NYLion

Agreed, Lopez was the main guy I wanted back of the UFAs. The Lions have a lot of holes to fill and are pretty much depending on the draft to fill a lot of them. Gone are Decker, Anzalone, Montgomery, Robertson, Lopez, not to mention that Branch is gone and Kerby who knows, LaPorta who knows, they have no edge opposite of Hutch either with AQM still a free agent. They've upgraded at center but haven't replaced any of the above mentioned names and don't really have anybody internally to fill those roles, lots of question marks all throughout the roster. This is where Holmes not drafting as well in the last two drafts is starting to hurt them, especially taking those swings in the middle rounds on guys like Manu, Vaki and Teslaa.

The Jalaen Phillips and Jordan Davis contracts are terrible regardless of cap inflation. 4 years $120m for Phillips is absolutely insane, I almost couldn't believe that when I saw it. I haven't even touched on the Pearce contract being nearly $30m/yr for a guy with a career high of 47 catches although he is a good player.

I'm torn on Decker being released. On one hand, he was poor last season and had that shoulder injury that never seemed to go away so there's a good chance at 33 that he was never going to be what he was prior to last season again and I think Lions management probably recognized that and asked if he'd take a paycut but, on the other hand, there's a big hole at tackle that now has to be filled immediately pigeonholing the Lions into drafting tackle early (I don't see anybody in free agency that is starter material) so they're in a bind now. Either way, it's sad to see a lot of the old guard leaving and a lot of the new guard injured. I'm really not sure which direction this franchise is going in now whereas they were clearly on an upward trajectory the prior 3 seasons so.... I guess we'll see what Holmes does because he has his work cut out for him big time to get this team back to contender status.

Gibbs is an elite talent and, thus far, durable just entering his prime. I don't care what position he plays, you sign those guys.

There's no way he's extending Branch without knowing if he'll ever come back from that injury (look at Tracy Walker as a recent Lions example). I'd honestly be surprised if Branch ever returns to his previous form and who knows about Kerby for that matter. All of a sudden safety went from a major strength to a major need. LaPorta same thing as well with his back issue that could very well be a chronic thing. I can't see him getting an extension right now. I bet they extend Gibbs soon, I think the writing is on the wall with that one.

I hate to see Montgomery go but I get it from a business standpoint. He's a 29 year old running back with a lot of tread on the tires and he seemed unhappy. To get a 4th+developmental center+7th is really nice work by Holmes and certainly more than I thought Monty would garner on the market but I loved Monty so it sucks from that standpoint. Same thing with Glasgow but that was much more of a no brainer. I'll be interested to see if the Lions restructure some contracts now, looking at you Goff, to clear more cap space because there are quite a few needs and a lot more question marks going into this season than there has been in a long time.

Who can take the NBA regular season seriously anymore when teams rarely play full rosters. It's ridiculous

Buddha is our resident curmudgeon; he'll find any way to downplay the Pistons and also find any excuse to **** on the Bulls so that's fun at least.

Does it matter? Just enjoy watching a very good team play

The Pistons are really freaking good, that's it that's all. Ok, one more thing. Is the drop off from Duren to Reed that drastic that the Pistons HAVE TO pay Duren $40m/yr. I just think that's a lot of money to allocate to a position that can be filled relatively easy considering how good Cade is. Duren is better than Reed of course but $30m+/yr better? Ehh, I don't think so. Just some food for thought when it comes to offseason decisions. Of course I know Duren is getting paid regardless of what NYLion says so...

I don't know, they look pretty legit to me because it looks like they learned to play defense and with all those shooters all over the floor and them finally being healthy that's a dangerous team. I think Kneppel is a real gamechanger for them, very smart player and can score from anywhere. They're probably the one team I don't want to face in the 1st round.

And it'll be worth it after the wife beater kept going at Duren. Stew does some dumb unprovoked things too often but I completely back him tonight, that was awesome and a great game overall. That's the way the NBA should be, the Pistons are bringing the hate back.

Well, they outplayed them most of that series but the Pistons folded down the stretch a few of those games that changed the outcome. The Pistons match up well with them. Conversely, I don't think they match up well with Cleveland because Cleveland packs the paint which takes away their biggest strength so I'm hoping that the Cavs jump into that 2/3 spot.

Not me, I've always been a fan of his. Hopefully we see news of his new contract this weekend and hope it's for multiple years.

Boy were you wrong, how about 38!!!

You definitely err on the pessimistic side but when you're going into a playoff run with old Tobias Harris as your #2 option that's a huge problem. Hell, even prime Tobias wasn't a #2 option on a contender so there's reason for pessimism. I actually think Jenkins can be a viable backup PG because he knows how to play the position unlike Ivey for instance, it's the starting lineup that's the bigger issue. There's something about Detroit GMs where they have a fetish for team culture and locker room harmony which they think can lead a team to a championship but you need the horses to withstand the rigors of a playoff run and the Pistons quite simply don't. Tbh, if they play Charlotte for example in the 1st round they could very well lose that game. The Hornets don't play much defense generally but they have at least 3 offensive options better than the Pistons #2 and I'd argue that Bridges is better than Harris.

Good win against a team but, again, you can see the absolute grind it is for the Pistons in the clutch because they have Cade who isn't really a regular take over guy (like Murray for example) and nobody else who can get you a bucket reliably. This is going to be big problem in the playoffs.

Weird trade, it doesn't make the Pistons better now and they lose on upside. It doesn't look like Ivey is the same player after the injury but he could easily bounce back next season with more time distanced from the injury. With that said, they weren't paying Ivey after this season so I guess they wanted to get SOMETHING for him but this barely qualifies. If you had told me early last season that the Pistons traded Ivey for Huerter and inconsequential stuff I would have said you're crazy but that injury changed everything unfortunately. I actually liked Huerter quite a bit about 4 years ago but that's ancient history now. If this is Langdon's big move then that's a big yikes.

I'm with you on that. I feel a sharpshooter at his size on this roster would make a huge difference. The question is cost, I can't see him coming cheap so what would you be willing to give up? Holland+two or three 1sts+Levert/Harris? If they give up that much MPJ has to be more than a two year fix so they'll likely have to max contract him after that so it's tricky. This is why I'd go all out for Trey Murphy, not only because I feel he's a better two way player than MPJ but also because his contract is a big selling point. Ultimately I don't see Langdon making a big deal like this but I think this is the type of year they should go for it. 36-12 seasons are rare and the east will likely never be this weak again plus this is probably the last year in a long time that the Pistons will have cap flexibility so now is a good time to strike. What do you think of a smaller deal for somebody like Portis to fit into the exception? He can really shoot and has the personality that would really fit on this team. Not much defense I don't think but he'd satisfy the shooting quota.

Are you a fan of bringing in MPJ? Do you have any concerns about his lack of defense and inflated stats on a bad team? Personally, I'm for it as long as the price isn't too crazy. His shooting and overall scoring would be a seamless fit on this team and I think this is one of the few teams that can hide his defensive deficiencies. Trey Murphy would be my #1 target. I'd trade four 1sts+ for him without hesitation but I doubt he's available mainly because he has such a nice team friendly contract for 3 years after this one.

It's a mistake for a couple of reasons. He's not good enough to be a starting 4 anymore and they lose the ability to absorb his expiring contract into next years' cap space if they don't trade him. I suppose they can re-sign him anyway but I'm kind of meh on that tbh. I've said this before but this isn't a championship caliber team. No team with Robinson and Harris in a starting lineup not to mention a non-factor offensively in Ausar is serious about winning a Championship. The Pistons are deep and they play very good defense but they can't shoot, their starters just don't stack up well against other contenders and they don't have a #2 option, a legit #2 scorer and/or shot creator. This season has been a great story and a fun ride but I see playoff struggles ahead for this roster with all their flaws.

I don't think so but it might start to get warm which seems crazy considering they were 15-2 just last year but two missed playoffs with all this talent and two botched OC hires would probably make things uneasy in Allen Park.

I didn't care much for the McDaniel hype, very mediocre results with a claim to fame being a Shanahan disciple, but this hire is very underwhelming. With that said, will just have to trust Dan on this one. He's been 1 for 3 so far with his OC hires so....not great. We'll see

That doesn't mean anything. The NFL landscape is littered with successful offense first coaches that were failures as NFL players. Not saying that Orlovsky would be my first choice but him being a bad QB doesn't mean he'd be a bad coordinator. He's not leaving that cushy TV gig anyway that pays extraordinarily well.

Agreed with all of this although with Ivey I think we need to give it more time. He's still clearly hampered by the injury and has done a solid job scoring efficiently despite in limited minutes. Agreed though that Jenkins should be lead PG of the bench, I have a good feeling about him, he knows how to run a team and has scoring ability. Green is an interesting guy. I wish he was a few years younger but he's a guy I'd love to keep around for another few years if possible, he makes a positive contribution every time he comes in and he's a perfect fit for this culture with that dawg mentality. He and Holland are menaces off the bench and, along with Jenkins and Stew, are the driving forces behind arguably the best bench unit in the league.