Rumors, speculations, salary cap, the draft and trade rumors is what Pistons fans have been hearing since the Pistons unexpected exit from the NBA playoffs. I can’t believe some of the things the fans have been saying lately. There are the rumors of a Garnett trade, the calls to fire Flip, to trade Sheed, the sign and trade deal for Ben Wallace everyone thinks will happen and the desperate fans who actually think Larry Brown is going to be a part of the team whether it be head coach or an assistant coach. The future is uncertain as far as the team is concerned.
The first thing Joe Dumars has to deal with is Ben Wallace. As of this Saturday Ben Wallace becomes an unrestricted free agent. Ben has hired a high profile agent and is looking for the most lucrative contract of his career. Now all year long I had the feeling that Ben was going to stay a Piston no matter what. Things change, Ben’s comments and body language say that he’s looking for the big money and that he isn’t happy with his role on the team. I can’t see the Pistons giving Ben a max contract but I do see them doing right by him, making him the highest paid player on the team but nothing more than a four year deal. Between the incident in Orlando and the comments he’s made about staying with the team, we just have to wait and see how this whole thing plays out.
The deal or no deal with Ben holds the future to the Pistons future. Joe can’t really work on anything else until he knows how things will pan out with Ben. We know the Pistons need a reliable point guard to back up Chauncey. They also are in need of a bench that can put up points consistently. They don’t have too many choices in the free agent market, Bonzi Wells, Flip Murray, Jason Terry, Mike James, Sam Cassell and Speedy Claxton are the biggest names other than Ben Wallace in the free agent class this year. There is also talks of moving up in this year’s draft. The Pistons hold the last pick and could be looking to buy their way to a higher pick.
What does this year have in store for Jason Maxiell, Amir Johnson and Carlos Delfino? I think that all depends on Flip. I know I am not the only one who thought that Flip did a lousy job of developing our bench last season. I still think Delfino can be a huge asset for the team, I can’t remember how many DNP he racked up during the season. How can the bench be blamed when they never really got any playing time. Do we work with the obvious talent we have or do we go with players who already have the experience?
I look at it this way, even though The Pistons didn’t win the Championship they are still working with the best starting five in the league. Why break that up? The players say they want Ben back and staying with the team is the closest he’s going to get to another ring before his career ends. He’s got to decide what’s best for him, but a few more years being the face of the Pistons franchise isn’t all that bad if you ask me. As for the major hiccup the team had during the playoffs, that’s something they have to learn from and put behind them. Nobody is perfect, we all take our lumps and move on.
I am ready for next season and hopefully we will see the same cast of characters shoot for something that eluded them. Next season they will be the underdogs and they like it that way. As for major changes, everyone deserves a second chance. Let them be.
i luv you natalie we are on the same wavelenght with all.
so on the real hit me at stuckindazoo it’s awesome how much we are in tum ewith the stones that i luv
aol :stuckindazoo
email. stuckindazoo@hotmail.com
Great Blog Natalie, I agree with you 100%
Honestly your insight and pictures are top notch. Better and better every day.
This one is a favorite.
Great post, Nat. I was surprised by how hard Flip rode the starters as well. Hopefully that issue will be firmly addressed by Joe D.
Ben’s several incidents really worry me. I don’t think Flip is really good at dealing with confrontation, and if the players feel they can push the coach around … well … not a good thing.
natalie i agree with 50% on that and all tell u y ur right about the beach but ben no i hope he dose not come but he wants money and hes going to go for it like a sign and trade or soming and befor ben came grant hill was the face on the pistons we sing and trade hill that what we are going to do with ben read new paper when ben is trade to the timberwovles for kg i dont like ben because he think respest is overrated he said so on the champs dvd of 04 and i went to get his autograph and rip and tay he did even look at me or no 1 eles i lost the respest for ben there i want u comment back and see what u think about my ben comments
FROM:SHEED RULES
Pistons need to sign jason terry
I really do hope we keep our starting five. I want to see Ben back, which I think is what every piston fan is thinking.
You are soo righ; the bench got blamed for many things but hardly got playing time.
How high of a draft pick do you think the pistons could get? If it is a high second round, I like Dee Brown. Most mock drafts don’t have him going in the first round. He is small, but is a 4-year starter and can put the ball in the hole. Great instincts. We could use a guard like him.
I officially love you for posting this.
One season [I wouldn’t even call it a bad season. It just didn’t end well] and they want to tear apart the team?
I’m anxious for the draft pick. Hopefully we can get up there further.
I am not sure how high the pick was but there were talks that the Bobcats were willing to sell a pick for cash.
Yeah, And by the way everything could go completly downhill, even if such a thing, we still have the absolute honor to say that we were once a part of the best starting 5 ever!
Couldn’t have said it better myself, Nat. Let’s stand by our boys.
Been checking out your site for some time, but this is the first time I’ve posted.
You insight and illustrations are top-notch. Keep up the great work and do something real nice for the season opener to catch the eye of the national media.
I have faith that Joe D. will do whats necessary to keep us as contenders and so on. Should be an interesting summer nevertheless.
I’ve heard rumors that The Pistons were going to trade Tayshaun and Sheed for K.G. Anyone else heard this?
didn’t tayshaun just sign a 5 year deal with the pistons? i don’t think the tayshaun part is true, who knows about the sheed part though.
If BEn is going to stay, Joe D. will have to reassure him that Flip has learned his lesson and make more plays for him.
Otherwise I see Chicago making a run for him.
Anyone here else notice how the NBA is pushing the rumor that Wade and the Heat are leading the ESPY awards? How the hell do they know, aren’t the ESPYs voted by the public???I don’t the results are out yet, talk about propaganda.
People use your votes and let them know what you thought about the Heat as FAUX chumps.
Yeah, thats what I thought. I know Tayshaun signed a 5-year contract…but who knows.
natile ben dose not hold the future for the pistons ben needs to go and if we dont get kg and ben sign with anothing team put dice out as a starter and get players for the beach I WANT U TO LOOK AND READ THIS NAT AND SEE WHAT U THINK ABOUT IT
from: sheed rules
I still stand by what I said. He holds the future until he decides what he wants to do, then we work from there.
Why do you guys care anyways? All the pistons players make over a million dollars a year. While you make less and pay for high ticket prices. I feel bad for the hard working people that feel bad for the players.
You said it girl! I hate reading the lets trade “player name here”!
I thought that despite the post season meltdown our five still deserve our support and I will be looking forward to watching them play together this November. I know that I wont have the luxury of watching these five in a few years so I want to enjoy it while it lasts. If Ben goes, well, then as fans we will deal with it!
wtf ben is a free agent. We cant lose him!