Happy? Sad? Depressed? Anxious? Melancholy? Ecstatic? Does the thought of having Charlie Villanueva to kick around for another potentially sluggish season give you hope for the 2012-2013 season? What is it, you guys?
- I’m excited about the opportunity to see guys like Brandon Knight improve and continue to gel with Greg Monroe and even Rodney Stuckey.
- I’m excited about potentially seeing Ben Wallace back for his much deserved farewell tour.
- I’m sad to see Austin Daye still in a Pistons uniform, after I had such high hopes for him.
- As high as my hopes were for Daye, they couldn’t have been higher than when the Pistons signed Charlie Villanueva and now my feelings about that move couldn’t be any lower. I can’t hate the guy, but I almost hate him for single handedly driving the team back to the Teal era on the court.
- Although it cost the team a 1st round pick, I’m happy to see what an expiring contract like Corey Maggette brings the team in return. So far, we’ve dumped Ben Gordon. We won’t know who won the deal until we see who takes Maggette’s spot.
I’m excited that Joe Dumars was able to acquire Dwight Howard for a handful of 2nd round draft picks!- I’m happy to see what Lawrence Frank has in store for the team with a full offseason in place to work with them.
- How can you not be excited about the potential that is there with Andre Drummond?
- I’m happy that Kim English is talking about the Bad Boys as being the type of basketball he enjoys, he is now my favorite player aside from Greg Monroe.
- I can never hate Tayshaun Prince (because of this – god, look how young he looks), but I’m tired of having him be the centerpiece of the offense. Jerebko likely won’t ever be a starting SF in the NBA, but it’s time for Tay to sit for Coach Frank to fully realize what he has at SF.
- I always love a good baby feast from Jason Maxiell, who is entering the final year of his contract with the Pistons.
It’s kind of been a down offseason so far for the Pistons. There haven’t been any big splashy free agent signings or trades (largely due to the cap situation). How do you feel about the team? What are you excited about, if anything? What moves do you think will take place between now and Game 1?
Quick Poll: Who liked the podcasts? Is that a feature you’d like to see more of in the future? It takes some time for Natalie and I to do them, because of our schedules, but we’re happy to continue doing them if they were a fan favorite. (Except to that guy who said it sounded like I was chewing on my tongue, he knows where he can go and what he can do).
Sad that Villanueva is still in a Pistons Uniform. Excited that he likely won’t play much with Drummond and Slava manning the middle and Monroe and Maxiell and Wallace at PF.
Also excited for Kim English. Brandon Knight, Rodney Stuckey and Kim English sounds like a good backcourt to me.
Playoffs!
I always want the Pistons to win, but I’d like to see them squeeze out one more lottery pick this next offseason (to offset the loss of Big Ben and Maggette) and then the official re-build can be underway.
But yeah… I’m all over this Kim English guy. Definitely seems like a high class guy in the mold of former Piston great Arron Afflalo.
Definitely excited. I said it on Twitter too, on my short stretch as a Pistons fan (being in Greece I hadn’t heard of them until early in the 2004 Playoffs, when I became a fan), this is the year that has brought back the excitement
I know that with so many players on their first year and a team that’s being rebuilt I shouldn’t expect that much, but I’m still hopeful that this team will continue to develop and improve under Coach Frank.
I concur, Drummond and English are my two favorite prospects, but I feel that Danny missed the point that Monroe will be trying to make. He was snubbed for the Olympics team, and he’s been vocal about his opinion on it. I feel he’ll be on a mission this year, all year, and that he’s going to impress.
Go eff some shit up, Detroit!
P.S. About the podcasts, Danny, you and Nat both know I’m a huge fan. I must’ve listened to the last podcast (last year’s pre-season predictions) at least 5 times, due to the lack of a more recent one. I don’t want to have to tweet or DM Nat about this again. Bring the podcasts back, make it a regular feature of the site. I want to listen to you guys talk Pistons! And your pets, of course.
P.S.2 Give us a call-in night, let us get in the discussion! I’m not saying I should be in it, but I’d love to hear what some of the older and more knowledgable fans of N4S have to say.
I hope your getting about the Dwight Howard thing.. I miss the 2004 pistons, and the old Tay. I don’t see why you want another lottery pick? I’d much rather see them make the playoffs, get the confidence and the experience and grow as a team. This next offseason they’ll be able to sign some free agents and well just keep getting better.
Go Pistons!
Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva? For what it’s worth, Pistons as of late have been luckier in drafting the right guys than picking them out of Free Agency.
Joe ds gotten smarter, and either way you make no sense, if theyre in the playoffs or in the lottery they’re still,gonna have cap space to go after free agents. I’d rather see em in the playoffs.
I’m not saying we should feel luckier if we do get the lottery pick. I want to see the Pistons in the playoffs too, even if that means losing the pick.
I just can’t be excited about us picking from FA, that’s all. Let’s hope that the same growth that caused Joe D to pick these 3 guns a few years after Darko will apply to his FA picks as well this time.
Jake, I’m with you. I don’t see how a lottery pick pays bigger dividends than making the playoffs for the Pistons this season.
Leftos – for what it’s worth, the Pistons hadn’t had much success this century drafting in the lottery prior to picking up Greg Monroe. That Joe Dumars and company struck out in their last go-round with free agency doesn’t mean that every future foray into free agency will wind up the same way.
We all saw what joe d did to make the 04 championship team..
I am absolutely excited about this offseason. I think that the momentum from the end of last season has carried over into this offseason and that, coupled with the infusion of young talent is going to present Pistons fans with something we have not seen in close to four years: a that fights hard most nights and has enough depth to stick around with most teams in the league.
I’m far from sad to see Austin Daye still in Pistons blue. I think that the environment is probably as good as it will ever be for him to show what he can do. Don’t know if he will seize the opportunity but I think his story is going to be an interesting one to watch.
I realized that it was a good thing that Charlie V. and Ben Gordon didn’t produce like we think they would do. If they did, we won’t get Moose, BK7 and AD1 .
New to N4S but a fan since watching Isiah and Co. lose game 7 to LA in the 88 finals. My two cents…
Our actual offseason/summer/camp in 2012 will tremendously help this team.
We drafted pretty well…Drummond is a gift at 9, mostly cuz I think Frank will bring him along and not be afraid to play him…or the Euro big man.
Kim English is kinda what the doctor ordered for this team.
Ben Gordon gone is wonderful…especially since we added size on the wings. Magette, is cap room…lovely.
Overall, I’d say we have a solid B offseason going right now and it could be seen as an A if chemistry actually develops sooner than later.
Oh, CV? I still think he can put it together in D town. Save that amnesty for a rainy day.
Can’t wait for the season!
After the lockout last season and not knowing whether there’ll be a season or not so I’m super excited for this season. I hoping Greg comes out of the gates like gang busters, because he was snubbed for Most Improved Player and by USA basketball select team. Knight will surely improve in running the team, Stuckey has more left in the tank, Jerebko is fully healthy again. It’s Daye’s last chance to impress and show whether he has what it takes to stick around. I got a feeling Ben might not be coming back though he’d be a great mentor for Drummond. It makes more sense to amnesty Charlie next year when we’ll have cap space although we should still be looking if there’s a trade out there that makes sense. I’d like to see Prince in a bit of a lesser role this season, given all the depth we have at that position. I still think he’s a keeper because we need a veteran or two with all the young guys. And of course I’m excited for the rookies on the team. Drummond needs some time, but he’s exactly what the doctor ordered in terms of athleticism and shot blocking, Kravtsov sounds the same. English is just a bad man, I love the guy, tough, plays defense and knocks down 3’s. Singler could be the new Jerebko, mature, smart and works hard. I’d like to see Middleton go to Europe for a year like Singler. It’s clear he’s still building his confidence coming off that knee injury. Next he would slide right in, because of Magette’s expiring deal.
Would love to see more frequent podcasts from you guys. I understand they take time, but they’re great to listen to. Funny as hell, but they also provide great inside for guys like me, who don’t live in the US and can’t follow the team that closely.
“I’m happy that Kim English is talking about the Bad Boys as being the type of basketball he enjoys, he is now my favorite player aside from Greg Monroe.”
I admit it. I did a fist pump when I heard that interview.
It would be nice to see Big Ben for a farewell tour this year but they really have no spot for him, unless he’s inactive most nights or coaching(something I don’t think he would want). Financially, they are stuck with CV31 for another season. I hope Will Bynum will get the fair shot that he never got in the past. He would give the team a different look at guard and work well with English. V. Macklin, little shot on this team but that’s the numbers game. Pistons have a bright future and I think Joe D is doing it right.
Hey nat are you going to get a petition going to bring the final countdown back for the pistons
Keep the podcasts going! I would listen to them at my desk at work and the day would go by so much faster. I even listened to them while I was running on the treadmill on the gym and an hour went by in a blink of an eye. You guys know Pistons basketball like no-one else in the biz, and the quality of the podcasts really shows that.
I’m excited for this season defenitely.
But what comes to management, I’d like to compare something:
1) We have a talented squad at last. Some bigs are there and that’s a very very good sign for us. But we are years away from something special. Say, the Pistons are 3-4 years away if front office will continue to make this team better and better.
2) I like this move with Kravtsov, I told about it constantly – you can bring talent from Europe for nothing. DO IT.
But if we compare this move to, for example, what Pop did (he got Splitter), Houston (Scola), and now T’wolves – they got 2 great players from the same system , one of the best in Europe, CSKA Moscow team and Russian national team, same language, same goals, Kirilenko is a proven pro in the NBA and Shved can be a good SG in the rotation so this move is great for T’wolves, they spent 10m\per year for AK47, that’s big, but they’ve got a good young talent Shved for less money.
3) It seems like we are better than we were, but seems like every team got better except phoenix and dallas. I mean, screw dallas, but if the Pistons want to be the best in the NBA, some huge moves got to be made or the Pistons is average team at best.
There are 2 strategies in the NBA now: you go buy yourself LeBroiler plus Wade plus Bosh plus some vets or you grow your team like OKC did and SAS did.
If the Pistons chose to grow the team, I just want to see the potential next season.
I don’t care about playoffs or something, I just watch how all the pieces fit.
I liked the podcasts but they were a little long. Half-hour would be more effective.
agree. 15 minutes or 30 minutes is a good podcast length
Depends on how often they’re made. If they’re a regular feature, 30 minutes may be all they need. But if they make one once per two months for example, I’d like it better if it was long enough for them to talk about everything that’s happened.
I’m confused, that Detroit is going to try and compete with an entire roster of small forwards.
to be honest im glad we have gotten rid of some of the front office personel that i think has been holding the team back. Scott Perry for one. I’ve listened to him on Pistons insider and stuff and he really doesn’t have that great of a analytical mind. John Hammond was great as Batman’s Robin. But even robin had to branch out on his own and do nightwing. I personally think Scott Perry was a yes man who never gave Joe Dumars that unique perspective Joe D needed. The resulting moves under Scott Perry I think prove he wasn’t the right man for the job. Moves like Allen Iverson. BG and CV and…..well there aren’t many moves to analyze to be honest
but i mean whats not to like? pistons are on the track of time to be contenders again. Im excited to see how soon we are contenders again. I’m thinking soooon
With everyone shaking up their roster hopefully we can get a trade that will improve this team and bring in a vet to teach these young guys. I think tay and english will be the two main guys in that department. I think towards the deadline we will make another move. Nothing big just some minor tweaks to get this franchise rolling again.
Some Slava Kravtsov’s highlights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2Y7hrAo3K4
why is it i look at him and think super athletic. but people say andre drummond is athletic but i just don’t see it in his games? i mean i really see the athletic stuff in this Slava he can jump and he’s really tough
I am excited to see the growth of this team. I somewhat like the direction we are going besides Villanueva of course. I think that we need to hit with the lottery one more time to pick up another prospect, but i am excited to watch the team this year.
Excited to get a full season in with so much great potential with the roster. I’m hoping playoffs but in the lottery one more time won’t hurt and with some cap space next season got me even more excited. So a win-win either way for me. Been patient this long, one more season wouldn’t hurt.
I went to my first Las Vegas Summer League this year. I put together a video of still pictures from my visit. Take a look … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq0ahNgki70
I am also excited for the season to start. We have a lot of potential but I feel a lot of other teams have as much potential if not more. We can’t rely on potential to compete. Dumars hasn’t put together a good trade since he brought Rasheed in. Dealing Gordon away clears up some space in the long run but we need something bigger sooner. I feel we will go .500 this year and compete for the eighth seed but we need another solid piece to go any further.
The Pistons have a motivated owner to go with their veteran GM and a talented coach. The roster has a nice mix of vets, and young players with potential.
It is up to Frank to develop his youth and find the best starting 5 out of his 15 man roster. At least this year he has a full preseason and training camp to do so. The cream will always rise to the top.
But I guarantee it won`t be CV or AD.
I think we will sneak into the playoffs for the first time in years.
GO Pistons!
Macklin’s going to Turkey! Guess that leaves a roster spot open for Ben Walace to sign
Postons signed a non guaranteed deal with Terrence williams
Pissed about years of terrible moves by Joe Dumars. Single handed my destroyed a franchise and it all started when the idiot traded Billups for Iverson. I don’t think the team is going to turn around until Joe is gone and based on his terrible moves and the teams performance he should step down.
The whole team suck ezcept monroe …stuckey…..and knight
Ive been a N4S fan since Sheed was a piston! However this is my first post. ( I just enjoy reading up on my pistons) but I’m excited to see how big Ben and the baby eater do this year, they have been a couple of my favorite players for years. I live em because they are a little undersized height wise but make up for it with giving it their all. I’m sad that big Ben can’t get up like he used to but I will always remember what he did for the pistons. He will be missed.