Detroit Pistons: With Sale Complete, the Real Work Begins

Finally, the Pistons can come out of neutral.

Finally, the excuses about hands being tied and transitional periods and all the rest can be put to bed.

Finally, there will be some moves and some accountability.

In what has been over a year in the making, the Detroit Pistons have finally been sold to Beverly Hills billionaire Tom Gores.

 

So What Exactly Does This Mean for the Pistons?

To begin with, everything. This team has been floundering for a few years now, and team president Joe Dumars has apparently been unable to address the myriad issues facing this team due to the ownership being in flux.

Now, we can get rid of all of the "what ifs" that have accompanied this franchise for the past year.

Make no mistake about it, this is the most important day for the Detroit Pistons and their fans since they won their last title in June of 2004. This move sets the tone for all other moves.

 

So, What Exactly Does Gores do first?

First off, he needs to determine if Dumars deserves another crack at running this franchise.

I have stated in the past that Dumars' reign as the top man for the Pistons should be broken down into two semesters.

In the first semester, he had the golden touch, transforming a disfunctional franchise that had lost all sense of itself into a defensive titan that won a title. He brought back the red, white and blue uniforms and ditched the hated teal. He signed Chauncey Billups, traded for Ben Wallace, Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace, and drafted Tayshaun Prince. He was a god amongst men.

In the second semester, his touch was anything but golden. He mistakenly traded Billups for a washed-up Allen Iverson, he traded Arron Afflalo for essentially nothing, he signed Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to ridiculous deals that did not pan out, he gave Hamilton a ridiculous extension and just this past season he missed out on a chance to trade an unrestricted free agent-to-be Prince for a first round pick. Don't forget, he also missed out on a chance to trade Rodney Stuckey and Hamilton for Ray Allen and Rajon Rando.

The first semester is an "A," the second an "F."

Some would argue that this makes his tenure a passing one and he deserves a chance to straighten out the mess. Those same people argue that there aren't a lot of good candidates to replace Dumars.

Other people argue that he got lucky in the first semester, and the second semester is a better indicator of who he really is. They argue that there are plenty of good options out there as general managers such as Steve Kerr, Kevin Pritchard and others. They say that Dumars doesn't deserve a chance to right the ship.

Regardless of where you fall on this spectrum, the fact of the matter is that Gores needs to sit down with Dumars and decide where he fits on said spectrum.

Whoever leads the Pistons needs to map out a scenario for the team to regain its form. They need to plot a course and decide what type of team this will be. Will it be a team that tries to model itself after the teams that have been successful in Detroit, or will they ride the trend of the current model of building around superstars?

Personally, I think Dumars will stay for a year or two, but he will have a short leash. If the team fails to improve, he will get jettisoned quickly.

 

Will John Kuester Return?

Absolutely not.

No offense to Kuester, who by all accounts is a nice guy that is very knowledgeable about the game. But he did not work here, and it reached a point where he lost this team's confidence.

So either you can replace the entire team, or you can replace the coach.

Kuester may have one year left on his deal, but it is much more prudent to replace him.

 

So Who Replaces Kuester?

To quote Top Gun, "the list is long and distinguished."

You can either bring in a veteran coach like a Bernie Bickerstaff, Rick Adelman or even a Mike Woodson, you can promote a hot shot assistant coach like the Bulls did last year with Tom Thibodeau, or you can try to bring in a rock star like a Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson or even bring back Larry Brown.

The biggest name out there as far as Pistons fans are concerned is Bill Laimbeer. Laimbeer would constitute a rock star and a hot shot assistant. However, he is relatively inexperienced and would represent a bit of a risk. Sure, the fans would love it, but would it be the best move?

Personally, I think this move will tell us all we need to know about how Gores feels about his team president.

A veteran team president like Dumars will not want a big name coach brought in. The big time coaches always want input with the roster and have the tendency to chafe general managers. So if Gores makes a splash and brings in someone like a Van Gundy, we will know that he is really the one calling the shots and Dumars is on thin ice.

On the other hand, if Gores hires an inexperienced coach it means that he has full faith in Dumars and is leaning on his leadership.

This is such an intriguing scenario to watch, I personally am somewhat befuddled on which direction Gores will go. There are reasons to think that either option will be the one chosen, but if I had to guess, I would say that Laimbeer will get a shot.

 

 So What Type of Team Will the Detroit Pistons be?

This all depends on how Gores goes about answering the above questions. If he sticks with Dumars and they settle on Laimbeer as the coach, I think the Pistons will begin to be built the way they were in the past.

This is the one franchise that has only won without a top 10 player on its roster. The Bad Boys teams that won in 1989 and 1990 came close with Isiah Thomas, but at that point in his career he was probably just outside of the top 10 when you think of players during that time (Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, James Worthy, etc.).

Obviously the 2004 title was the epitome of teamwork without a superstar as nobody was considered even on the fringe of being in the top 10.

But no other team seriously attempts to go this route. Going back 30 years, no other team has won a title without at least one of the top 10 players in the game. In fact, you could argue that no team has won without a top five player.

The problem with this model is that those types of players are hard to come by. Of the top 10 players in the game, it is not likely that any of those players is available via trade or free agency. Furthermore, this year's draft is the weakest in years, and there will not be a top 10 type of player available when the Pistons draft at number eight.

Therefore, the Pistons should go with what works for them. The last time the Pistons had a top five caliber player, Grant Hill, they never got past the first round and attendance numbers were atrocious.

This is not the average fan base. They will support this team if they are built the right way and they play hard.

This team needs to identify which players that they currently have fit this model and which players are available via free agency, trades and the draft that fits this mold.

 

So Who Should the Pistons Keep?

The Pistons have a lot of personnel moves to figure out. Prince and Tracy McGrady are unrestricted free agents, and Jonas Jerebko and Rodney Stuckey are restricted free agents. Hamilton, Gordon and Villanueva have large contracts that are guaranteed for a few years.

Prince is likely gone as is McGrady which is fine. Stuckey likely will be offered a ridiculous deal, and if that happens Detroit would be wise to let him walk. If they can bring him back for around $5 million per year or his qualifying offer of $3.8 million, that won't kill the roster. Jerebko is coming off injury, but he deserves a nice raise and will be back.

Now it gets interesting. Hamilton needs to be shipped or bought out. He has about $25 million left on his salary for the next two years, but I believe only $20 million is guaranteed. Regardless, he needs to be moved. Chicago might be interested and Detroit could take back Luol Deng in exchange.

Next, Detroit needs to figure out what to do about Gordon and Villanueva. Essentially, those two are guaranteed over $60 million for the next three years. One or both of those players needs to be dealt. Gordon is the better player, but Villanueva probably has more trade value. If Detroit is able to deal Villanueva, this team opens up some options.

As Detroit's roster stands now with Hamilton and without Stuckey, they officially are sitting at around $48 million. If they sign Stuckey to the qualifying offer of $3.8 million and pay Jerebko around $2 million per season that puts them around $54 million.

The NBA likely will institute a hard salary cap starting next year. If we keep the luxury tax threshold as an indicator (set at about $70 million), the cap will likely sit at around $75 million.

Obviously the Pistons will try to deal both Hamilton and Villanueva, but the salaries will have to match up pretty close so you are likely looking at a salary number sitting at around $54 million with the potential to add $15-$20 million more in salaries.

Now the two players that Detroit drafts in June will add to this, probably taking up about $5 million. This will give the Pistons about $10 million or so to play with.

As of now, this team really only has a few positions that are spoken for. This team is going to be built around Greg Monroe. Basically everyone else is expendable.

If you keep Gordon and Jerebko, they will likely be subs. If Stuckey stays, he will become the starting shooting guard. The rest of the roster, with the possible exception of Austin Daye, are complimentary players that will comprise the bench.

So if the starting lineup has Monroe at either the four or five and Stuckey at the two, that leaves three starting positions available.

The Pistons will likely find another starter in the draft and they may be ready to plug Daye in as the starting small forward. That still leaves one starter left.

 

Who Should Detroit Draft?

I will expand on this in the weeks to come with subsequent articles, but as of now I think the draft will shake up to allow Detroit to draft Kemba Walker from Connecticut. He is the type of talent that can come in and help immediately, plus he has the character and toughness to build around.

The Pistons need to get back to their roots, and who better to draft than the one player in this draft that calls to mind Isiah Thomas?

The other choices are more complicated and much more risky. In all honesty, I think if Walker gets drafted before eight, the Pistons will probably draft an international player, and nearly all of those players are projects.

Bismarck Biyombo calls to mind Ben Wallace, but he is incredibly raw. Jonas Valanciunas has a lot of skill, but needs to bulk up. Jan Vesely is an explosive player but needs to refine his offensive game. Donatas Montiejunas will probably be picked before eight, but he has an interesting mix of offensive fire and defensive tenacity.

But will Dumars be confident enough to shrug off the Darko Milicic pick from 2003 and roll the dice on another international project when the fans are already disgruntled?

 

Who Should Detroit Target in Free Agency?

This will be a crucial part of Dumars' plan. Can he strike gold like he did with Billups and Antonio McDyess?

The key will be to potentially overpay a restricted free agent that is on the verge of stardom.

I will touch on this in another article, but there are options out there. Nick Young, Thaddeus Young, Earl Clark, Kris Humphries, Marc Gasol, Sam Young, DeAndre Jordan and plenty of others.

If Detroit grabs Walker, and keeps Stuckey, you could be looking at holes to fill at small forward and at either center or power forward. If you are content to play Daye at three, then you can throw a lot of money at a big man.

DeAndre Jordan would be a nice addition. Detroit could probably outbid the famously frugal Donald Sterling for Jordan, especially since they have big contracts already set in place up front with Chris Kaman and Blake Griffin.

Marc Gasol is probably the only other option for Detroit, but the Grizzlies will probably find a way to keep him. If not, look for Detroit to offer a huge contract to the Memphis center.

If Detroit could bring in either Jordan or Gasol to pair with Monroe, Stuckey, Walker and Daye, this team will be a fringe playoff team. More importantly, this team will be built in a way that the fans can get behind them.

 

Should Fans be Optimistic?

I would say that today is a good day for the Detroit Pistons in that they finally can get on with their lives. They can move forward, for better or worse.

That being said, there are so many variables in place right now. All speculation about how Detroit will look for next year hinges on the first couple moves that Gores makes.

First he decides Dumars' fate, then Kuester's, then the roster.

This is a team that is not devoid of talent. Therefore, it is a time of guarded optimism for Pistons fans. How guarded that optimism is and whether or not they build on it depends on how well Gores settles the above questions about his newest purchase.

No pressure Mr. Gores!

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/719642-detroit-pistons-with-sale-complete-the-real-work-begins

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