Joe Dumars said the other day that he is doing his best to improve his aging team and there's "a 50-50 chance" something might happen in the coming months.
Aside from the Tracy McGrady rumor, nothine else significant has surfaced.
Personally, I don't believe T-Mac would be a wise long term investment for the Detroit Pistons because if you look at the Pistons' magic formula over the years, it has never been about a one-man show. And T-Mac is certainly a one-man show.
He averages about 25 per game while the Pistons' current leading scorer doesn't even top 20 per. Deeeetroit Basketball is all about spreading the wealth and team ball, and I'm not so sure T-Mac has the type of personality to stand up to guys like the vocal and enigmatic Rasheed Wallace and Rip Hamilton because throughout his career McGrady has always been the number one option.
In addition, the Detroit organization prides itself on having players that play excellent team defense and nowhere in McGrady's resume does it state that he's a superb defender. He's an average defender, but certainly not one to lock anyone down. And with T-Mac's propensity to go one-on-one and score in bunches, I don't think Wallace and Hamilton would be too happy. Considering Detroit's system on offense, wherein they set constant picks to free up Hamilton and allow Rasheed to operate in the low post as well as the top of the key, McGrady would only be frustrated by the lack of touches and isolations he would get as a Piston. Therefore, I don't see this trade happening unless a third team is involved.
If the Pistons are going to ship some players, they will want a reliable scorer, a top rebounder, and a big man in return who is adequate on defense and is a team player who fits the Detroit mold. One of the main reasons they lost to Boston in the ECF is because the aging Antonio McDyess was simply too inconsistent and he was often beat on the boards by Kendrick Perkins. And although Jason Maxiell was game, he just didn't have enough big game experience to make a resounding impact. Finally, Theo Ratliff is a free agent so there's no telling who the Pistons' backup center will be next year. It's plainly obvious Dumars needs some ammunition inside.
Detroit would probably also want a back up point guard since Lindsey Hunter is thiscloser to receiving AARP benefits. With Rodney Stuckey ready to blossom and Juan Dixon continuing to possess a shooting guard mentality, nothing is clear at point guard for Detroit. The same can be said at the small forward position, with Jarvis Hayes gone and Walter Hermann unsure about returning.
Enter the Los Angeles Lakers. With all the focus on Ron Artest coming to L.A., one thing is clear. No significant progress has been made. Yet.
And with Lakers' management doing a great job of keeping things under wrap like they always do, one would only assume that they're continuing to talk to other teams about potential trades.
On February 2007, I suggested that the Lakers go after Pau Gasol since he would be a perfect complement to the triangle offense with his all-around game. For over a year there were no significant rumors of the Lakers being even remotely interested in dealing for Pau, although they were probably keeping a close eye on him from a distance. All everyone talked about was that the Bulls were heavily interested in the Spaniard but nothing ever came of it. One year later the Lakers swiped Gasol as quickly as a debit card, withdrawing the Spaniard from the Grizzlies with no one expecting it.
With everyone talking about Artest, how do we know Mitch Kupchak and Magic Johnson aren't quietly making calls and sending text messages to Dumars in the morning and late at night? Every time I catch a glimpse of Dumars at the summer league in Las Vegas, he's always on his phone messing with his texts. Could it be possible the Lakers are saying Lamar Odom isn't available to Sacramento because he would be a better fit in Detroit playing alongside Wallace and Hamilton as the third option and number one rebounder on the team? Is L.A. native Tayshaun Prince secretly speaking with Olympic teammate Kobe Bryant behind closed doors after practice and being the undercover liaison between both teams?
Whatever happens in the coming months will be interesting and intriguing all at the same time. The trade that nobody has mentioned thus far is the one involving 2004 Finals combatants Detroit and Los Angeles. Both teams have recent history as trade partners when the Lakers acquired Maurice Evans from Detroit a few years ago for a couple of picks.
Prince and Chauncey Billups (approx. $20 million combined annual salaries) for Odom, Jordan Farmar, Chris Mihm, and second round pick Joe Crawford (approx. $19-20 million combined annual salaries).
The Pistons get two expiring contracts, a highly sought after point guard, they address needs, and most importantly they get younger while still being able to compete in the East and clear much needed cap space for the future by relieving themselves of their long term obligations to Tayshaun and Chauncey.
Meanwhile the Lakers create a veteran-laden starting lineup of Billups, Bryant, Prince, Gasol, and Bynum and move the aging yet dependable Derek Fisher to the bench to create a stable lineup that will probably remain the same for the next three years minimum.
A Pistons' team source recently downplayed a rumor that T-Mac was close to being acquired, noting instead that Houston was "just one of many teams to whom the club has spoken about potential trades." Is one of those teams the Lakers?
Pistons waited too long to trade their core. When you trade you have to get upside or a proven player. While Billups, and Sheed may be proven... they are both old as hell. You could never get anyone a couple of years younger in return, another proven but younger player.. no way.
You can get a rook with upside, a risk but you gotta take those. Or you can try to get equal value from a team that needs a point guard. How many teams need a point guard with Billups skills?(you'd be surprised, there arent that many anymore)
There is a problem with trading the core of the Pistons they are mostlikely gonna get to the semis again, and probably tothe finals before they are again eliminated. So if you trade him you gotta get something, but I dont think Dumars wants unproven players or expiring contracts.
Tayshaun and Rip are still probably immovable, they looked like the best players for the Pistons during the playoffs.
I doubt the Pistons would do that deal. The salaries might match, but that talent doesn't. I don't even think the Pistons would trade either of one of those guys, individually for anyone on the Lakers other than Kobe or Bynum.
The TMac deal makes a lot more sense, as they would get an all-star in return, and Billups is an underrated point guard, who could help Houston. I think when it's all said and done, the Kings might opt to hang on to Artest, maybe at least til the trade deadline.
I'm sure you're going to disagree and give me a bunch of ####, but I'll stick with my opinion.
WrZlt: "How many teams need a point guard with Billups skills?" Chauncey, a halfcourt PG, would fit in HOU, LAL, CLE, ORL, PHIL, and MIN.
PF: "Billups is an underrated point guard" Really? Again, what basketball are you watching? He's been to the All-Star Game the last three or four years.
BLEED: I know most people will say it seems farfetched and that's why I made it a point to bring up the Gasol trade, which also seemed farfetched. If the Lakers catch people offguard once again, I hope you won't be surprised.
I would definetly be very pleasantly suprised should this happen.
I am also well aware of the Lakers history of pulling off great trades (Gasol being the most recent)
Magic, Kareem, Worthy, Mychael Thompson, Bob McAdoo, Byron Scott, Kobe, Horry...the list goes on and on...all aquired by via trades that were in our favor.
WrZlt: "How many teams need a point guard with Billups skills?" Chauncey, a halfcourt PG, would fit in HOU, LAL, CLE, ORL, PHIL, and MIN.
The Lakers could use Billups, but we dont really have anything the Pistons would want to take imo.
Cleveland can use Billups, but all they have is expiring contracts.
Orlando, I thought of this- too but what can they give that Pistons would take? Orlando wont give Dwight, they wont give up Hedo- that leaves Rashard overpaid Lewis. Do Pistons want him and his contract? I doubt it.
Philly- They cant give up any of their proven players Miller, Iguodola, cause they need those guys now that they got Brand. So you'd have to take a rookie(potential/upside like I said)
Minnesota- They just traded away OJ Mayo, for Mike Miller and Kevin Love. What can Minnesota give that Pistons would take for bIllups?(Jefferson isnt going anywhere).
The Pistons dont have many options when you want to get equal value. If you want to trade players for expiring contracts- I would probably do that next year after getting to the finals one more time.
PF: Yeah bro, Billups the '04 FINALS MVP is really underrated. LOL. I'm sure you didn't watch the Finals that year and any of the past Detroit teams which Chauncey LED to the East Finals the last five seasons.
"I'm guessing I watch the same basketball that you do, except I don't propose terrible, one-sided trades that would never happen."
That's what bloggers like you told me when I proposed the Pau Gasol trade ONE YEAR before it happened.
"The Pistons dont have many options when you want to get equal value. If you want to trade players for expiring contracts- I would probably do that next year after getting to the finals one more time."
But the point I'm trying to make is that Dumars has openly expressed his desire to go in a different direction. When a GM goes out in public and says there is a 50% chance something will be done, then something will be done.
Remember, if the Clippers can get a Marcus Camby for free and if the Lakers can get a Pau Gasol for chump change, then aging veterans like a Billups or a Prince can easily be moved for much less than what most people think. That's the nature of today's NBA landscape. It's all about the business and I don't care what anybody says, Odom's expiring contract is worth a lot to teams, not to mention the above average game he brings.
I'll try to bring a Detroit voice here, if it hasn't already been here. Yeah, I've been an advocate of Dumars needing to pull off a big trade; this current group has gotten as far as it can get. But Odom would be only a minor upgrade over Prince, and both are inconsistent as heck. Plus, the PG position would be dangerously young (two second year players), and with a veteran core, that doesn't sound good. But if I'm L.A., I'd do this in a heartbeat!
J-DIZZLE
There's a real distinct possibility that a trade of this magnitude could happen. But as we all know Dumars is astute an assessor of personnel as you could wish to see in the NBA. But when it's all said and done it comes down to what each would feel will be desirable for them to enable this deal to be amenable for both parties.
As for McGrady if he should be traded I can't foresee that he'll want to be in a position where he'll be once again a second option. Though it can be said that in the playoffs he did about as much as he could with the Rockets, and that was more than was to be expected.
My opinion is Dumars isn't stupid enough to make the trade, the Lakers would need to give up another productive player at a minimum.
Could you PLEASE send DNique a postage stamp (that would cover the 10 cents plus loanshark interest), I for one am tired of her constantly bringing up her winning picks...
T-Mac averaged 21 points per game last season.. therefore... the basis of your argument about him.. being a one man show.. and no one on the pistons average more than 20 is ridiculous!
Rip Averaged 18 points per game... T-Mac... 21.. not a big difference!
And secondly.... T-Mac has not been 1st option his entire career. If u didnt kno... he didnt start his 1st few NBA seasons.. plus for the past 2 years.. The Rockets were Yao's team!
J-DIZZLE
Jul 17, 2008
5:35 PM WrZlt: "How many teams need a point guard with Billups skills?" Chauncey, a halfcourt PG, would fit in HOU, LAL, CLE, ORL, PHIL, and MIN.
PF: "Billups is an underrated point guard" Really? Again, what basketball are you watching? He's been to the All-Star Game the last three or four years.
BLEED: I know most people will say it seems farfetched and that's why I made it a point to bring up the Gasol trade, which also seemed farfetched. If the Lakers catch people offguard once again, I hope you won't be surprised.
Once again J-Dizzle!
LAL is not looking for a P.G.. wtf?
They have Fisher, Farmar, and Vujacic... they are deep at the P.G spot!.. they dnt need Billups!
Philly has Andre Miller... they dont need Billups!
Orl.. could use his sevices
Houston could use him.. but there is no way they would trade for another P.G.. they have Alston, Brokes, Jackson, and Francis!
Cle needs improvements at every position.. anything could help
Min needs a P.G but dont have the assests to trade for one!... Love and Al Jeff arent going anywhere!
Wouldnt it be nice! Some All Star caliber players is always nice. Its kind of tough to win it all with only one perennial All Star on a team. I think Bynum would be enough. But Artest, Billups, and or Prince would be nice.
That would be like "using no way as a way, using no limitations as a limitation."
I like your attempts to dispute my points, and although you make a little bit of sense, you are not seeing the overall picture. Your basis comes from a lack of anaysis over personnel and what's good for a team and how specific players fit a system.
Let me break it down for you:
"Rip Averaged 18 points per game... T-Mac... 21.. not a big difference!"
Really? T-Mac has been a number one option in this league since he left Toronto. He led the NBA in scoring a few years ago with Orlando and has scored over 40 and 50 pts multiple times. Rip has never averaged more than 25 for a full season and will never be considered a number one scoring option, while T-Mac has pretty much been a 25ppg player his entire career. That was my point when I wrote that T-Mac will give you 25 per.
Though you make an attempt to compare each players' numbers from last year, the big picture suggests that you are the one who's wrong: T-Mac is a legitimate scoring machine and Rip isn't. Rip is someone who benefits by moving without the ball and isn't as creative a scorer as McGrady.
And if you think the Rockets are Yao's team, you are completely wrong. This is T-Mac's team, as evidenced by the playoffs last year. He, not Yao, is the number one option because T-Mac is the one who controls the ball. GO ask someone who works for the Rockets, and they'll tell you what's up.
And how do you know the Lakers aren't looking for a PG? Fisher is only signed for two more years and he's approaching his mid 30's.
Farmar, although young and talented, has not proven to be good enough to take over the starting position. He tanked it in the Finals and that's all it took for me to realize that he's a tradeable asset.
And although Vujacic can also play the point, Sasha is used as a shooting guard in the triangle on offense AND defense.
Who wouldn't need a savvy veteran like Billups? Trust me, the Lakers could use him til his contract runs out. After what D-Williams and Rajon Rondo did to them in the playoffs, the Lakers will definitely address the PG position in the very near future.
Although Philly has Miller, they'd be better with Billups because now that Brand is there they will become a half-court oriented team. And if you don't already know, Billups is a halfcourt oriented PG. Miller thrived in Denver and he thrived in Philly last year because of their young nucleus which was full of swingmen.
After they got ousted in the playoffs, Philly realized what they lacked and that's why they picked up EB, who thrived with Cassell as his PG. And if you look at Cassell's game and Billup's game, they are very similar. Point proven buddy.
And all those other teams I mentioned, you already acknowledged that they could all use a player of Billups' caliber.
" 'That would be like "using no way as a way, using no limitations as a limitation.' "
I see you have some idea about the way of the dragon.
NBAISTHEWORST:
Will do. I'll even send her a gift certificate to purchase a blouse from Lamar Odom's new clothing line.
LAKERSFAN19:
At least you aren't saying the trade is impossible
DOWNSA529:
I see your point. It would be a big risk for Dumars to have 2 second-year PG's to go along with Rip and Sheed. But then again, which direction is Dumars heading? Is he trying to go young? Is he looking for a good mix of young players and veterans?
I do agree that this Pistons group has gotten as far as it can go, and that's why I think the inconsistent Prince and the veteran Billups will be the first two to go.
" But when it's all said and done it comes down to what each would feel will be desirable for them to enable this deal to be amenable for both parties."
Couldn't have been said any better.
I think there's a chance Dumars will go young because he's already heading in that direction. Amir Johnson, Jason Maxiell, Aaron Afflalo, and Rodney Stuckey ALL got valuable minutes last year.
At the same time, veterans Jarvis Hayes, Juan Dixon, Lindsey Hunter, and Theo Ratliff all seemed to have fallen out of favor as far as minutes are concerned.
These are some of the other reasons why I think JoeD will be looking to unload Prince and Chauncey. And if he does, it will be to a Western Conference team. And I don't think it will be the Rockets because Houston really wants to see what the Yao-T-Mac tandem can do when healthy.
Trading Billups and Prince for a decent player and 2 no-names????? You must think Dumars had an anurism. That would send the Pistons right back into NBA mediocrity.
I wouldn't make that trade for Bryant, Gasol, and a Bryant clone. We'll give ya Rasheed Wallace, his attitude, and a first round draft pick for Odom and a 2nd round pick. Deal?
I'll take it. No team would be able to stop Bynum, Gasol, and Wallace on the front line.
'Sheed would be the perfect three because he can step out and hit the three. Plus Sheed's attitude in exchange for Lamar's lack of consistency and assertiveness sounds like a good trade.
I see your point but Rasheed's technical fouls hurt the team with needless free throws and suspensions. By no means am I a Lamar fan, but his shortcomings could be relegated to the bench, eventually traded to a poorly run team that would welcome inconsistancy in exchange for a few points from an overrated player with a big name. So we trade him to Cleveland for their 2nd round pick, surely to be an early one. Problem solved, everybody happy.
krjones226... Trading Lamar to Cleveland may be appealing to the Cavs except for one thing, his huge contract. With the Cavs already paying Ben Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak big money, will they be willing to take on $12-15 million for Lamar after be becomes an unrestricted FA? My gut tells me no. Plus I don't see Detroit making any deals with division rivals.
As far as Sheed goes, the Lakers wouldn't mind the technicals. Kobe was among the league leaders in technicals and they did fine. The reason Sheed has been acting up in DET is because he didn't have as much respect for Saunders as he did for Larry Brown. When Brown was there, Sheed helped DET win a title. If he were to come to L.A., it's a safe bet that Phil Jackson, Kobe, Fisher, Kupchak, and Magic Johnson would be enough to keep the volatile Wallace in check.
My point was Cleveland makes some absurd decisions. Ben Wallace and his huge contract is a case in point.
Rasheed has been an attitude problem since draft day. Portland finally had enough and shipped him to Atlanta, who truly didn't want him. Any player making that kind of money shouldn't pick and choose which coach he's gonna respect. He gets paid to play, not act like a 2 year old because he disagrees with the coach. We Pistons fans like Flip, He's a good man with a good coaching philosophy, but even his biggest fans will agree He and the Pistons were not the right fit. That's no reason to act a fool and ruin the lockerroom attitude, which is what he's done his entire career. But it sounds like Laker fans want him, so I hope it works out for you.
Go Rasheed, from the current Detroit franchise to the franchise that started in Detroit.
UC IRVINE graduate and proud to be an ANTEATER. My claim to fame is having played against the likes of Tayshaun and Tommie Prince, Jacque Vaughn, and Charles O'Bannon, plus getting dunked on by Schea Cotton in a CIF second round match in the nineties.
WIDELY KNOWN on FOX as one of the most biased LAKER HOMERS in blog history, highly criticized for hating on the PHOENIX SUNS fan base, and has been told on more than one occasion that LAMAR ODOM isn't worth the suit he's wearing.
Believe that "excellence is not an act but a habit."
Believe that the things you do and the things you don't do, they all send a message.
Believe that in order to know the world one must first know thyself.
And believe that it's the journey not the destination.
Finally, as the great Bruce Lee once said, "Man - he is constantly growing and when he is bound by a set pattern of ideas or way of doing things, that's when he stops growing."
This is the Way of the Dragon. Embrace it.
