1. They let a guy go who obviously didn't want to be there. 2. They now have some money to use on MULTIPLE players to help build the depleted bench. Everyone is counting Detroit out of it next year but it's ridiculous....The Bulls won't be able to beat the Pistons next year in the playoffs. The Pistons will start McDyess who will do very well and if they signa few nice FA's like Reggie Evans they won't be in any trouble at all.
So they are better off because they now have a little money and they lost a BIG part of their success who is a 4 time defensive player of the year?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (streetshox23 @ Jul 4 2006, 01:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>So they are better off because they now have a little money and they lost a BIG part of their success who is a 4 time defensive player of the year?</div> Yes...He's 32 years old...his defense is overrated and he's useless for half the game. Adding 3 solid players in place of him in my mind makes them better.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BCB @ Jul 3 2006, 10:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Yes...He's 32 years old...his defense is overrated</div>I agree...He won the DPOY 4 times, because he was a championship contender 4 times, and he was in the spotlight in Detroit. Don't get me wrong, he's an outstanding defensive player. But they gave it to him purely off reputation. They're were other guys more deserving.
Well BCB I am an optimist and I like your points. We gave it a shot and gave Ben a fair offer and he declined. Now we con focus on the future. I was talking to Lightsout on AIM about Nazr Mohammed and I think he would be a good fit, along with a scorer on the bench. Please people, you can't ride off Detroit as a contender just yet.
He still has <u>atleast</u> 3 years left in him. I dont see how his defense is overrated. And how is he useless for half a game?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (streetshox23 @ Jul 4 2006, 02:04 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>He still has <u>atleast</u> 3 years left in him. I dont see how his defense is overrated. And how is he useless for half a game?</div> Ben Wallace is only an average 1 on 1 defender...his blocking numbers have gone down a lot over the last couple of years, guy is an amazing leaper and still gets boards but add that in with him being useless on offense, I don't think it's a good signing. It's too much for someone his age...he obviously didn't want to play in Detroit.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (streetshox23 @ Jul 3 2006, 07:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>He still has <u>atleast</u> 3 years left in him. I dont see how his defense is overrated. And how is he useless for half a game?</div>As in hes only useful on the defensive end which is true. Yeah though the one good thing about Ben leaving is they can really explore the FA market and are a lot more flexible.
I agree, Big ben is getting old, and his numbers are dropping.Better to get rid of him now, then until he isnt as good.Im not a detroit fan...but good move on their part
At first people were saying that Big Ben was needed, then they were saying he's overrated, and now people are saying they don't really need Big Ben and are in better shape?Please...Big Ben was a huge part of the Pistons being successul over the last several years.No he's not as good as he was 2 years ago, but he's not a bum either. I think the Bulls will be much improved just by adding him, and Detroit needs to be wary of them...the Bulls won't be a pushover by any means, in that division.And if the Pistons don't add any quality players, noone can say that they've gotten better either...so they better use that money they didn't want to give up wisely...and add some key role players, several actually, or their run is over.
For next year, definately not. They let potentially the best defensive player in the League go, and the anchor to their defense. They dont really have a legitimate Center anymore, and Rasheed is getting ever more over, and there have been signs of him declining like his "performances" in the playoffs this year. He really let the team down..
No offense BCB, but this year's free agency class ain't special especially when Pistons practically are using what most other NBA teams are using. So what do they have that's going to leverage players to come to them. It will be tough, and I don't expect them to sign anyone that will replace what Ben brought. I do agree though, it was smart to let him walk for that much money. It will benefit them in the future, but as of right now, Pistons have gotten worse and their window might be closed. But Dumars is a good gm and expect Pistons to do something, most likely they will have to through trade. Signing three people from this free agent class, and since I've heard Linsday Hunter resigned does not help a whole lot. Their going to have to trade.
Detroit's short era is slowly coming to an end. Despite having 3 all-stars, they have no good young players. This really hurts them for the future.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TheAnalyst @ Jul 3 2006, 10:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Detroit's short era is slowly coming to an end. Despite having 3 all-stars, they have no good young players. This really hurts them for the future.</div>Tayshaun Prince?
Not resigning Ben Wallace does not give the Pistons any extra money. They were going to resign him with his bird rights, so the only money the Pistons have is a little over the MLE and that is still all they have. Maybe they can get Pryzbilla, but that is all.The Pistons are going to hurt. To think otherwise is crazy. The team had little depth overall to begin with. And now they are even thinner. There isn't a center out there that the Pistons can realistically get. Next thing I hear is that when Chauncy leaves next year after he opts out and wants $10 million per, that they are better off. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rok @ Jul 3 2006, 09:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>No offense BCB, but this year's free agency class ain't special especially when Pistons practically are using what most other NBA teams are using. So what do they have that's going to leverage players to come to them. It will be tough, and I don't expect them to sign anyone that will replace what Ben brought.I do agree though, it was smart to let him walk for that much money. It will benefit them in the future, but as of right now, Pistons have gotten worse and their window might be closed. But Dumars is a good gm and expect Pistons to do something, most likely they will have to through trade.</div>The thing is that the Pistons don't have many tradeable assets unless they are willing to give up one of the big 4 (Billups, R. Wallace, Rip, and Prince). They have no other young players or really good players. 'Dyess is there, but they really need him now.Edit: The pistons are built to win now. That is one reason they traded Darko. This move doesn't help them, unless they plan on sucking enough to get Greg Oden in the draft next year.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pistonfan11 @ Jul 3 2006, 11:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Tayshaun Prince?</div>Hes 26 basically in his prime now. And even if hes not in his prime thats the only good young player they have.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The thing is that the Pistons don't have many tradeable assets unless they are willing to give up one of the big 4 (Billups, R. Wallace, Rip, and Prince). They have no other young players or really good players. 'Dyess is there, but they really need him now.Edit: The pistons are built to win now. That is one reason they traded Darko. This move doesn't help them, unless they plan on sucking enough to get Greg Oden in the draft next year. </div> Their going to have to start thinking about trading one of their four. The funny thing is with the Darko issue, they traded him to make more room for Ben's contract. And not only did they not sign Ben, but they traded Darko. But I don't think Pistons fall badly enough where they land Oden.
Im sorry but I do not see how losing your star player puts you in any position to be a better team or however you exactly worded it.Look at it this wayLets reverse the situationAllen Iverson is the 76ers right? You could safely say that he is the "Nucleus" of the team. So, he gets traded to the Celtics, they now are in BETTER shape because he didnt want to be there? Answer no.Just because the Pistons have a great starting 5 doesnt mean that they are in better shape with out their bigman. Its even more of a slap in the face to the Pistons that he signed with the Bulls for such little more a year. Ben Wallace was the Pistons. I dont care what you say. Fear the Fro? Who was that? Ben. I dont ever remember seeing them say Fear the shiney head guy running down the court. I.E. Billups. They no doubt are a good team. Do not get me wrong but there is no way that you can say they are better of with out the "Nucleus" of there team. They won the ship WITH Ben, then got to the ship again WITH Ben, went to the Eastern Conference Finals WITH Ben. Those WITHS you can not replace. The stats do not lie and you can't go against the history and productivness that he had when he was a Pistons. End of story.
It's called business and the Pistons are being smart about how much to add. Adding Ben Wallace keeps their team intact and giving another shot at the title. But if it ends with no ring, their stuck with a bad cap situation because of the large contracts. You have to draw the line or you'll end up like the Knicks. Pistons won't be hinged on a contract down the line and will be able to make better moves because of this. Now it's a bad move but it's one for the future. Good gm's and owners plan ahead and in the present, that is what he's doing. It looks bad for the Pistons now but he knows down the line their going to have a old one dimensional center they can't trade. You can't always think about the present, your team will only fail.
I'm not writing off Detroit as a contender just because Wallace left; there's more to it than that. Detroit doesn't have a true franchise player. They were able to win because they had a great team that played together flawlessly. Now that Big Ben is gone, their team defense will suffer. Not only that, but in the playoffs last year they seem to have lost the chemistry that made them so good in the first place. When other teams start to unravel they can hand the ball off to their best player so he can carry them to victory. The Pistons never had that. If they can get someone like Nazr they'll still be very good, but I can't see them being any better than they were the past few years. Most likely they'll be worse.They'd be better off saving the money for a guy that could put them back on top, but they'll have to deal with not being a contender for a year or two.
