View Profile
View Forum Posts
Private Message
View Blog Entries
View Articles
Monday, December 24, 2007
Ryan (Grand Rapids): ESPN is reporting that Chris Webber could be back by the first week of January. What trade is Joe Dumars working on now? He could send Primoz Brezec to Seattle for a trade exception and do the same with Flip Murray to Denver and Walter Herrmann to Golden State. Then Detroit would have three spots – one for Webber, one for Gary Payton and one for Ronald Dupree.
Langlois: Wow. You’ve eliminated any chance Joe D gets some down time over the holidays, haven’t your, Ryan? I’d hold off on making plans to see Webber that soon, if at all. As for trading all those guys, there are a lot of teams out there trying to move bodies to teams with trade exceptions, but those teams have been very reluctant to take on salary – many because they are already facing luxury-tax implications.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Travis (East Lansing): On TNT, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley were talking about how they thought Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming just didn’t fit well together. What do you think of a trade that would send McGrady to the Pistons?
Langlois: All depends what they’re giving up in return, Travis. McGrady has $44 million coming to him in the next two seasons in addition to the prorated portion of his $19 million this season. The Pistons would have to trade two significant players to make that trade work – something like Tayshaun Prince and Antonio McDyess. That would be a tough one for the Pistons, who no longer have Nazr Mohammed’s contract to throw in to such a deal to balance salaries. And as dazzling as McGrady can be, he always seems to be missing games with some nagging injury or another.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Brian (Richmond, Va.): I know you are going to get 10 million and one questions about the current Webber rumor now circulating. What do you think? Will he accept a reduced role for the chance to win a championship? Who would we give up to open roster space?
Langlois: Will he accept a smaller role? If that deal happens – and, as I’ve said, it’s not a slam dunk – then you can bet that Dumars will have made his vision for Webber’s place on the team abundantly clear to Webber. So, logically, he’ll have accepted the role the minute he puts his name on the contract. As to whom the Pistons would try to trade – or waive, if it came to that – it’s tough to say. Flip Murray wouldn’t seem to have much of a role now that Lindsey Hunter has found a niche and Rodney Stuckey is due back from injury, but Murray does offer a security blanket in case Chauncey Billups were to miss a few weeks. Walter Herrmann’s role is limited, but the Pistons might want to hang on to him in case Jarvis Hayes’ slump lasts much longer and they decide to see how Herrmann fits behind Tayshaun Prince.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Ron: During the preseason, it was reported that Denver expressed interest in the availability of Flip Murray. Do you know what other teams are interested in adding him?
Langlois: It’s tough moving players in this market, Ron, because of tax implications facing so many teams. Even teams that don’t face tax implications have been cutting players recently to avoid having to pay them their full season’s salaries, which would have been guaranteed had they stayed on the roster past a certain date. That’s why the Clippers recently cut Ruben Patterson and Memphis let go athletic second-year guard Tarance Kinsey. If it’s widely thought the Pistons are going to waive someone to add Chris Webber, then teams might be content to sit back and wait to see if they can pick up someone like Murray for free. As for who might be interested, hard to say. Miami has expressed the desire to add another point guard, but Pat Riley is looking for someone who’s a strong outside shooter. That’s not Murray. Washington just signed Mike Wilks. Boston has to be in the market for a backup point guard after Eddie House’s travails against the Pistons and Gary Payton has expressed interest in joining Boston.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Mike (Phoenix): What was up with the shot selection of Prince and Billups in the Boston game? How many more seasons do you think McDyess has left? Who’s our sixth man this year?
Langlois: Prince just had a bad game offensively, no getting around that. I’m guessing your reference to Billups was because of the late-game heave as he was falling out of bounds. The Pistons were milking the shot clock and Billups was trying to draw contact from Rajon Rondo and get to the foul line. He’s one of the very best in the NBA at doing exactly that, but it didn’t work that time and he wound up having to launch a prayer. As for the sixth man, it’s Maxiell now but it’s going to be a shared deal soon – Maxiell the first big guy off the bench, Stuckey the first backcourt substitute. I anticipate both of those guys playing about half the game when Stuckey rounds into shape.
--------------------------------------------------------------
David (Grand Rapids): Why has Flip Murray not been getting much playing time? And why do the Pistons trade for guys who don’t play? Did we trade Nazr Mohammed just for cap room?
Langlois: Flip Saunders likes how Lindsey Hunter’s harassing defensive skills complement the mix. If he uses Hunter for five minutes or so in each half, that’s all the support Chauncey Billups needs. Saunders also likes the way Arron Afflalo defends when he’s been called upon. That squeezes Murray out of the mix, pretty much. And everybody’s going to have to adjust again when Rodney Stuckey comes back. As for the Charlotte trade, as I wrote extensively on Pistons.com, yes, the primary motivation behind that trade was financial. The two players the Pistons acquired have expiring contracts and Nazr Mohammed will still have three years and about $20 million coming to him after this year. That will allow Joe Dumars to pursue a quality free agent this summer, if he sees a good fit.
--------------------------------------------------------------
John: How come Flip Saunders substitutes automatically with about two minutes to go in the first quarter? The game is about matchups. He should substitute for need.
Langlois: To some extent, he does, John, but he – as most coaches – also likes to have some semblance of continuity. Most players, too, like to know what their role is so they can prepare mentally and physically for what’s asked of them. Yes, you must be cognizant of matchups, but when you’re dealing from strength – as the Pistons feel they are – then you play your best players and let the other guy worry about matching up to you.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Renee (Troy): That Boston game was awesome! I don’t care about the writers’ strike – my favorite TV is on until July. Do you think the Pistons should have tried harder for Grant Hill? Do you think Afflalo will get minutes behind Prince if Hayes doesn’t come out of his slump? Langlois: The Pistons let Hill know he was wanted. My feeling all along is that it was going to be too tough for him to come back to Detroit unless no other attractive option presented itself. And when both Phoenix and San Antonio got into the bidding – both solid organizations with legitimate title hopes – it was all over. (Though I do wonder if Phoenix is asking too much of Hill given his medical history.) Afflalo might get some minutes behind Prince against small forwards that wouldn’t overwhelm him physically, but so might Walter Herrmann. Still, I think Hayes is going to have a pretty long leash and I think he’ll come out of his shooting slump soon.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Roy (North Star): I’m really excited to see our young guys playing this year. With Stuckey coming back, I can see a lineup of Stuckey, Afflalo, Maxiell and Amir. Who do you think the fifth player would be? Cheikh Samb?
Langlois: Unless injuries hit, Samb isn’t going to be active most nights, Roy. You won’t see the other four guys playing together very often, I’m guessing, unless the Pistons are comfortably ahead. Flip Saunders is far more likely to sprinkle a veteran or two into the mix rather than go with all those young guys en masse.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Oriel (Panama): Is it possible for the Pistons to trade for Pau Gasol now that they have expiring contracts?
Langlois: I don’t see a fit between Memphis and the Pistons to make a Gasol trade happen, Oriel. If Memphis were to peddle Gasol – and they’ve continued to say they’re not going to – it’s logical to assume they would want to get younger and start over, essentially, building around Darko Milicic, Rudy Gay and Mike Conley. I can’t see Joe Dumars packaging Rodney Stuckey, Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson, and they undoubtedly would be the centerpieces, in some combination, along with draft picks and expiring contracts, that Memphis would request.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Henry (Southfield): As I was watching the Pistons on TV, one of the officials blew his whistle and everyone stopped. That got me to thinking if there has ever been a hearing-impaired player in the NBA and how that situation is handled.
Langlois: Mike Glenn was a terrific college player at Southern Illinois who had a long career with the Hawks and Knicks. He’s run a basketball camp for hearing-impaired players since 1979. There are high schools for deaf students all over the country that field basketball teams, as well.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Bryan (Remus): How does the trade with Charlotte help the Pistons sign Chris Webber when we lost two players but added two players. Isn’t everything still the same? I don’t get it.
Langlois: The Pistons still have 15 players on the roster. So they can’t add Webber unless they make another move first. What has changed is the trade with Charlotte has improved their salary-cap situation so that if they did clear a roster spot – even if it was by waiving a player, which would still obligate them to pay his salary – they could sign someone else to a veteran’s minimum contract and still stay below the luxury-tax threshold.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Andrea (Battle Creek): What is the cellophane-type material I see the players pulling up from the floor after they chalk their hands at the beginning of the game?
Langlois: An extremely sticky substance that cleans all the dust and debris off the bottom of their sneakers so they don’t slip and slide on the court, Andrea.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin (Royal Oak): I get tired of hearing callers to talk radio constantly claiming Flip plays his starters too many minutes. Do you have any available information on actual minutes played?
Langlois: It’s a non-issue this year, Kevin. Go to NBA.com and you’ll find players ranked in order of average minutes per game. The Pistons are all well down the list this season. Going into Sunday night’s game with Houston, Rip Hamilton was leading the Pistons minutes per game at 34.5 – which ranked 61st in the league. Tayshaun Prince and Chauncey Billups were 71st and 72nd at just over 34 minutes. That means they’re all getting close to seven minutes off per half of basketball.
--------------------------------------------------------------
J.R.: I was unable to watch the Pistons hand Boston its first home loss of the seaon, but checked the box score as soon as I got home. The first thing that jumped out at me was that Paul Pierce was held to 11 points on 31 percent shooting. How much of Pierce’s poor outing can be attributed to Prince’s defense and could this matchup end up being a major problem for Boston if these two teams meet in the playoffs?
Langlois: It’s a pretty small sample size, J.R. Pierce has had big games against the Pistons in the past and will in the future, but in Prince the Pistons have someone as well-suited to hold him in check as just about anyone. But All-Star-caliber players usually win their share of the battles, and I’m sure if the Pistons and Celtics meet in a seven-game playoff series, Pierce will inflict his share of damage.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Erik (Muskegon): With the Mohammed trade, do you think that Dumars is making room for Shawn Marion? I see the Suns need a big man and now the Pistons have two expendable ones. Also, all the rumors over the summer besides Kobe were that Marion was unhappy and the Suns were looking to trade. With three expiring contracts (Herrmann, Brezec and Murray), two of them being big men, do you think this could be pulled off? It also allows a Webber comeback without the worry of waiving a particular player.
Langlois: The Suns aren’t looking to dump Marion, Erik. They were open to moving him over the summer if it meant getting another All-Star type in return while marginally improving their cap situation. But that team thinks they have a legitimate chance to win the NBA title and management knows they don’t have a huge window of opportunity with Steve Nash nearing his mid 30s.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Wil Ledezma
Bookmarks