Official Pistons Summer League thread (old thread from 2006)

[Matt]

i think Amir needs to just work on one thing to become an asset on this team and rotation player: one-on-one ball handling and breaking down defenders.

easier said than done, of course, but if he can consistently use his quickness to penetrate, there's no reason why he shouldn't get PT this coming season. we've got plenty of spot up shooters, that he doesn't really need to perfect that part of his game. he can drive and dish/finish, and that'd be a huge addition to our bench.

IF Amir can grow into a legit NBA player, where does that leave Joe D in terms of "he sucks at drafting"?

[DrRay11]

Most will concur that Joe sucks drafting in the lottery only for the most part. Some will argue that Delfino's not been good, but you have to look at Tay, Memo, Max (looks promising, anyway) and Amir (same with him).

[Uncle Mxy]

More on Rodney Billups:

http://www.duclarion.com/home/index....e-94de01886e96

[Matt]

More on Rodney Billups:

LINK

"Honestly, I haven't played against any point guard that I can say was better than me," said Billups. "Last year there were many guards that challenged that statement. Here I feel like I am two steps ahead of my competition."

i think he stole Chauncey's confidence.......send it back home!!

[Joe Asberry]

very interesting interview with Joe Abunassar who developed & prepares KG, Tay and Chauncey for the NBA season, right now Acker and Amir are working out there...

http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=1371

...Alex Acker is from Detroit is a guy I love, he’s another guy spending the summer down here with me along with his teammate Amir Johnson. They’re two young guys who pretty much entrust their summer to me and say “this is where I want to go, you tell me what I need to do to get there.” So now that I have the facility out here in LA, they’ll be coming in over the summer as well as going out to Vegas when we open there on August 6th.

But, you take a young guy like Alex Acker and Amir Johnson and we can really do a lot of things in the summer. We’ll consult with the Pistons staff and ask them, “Where do you need him to be next season?” Then I bring together my performance team and we sit down and say, “This is where he needs to be by the 4th Thursday in June to be where we need him to be by October.” So, we’ve taken it to a pretty scientific level. We’re trying to create a complete athlete.

When I prepare Chauncey and Tayshaun to have the type of seasons they’ve had, that establishes a good relationship with the Pistons to the point where they’ll call me and ask for my opinion about something and take it at face value, not like it’s etched in stone or anything, but the trust is there. I enjoy it and the way I think I’ve been able to do that is real simple. I’m for the player, that’s who I work for. I just train. I’m not trying to be anyone’s GM or anything like that. The player knows that I’m for him.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to lie though. If you’ve got Chauncey the last thing you want is to tell Joe Dumars or John Hammond that a draft player is good when he’s not good. Because they’ll look at you and it will make Chauncey look bad. So, I try and be honest. A lot of the guys that train players in this process are trying to get NBA jobs, or work for Adidas or something like that, I don’t want any of that stuff, I train, and that’s what I do. I’m aligned in the middle because of it. If the team wants something then I’ll help them out, if an agent wants something then I’ll help them out, but if a player wants something that’s my first priority. All I care about is making sure the guys I train have a great year, that’s really it. Look at Jay Williams, I’ve been thrilled by his workouts. People have been surprised, as you guys were with how much progress he’s made and that’s just…cool, it makes me feel great.

great news Amir and Acker working hard to get better, plus i hope we get a shot at signing Jay Williams, he could be the quick backup PG we desperately need for cheap money...

[Taymelo]

Nice find.

[Higherwarrior]

excellent article. great find. thanks!

it's so encouraging to see those 2 kids committing to improve their games. i have the most hope for amir as i think he can be more than just a decent bench player. i think, longterm, he can be a real player in this league.

we sure could use hi athleticism off the bench and the change of pace he would bring our offense. he's one of the 'new era' guys we need to help with the way the game is being played/officiated now. but yes, ballhandling is a huge thing for him.

as for acker...i had high hopes but he disappointed a bit with his nervous play. he has skills but i'd like to see a lot more improvement from him. he did really well in the D-league but then again, that was the D league.

let's hope both go on to become real players for us. goodness knows we need some young studs. there are few other opportunities to add young talent to this team. other teams around the league are bursting at the seams with young athletic studs; we need a few of our own or we'll eventually be left in the dust.

[Cross]

If only Amir could bulken up a little, he could also play the 4 as well.

The question still remains, do we sign them both?

[Pharaoh]

Yes, Acker and Amir should be on the roster next season.

[Taymelo]

There will be a number of familiar names on the Detroit Pistons' summer league team, which begins play in Las Vegas July 8-14.

In addition to second-year players Jason Maxiell, Amir Johnson and Alex Acker, others on the summer league team will include Rodney Billups, the younger brother of Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, and Wayne Wallace, center Ben Wallace's nephew.

Also on the team: 7-foot center Marko Jovanovic, point guard Frank Williams, guard Rashein Wright, 6-9 forward Sam Hoskin, who starred at Detroit's Bishop Borgess High School, and forward Nik Caner-Medley.

Should we start the debate on Frank Williams making the team now, or later?