Hart

He never had good handles at Michigan. I wouldn't expect much there. He is a better athlete than given credit for there and can help from the weak side more than people realize. I expect him to be the primary backup to Bagley and depending on how things go with Bagley, he may see his minutes increase during the season if we need more shooting.

You wonder if he has adjusted to the point now where he is actually a plus in the lineup again. A low .700's OPS is not ideal from a DH but a .300 average is still a .300 average.

I think the Tigers were trying to punt this game.

Seems like this happens all the time in the basketball and baseball. People hype a free agent class two years in advance and it never gets close to the hype because of extensions.

"all year" is over-stating it but I could see it happening more than half the year.

If he's going to be a bench warmer anyway, I would be in full support of this.

I have no idea if this is a good deal. I agree with your meh reaction though. The Pistons will be playing him at power forward the next three years and I am not all that excited about have two big guys on the court that can't shoot.

The minutes for the wings should be interesting as well. Cade and Saddiq are locked in. But then you got to balance Burks, Hayes, Ivey, and Diallo after that. Are the Pistons committed to giving Hayes 25 minutes per game again? I hope not. If Cade plays 33 minutes per game, play Hayes 15 minutes per game as his backup and call it good. I really hope they start Ivey or Burks over Hayes.

More than likely, Duren's minutes are going to hinge on the Piston's success. If we are winning, there is a good chance minutes will be tough to come by for him. If we are losing, there is no point to not play him. I think early in the season, minutes will be hard to come by for him because coaches typically default to the veterans.

That’s kind of what I thought too. I was not that excited about going all in on a big name free agent though either so can’t really complain much here.

Livers is a nice option to have in your back pocket. I do like his upside. But it feels like we need another stretch four option besides him. And Olynyk.

I'm not opposed to this but any future first rounders are a ways from being impactful players. We need to make sure we are keeping guys like Cade and Saddiq happy long term. The sooner we make the playoffs, the better. I think using the money by overpaying some second tier free agents on short term deals is still the best way to go.

It sounds like Portis took a discount to stay in Milwaukee last year. This is his chance for a payday. If Milwaukee wants to keep him, I think they'll have to pony up.

I support overpaying role players on short term deals. It's either that or overpay somebody like Ayton or Bridges on a max deal. It seems like it has been forever since we have not had at least one really bad contract on the books and there is a good chance we have buyer's remorse in 6 months again if we max Ayton or Bridges.

I think I would rather spend a little more money and bring in Bobby Portis than re-sign Bagley. Portis would give us a little extra insurance too if Ivey comes in and struggles with his outside shot or Cade doesn't improve his percentage as much as he should.

I don't understand the obsession by some with re-signing Bagley. I think those people are factoring in his draft position. He may be skilled but he is not a good shooter and we just drafted Duren to go along with Stewart. I'd take him back at the right price or even overpay if he would take a one year deal. But I don't think he is a guy we HAVE to bring back.

Yep. Again, this guy was being compared to Chris Webber in high school. He might have been drafted higher if he came out last year. I just think expectations were probably too high for him at Memphis because it does take big men more time to develop.

They don't. But it may be the Piston's intentions to make these two the starting front court and that is what I am worried about.

I don't expect him to be a top level guard on the offensive end. I do think that is a stretch. I am more excited about his defensive potential. It's disappointing he wasn't a better defender in college but the NBA is all about projection and he certainly isn't lacking the ability to be an elite defender. And with Bey and Cade as two of our starting wings, we really need that. Then you add in a plus transition player and average an average shooter and you have a good fit for our third wing player.

Purdue played some good teams in non conference that Ivey shot well against. If anything, I would say that is a better reflection of his game than Big Ten basketball, which severely suppresses a players skills.

That's what I am hoping for. Duren and Olynyk should be a decent pairing off the bench. I still think we need to go out and get a replacement for Grant.

You wonder if this opens the door for Miles Bridges to be our main target now. Not really a guy I am excited about but I think the hole on this team now is a replacement for Grant that has some perimeter game.

I don't know why people assume Ivey's not going to be able to shoot it in the NBA. He's not Mathurin or Murray but he is far better than Killian Hayes. I would be surprised if he is not a respectable shooter, at least by his second season.

I am excited about Duren but if we are running Duren and Stewart out there together like we used to Drummond/Monroe, I will be pissed.

Duren is extremely young so that's a positive.