Why did the Pistons even bother show up for the draft?

Walter Sharpe and Trent Plaisted? Who? What? Huh?



So the Pistons traded out of the 1st round, and drafted a narcoleptic who bounced around the NCAA and a Mormon. You can call me underwhelmed. You can call me Ishmael. You can call me a cab. You can call me anything but impressed. Tonight was a total waste of time for Pistons fans.



With the 29th pick overall, I honestly wasn't expecting much from this draft. But I was expecting something. But a reach and a stiff? That's nothing.



Other than saving themselves from having to shell out a 3 year guaranteed contract (Which never hurts), the Pistons got absolutely no help for the '08-'09 season from this draft. In fact, I believe it's safe to say they got no help for the '09-'10 season as well.

Plaisted is whiter than I am, and I'm as white bread as can be. 

He's BLINDINGLY white...

Sharpe's college days...

 

The Pistons ended up getting a couple of D-leaguers who have absolutely no chance in Heaven or Hell of contributing this year, next year, and probably the year after that. From what I've read and heard tonight, this draft was all about the sleeper, Sharpe. (Ha! Sleeper! Get it?) If one or the other do somehow develop, it'll be...Hell, who am I kidding?



After this, (Sarcasm on) I'm waiting on pins and needles for the 59th pick. (Sarcasm off)



I know, I know, Joe Dumars has a plan. He's one of the best GM's in the NBA. I'm sure he had legitimate reasons for the moves made in tonight's draft. He must have seen something in these guys, especially Sharpe. I keep telling myself "In Joe I trust, in Joe I trust." But why does he have to make it so damn HARD to do so with drafts like this?

Detroit is not a small market. Thank God the Tigers are no longer behaving like it is...

The Tigers are in New York City today. The stretch run fireworks start tonight with 4 games against the Evil Empire.

In my mind, the Yankees will always be the Evil Empire, even if some small market fans are beginning to lump the Tigers in with the big spending, large market, teams. Without a doubt, Detroit's front office has been acting quite a bit like the Yankees in regard to signing draft picks.

The Tigers have tried the small market way of guaranteeing failure, by drafting players with signability in mind. They ended up with monstrous busts like Kenny Baugh and Matt Anderson.

Once Detroit's brain trust told the MLB establishment to basically "Get bent," the Tigers picked gems like Justin Verlander, Andrew Miller, and Cameron Maybin, and signed them to big contracts.

It's not a coincidence that the Tigers' future is now quite bright.

I'm sure Bud Selig is spitting mad at Mike Ilitch for ignoring draft pick salary slotting. If you have pissed off Bud-lite, in my mind, you must be doing something right.

Over the past few seasons, the Tigers have flexed their once atrophied large market muscles. Detroit is a top 10 media market (Or top 11, depending on where you look), and for a solid decade, the Tigers carried themselves as if they were comparable to the Kansas City's (31st) or Cincinnati's (33rd) of the world. They also joined them as bottom feeders in the standings.

The Tigers were selling themselves, and especially the fans, short. Thank goodness that is no longer the case.

Do I feel bad for the true small market teams? A little, mostly towards the fans, but not all that much for the franchises themselves. For the most part, the small market owners of the world are, to put it bluntly, richer than sin. But they do have short arms when come to reaching for their wallets.

If you can't afford, or refuse to spend enough, to stay in the game, then spare your fans the grief, and just sell the team. Unfortunately, being a pro sports owner has such a huge cache', and is a boost to their considerable ego, that the bottom feeding owners would rather run the teams into the ground, than give up the perks of ownership.

I've never seen anyone go broke owning a big time pro sports franchise. We all know that they tend to greatly appreciate in value. So when I hear a MLB owner cry "Oh my God, we can't compete, there's nothing we can do because we're a small market!" yet he is richer than God himself, I can't take him seriously.

For example, the Royals David Glass, thanks to his Wal-Mart ties, has a net worth of more than $300 million, and bought the KC franchise for $96 million in 2000. 7 years later, the Royals are supposedly worth $282 million, and that was with the team becoming awful on the field. Pretty good ROI, don't you think?

Despite the inflated value of his team, Glass thinks of singability, above all else, in the amateur draft.The Royals fanbase should be furious with their front office for cheaping out on their draft picks.

Same goes for other hack owners, like small market poster boy Carl Pohlad of the Twins, who has a net worth over $2.6 BILLION, yet runs his team as if they live on poverty row. In actuality, the Twins have been one Hell of a good investment for the miserly Pohlad. He bought the Twinkies for the relative pittance of $44 million in 1984. They are now worth an estimated $288 million! That's well within the lower half of MLB, but nothing to sneeze at, either.

The cheapskate won't pay (Soon to be) free agent Johan Santana what the market rate is bound to be for a multiple Cy Young award winner, or ignore contract slotting, which would have allowed the Twins to possibly draft Santana's eventual replacement. (Because he is going to leave...)

Pohlad toes the MLB line, though he has deeper pockets than Scrooge McDuck, Hank Scorpio, and Daddy Warbucks combined. Please, I don't want to hear any "Woe is us" whining, from anyone other than frustrated fans...

With that sort of money available, the signability of a high school or college ballplayer should never, ever come into question. To a Pohlad or Glass, the $7+ million Ilitch paid high school phenom Rick Porcello is walking around money. Yet they just shake their heads, point fingers, and blame owners like Ilitch for their mostly self-made woes.

What those owners are only concerned about is maximizing their current profits, at the cost of being competitive in the future. Saving a few million on their draft picks now is going to hurt them dearly on the field, and at the gate. You just know we'll end up with more labor strife in a few years, because gazillionaire small market owners want to pocket, rather than invest back in the team, every God damn penny their teams make.

And who gets bent over? The fans.

As pissed off we Detroit fans once were with the Tigers blatantly pinching pennies, we should now appreciate their freer spending ways. Mike Ilitch and the Tigers will never spend, or even have, the stupid amounts of money available to a New York or Boston, but there is no reason they can't effectively compete at the level below. Especially when it comes to the amateur draft.

The Tigers are no longer "Penny wise and pound foolish," skimping at the minor league level while paying journeymen major league free agents much more money than they're worth. Let's hope the small market central division teams never figure that out...

Rodney Stuckey? His name may just as well be Rodney White...

The Pistons claimed they needed immediate help from their 1st pick in the NBA draft. Yet they pick a kid, Rodney Stuckey, who only spent all of 2 seasons at Eastern freaking Washington? Eastern Washington? This has Rodney White written all over it, and we know how well that turned out.

Several times tonight I've heard Rodney Stuckey compared to...Dwayne Wade? That's the local MSM buying into the Pistons' spin, as they can't really say anything about him. Why buy into the Pistons publicity? The MSM can't say much of anything of their own about him, because no one on God's green earth has ever seen Stuckey play! No one had ever seen Darko play either. That worked out real well...

Give the spin a rest. When I hear comparisons to Dwayne Wade, the red flag goes up. How on earth can you compare him to an all-world player like Wade? That's silly, let alone unfair to Stuckey.

Stuckey made his name playing in the Big Sky Conference. Christ almighty, I could put up numbers playing in the Big Sky. Sure, Stuckey scored 24 PPG in his sophomore season. But here's a sample of the teams he played...

Lewis & Clark
Evergreen St.
Northern Colorado
Sacramento St.
Montana St.

Eastern Washington finished 12-14 playing such esteemed directional school competition. If Stuckey is comparable to //cough// Dwayne Wade, he should have been putting up 40 a game.

Just add the following together with me. Stuckey is a non qualifier, whom then had no choice but to go to a small time school, playing in a Mickey Mouse conference, then spending only 2 years at said small time school. It doesn't add up to Stuckey being the first guard off the bench, which is what the Pistons need. What it does add up to is a project whose season long line will mostly read "DNP: Coaches decision".

If the Pistons get anything out this guy next season, I'll be shocked beyond belief. Flip Murray has nothing to worry about, and that's a bad thing for the Pistons.

I hope to Hell that I'm wrong, as I'm far from being a personnel expert. The Pistons obviously see something in him. But they also saw something in Mateen Cleaves and Rodney White, so I'm not sure they should get the benefit of the doubt.

On the surface, it's not a very impressive pick. Considering this pick is what the Pistons received in return for Darko Millicic, it's even less impressive.

Joe Dumars parlayed the 2nd overall pick of the 2003 draft into unused salary cap room, and Rodney Stuckey. Color me unimpressed.

Addendum 10:30 pm: The Pistons just took Arron Afflalo from UCLA at with the 27th pick. Another shooting guard? What the Hell?

Why take Affalo after taking Stuckey at 15? You have Rip Hamilton as the starter, so you pick 2 players who play his position in the 1st round? Makes no sense. What about Alex Acker? He's tearing it up overseas, I thought the Pistons were high on him. Honestly, how many shooting guards do they need?

I have absolutely no idea what the Pistons are thinking. Not a clue.

Joe Dumars' draft history: Low is high, up is down

Am I the only person who doesn't have a good feeling about the Pistons' chances in tonight's NBA draft?

The draft is supposedly the deepest in years, but just how impactful of a player will Detroit get at 15? Let alone at 27... Then again, when you harken back to past Joe Dumars drafts, it's almost assured that the 27th pick will turn out to be a better player than the 15th pick.

I have a high level of confidence in Joe Dumars' abilities in regard to most every facet of running a basketball franchise. Most every facet, that is, save one. The draft. It's Dumars' Achilles' heel, his kryptonite. The draft is the thing we don't speak of when talking about the greatness of Joe Dumars.

I'm not sure why, but the lower the pick, the better it seems to be. You just need to go back to Dumars' first draft, in 2000. Joe D found a very serviceable NBA player in Brian Cardinal with the Pistons' 2nd round pick. But the 1st round pick, the 14th overall, was an outright bust, Mateen Cleaves.

This was the highlight of his NBA career. Um...I was talking about Cleaves, not the commish...

Cardinal has lasted 7 seasons in the NBA as a respectable, if highly overpaid, energy player. On the other hand, Cleaves has bounced around every pro league on this planet, from the D-League to those in parts unknown. He's a bottom of the barrel PG of last resort, getting the occasional 10 day contract. When Cleaves has managed to stay on a NBA roster, he's the last man off the bench, and only plays in garbage time.

Unfortunately, the low is high, up is down style of drafting has been a disturbing trend with Dumars' draft picks

For every Tayshaun Prince, there is Rodney White. For every Memhet Okur, there is Darko Millicic. Low is high, up is down...

Sure, Joe D can has caught lightening in a bottle with some late 1st round and 2nd round picks, a la Jason Maxiell. The baby eater should get significant minutes in 2007. He should be a solid role player. Maxiell was a good value for so low in the 1st round.

Another example of low is high would be Amir Johnson, a 2nd rounder in '05. Johnson may be in the verge of more PT, but is still a work in progress. It remains to be seen how good he'll actually turn out to be. We honestly won't know for a couple of seasons.

When it comes to finding that "Impact" player in the draft, as the Pistons claim is their priority tonight, I can think of only 1 Dumars pick that should be considered as such. Tayshaun Prince.

As I mentioned, Dumars' has found his share of role players. But in 7 NBA drafts, he has only one starter to show for it, Prince. I could get all semanical, and also add Mehmet Okur to the list. But Okur was a Pistons contract casualty. He also was never going to get his shot in Detroit, at least not in the way Utah was able give him.

Losing players like Okur is one of the perils of having a successful, veteran team. That's also why you need to make hay in the draft.

So I'll be watching the NBA draft tonight, with much hope that Joe D will buck the trend and find himself a star player at 15. Or even at 27. It is possible in a supposedly deep draft.

But between you and me? I wouldn't bet on it.

Will the Pistons remain a force? Let's just say I wouldn't be willing to bet on it

As confident as I was about the Pistons remaining a eastern conference power after the draft lottery and before the start of the Cavs series, the less confident I become the more off season rumors I hear.

Kobe Bryant wants to be traded to the Bulls. You need a superstar to win in the NBA. Kobe fits the bill.

For the first time, the Kevin Garnett trade rumors have merit, the hottest rumor being a trade to the Celtics. As long as they don't have to give up Paul Pierce, the Celtics become a eastern conference force. Their having 2 superstars would trump the rest of the east. No other east team would be so top heavy.

The Bucks supposedly are preparing to deliver several Brinks trucks full of loot to Chauncey Billups, very possibly giving Billups a near max offer the Pistons won't be willing to match. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, if the Pistons lose Billups, they might as well start the rebuilding process. As the roster currently stands, Flip Murray would be your starting point guard if Billups leaves. Yeah, that's going to work...

The Hawks need a point guard, and all the mocks have Acie Law, who would be an absolutely perfect fit, and would fill a long time need for the Pistons (Scorer off the bench, let alone a heir apparent at PG), being taken by Atlanta just before the Pistons pick. That would hurt, as I want Acie Law as a Piston. The Pistons need Acie Law. Re-read the paragraph above this one as to why.

Rodney Stuckey is claiming that the Pistons have promised to draft him at the 15th overall pick. Sure, Stuckey has a NBA body. But he's also an early entry, having played playing 2 seasons at Eastern Washington. It bears repeating...EASTERN WASHINGTON? Does that sound like someone who's ready to step into the rotation? Best case scenario is that Stuckey is ready in a couple of years. Worst case? He's the next Rodney White. Either way, he's not the immediate help you want from that high in the draft.

Joe Dumars says no "Fire sale" is imminent, thus doesn't anticipate making big changes, and Flip "I lost to MIKE BROWN" Saunders will return as head coach for another season. If Billups leaves, maybe the fire sale does start. As for Flip Saunders, this says it all. He lost to a one man team coached by Mr. Potato Head.

The Pistons front office loves Amir Johnson, Dumars going so far to call re-signing him behind only retaining Billups as his main off season priority. But does the coaching staff love Amir? Not nearly so much, if you believe Chris McCosky. Who's right? I'm not sure I trust the evaluation skills of either side, so your guess is as good as mine. From what little we saw of Johnson, he definitely is athletic enough. But does the rest of his game match that athleticism? Again, your guess is as good as mine. The seeming split between the front office and coaching staff is concerning, to say the very least.

I know that odds are not all of these rumors will come to fruition, but each and every one of them would hurt the Pistons in the long run. Good Lord, if all of the above comes to fruition, it's going to be one hellish off season for the Pistons. I may want to bring out TWFE infamous Tigers panic button.

As things stand know, I honestly can't determine if the Pistons will again make a long playoff run, or struggle to get out of the first round. (They will make the playoffs, is is the east, after all) But none of the above sound encouraging to the Pistons' 2007-08 chances. How the next month plays out will tell us plenty.

This is going to be the most fascinating NBA off season in memory, possibly for all the wrong reasons when it comes to the Pistons.