Betrayer

I see good and bad with Weaver and he has a lot to prove over the course of the next year. However, I still see more positive than negative. Tear Down (Plus) - I absolutely love how he came in here and tore down the garbage in just one season. It's something many of us had been screaming for the franchise to do for years, but so many people on this very message board said it wasn't possible. Weaver didn't play around and got it done. I respect that aggressiveness. Draft Maneuvering (Plus) - I like how he's maneuvered the drafts with getting extra picks and the picks he's made. Obviously, they haven't all worked out (*cough*Killian*couch*), but getting role players in the second half of the first round of a bad draft (2020) is good work in my eyes. In 2021 he did what he was supposed to do. In 2022 he moved back into the first round and got a steal in Duren at #13. No GM wins on every pick, but I think he's done well overall. Not Afraid to Take Chances or Cut Ties (Plus) - I like that he's not afraid to move assets that aren't working out. We've had a number of reclamation projects come and go. Even his own draft pick that many fans loved got moved and if you think about it, it means he traded Kennard and some second rounders for the #2 pick in that draft. We have no idea if Wiseman will work out, but I like the aggressiveness and willingness to act before you're stuck. Taking chances on guys that haven't bloomed yet and being ready to cut ties with them is also one of the only ways you can get a star in Detroit outside of the draft. Fixed the Cap (Plus) - This team was in cap hell when Weaver came in. He's turned that into a very flexible situation with no long term or untradeable albatross contracts. I don't agree with the Bagley signing, but let's no act like 3yr/13M is anything more than an annoyance - it's certainly not some albatross contract. No Starting Assets (Plus) - This team was in a worse place than an expansion team when Weaver took over. Zero talent and no assets to trade, but we also had a terrible cap situation on top of that. Weaver started from lower than ground zero when he took over. Our biggest name to trade was Dre...and we all know what that was worth. Roster Construction (Minus) - The roster hasn't made a bit of sense. We went from zero bigs to too many of them. In a league that's wing dominated we have no wings at all. If the secret goal is to lose a bunch of games so you can get high draft picks, then Weaver is playing some elite level chess here, but I don't think that's the case. It's also stunting the growth of your lead guards who are being put in a bad situation. Coach Loyalty (Minus) - Casey has to go. If he's still the coach next season that will be a HUGE hit to my view of Weaver. He's a terrible on court strategist, does not run a competent offense or defense, and cannot figure out high school level lineup rotations. On top of that, the thing that people say he does best (player development) is simply false. If anything, he's stunting these players growth by teaching them to play ball the wrong way. The only praise I'll give him is in running a clean locker room even though they're losing. Baffling Free Agency Moves (Minus) - I'm not sure if it's his aggressiveness biting him in the rear, but some of his free agency moves have been perplexing at best. Paying to give away Plumlee to sign Olynyk? The Bagley deal after you've already drafted Duren, traded for Noel, and have Olynyk? His love for dead cap space? None of this is crippling on a team that's not trying to win yet, but it's still a lot of bad asset management and numerous papercuts can start to add up. Bottom line, when I break it down I see a lot more positive from him with what he's had to work with than I see negative. That said, he's got a lot to prove this offseason and next year. Regardless of what he inherited when he came in, this is the last season that anyone is going to accept this type of product on the court. I doubt his seat is even warm with ownership, but it's definitely getting there with the fans. If healthy Cade, 2023 draft pick, player growth, and whatever moves Troy makes this offseason don't result in 30 wins next season, I imagine his seat will be getting really hot with the fanbase and probably warm with ownership too.

I think that was probably a healthy decision 🙂

When you think you have your superstar so you end the rebuild and start pushing for the playoffs too soon. Then you find out he's just an All-Star who only plays on one side of the court. Welcome to the next 5 years of mediocrity.

Just 4 more. I've watched every game of every season since about 2001, but this season has been the ultimate test of my willpower and patience, especially with the lineups they're rolling out now. I'm looking forward to watching some good basketball teams (playoffs) and a fun off-season where hope can return with thoughts of healthy players and new additions to the team.

It really didn't look good from the start. Not sure what they were thinking. The better move would have been to trade KAT away. In fact, that's probably still the best move for that franchise.

Victor's numbers are really looking good 😄

I like a lot of the other changes, especially the cap smoothing. But this one seems to be in opposition to the other changes which help the mid and low level teams catch up to those who are over-spending.

From a post on Reddit: James Wiseman's Post-Ups: 4th highest frequency in the NBA (23.8%) Lowest Points Per Possession in the NBA (0.73) 5th Lowest Foul Rate in the NBA (6.7%)

My super early take that I reserve the right to change before the draft: My top 5 are: 1 - Victor - You have to take him, but I have Kristaps concerns. 2 - Miller - Character concerns, but hard to pass up the all around package. 3 - Hendricks - Athletic PF that can shoot? Yes please. 4 - Amen - He may never learn to shoot, but he'll be a plus defender, athlete, and wing slasher/creator. 5 - Ausar - On the fence here, but Ausar is a good placeholder until I do more research. I left Scoot out because if Victor's gone and Scoot's still on the board, I'm trading back a couple of spots for more assets. The "highlight" film I've watched on Scoot doesn't impress me. Getting to the bucket in G-League isn't tough (just as G-League MVP Saben Lee), he's too small, and can't shoot. Also, his assist to turnover isn't great either. I don't draft for fit on a bad team, but if I don't see the guy as head and shoulders above the ones behind him, then I don't need another lead guard on this team. Move back, get assets, and get the wing you need. I'll roll the dice on missing out on Scoot the Superstar, because I just don't see it.

Good draft to use Bojan and "stuff" to get a another pick in the second half of the first round. Someone is going to slip out of the top half and if you want to improve from a bottom 5 defense you can't have him as a starting wing on this team. He won't be here when it's time to compete anyway, so get something for him while he's coming off of his best season as a pro.

Really curious to see how this in-season tournament looks. Could be fun. All I know for sure right now is the betting websites are loving the idea.

That pass was awesome, but it went to his head. In the second half he was trying to throw the game away with some terrible Jokic-wannabe passes that turned into turnovers. Luckily we tanked harder.

Saddiq Bey revenge game incoming.

Butler pushed McGruder into Duren when he was going up to block Love's shot. As a result of Duren's legs getting taken out his chin collided with the side of Love's head really hard. There was a lot of blood all over Love's jersey. They both went out and didn't return to the game. The good news is that even though the Pistons were leading for much of this game, they found a way to let Miami go on a big run at the end of the 4th.

Vecenie talks about "Future NBA All-Star" Jaden Ivey (and others): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wpG3Sq6cK8

Casey doesn't run anything close to a competent NBA offense.

In other breaking news: It's Not 1990 Anymore

Is that smoke that keeps passing in front of the camera?

This could backfire. Some defense might get played.

Yea, there were a couple of passes that I thought were too hot, but definitely a couple that the big man should've caught regardless. One of the ones for Bagley would've been a clean layup, but he just blew the catch. More importantly for me is that I'm seeing him make some really good reads when the defense reacts to his drives. That's the type of stuff people said he couldn't do coming out of college. Same with the mid-range game which is showing some nice signs. Also of interest is that Cade shot 31.4% from 3 in his rookie year and Ivey is currently shooting 33.2%. He also has a better assist to turnover at 1.68 to Cade's 1.51. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Ivey is the better player, just that he should be getting a lot more love than he is, especially for the improvements he's made in just his rookie year.

This was a fun game. Ivey with 26 and 12 assists. He's really showing a ton of improvement in his game this year in so many areas that were supposed to be his weaknesses. Still makes mistakes, but I'm loving a lot of what I'm seeing. Also, he's so much better without Killian next to him taking lead guard possessions and providing nothing when he's playing off-guard. Even a washed up vet like McGruder provides more next to Ivey. Next year we need to stagger Ivey and Cade so one of them is on the court at all times to run the show. Let Killian go and get a vet PG (similar to CoJo) who can just be insurance and locker room influence. We have our lead guards now, save those other roster spots for 3 and D wings. Wiseman with a really nice offensive game. Benefited from Ivey screen and roll all night. Had some really good plays on defense and some really bad ones. Also, needs to get more than 5 rebounds, but you can definitely see the potential. This team looks so much different when they have some wings who actually try on defense. Doesn't matter that one of them is on a 10-day contract (Omoruyi) and the other is just a role player (Livers). Much as I like Bogey's scoring, I wouldn't mind seeing him moved as part of a deal to bring in a 3 and D wing or another pick. We desperately need better wings around this young core of Guards and Centers.

Getting rid of Bey helps. Also Bogey has played much.

I hear the concern, but I don't think it's that black and white of an issue. Ivey has plenty of reps off-ball with Killian (or CoJo) running the point, so I think he's seeing both scenarios. We also shouldn't expect Cade to initiate the offense 100% of the time like Luka. Especially in transition, I think you're going to want Ivey to be the one pushing the ball up the court. And there will be times where it makes sense for Cade to get the ball off of a weakside screen so the defense isn't completely locked on him from the moment he crosses half court all game - and vice versa for Ivey. Good teams have multiple playmakers that can initiate the offense. Look at Boston, where Tatum's usage rate is 32.7 and Brown's is 31.4. Sure, you'll have Cade running the show in crunch time, but for the rest of the game you want to have multiple looks to throw at the opposition. Also, to @gehringer_2's point, we need Casey out of here. The guy religiously runs a 5-in, 5-out lineup and can't figure out how to stagger. We've got to find a coach who can manage the simple task of keeping one of Cade and Ivey in the game at all times. That will allow each of them to run the show solo for about half of their on-court minutes.

Meanwhile, the Rookie of the Month is Paolo and his averages are: 16.6 PPG, 3.3 APG. 7.5 RPG, 37% FG, and 3% 3FG, on 45% TS No, that's not a typo. He shot 3% (1 for 33) from 3 point range in February.

He's still a work in progress, but the growth and development in Ivey this year is clearly visible in both his stats and the eye test.