The day after the NBA draft has me asking 1 question

How many guards do the Pistons need?

After last night, the Pistons have as many guards as the Lions have wide receivers. Just look at the current logjam in the backcourt.

On last season's roster:

Chauncey Billups: Joe D best re-sign Billups, because there is no realistic backup option at this point. None whatsoever. If he surprises the Pistons, and pulls a Grant Hill to Orlando scenario, they are screwed beyond belief.

Rip Hamilton: You have an all star backcourt, and one of the pair is a free agent. So you draft 3 players better suited to play the position of the guard currently under contract? Who did Rip piss off in the Pistons front office? Why else would they draft 3 shooting guards last night? Going by the Pistons picks, you'd think Hamilton was some journeyman, not a 2 time all star.

Lindsey Hunter: Just take the supposed front office job already, OK? You play great defense, but you can't shoot a damn lick, and you're 50 years old. You really want to do the Pistons a favor? Then retire, take the front office gig, and open up a much needed roster spot.

Flip Murray: Think he pissed off the front office when he decided to use his player contract option, and stay a Piston? Some combo guard Murray turned out to be. He's a PG who can't pass, and a SG who can't shoot. What are the odds Murray is wearing a Pistons jersey in October? 500-1? More like 1000-1.

Will Blaylock: Right now, Blaylock is the only young guard on their roster who is first, and foremost, a point guard. But he's raw as raw can be. If Blaylock is playing significant minutes this coming season, the Pistons have major issues, as that means Billups is playing somewhere else.

Pistons own their rights:

Rodney Stuckey: He's supposed to be a combo guard, but can you realistically expect Stuckey to play the point at the NBA level as a rookie? Along with the "Poor man's D-Wade" comparisons, I've also heard that Stuckey is in the Chauncey Billups mold. I hope not, because it took some 5 seasons for Billups to gain his NBA legs. He best live up to the Pistons hype, because if he doesn't, the Pistons are in HUGE trouble. It bears repeating, Stuckey is all that the Pistons have to show for the 2nd overall pick of the 2003 draft.

Aaron Affalo: Supposedly just like Stuckey, but less athletic. I've read that Affalo is either a hustling winner who brings attitude, or he's a reach at 27, and is going to have trouble just making the team. Just what the Pistons need, another non-athletic guard who can't get his shot off unless he makes his defender run through 3 screens.

Sammy Mejia: Don't know a thing about him, other than he's tall and a shooting guard. Another guard? Why? Why not take a flier on a big at this point?

Alex Acker: Supposedly dominating overseas, he may as well plan on doing so again in 2007. As thing currently stand, there's absolutely no room for him on the Pistons' roster.

I heard some of Joe Dumars' presser introducing the 2 draft picks today. He kept going on about attitude, hard work, hunger, things the Pistons supposedly stand for. That's all well and good, but does that make the Pistons a title threat for the 07-08 season? As the roster currently stands, no.

Do you see anything near the big shakeup that was rumored, and most people think is needed, now that the draft has passed? And for that matter, where's the easy scoring opportunities going to come from? If Stuckey isn't the big time scorer that he's being pumped up to be, we are going to see the same offensive struggles we witnessed last season. We can only hope that the Pistons find a scorer in free agency. Not that I have much hope, as they been looking for a free agent scorer for 2 years now, and have yet to find even one.

Another roster question just popped into my head. Who's going to play center? Nazr Mohammed? He's the only real center on the roster right now. Move Rasheed Wallace to center and start Jason Maxiell or Antonio McDyess? I'm sure that will go over well with 'Sheed... Do they hope to get Chris Webber on the cheap again? I have no idea how the Pistons plan to fix big hole in the middle.

Much of the Pistons eastern competition got better last night. I'm not at all sure we can say the same about the Pistons.

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.