Team Name: The Detroit Pistons

Last Year’s Record: 39-43

Key Losses: Antonio McDyess, Rasheed Wallace, Amir Johnson, Arron Afflalo, Chauncey Billups (does that still count), head coach Michael Curry (a good loss) and possibly the best loss in Pistons history, the end of Allen Iverson in red, white and blue.

Key Additions: Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Chris Wilcox, Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers, Jonas Jerebko and Ben Wallace.

1. What Significant Moves were made during the off-season?

The Pistons haven’t had a significant change to a start of the season since Joe Dumars took over as GM. Dumars started cleaning house well before the season started by trading away the Pistons cherished point guard Chauncey Billups for the expiring contract of Allen Iverson. The Iverson experience was a train wreck and by the end of the season it was obvious that big changes were coming.

Dumars started in late June with the firing of head coach Michael Curry. He traded Amir Johnson to the Milwaukee Bucks for Fabricio Oberto who was later waived. With the 15th pick in the NBA Draft Detroit selected Austin Daye of Gonzaga University and later took DaJuan Summers and Jonas Jerebko in the second round.

Dumars then shipped out Arron Afflao for more cap space to secure the free agents he was coveting. Dumars wasted no time in bringing Ben Gordan and Charlie Villanueva to Detroit. On July 1, 2009, the Pistons reached an agreement with the former Bulls guard on a 5 year/$55 million contract, as well as an agreement with Charlie Villanueva on a 5 year contract worth $35 million.

They picked up plenty, but they also lost two of their key players in Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess. On July 5, 2009 the Pistons Sheed to free agency. Wallace signed a two year, $5.58 million contract with the Boston Celtics. Following the departure of Wallace, former Antonio McDyess signed a one year contract with the San Antonio Spurs for the mid-level exception. Though Pistons fans were probably ready to see Rasheed say goodbye, McDess heart and desire will be missed at The Palace.

In dire need of big man, Dumars picked up Knicks power forward Chris Wilcox to do some damage down low. And a surprise that Pistons fans were hoping for, the return of Ben Wallace to Detroit. Wallace, who was waived by the Phoenix Suns signed for the veterans minimum to play for the Pistons this season.

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

This current configuration of Pistons should have no problem putting the ball in the basket. With Ben Gordon coming off the bench and Charlie Villanueva added to the starting lineup Detroit will be able to put up points.

They also got younger and faster this season with rookies Austin Daye and DaJuan Summers. Put them in the lineup with Stuckey or Will Bynum at the point and this team will get out and run, something we rarely saw from the Pistons half court style of play.

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?

DEFENSE!

The most glaring and obvious weakness for Detroit is the “D”. Always known for defense first, the Pistons now have an offensive mined squad and a lack of established big men.
The Pistons new addition down low, Charlie Villanueva has a reputation to be allergic to rebounds and has been called “soft.” Look for Jason Maxiell, Chirs Wilcox and Kwame Brown to do most of the dirty work for the Pistons this season.

4.What are the goals for this team?

Better than 39 wins will be just fine for this Pistons team. If Detroit can pull off a winning season, than what happened last year can be somewhat forgiven.
If new coach John Kuester can get this team together they have the talent to do much better than expected.
Will they make the playoffs? Probably.
Will they go far? Unlikely.

5. Will the roster likely stay the way it is?
You can bet that Joe Dumars is working on trying to make a few more moves. The most valuable and likely to go is Rip Hamilton. He’s got value on the market and with Ben Gordon on the team, his offense wouldn’t be missed that much putting Ben in the starting lineup to replace him. If there is a move to make Dumars will do it, we saw it last year with Billups, don’t count anything out at this point.

One thing is sure, they may not be slotted to make the ECF like they used to, but this Pistons team is going to be fun to watch.

Projected Finish: 46-36

• The Pistons = DRAMA a Team in Turmoil, according to ESPN.
• Another Rodney Stucky breakout article – I hope this season’s peice come true.  Can’t really blame Rodney that much especially since the whole team underachieved last year. Here is to a StuckTacular Season.
• Q&A with Joe Dumars part One – interesting stuff on the acquisition of Ben Gordon.  You can also listen to it over at Posting up.
• Worried about the “D” in Defense for the Pistons….Keith Langlois over at Pistons.com says we shouldn’t.
• Need4Swede over at Slam Online.

From NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo Sports

“The Detroit Pistons are no longer considering Avery Johnson for their head-coaching position after the two sides could not come to terms on a contract, an NBA source with knowledge of the talks said Tuesday morning.

The source said Cleveland Cavaliers assistant John Kuester is now the favorite to get the job, but

Boston Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau remains under serious consideration.”

The Issue:

Avery wanted a little a longer contract from a team that goes trough coach like Sheed get techs.

Little upset about it, my Avery Johnson impression is stellar.

Personally if they are going to go with someone with no NBA head coaching experience I would rather see Laimbeer helm.

From the Joe Dumars via DetNews

“Where we are right now as a team is kind of like where we were at the start of the Rick Carlisle era,” Dumars said. “And a $4 to $5 million (a year) coach is not what we need right now. We didn’t have one of those until we were close to contending for a championship when we got Larry (Brown).”

Joe Dumars speaks to Pistons fans and media immediately after Dumars selected Austin Daye as the Pistons #15 pick in the draft.  He talks about Austin, and the state of the team.

Best line….

“Yes, he’s skinnier than Tayshaun, so we definitely have to put some weight on him.”

Please note….the “no more drama” quote.  Sounds liked Dumars had enough of the current and not so current Pistons players and their “issues.”  Take it however you like but Joe sounds like he’s cleaning house.

Think Iverson sent him over the edge?

Thanks go out to the entire Pistons Organization (DW) who let me Live Blog the Event.

We have audio with Joe Dumars from Matt Dery of 97.1 The Ticket. Diesel asks the burning question…

Head over to 97.1 The Ticket and listen to the embedded audio under top headlines.

Thanks to Matt for always keep us up to speed.

The Pistons and their fans had a difficult year so many respects. We as fans watched a special team of our favorite players fall short for the past few season and when things got shook up, it turned out far worse than we could have ever imagined.

As we watch the Playoffs from a different angle this post season we can only hope that our old friend Mr. Big Shot keeps doing what he’s doing.

We said goodbye to two great men in Pistons owner Bill Davidson and Bad Boy legend Coach Chuck Daly. Which is not just sad for everyone who knew and loved these great men, but it reminds us of their legacy.

I started on the Pistons bandwagon at a very young age (pre Bad Boys). Now I didn’t follow the team the way I do know in the early stages, come the time Trader Jack drafted Joe Dumars I was completely hooked. Isiah and Tripuka may have sparked my basketball love, but The Bad Boys birthed my addiction.

So when I was thinking of the loss of Davidson and Daly instead of mourning, I looked back at the good times they gave us. Two true innovators that cemented what we know now as Detroit Basketball. I was looking though old Pistons specials I had taped (since it’s May and I not used to not seeing the Pistons play) and I came across some good times.

Good Times, and more to come.

Take this as coming from Stephen A. Smith(video)…but still.

“Chris Bosh reportedly informed Toronto Raptors GM, Bryan Colangelo, that he will not re-sign with the team in 2010, according to Stephen A. Smith.

Bosh can become an unrestricted free agent in 2010.

“He has no desire to remain in Toronto,” said Smith, during a Feb. 1 interview.

Smith mentioned Miami and Dallas as possible destinations” Real GM

Thanks to Team Need4Sheed Vin Richitelli for the quick info.

If you have followed this site for a while you know that I’m a big Joe Dumars fan.  In fact I attribute my love for basketball in part to Joe Dumars while he was on and off the court.  So when I saw this piece on Curry and Dumars, which surprisingly aired during the Pistons’ five game slide and the Rip/AI dilemma, I was shocked to hear what I heard.

I know what Michael is saying because he’s acted it out -- much to our dismay -- but Joe’s comments were plain disturbing.

Say it ain’t so Joe…

DEFINDED ROLES!!!! Really?

I’m still not convinced Rip going to the bench will end our nightmare either.

Someone please wake me up when this is over.

The New York Daily News:

“According to one Eastern Conference executive, the Pistons will take calls on Wallace. One team mentioned as a potential destination is Dallas.

“That’s a ‘Mark Cuban move,’ ” said an Eastern Conference executive. “Cuban would take Rasheed, no question. It would be bold, but he knows he’s got to do something to spark his team.”

Cuban tried that last season when he acquired Jason Kidd, but ended up making a mistake by giving the Nets Devin Harris.

The Mavs don’t appear to have enough to get Wallace. And the Pistons would like to use Wallace’s money – along with Iverson’s – to create enough cap space to make a run at LeBron James and/or Chris Bosh in two summers.

But it’s hard to believe that Dumars will sit still as the losses mount and Detroit slides in the standings. Wallace and Iverson haven’t been a good fit. In their recent eight-game stretch, the Pistons lost four times to teams with losing marks. Then again, no one has meshed with Iverson since the Pistons traded Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess to Denver last month.”

It’s something to watch but my guess is that it’s long shot. I doubt Dumars would trade Sheed unless the offer is right, especially since his 13 million dollar contract comes off of the books at the end of this season. But then again who would have thought Iverson would be wearing red white and blue right now?

I also know that Mark Cuban loves him some Sheed, he told me himself. But I doubt he’s willing to part with Dirk and that’s what it probably would take.

Keep your eyes open.

WDFN’s Sean Baligian interviewed Joe Dumars on WDFN 1130 AM. Joe talks about the whole “nobody’s safe” comment, the EFC collapse, why he didn’t make the big trade, the whole Carmelo rumor, and the prospects for the future. The interview is on Sean Baligian’s Podcast page or the direct link to the interview right here. I had a problem streaming it live so I included the audio in the page for you just in case you had the same problem.

• Keith Langlois believes Tayshaun will play some PF next season.
• I really did enjoy the little time we saw or Theo Ratliff last season, looks like he’s off to Philly.
• Baller of The Day Joe Dumars: A non Pistons blogger’s appreciation for Joe Dumars.
• Team Need4Sheed member Mike Zeldis pointed out something interesting. “Of the players on our current roster according to 82games.com the stats show that our best defensive tandem last year was Prince and Johnson with a defensive rating of 81.” Surprised?
• Tayshaun makes the most of his time in Team USA’s win over Spain.
• Pat Sullivan, a little more than happy to be back with The Pistons.
• Since Joe was the Baller of The Day at BallerBlogger.com , here is A little video Joe I made a while back.

Great YouTube find on Dumars and Jordan. Of all the teams in the NBA if anyone had Jordan’s number, it was The Pistons. You can thank the handy work of Joe Dumars, who Jordan says was his toughest defender.

The Jordan Rules