1984Echoes

Orban?!?!?! Viktor MF'ing ORBAN??? WTF Rubio?

That one gets a 5-star ranking...

PS: I'm not really interested in Mara... I don't think he matches what the Pistons are trying to do. I don't mind a big who can protect the rim. But he has no foot speed at all. At least compared to everyone else in the NBA. I would love to have a stretch-4 or stretch-5... but that also is not Mara. He's probably unstoppable (or nearly so) within 5 feet of the rim. But I - still - don't think that's what the Pistons are looking for.

I think that's absolutely HORRENDOUS for the worst teams in the league. The team (insert name: ) is terrible, gets rid of all its unproductive vets in order to enact a rebuild, gets the worst record in 2026-27... and gets pick #14? That's TERRIBLE! I would never vote for that (if I had a vote). That's just truly ****ting on the teams who are genuinely trying to rebuild. No thank you. Zero interest in that scenario.

I think Yaxel will need to be traded up for: our pick is going to end up at 29 or 30... And IF Minnesota's is not top (18 or 19?), we swap and get up to 20-21-ish or so. I think Yaxel is looked at as a top 15 prospect, maybe higher. But... we'll see. Things can change... certainly in the draft process. But if you want him, we'll have to trade up, my guess. Same with Chris Cenac Jr. ... That's the guy I want. His comps? Jaren Jackson Jr. and Kel'el Ware. If he can get there... He's ranked lower than Yaxel, I don't know why... Maybe because he needs more work/ development than Yaxel? Yaxel has a higher floor? His comps are Kuzma and Obi Toppin? I believe Cenac has the much higher upside. But a lot more development is required... And he'd be easier to trade up for if he's hitting the 18-21 range... Just my 2 cents.

"Buium has 5 points in his last 4 games..." Just a WAG: I would guess that Buium needed to shake off some rust his first half-dozen to a dozen games... If he's breaking out right now... I hope that continues...

I admit nothing. Bad word choice on my part. IMO... the 6 worst teams in the league are NOT tanking. As far as I'm concerned, if a team decides to go through a rebuild because they have a bad product on the court, it's a "rebuild", not a tank. That always annoyed me when the Red Wings started going through a rebuild, and the Pistons, and the Tigers... and any discussion of an upcoming draft was "Oh they are tanking". I'm not slamming anyone here. It just annoys me when I look at a team trying to rebuild, who jettisons unproductive veterans in the offseason (and maybe also at the deadline or pending FA's at the deadline) in order to rebuild... and everyone starts yelling "Tank!". I do not agree with this "tanking" definition, as a catch all for ANY team that loses more games than they win. IMO, I think that is unfair to the organization, and to the General manager, who has to make these decisions. They're not fun decisions, I would guess. To go through a rebuild. But sometimes necessary. The only teams that would be pulling a "tank" under these circumstances (or at least under my own definition) would be teams 7-9 (ish) who start the season trying to win but fall out of the playoff picture and then start pulling shenanigans to get into the top 6. If they trade pending free agents to go through a mini-rebuild or recharge (or whatever the correct terminology may be); IMO, that's not tanking or shenanigans. If they are finding creative injuries or reduced playing time for their remaining stars... Then I would call that tanking. PS: The bottom 6 teams have a high winning % of .321 (Jazz). They're just bad teams and deserve whatever draft pick their record says they would qualify for (under a no-lottery system), IMO. The next 4 range from .352 to .436 winning %. This is where tanking shenanigans occur, IMO. But put them in a tournament in which they can only lose draft pick number by losing in the tourney... And it forces them to make a decision. Do shenanigans and get fined by the league and MAYBE get up to #6... Or be a bad #7 team that will lose in a tourney first round and drop to #11. Also, any shenanigans and they lose home court (just on the theory that teams' #7-10 get home court UNLESS they play tanking shenanigans... FURTHER DIS-incentivizing tanking maneuvers...) That REALLY puts the onus on the #'s 7-10 teams to make a decision on how they want to play this. Again... I think no lottery for teams 1-6 and a tourney for teams 7-14, home court for teams 7-10 UNLESS they are caught/ (convicted by the league? however one should say that...) for tanking shenanigans... Is a SPECTACULAR remedy for the current state of tanking. Maybe the Jazz ARE tanking. But IMO, I'm just guessing here... they'd be the ONLY team pulling tanking shenanigans because teams 7-10 are too easily penalized with losing draft position or home court (under that scenario), etc. if they use those shenanigans. And teams 1-5 are just BAD. And correctly rebuilding.

At least that would only be 6 teams and not 14. Did I mention how much I hate the lottery?

Yes. THIS. Absolutely! Nothing else needs to be said. The Pistons are fun again. I'm actually watching their games again.

I hate lotteries so much that: 1) I either want to kill the lottery altogether. I hate them so much (wait, did I already mention that?) OR: 2) Do the tournament. I find that an interesting/ compelling idea... OR: 3) Wow, especially based on what Betrayer posted here: Why not seed the top-6 straight up based on record, and the remaining 8 teams do a seeding tournament? I think that kills two problem-birds with one stone. Fixes the "just miss" tankers from doing stupid tank things, and puts the worst 6 teams back on a "your record says what you are" basis that does NOT penalize a team for being truly ****ty and needing a non-bastardized (read: lottery) draft pick that reflects their record. Just my 2 cents, but I think that's the optimum outcome.

I'm certain teams will still "find a way"... To tank. But I do really like the idea of a tournament to set the order rather than a lottery. I HATE lotteries. It also incentivizes teams to not have a total garbage roster (through trades, free agents or lack thereof). Because having the worst roster/ record in the league but getting the 8th pick (is that the worst spot the worst-record-team can get in a 14-team tournament? That would be my guess...) doesn't seem very appetizing.

As the ETERNAL OPTIMIST on here... I give my stamp of approval on this version of the Tigers.

I like THIS idea... But it's not going to stop tanking that much because: borderline team sits better players in order to lose... or has them do a minor surgery that gets them back in 4-6 weeks... Back in enough time to play in the "lottery tournament" and wipe out all the teams that actually have worse players than them... Methinks.

Also... The trade deadline can be used to add a bat if a problem with injuries or underperformance starts to cost games. There are several months to evaluate how the bats are doing... IMO, our offense is a non-issue. It will be good enough to win lots and lots of games. IMO.

Did Joe Biden support a policy that would kill your spouse? Because Trump sure supports a LOT of policies that will kill a LOT of spouses.

Please post one quote in here saying Verlander is going to be just as good as his first stint here. Need a receipt please.

And Diabate and Bridges got 4 games each. Perfectly fine with that and close to what I expected. Glad Diabate got twice what Duren received... IMO, he instigated.

He escalated it because he kept backing away from Diabate but Diabate kept forcing his forehead into Duren's face. I hope the league sees what I see and gives Duren 1 game and Diabate 3. It probably won't work out that way but... not being a homer... Diabate forced the issue. IMO.

But Diabate kept pushing his head into Duren's face so I could see why he pushed his head away and... without audio... I'm guessing with a "Get out of my face man!!!"

Also... I'm wondering if he ends up being the "opener" in the first half of the season and starts with a 1 or 2 or 3 inning stint...? Just WAG'ing...

My guess: He's a spot-starter/ bullpen guy to start the season. In order to keep his innings low. And then start ramping him up for the post-season (regular turn in the rotation August & September?) In the playoffs... I'm guessing he pitches wherever they need him most. Key innings. Just a guess...

"Daniss the Menace"?

I'd be interested in Dalen Terry (released by the Bulls) as the new two-way...

Now that we signed Daniss to a standard contract... If we can sign another two-way... I'm interested in Dalen Terry, who was released by the Bulls...

Cade also with 4 (under review as I type this...) so time to play Jenkins and Reed.