Betrayer

Apparently Stewart made some anti-vax post this morning and then his account was deleted afterwards (I'm guessing Pistons PR team gave him a call).

14 hours ago, Deleterious said:

Spo does it again.

Good coaches elevate their teams and make them better than the sum of their parts.

Bad coaches...well, I don't need to explain this. We've all lived through the past 20 years together. Monty was just the exclamation point.

So tired of hearing how "Monty will do better if he gets better players." Sure, and they'll only perform at or below their individual ability. That's the definition of a bad coach. We've all just forgotten because it's been so long since we had Larry Brown and Rick Carlisle.

2 hours ago, Deleterious said:

JEIII has a new article today detailing what he would do this summer.

He trades the 2024 #1 pick, Ivey, and Duren to Brooklyn for Bridges, Dorian Finney-Smith, and the first round pick Phoenix owes Brooklyn (Top 14 protected).

In free agency he would sign Nic Claxton, Delon Wright, and Thomas Bryant.  So this would be the roster next year:

Not terrible.  Little thin at guard.  I think a backup guard would be in the starting 5 with that roster.  But they probably win 30-35 games.

My problem is where do they go after this.  You are really counting on Cade and Thompson to improve for that roster to improve.  

The core of this whole thing is Mikal Bridges, and although it's arguably a slight overpay for a guy who's never been an All-Star, I'd still do it. He's exactly what this team needs, from his defense to his shooting to his iron man availability.

As for what we're losing, I'm ok with it because I don't buy Ivey next to Cade with his streaky shooting and poor defense, and we don't have the luxury of keeping him to be a 6th man. Duren may be a better version of Drummond, but I'm not sure if he'll ever space the floor or protect the paint, and I think you have to do one of those two things to be a playoff Center in today's NBA. As for the pick, we all know it's a weak draft.

His other moves are OK. I haven't run the cap numbers to see if that maxes us out, but let's assume it does.

Centers: I would also have Hartenstein on my list for that Center spot if Claxton gets too pricey. Hartenstein might be cheaper, although his value is going up with his playoff performance.

Guards: I'm not sure I like Sasser, Grimes, and Wright as the other 3 guards. It all depends on how comfortable you are with Wright as your backup PG (and starter for 20 games when Cade is out). I might look to move Sasser (maybe with a couple seconds) to bring in an actual backup PG. We should also keep in mind that Ausar works at SG in lineups with other guys who can space (Bridges, Tek, Stew).

They were always counting on Cade + one of the other 3 to pop or this whole things goes down the drain. Nothing new there. However, none of these contracts are bad (depending upon what Claxton/Hartenstein costs) and this team would probably be good enough to allow our pick to finally convey to the Knicks. That opens up our flexibility even more for future trades to bring in another All-Star.

1 hour ago, Deleterious said:

Finished the Dallas game.  Luka is the best player on earth when he plays defense like that.

Speaking of defense.  6 teams played last night and 3 didn't score 100.  A fourth only had 105.  Playoff basketball.  

That was a really good game. Despite my dislike of Kyrie, I love watching Luka play so I'm rooting for Dallas (and also because Harden is on LA).

It was awesome seeing the Wolves win again as well. Ant has arrived and I love seeing KD fail. Wolves vs Nuggets next round would be epic.

East hasn't been quite as compelling to me yet outside of Knicks vs Sixers.

6 hours ago, Deleterious said:

Just about time to leak some underwhelming names for this job.

Can't get more underwhelming than JEIII saying Casey is a candidate.

10 hours ago, buddha said:

the refs had a nice hand in the end of both games.

that said, i would rather let them play than call everything in the last minute of the game.

There are some people grumbling about the refs, but all of these playoffs games have been officiated like that. It's playoff officiating and I just wish the entire season was officiated that way.

My Mount Rushmore is Thomas, Wallace, Dumars, and Billups in that order. But I never paid much attention to the guys (like Lanier) who came before my time and are probably deserving of a spot.

11 hours ago, buddha said:

that's just the type of stupid hiring the hornets would make.

or the pistons.

JJ has a really good basketball mind. I have no idea what kind of coach he'd make, but I'd definitely interview him. Unfortunately, we haven't even picked our POBO yet, so we'll miss out on even interviewing most candidates and probably be stuck with Monty regardless.

Last night was ridiculous. Two amazing games with crazy endings. That Denver comeback was epic, especially on a night where they shot so terribly from three. Lakers have to be feeling pretty defeated after Lebron, AD, and Russell were all playing well and they still couldn't hold a huge lead despite Denver playing like garbage.

11 hours ago, Deleterious said:

SGA taking over the last two minutes.  Chet had a huge block with about 60 seconds left.

That was the only good game of the day, after a bunch of good ones on Saturday.

I’ll say it once again this year - the Pistons are the victim of identity theft. Miami is now the “going to work” team. Call the cops, or better yet steal Quinn to be our coach this offseason after making Hammond the POBO. 

1 hour ago, buddha said:

it takes like 5 picks/pick swaps to get a good player nowadays.  mikael bridges will be a pretty hot commodity if the nets look to move him.  not sure the pistons have the ammo.  

unless they get the #1 pick and the nets love sarr.

They’re probably going to lose Claxton or simply not want to pay him. Getting a rookie (or Duren) could be appealing since they’d be on rookie contracts. 

Topic and Wemby are gonna be a nice combo. He can set Wemby up on offense and Wemby can cover for his poor defense.

Rough draft for the Pistons. Risacher takes a big dive and nobody in the top 5+ other than Sheppard can hit a three.

Maybe you take a chance on Sheppard's poor size, length, and athleticism not killing him since his raw defensive numbers are so good despite those concerns. He can certainly shoot, but you could just be getting Sasser 2.0, except with a top 5 pick this time. If you do pick him then it's time for some trades (Ivey and/or Sasser).

I'm probably still leaning towards the idea of drafting Sarr and using Duren in a trade package, but that could also blow up in your face because Sarr looks really raw. You'd definitely have to bring in a vet rebounder and rim protector (not Wiseman) to give Sarr time to develop and show him the ropes. I suppose you could just let Sarr come off the bench behind Duren and make the decision at the deadline, but you still need a veteran 3rd big (again, not Wiseman).

I suppose you could also trade the pick. It won't net you much on its own, but maybe in combination with Ivey (and/or Duren) and a future pick to get you an actual player (Mikal or something).

3 hours ago, Deleterious said:

Proof that Cheryl Miller's little brother is a ****ing idiot.

 

So glad someone else noticed this. I was so confused while watching this and listening to him talk.

They said they're going to do it quickly, but if James isn't just making up names and they're actually going after guys from Orlando and Milwaukee, then it probably doesn't get done until at least after the first round of the playoffs. Then that guy has to come in and decide if he wants to keep Monty and Gores, then conduct a replacements search, which means all those good replacement names will be gone.

If Giannis doesn't play a couple of these games, the Bucks could very well be headed home early.

1 hour ago, Deleterious said:

 

I can only hope they're letting the players do their thing and seeing them off before the firings begin and then we don't even need to see those two take the podium.

49 minutes ago, Deleterious said:

Chet played all 82 games this season.

Victor played a very respectable 71.  I think most of his missed games were rest games and not due to injury.

 

Tell me that the NBA has gone soft without telling me the NBA has gone soft. These dudes would have been broken by week 2 in either of the Pistons championship eras.

2 hours ago, Deleterious said:

That is kind of crazy.

 

I just hope it's PHX and LAL. GS can go in the next round so I don't have to watch Daymond choke anyone out.

1 hour ago, casimir said:

If Weaver hasn’t been fired by now, what are they waiting for.

It seems like Gores is the "fire you on a Friday" type of boss. He thinks he's running a more classy organization by not creating mid-season drama and apparently has a blind spot to the fact that doing nothing has created even more bad press and media attention.

Basically, I suspect that even if he had made the decision already, he would wait until the end of the season.

But who knows, maybe this is all wishful thinking and we're going to be stuck with these clowns for 5 more years.

2 hours ago, buddha said:

i want them to fail because they are bad at their jobs amd if they fail spectacularly they MIGHT get fired.  if they get fired, there is a small chance that gores hires someone better.

a very small chance, but a chance nonetheless.  the current regime has no chance at real success, imo other than winning the lottery next year and getting a transformational player.

They've already failed spectacularly. You don't fail any better than setting franchise, NBA, and even cross-sport records for losing. If they don't get fired now, they never will.

And unfortunately, nobody can fire Gores. He'd have to choose to sell and that has little to do with success or failure at the sport itself.

7 hours ago, buddha said:

i hate seeing incompetent management rewarded.  i want to see them fail.  i only wosh there waa a way to make gores suffer for his incompetence but there isnt. 

Which is why it's silly to want them to fail. You aren't punishing anyone but us.

11 hours ago, Deleterious said:

The most Andre Drummond thing ever.

 

Sadly, when I read your intro line I thought this was going to be any one of Duren's offensive plays from the past 30 games.

17 hours ago, Deleterious said:

No need to play Cade. We saw what we needed to see from him this year. 

I need to see him play 65 games for that max contract. He's not helping the case against him being injury prone and/or soft.

1 hour ago, Deleterious said:

JRIII's latest article puts the Pistons assets into tiers and he talks about the most likely to stay.

The prized possession tier is Cade and the 2024 pick.

Second tier is Not quite a prized possession and #3 most likely to stay is Thompson.

His next tier is high upside but circumstances.  Duren is #4 most likely to stay and Ivey is #5.

Next tier is Good players who the Pistons should want to keep and other teams should want, without the high upside.  Fontecchio and Stewart are 6A and 6B.

Next tier is Intriguing but lots to prove.  Sasser and Grimes are here.

Where do Monty, Weaver, and Silas fall on that list?