turn 28 in Feb..

Collison

Which collison...

I'd love it if we signed Millsap

You start him with Monroe and then bring Drummond off the bench to change the game completely. 32 minutes per for those 3 with Jonas as depth at the 4 spot and Slava as depth at the 5 spot... sign some minimum wage bum as insurance

Iggy? I love the man. An all-round talent, quality defender... his outside shooting has been pretty fucking poor at times though. With Stuckey as the SG ideally we'd have a premier outside threat either starting or coming off the bench - even if we have to move Stuckey to PG or SF

Assuming we have the following guys on the books:

Monroe, Drummond, Slava
Jerebko
Prince, Singler, Middleton
Stuckey, English
Knight

Assuming we are under the cap by $24 million and are going to save plenty of that to accomodate extensions for our young guys:

Millsap = $9 million starting salary... compliments Dre and Monroe extremely well and the Jazz likely will lose Millsap or Al Jefferson next off-season. I don't recall him ever whining about anything in the past - doubt he'd start now, especially if he's teaming with 2 quality young big men.

With some of the remaining money I'd look to sign JJ Redick (starting salary of $6 million?). A deluxe shooter that might not be part of the future in Orlando, especially with Afflalo and his contract in town. Dude provides what we really need, even though his addition forces us to move Stuckey to PG or SF to get him the quality minutes he deserves

Obviously TWill would get a contract - but I don't think I'd need to give him millions :)

Whatever was left over after signing Millsap, Redick and TWill would be saved for extensions our young guys will want and/or IF we had the option of taking back more salary via trade and/or if a free agent popped up

My roster would see a 3 man rotation at C and PF (Monroe, Dre, Millsap) and a 3 guard rotation at SG/PG (Stuckey, Knight, Redick)

SF would be filled by Prince, Jerebko, Singler, Middleton, TWill... depends on who won the battle in camp

With Slava and English also around I think we'd have lots of depth... and that's without including any 2013 picks

FWIW Redick will turn 29 next June.... Millsap will turn 28 in Feb..

I question why we would even entertain Redick since we just drafted two shooting specialists in the 2nd round, not to mention I want no part of such a huge defensive liability.

You can question the logic all you like but the fact remains Redick is NBA proven while our 2 "shooting specialists" were drafted in the 2nd round and haven't set the world on fire yet

Everyone wants shooters - I would argue that spacing is more important now than ever before in the NBA. Your specialists might not ever really make it. Redick? He's made it, he's proven

Dude has been in the league since 06-07.. avergaes 40% from 3 point range, 42.7% from the floor, 87.6% from the line...

Some other dude you might have heard of has these career acerages: 45.2% from the floor, 40% from 3, 89.4% from the line

Redick's percentages stack up pretty well with Ray Allen's - who I'm sure you rate as a shooter

Ben Gordon was also a proven shooter. Redick is a poor man's Gordon.

You can argue that we would be paying him like a poor man's Gordon, but that would make him no less overpaid.

As for Ray Allen....he can play a little defense. He's a volume scorer, and he can create his own shot. Comparing him with Redick is a very bad idea because unlike Redick, Allen actually has to take contested shots.

Steve Kerr shot %45 from the arc for his entire career. Statistically, he's the most accurate shooter of all time. I wouldn't want him on this team either.

If we at some point in the future develop a Duncan/Robinson type team with Monroe and Drummond, where we actually have a NEED for a defensive liability who makes his living knocking down wide open threes off of double teams, then fine. But we aren't there yet and won't be next summer.

lol @ red dick

The pistons should focus on a new starting SF, not backup SG or PF. Also this team needs a good backup PG, knight can play some sg, others can too.

I'll be off to the final pre-season game tonight, against the Hawks.

planned to stop by, but my flight is getting in too late. I'll be around for the home opener, though.

Just tried Greenlite, Kander's organic Gatorade-type mix. Has mildly icky grassy aftertaste.


Drummond warming up with shots from FT range, Daye almost not taking a shot except from 3P.

CV throws tshirts like a girl.

Stuckey can actually throw worth a fuck.

It's clear that Jerebko is mentoring Slava and that seems like a good thing.

Opening singer has XMen Rogue's hairdo.

Monroe working hard and making smooth moves.

Tayshaun should have figured out how to cover Ashton Kutcher after that second 3P.

Some dude by me is having a fucking coronary
every time Maxiell fucks up. If he survives he might be the next Mason.

Abdenour looked gangsta in the opening ceremony in the dark.

Drummond gets accidental possession off a bad pass and turns it into a make. Cool.

I want to hurt the bitch next to me talking about wearing her fucking lakers jersey.

DeShawn Stevenson is now and forever a dumbass.

Is that a fake swish sound or simply a sonic amplified swish?

Fuck CV is in the game.

How will the lead shrink?

CV's level of D against Horford is vaginal.

Thank you for fouling Max so we can see Drummond play!

These buncha kids shouting JONNY FLYNN are detracting from my Moose+Dre time!!

Who the fuck does Slava have to screw to get in the game?

CV came to play once the 105-87 victory was no longer in doubt.

I want to hurt the bitch next to me talking about wearing her fucking lakers jersey.

Fuck bandwagoners. Can't wait to watch my Heat destroy the Fakers in June...

Fuck bandwagoners. Can't wait to watch my Heat destroy the Fakers in June...

Me, you and Vinny and 'our' Miami Heat will whoop em fer sher.

There were a couple idiot guys wearing SF Giants hats who got put on the Kiss-Cam and were promptly booed.
I was thinking "it's fucking San Francisco dudes -- they might just start homo kissing".

Just to be clear, I wasn't comparing Redick's game with Ray Allen - just the percentages. The numbers stack up... regardless of how they play the game both are quality shooters

I don't think Redick and BG are the same kind of player... and I'm interested in signing JJ to a fair contract



If we at some point in the future develop a Duncan/Robinson type team with Monroe and Drummond, where we actually have a NEED for a defensive liability who makes his living knocking down wide open threes off of double teams, then fine. But we aren't there yet and won't be next summer.

You believe we won't be at that point next summer. I say we build towards that goal because we should get there sooner rather than later

It doesn't matter that Redick is a defensive liability as long as he can channel his man toward the middle... into Monroe, Drummond or Millsap :)

You have him on the roster and on the floor to provide space for your bigs and slashers to do their thing.

We are fucking terrible in the halfcourt! Stuckey isn't a long range threat and while Prince and Knight should be able to keep the D honest they've been off in pre-season... which means the lane is packed tighter than a frog's asshole... which limits our bigs

Based on what we've seen, heard, read about Drummond and Monroe the time is now (next off-season)! We need to build a core of guys around those 2, with players that will compliment their abilities and allow them to flurish.

A proven quality shooter or 3 would be great. A quality big man would be a great. People will talk about signing a quality SF to replace Prince in the starting line up... go ahead, look at the free agent list and pick the quality SFs you want.

Then look at our roster and realise that Prince, Singler and Jerebko all have years to run on their contracts.

We lack quality depth at 4/5 and we lack quality depth at guard - fix those 2 issues with the right complimentary pieces and go from there.

We need to win the lottery, problems solved.

$6 million for redick is absurd. Simply a waste of money. I'd much rather keep English for 800K. He's a great shooter and a good defender to boot.

I believe I had a question mark after saying $6 million...

We need outside shooting... Redick is the most obvious free agent shooter!

If you want to go through the free agent pool and mention some names I'd be more than happy to read it

I don't know that we need more outside shooting yet. We have 3 rookies that can all shoot.

Well, we've got a season to find out if these rookies are capable. Redick was mentioned as a proven NBA player that we could look at as an option via free agency

As previously stated I haven't seen any pre-season games. Middleton, English and Singler could be outstanding prospects but as rookies as don't expect much and when we're discussing solutions to problems I'll go for someone I've seen over any I haven't.

I still beleive signing a high calibre big and a quality guard would really solidify the core we have right now. Having Tayshaun at SF isn't ideal but with I believe we have players under contract that can rotate through that position and do a job.

We need to strength other areas first IMO. Behind Stuckey and Knight we're lacking... and behind Monroe and Drummond we're lacking too.

Kstat - you've pointed out our drama at PF... if not Millsap who would you look to sign that would compliment Monroe and Dre?

$6 million for redick is absurd. Simply a waste of money. I'd much rather keep English for 800K. He's a great shooter and a good defender to boot.
On the money... gotta give my boy K.E. a chance... I'm tellin' N.E. 1 who will listen that this boy can flat out shoot.

so Kim English is a quality shooter - that's awesome.

Can anyone help me out here and provide a scouting report on The British Bombers (English and Middleton) + Singler?

Just want to get my head around how they play

Cause I'm going to "spend" $25 million on free agents I should know what our guys already under contract are capable of

Are Middleton, English and Singler legit long term solutions here? Could they play a role on a quality team?

English is an Afflalo clone, maybe without the handles. Rough defender that can shoot it spotting up or coming off of screens. He's the definition of a pure shooter. Downside is his handle is mediocre.

Middleton is a natural scorer. He fell in the draft because he played hurt last season and he shot poorly, but watching him this month you can see why he was drafted. Nice handle, fluid movements and one of the quickest, compact releases I've seen. His form is a very rare talent. Shoots equally well off the bounce or spotting up. Downside is he's a small forward in Rip's body and his defense isn't great.

Singler is made for the NBA. He's already won the backup SF job over Maggette and Jonas. He does everything well. He makes everyone else better because he has a great understanding of spacing the floor, and he makes quick decisions with the ball. He can shoot with range and also post up smaller players effectively. I think he could be our SF starter long term if we ever move stuckey for a higher volume scorer. If not, he makes for a fine backup.

Well, we've got a season to find out if these rookies are capable. Redick was mentioned as a proven NBA player that we could look at as an option via free agency

As previously stated I haven't seen any pre-season games. Middleton, English and Singler could be outstanding prospects but as rookies as don't expect much and when we're discussing solutions to problems I'll go for someone I've seen over any I haven't.

I still beleive signing a high calibre big and a quality guard would really solidify the core we have right now. Having Tayshaun at SF isn't ideal but with I believe we have players under contract that can rotate through that position and do a job.

We need to strength other areas first IMO. Behind Stuckey and Knight we're lacking... and behind Monroe and Drummond we're lacking too.

Kstat - you've pointed out our drama at PF... if not Millsap who would you look to sign that would compliment Monroe and Dre?

Spot up shooters that don't do anything else are very easy to find. Even if our rookies don't produce, we don't need to shell out more than $3 million for one.

As I said before, milsapp is a perfect fit for this team, but I don't think he would agree to come here and be a backup unless we offered him a boozer type deal.

Chris Kaman would be a better bargain, IMO. He could play the James Edwards role for this team and stay healthier with fewer minutes.

David west and al Jefferson are also candidates, but both guys are in the same boat as milsapp as starters.

Boozer remains my #1 option if he's amnestied.

so essentially Kstat you believe at worst we've got 3 role players in English, Middleton and Singler... and you think Singler could be a long term starter at SF for us!

I hope you're right. Would certainly make next off-season a lot easier on Gores bank balance