So what if Charlie Villanuava is planning a Swedish takeover, I finally tooned Pistons Rookie Greg Monroe.

Yes, I know I still need to toon Terrico White and T-Mac.

What will we do without a little Rasheed Wallace when the 2010-2011 basketball season is upon us?

Now that Rasheed will be doing other things with his time while we are busy keeping up with the NBA I couldn’t help but reminisce about his memorable times in a Pistons uniform.  So I decided to start a recurring segment here on Need4Sheed called Nostalgia SheedStalgia.

Before I start bringing you ridiculous quotes or amazing shots he called glass on, I decided to bring back something that pretty much made this website what it is.

Sheed vs. Stewie

Video Courtesy of Fox’s The Family Guy – Editing by Need4Sheed.com

Will Bynum, as always was kind enough to do something special (besides dunking on 7 footers) for Pistons fans.  I put a call out to for you to to “Ask Will” a question.

You asked, and he answered.

We originally thought we were going to do a podcast, but due to technical difficulties we did it the old fashioned way.

So here we go…

From Damien Washington
Time to go down memory lane: The Bobcats are in town. 5:24 left in the 2nd. You looking over the shoulder of Gerald Wallace, Stuckey sets a screen for Charlie, you burst to the baseline….

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?!

Actually 2 or 3 plays before, we ran the exact play and twice I came off the pick, got into the paint, and got an assist and (I think) a basket,or foul. I knew Gerald Wallace was a gambler on defense, so I faked the pick and roll and went baseline..I saw Tyson Chandler and there it was….

(In other words: What made you decide, “You know, I wanna dunk” and then pull off said dunk against Tyson Chandler?)
The opportunity presented itself.

Photo Getty Images

From Ziga Kranjec (Slovenia, Europe)
Will if you could go back in time and play against any NBA player, who would you most want to dunk on?

Bill Russell. Because I think he is one of the greatest defenders of all time.The ultimate defender. He made blocking shots an art. Not only did he block a lot of shots he altered just as many. I think the challenge of dunking on him would be a lot tougher and extremely exciting.

Photo Courtesy of The NBA

From Mike Brouty
Who has been the biggest inspiration in your life as far as motivating you to get you from where you were years ago to where you are now as a pivotal player on the Detroit Pistons?

I don’t think it was a particular person but many things and people have motivated me over time. My upbringing… the things I’ve seen and lived, competition, believing that I’m just as good as the best player. I believe that God has blessed me with an amazing talent level and I know my full potential can only be reached by outworking the next person and that fire alone motivates me to succeed…on top of being in love with mastering the game.

From Wade Saari
Will, what has been your favorite moment in a Detroit Piston uniform?

Making the playoffs my first year. The atmosphere of the playoffs and being a part of that would be my best moment.

From James Steven (Austrailia)
Are you ok with coming off the bench? Would you prefer to start?
What have you done this off-season to prepare for next year?

I would definitely prefer to start but I’ve been through so many things and in so many situations and played so many roles that I can adjust to any role and be successful.

This year, I’m training under Tim Grover at Attack Athletics..I’m making 300 to 500 3′s a day, doing physical therapy on the ankles, defensive drills, improving my conditioning, hip strengthening and breaking down film on myself and the strengths and weaknesses of league point guards.

From Fariduddin Muhammad (Chicago)
Being a native of Chicago, how has Chicago shaped you as a man and ball player?

The things I’ve been through in Chicago made me who I am today. It helped me to be able to appreciate the opportunity at hand and to NOT let it pass me by.When I go home and look into the kids’ faces and see the hope, despite the circumstances… is when my desires burn to be great….that was me. I have to be at my best for them. I have to show them that the dream can become a reality.

From Ollie (North Carolina)
Will, have you seen the film Black Dynamite? If not I highly recommend it. If so, have you thought of asking the folks at the Palace to play the DYNA-MITE jingle modified of course to BYNU-MITE whenever you have one of your incredible dunks?

LOL…no, I haven’t seen it. But I’m sure it’s probably funny.

From Chris LaPensee (Ann Arbor) and Me!
When are we going to see BYNUMITE in the Slam Dunk Contest?!?!

Hopefully next year. If the good Lord continues to bless me with great health I would love to be in it!

From Janae Richardson (Chicago)
I am a single parent raising boys in Chicago. I read about your upbringing and wanted to know what did his mother say to him to keep him away from the trouble? How was he encouraged to NOT join in with everyday street thugs? What can I tell my boys? Ages 13 and Tell him also how much Chicago loves and needs him to BE an example. The youth are watching,listening and hoping.

My moms focus everyday of working and supporting the family spoke for itself. I use that same focus and approach in life, with whatever I’m doing. I have two brothers who went in the gang and street direction early on and I learned from their situations what to do and what NOT to do. The streets have NO future. On top of that, I always played basketball and the neighborhood knew and respected that, for the most part. I would suggest you tell your children that it’s okay to be different and to say no. It’s okay to set goals and chase your dreams and that the only way to achieve it is through hard work and discipline. And to never be afraid of working hard at whatever they decide to do. I hear you Janae.

From Jacon St. Pierre
My question is how much of an adrenaline rush do you get when you fly over guys that are almost twice the size of you?

I get a calm rush looking at the fear on the facial expressions of the opposing teams, the coaches and the fans at away games and at home games it gives me a big rush and makes me want to do it again…and size doesn’t matter..lol

From Joanne Ross
McDyess was famous for his superstitions. Any unique pre-game rituals?

I pray…everything else is personal

From Danny Bohnlein

Is there any fear when you take the ball to the rim and elevates when a 7 footer goes up with you to block the shot?

No fear, none whatsoever!

Will loved all your questions and unfortunately his favorite was on that I had asked him, but he did pick a runner up of the Limited Edition BYNUMITE T-Shirt.

The Winner is…Janae Richardson (Chicago)

I would like to thank Will again for taking the time to answer our questions, but I’m even more excited that we get to see  him in a Pistons uniform for the next three seasons.

Not back to the question I asked Will…
I know you prefer Will The Thrill, but I have been contemplating a name change here at Need4Sheed.com, would it be so bad if I changed to BYNUMITE.com?

LOL..Natalie, I’m with that. I’d love that..It would be an unmeasurable honor!

I choose yours…Natalie…lol.. But if I have to choose one I choose Janae Richardson’s.

Now with that, I leave you with this.

I think it’s probably time to change the site’s name. I have a handful to choose from, but I may just put it to a vote. Stay TOONED.

Due to my unmistakable awesomeness me being extremely busy, I have neglected my fellow Pistons fans. While Danny is doing a great job keeping you busy and up to date, I’m doing by best to stalk keep up with our favorite players.

As an “I’m sorry,” I’m giving away one of my Favorite Need4Sheed T-Shirts to one lucky Pistons Fan.

This one is easy to win, just Follow Me and Danny on Twitter and Tweet the exact phrase below.

Just like @Need4Sheed_com, I think George Blaha is Awesome!  #CountThatBabyAndAFOUL

Why Blaha? Because he’s the man, and because he’s being inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.

I’ll be taking entries all week and will announce the winner (picked at random) on Friday August 27th.

Also be on the lookout for the Will Bynum interview and the Winner of the Limited Edition BYNUMITE T-Shirt.

(photo courtesy of mLive)

The Detroit Pistons and their 2nd round pick (36th overall) Terrico White agreed to a 2 year deal yesterday.  White, a 6’5 combo guard from Ole Miss, averaged 15 points and 1.5 assists per game last season for the Rebels.  It has been reported that White will see time at the point guard position, a position he saw limited time in while at Ole Miss.  Many NBA draft “experts” have said White has “NBA Draft Lottery” talent, but that he does have a problem creating shots for others as he ranked among the worst ball distributors of all starting guards in NCAA Division 1 last season.

White is described as a “toolsy” player who has the leaping ability, the mid-range game, etc to compete on the pro-level.  Many have said his game translates most to former Piston Flip Murray.  White showed some flashes during the Summer League, with his best game probably coming against the Lakers where he scored 17 points.  Other positives include: he’s a solid mid range shooter, he’s an adequate on the ball defender, he does not turn the ball over (1.3 turns per game last season) he’s a solid rebounder for a guard (4.6 per game) last season, and he has a 6’9 wingspan.  Some things he needs to work on is his aggressiveness taking the ball to the basket to draw fouls, and setting up teammates for scoring chances.

With the signing of Tracy McGrady, and the addition of White to the roster, the Detroit Pistons now have 15 players under contract for the 2010-2011 season.  In order to make a move to acquire another player they would need to cut and/or trade the same amount of players in return to make changes to the roster.  I expect White to see the majority of his playing time happen in the NBA D-League this season.  Depending on how he performs (as well as current Piston combo guard Rodney Stuckey) he may have a better chance of making the NBA Pistons’ active roster next season, barring injuries and/or trades that happen this year.

He’s a young guy that has some time to develop.  Having seen some of his highlights from the Summer League games, I can see him becoming a rotation player at some point down the line for this team.

“The Davidson family and its constituents, working together with Palace Sports & Entertainment (“PSE”) management and Citi Private Bank, have instituted a robust process that is well under way,” the release said. “We are extremely pleased at the level of serious interest from multiple potential buyers in purchasing the Pistons and PSE. Via MLive

Get used to seeing this, Pistons’ fans.  Let’s see Arnie work some magic on these old knees.

If you thought the Pistons’ roster was loaded with wing players prior to the signing of Tracy McGrady, well, it’s even worse now.  I’ll be the 35,739th Piston fan who has questioned this move since finding out about it, and I’m likely not the only person who has taken the 96 available minutes between the SG and SF positions and tried to find a way for all of our wings to play.

Honestly guys, I can’t find anything positive about this move.  McGrady is a 7 time NBA All Star, he is a scoring champion, he is able to create his own shot, and he has the size to play both the SG and SF positions while also possessing the ball handling abilities to play PG on occasion.  What I also know is the team has used a mid first round pick on a small forward (Austin Daye) and 2 second round picks on small forward/power forward hybrids in Jonas Jerebko and DaJuan Summers.  Let’s say the acquisition of McGrady runs Summers out of town, you’re still left with Tayshaun Prince/McGrady/Daye/Jerebko.  Dumars has also used draft picks on Terrico White while there were other big men available in the draft this year.

(Let’s be honest with ourselves folks, unless Jerebko puts on about 25 lbs. of muscle, he’s not a power forward.  At best he’s a tweener who is better suited for playing power forward because he lacks the overall foot speed to keep up with small forwards on the defensive end of the floor).

I am not pleased at all with this pick up.  So he comes in and plays well?  What happens next?  The Pistons use whatever cap space they have next year to re-sign him?  He has 0 value on the trade market because if he plays above his contract value, he will only return the veteran’s minimum in contract unless we package him with a “bad” contract.  Even then he has limited value because who ever acquires him would not retain his “bird rights” going into the offseason, so they would be stuck paying him a portion of their mid-level exception and/or a significant chunk of their available cap space for a then 32 year old SG/SF who has lost explosion off the dribble and who has a history of injuries.

It’s easy to argue “We gave Chucky Atkins the minimum”, but Chucky Atkins is a veteran point guard who has come off the bench before and who could also, and say what you want about it, serve as a mentor for the younger point guards on the roster.  McGrady started to break down again last season when the Knicks played him heavy minutes after they acquired him.

Right now, this roster has even less balance than it had before.  Without another move in mind, or agreed to in principle, this move makes absolutely 0 sense.  The guy is a talented player, in 2003.  Right now, he’s just going to eat minutes from guys who need them to get experience and/or he’s taking up a roster spot from a big man who the team so desperately needs.

Evidently Joe Dumars’ answer for our post problems is Chris Wilcox and Ben Wallace.  Monroe is there but, if McGrady is coming in and taking minutes from Daye then who’s to say that Wilcox won’t be taking minutes from Monroe?

The Pistons have reached an agreement with Tracy McGrady.
The agreement is for the league minimum which is $1.35 million.  This also probably means they will be dealing Rip, Tay or both.

Discuss Pistons fans!

We have new man in town, are you happy?

I never thought I would be tooning T-Mac, but then again I said that about AI.

With the news of Mike Ilitch expressing interest today in buying the Pistons some things need to be said.  While I would love for the Ilitch’s to buy the team and keep them  in the state, I’m skeptical of the timing and the public statement by Ilitch to the media.

Think about it, if you wanted to pursue a business deal, wouldn’t you make the deal behind the scenes first and then notify the media when you knew the deal was in place?

On the Pistons side of things, there has been a major beef between Davidson and Ilitch that’s been public knowledge for years.  And that pesky lawsuit doesn’t help one bit.

Tom Wilson joining forces with Ilitch can’t make the Davidson clan feel good about selling the team to a man who already owns half of the states professional teams.

Yes it’s Caesarland, but how much dough does Ilitch holdings have?  I don’t think enough to successfully sustain a payroll of three major sports teams.

And if I’m Mike Ilitch and my dynasty of a hockey team is playing in that abysmal, beyond outdated arena that sadly bares the name of Joe Louis (he deserves better), I would be ecstatic rolling both of my teams right in the Palace of Auburn Hills.  It sure doesn’t look like the city of Detroit has enough cash to even think about financing a arena befitting of that team.

It’s like being handed the keys to a full furnished penthouse apartment when you live in a slum.  Would you move?

It seems like a perfect fit and a story that will make the headlines.  Ilitch “All Hail Caesar”….

Will it pan out?  I sure hope so.

Call me a pessimist if you will, but I just made you think.

Via The Detroit Free Press:

“Michael Ilitch said today he wants to buy the Detroit Pistons and move the team to a new arena in downtown Detroit.

The Ilitch bid is for the entire Palace Sports & Entertainment organization, not just for the basketball team itself. If successful, that means that the Ilitches would also own the Palace of Auburn Hills arena, the DTE Energy Music Theatre and other aspects of the Palace network.

In a statement issued this morning, Ilitch said he and his family are committed to building a new arena in downtown even if their bid for the Pistons fails. The new arena would serve as a home for the Red Wings, which continue to play their games at the aging Joe Louis Arena.

“No one should get too excited just yet, because this is the first step in what could be a long process,” the Ilitch statement read. “There is a lot of due diligence to take place, and who even knows if the Pistons would accept any potential future offer.

“But I can tell you that we are serious about this, we’ll be aggressive in the process, and we’re going to take a real hard run at it because it makes sense for our organization.”

The statement added, “Whether or not we end up buying this Piston team, we remain focused on a new arena in the city of Detroit, and that will serve as a great catalyst for future economic development in the city.”

The statement said the Ilitches were formally notifying the Pistons today of their interest in buying the team, a required first step. Negotiations are expected to take several weeks.

If this happens…..Pistons fans can breathe a sign of relief We will even have Tom Wilson back….I feel SWEDEtastic right now.

Everyone is clamoring for the Pistons to make some sort of offseason move. The first real news  is that Joe Dumars is considering adding Tracy McGrady to the roster.

Via MLive:
“Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said late Saturday that the team is considering signing free agent Tracy McGrady.
“We’re checking it out,” Dumars said via text message. “We’re discussing it over the weekend.”

I’m not a fan of McGrady, but if the Pistons can sign him to a one year deal a the veterans minimum it’s a win for Detroit. You get a big name at a bargain price adding some value on the roster and putting bodies in the seats at the Palace.
Will he put us in playoff contention? No

Will his attitude change (he has playing time issues)? Not likely.

Why the move exactly?  I don’t know.

• Great, great read over at Pistons.com (5 part series) on Will Bymum Part I and Part 2.
• Look at the cover boy on the Pistons new Marquee! I don’t mind seeing Will when I’m driving up to the Palace.
• I don’t care how bad off the Pistons are in terms of finances or fan turnout.  I don’t want to see this when I head over to Pistons.com.

• The NBA announced their Marquee games of the Season…no surprises here.
• Ben Gordon is changing his number to 8 and he’s also on Twitter @BenGordon8.
• I say we start pooling our money together…Forbes – Why the Pistons will sell at a discount.
• Special K says Dumars is working on the Front Line.
• George Blaha will be inducted to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.  Who’s taking me?
• Who is Terrico White?  Some say a second round steal.