Hart

It's probably not related but it felt hard to move into the new era as long as Cabrera was hanging around.

I actually don't mind the reclamation projects. Fetter seems to be one of our most valuable assets at this point. Flaherty worked out nice this year and Lorenzen the same last year. I would not even be surprised if Maeda bounced back next year. If we can hit on half of those guys, that seems better than risking a large deal on a pitcher.

There's risk to waiting too. The best offer may have already been given and may come off the table if that team finds another pitcher.

Is there such a thing as starting pitch depth in the modern era? If a team does think they have it, it's not going to be long before they don't have it. On Dingler, it seems like a good sign that he improves the following year when he repeats a level. Performing much at AAA this year than last year and he did the same thing with AA the prior years. Limited sample sizes but at least something to give us hope. The question will be can he makes the hardest jump, which is the next one.

I'm good with this. I'd rather do this than overpay a free agent who we are going to want to unload in two years because we paid him way too much. Which does feel inevitable to me at this point.

Andre was never a competent free shooter and Jalen turned himself into one last year. I am not betting big money on Duren's three point shooting but I would like to see where it goes. Duren needs to expand his game more and more towards the perimeter as he develops.

True. But Raymond did make the team after signing his entry level contract and Seider was not held back either other than spending the covid year playing in Europe. Not sure why they have been so conservative lately.

Any chance Buium makes the team out of camp next year? He's the same age as Edvinsson. Also, the fact Denver shut down a loaded Boston College team in the championship game is encouraging. I know his brother is top prospect but Shai was right there with him in +/- on the season.

Yzerman is working from a really tough position not having a top center to build around. Other players would fit their role so much better if we had that guy. I heard Matt Shepherd say today that fans tend to overrate the players on the team they root for. I agree with him on this as a general rule of thumb. I am not a hockey whiz but I have started following it closer in recent years and I wonder if a guy like Seider is really worth 8.5 million. That's just outside the top 10 in salary for defensiveman. I really don't think Yzerman has any choice but to pay him and hope he keeps developing. But I do wonder if we are overrate our own players.

Hard to swallow missing the playoffs again. Yzerman needs to find ways to continue to upgrade.

He’s not aggressive enough scoring. He has too much of a point guards mentality. I agree it’s a problem. He needs to be taking something close to 25 shots per game. If his shot is legitimately improved, which I think it is, he should be averaging 30 per game.

I still think Cade is deferring too much. The assist numbers are nice but I would rather have him be more aggressive as a scorer the first three quarters of games.

That was too bad. Ivey looks like his technique and effort on defense are getting a lot better but really got screwed on that one.

14 shots is not enough for Cade.

Cade and Ivey with some tough foul calls against them tonight. Officiating is poor to say the least.

And when you read NBA trade rumors, its seems like Ivey is the guy other teams want (knowing Cade is not even worth asking about). Probably an indicator of some coaching issues like you say.

Seems Ivey has more value to a team that does not have Cade. Neither are point guards but they both still need the ball more than your average two guard. Now might be a good time to trade him.

Jrue Holiday was a big loss for them. He set the tone on defense and I think was more important than the organization realizes. We'll see if the trade works out for them in the playoffs.

No reason to continue watching this game.

It's still the first half but the Pistons have been more competitive the last couple of weeks, at least to my eyes. Still not very good but not the pushovers we were during the losing streak.

It's just too early to say we should trade him before we have to pay him though. He's played 87 games and came in as one of the youngest players in the draft. We have two years after this year before we have to decide if he is worth paying. I would much rather see what he becomes and then decide whether to pay him than to trade him sooner rather than later so we don't have to worry about paying him.

I do think Duren will get there with the mid range game. I don't expect him to ever be a major shot blocking threat but I'm okay with that. He's not a liability with his defense either. I know some people think rebounds are an archaic way to judge a basketball players usefulness but after watching the Pistons this year with and without Duren, being able to clean up the glass still has a good amount of value in my mind.

If centers really aren't that valuable, then we don't have to worry about somebody else paying him either. We can't just roll with James Wiseman, Marvin Bagley, Isaiah Stewart types as our center rotation. Duren is a big step up from those guys.

I am gaining back some of the faith I was losing in Cade. I still don't think he is a point guard or be our future at the point guard position. I really want the Pistons to find a point guard who can handle the ball at a high level and shoot well to complement Cade. But at least he is showing signs why we drafted him #1. I am losing faith in Ivey. I think this is more a Monty thing than an Ivey thing but the match does not seem to be working. Maybe it's a Cade thing as well and they just don't mesh well. I wouldn't sell low on Ivey because I think his effort has improved and if we trade him, we are likely to regret it later. But we should at least be shopping him and I would image that is happening behind the scenes. I am all in on keeping Duren. Nobody is untouchable but we have improved a lot since Duren came back from injury, even if it is not showing up in wins and losses.

Stewart has actually been a decent three point shooter this year so I don't think he is the problem with our floor spacing. I agree there is probably something with Bojan getting most of Ausar's minutes that are helping Cade. I also hope he is just getting better. That is what would really be beneficial to the Pistons. We need Cade to be able to win us some games even with crappy players around him. That is what great players can do. Then once we get good players around him, the Pistons should be very good.