Official Detroit Pistons thread

[*JD*]

Overly pedantic. Take those three guys off and its still an insane FA period with a lot of viable second tier guys.

Durant, Westbrook, and Aldridge are off that list too. That's 6 out of 26 with 5 of them being in the top 14. There are a handful of others that have player options (so they may opt to stay for the length of their contract), as well as others that will be restricted free-agents.

My point is that you pulled from an old article and also named Wiggins as a target. He also got $150 million for 5 years, so he wasn't paid like a 2nd tier guy.

[*JD*]

What top level FAs have Cleveland, Milwaukee and Indiana signed over the years that weren’t their own players? I can think of one, and that’s LeBron and those were unusual circumstances.

The Bucks signed Greg Monroe.

[*JD*]

Guys go to Cleveland, Boston, NY, and Chicago. Even Milwaukee, Indiana, and NJ seem to attract guys over us. The snow may be a small part of it, but it's not just that. Even when Detroit was competitive top FA's didn't seem to want to come. The city has a nasty rep and I think thats just as big if not a bigger factor than the cold.

I am hoping some guys see Blake and Dre and want to play with them.

I don't know if JJ Reddick would take less money to play for his old coach (if SVG still has his job next year) but he'd be a good guy to have for 1 or 2 more years, while Kennard learns the ropes.

[Mainevent]

The Bucks did successfully outbid the competition for Monroe. ;)

[*JD*]

The Bucks did successfully outbid the competition for Monroe. ;)

Both he and KCP were bullets dodged. I wonder how much money KCP lost by not going for that 4-year, $80 mil offer that the Pistons reportedly gave him? I'd guess at least $25 mil.

[*JD*]

Here's a more up-to-date list of FA's. It does look like even though KD signed an extension, he does have an opt-out. I'm doubting he uses it, unless it's to get more money from the Warriors.

http://hoopshype.com/2018/01/11/nba-free-agency-2018-the-top-players/

[Lionsfan123]

Seeing how the Pistons fell apart tonight against the Pelicans, is it safe to say the Clippers won the deal and SVG screwed the Pistons for years to come?

[*JD*]

Seeing how the Pistons fell apart tonight against the Pelicans, is it safe to say the Clippers won the deal and SVG screwed the Pistons for years to come?

Blake didn't have much to do with the loss last night (he did take too many 3's, though) and the Pistons had lost 8 in a row with Tobias and Bradley.

In summation: No.

It is safe to say that the Pistons are playing lackluster basketball right now. I'm still hopeful that part of this is trying to get the new pieces to fit and that the All-Star break will give them some much-needed practice time to figure things out. 26 games to go and they probably need to win 17-18 of them to make the playoffs.

[Mainevent]

The Pistons had no chance at being relevant with what they had. They weren’t bad enough to get a high pick and SVG and Gores weren’t going to tank. With Griffin and Andre they at least have a shot at being relevant the next few years (clearly health permitting). And who knows, if another top player becomes disgruntled, maybe playing with those two in the Eastern Conference will look attractive. Not likely but it’s at least gone from no chance to a slim one.

[Whitley]

Even with the addition of Blake, the Pistons really need a totally healthy Reggie Jackson starting at the point. He makes them a much more interesting. And if you look at the roster (when healthy) it is intriguing.

[Futureshock]

NBA fines Mark Cuban $600,000 for tanking remarks
Posted by Mike Florio on February 21, 2018, 5:56 PM EST

Getty Images
Last year, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver gave Mavericks owner Mark Cuban a mulligan. This year, Silver fined Cuban more than a half a million.

The NBA has announced that Silver has fined Cuban $600,000 for his latest round of comments admitting to a tanking campaign lasting more than a year. Cuban admitted to tanking a year ago, but Silver pretended that Cuban didn’t. This time around, there was no way to ignore it.

From the perspective of a league desperate to ensure the integrity of its games (especially with legalized gambling on the horizon), a fine isn’t enough — no matter how big it is — when someone brazenly admits to giving in to the obvious temptation to enhance draft position. Silver should have taken a draft pick from Cuban, ideally the first-rounder that he has been trying to enhance via tanking.

It won’t stop tanking, or remove the temptation to do so, in the NBA or any other sport. Far more importantly for the NBA, it will make it clear to Cuban and all other owners that, if they’re going to tank, they’d better make sure they don’t admit it.

The smart approach, albeit an untruthful one, would be to react the same way Giants co-owner John Mara did when confronted with the obvious reality that benching Eli Manning for Geno Smith was aimed at turning a lost season into a prime draft pick.

“That’s complete b—s—,” Mara said. “We would never do that.”

Sure you would, John. Because you did. But you’d never admit to it. And, unlike Cuban, you definitely wouldn’t admit to it twice.

__________________________________________________ __________________

This is one of the reasons why I can't stand the NBA (I will watch the Pistons if they're relevant and maybe the finals, but that's it). They know, We know, that teams tank purposely to get a better draft pick. Which is why they instituted that stupid lottery rule.

They know, we know, that "superstars" get special treatment.

But don't say it out loud. As if these things that are so obvious aren't true if it isn't said out loud. F u NBA! Candy man, candyman, candyman! Fers!

[CGVT]

I took my wife to see the Clippers/Pelicans the day before Blake Griffin was traded to the Piston. We enjoyed it, but my wife who grew up in North Carolina and is a very knowledgeable college basketball fan, was baffled as to why they didn't play defense hard and crash the offensive boards. Of course being the NBA, a 20 point lead turned into a ten point loss when both teams turned it up late in the game.

My take is that, with some exceptions, the first three quarters of regular season NBA is like really, really, good Y ball, only with exceptional talent and some "Holy Shit! Did you see that moments?" and the real game starts in the fourth quarter.

[FVD]

My girlfriend and I went to the Warriors Nuggets game the day before the Super Bowl. That was a damn good game, both teams were bringing it but the Nuggets went God mode in the 4th quarter and won.

[unknown lions fan]

Goddamn it, Pistons have to have these stupid fucking drum beats on the PA during the game now? It's annoying as hell. Just shut the fuck up, I want to watch the game.

[unknown lions fan]

Griffins defense sucks. The Pistons defense sucks. I don't like o-ball.

Just seeing if I'm interested in NBA ball again...maybe not.