Also, what's it going to be Krista?

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060924/SPORTS03/609240653/1051


THE OFF-SEASON: It's report card time for summer school

September 24, 2006

BY KRISTA LATHAM
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

The Pistons' training camp begins Oct. 3. Most of the players are in town, working out at the practice facility.

So what grade should the Pistons receive for their summer body of work -- letting Ben Wallace walk when Chicago upped the ante to $60 million; signing steady yet uninspiring Nazr Mohammed to fill in; and bringing in long-admired guard Flip Murray for a less than $2 million a year? How's a B-minus sound?

Until we see the team play, we can't assume, given the additions and subtractions, that this group will fare better than the one from last season that had 64 victories and reached the Eastern Conference finals. Wallace was too big a part of the Pistons' success to predict improvement in the wake of his exit.

But a few positive things were accomplished since June. By letting Wallace go, president of basketball operations Joe Dumars stuck to a philosophy that is almost always smart in the NBA's economic model: Don't overpay for talented players who rely heavily on athletic ability.

Dumars played it safe by not overpaying for a player who likely already has shown signs he is past his prime.

As for the additions, Mohammed, though certainly a step down from Wallace, is at least a step up when it comes to offensive abilities and free-throw shooting, and a big step up in terms of coach relations.

Murray, meanwhile, has the front office staff excited to have legitimate scoring depth on the bench. With Antonio McDyess sucking up some of Wallace's time, and with Carlos Delfino promised a solid chunk of court time to make a case that he's ready to be a full-time contributor, Murray completes an eight-man rotation that should allow the starters more rest -- especially mental rest -- than they've had in past seasons.

B-minus it is. The Pistons must hope that turns into something more impressive in June.

Contact KRISTA JAHNKE at 313-223-4493 or kjahnke@freepress.com.

I'd like to cop out and give them an "incomplete" until we see how this new starting unit and the Delfino/Murray/Youngsters/Lindsey bench pans out, but if I had to assess a grade strictly for the offseason, I'd probably go with a C.

Things that count against this offseason (like Ben leaving) could actually work in the favor of future offseasons (not having so much money tied up in an aging offensive liability that plays world class defense).

The hard part about "grading" something like this is that it would help to have some insight or confidence in Davidson's big picture plan, but we don't have that. We're left assuming that the luxury tax will not be surpassed.

If I had to grade each transaction right now I would say:

Evans for Samb: +
Ben for salary relief: -
Nazr at the MLE: push (would have preferred the Elson/Butler package)
Murray on the cheap: +
Cato gone (if he is): +
Sid Lowe leaving: no factor
Drafting Blalock: no factor
Losing Delk: -
Re-signing Lindsey: push (+ for his on court play, - for his contract size/length)
Signing Dupree: no factor
Losing Acker: no factor
Porter/Cowens added: TBD

Yeah, looks like a C for now.

I'd give us a D. Krista's grading easy because she wants more plum interviews with JD.