Betrayer

You only need one of McGruder or CoJo, not both. I'm fine with having some vets, - it's definitely important - but this roster construction is a bit odd right now. I assumed Troy was hanging on to that cap space in order to make a move (maybe trading Olynyk or something) before the season in order to have it make more sense. There are simply too many guys who will be expecting playing time at the Center and Guard spots. Guards: Cade, Ivey, Killian, Hami, Burks, CoJo, McGruder, Lee Forwards: Saddiq, Livers, Knox Centers: Stew, Bagley, Olynyk, Noel, Duren All those guys in red either need minutes because they're getting developed, or need minutes because their careers are still alive and they aren't ready to sit on the end of the bench. And I've been pretty conservative here by not listing CoJo (and maybe McGruder) who you know Casey will give minutes to. Sure, some of those guards can flex up to SF, particularly Hami and Burks. And yes, some of those Centers can flex down to PF (though each will struggle on one end of the floor or the other). But you've got 5 guys whose natural position should be Center in today's NBA, all of whom need or expect minutes. And that's even before we get into the point that moving them down to PF is the opposite of today's "positionless basketball" which is all about Forwards with guard skills who can defend up or down a position. None of these Centers have the "Guard skills" you need them to have to be the answer at PF. Your best archetype for PF is actually Livers or Bey...but that just makes the minutes situation even more of a train wreck when you've just 3 signed three young Center prospects who need hefty minutes and you also have two vets at that position who are still in their core playing years.

Because another guard is what this team needs 🙄 Maybe we'll get news that Saben is cut soon. But even then, we'll still have too many Guards and Centers and not enough Forwards.

Actually, I had that opportunity more times than I can count in my career. For more pay as well. Instead I chose to stick with the team and the culture that I built and to take on the challenge of building that into something bigger. We did, it succeeded, and it was something that I could never have experienced by jumping ship and taking an easier job. There are many in this world who are content with settling and just making their life easier, but that's not what I expect from the <1% of players who make it to the NBA level. Those people I expect to have competitive pride as well as a desire to achieve greatness and create a legacy. Sometimes the best things in life require challenge, sacrifice, and a strong sense of competitiveness to achieve.

They're still terrible. And why would we want to usher in the new era of Piston basketball by linking them to one of the worst? Use the reds from '04, not these.

It's an easy answer. KD has no heart. He'll never be one to build a winner, be a leader, or rally guys around him. OKC was 5 minutes away from the finals and a probable championship, but why fight back against the team that beat you when it's just easier to jump sides and get a ring the easy way. Things getting a little awkward in the locker room in GS? OK, easier to just leave and go where the grass might be greener. In BKN and the soil is a little rocky. Now it's on you to seed and mow to create that green grass...nope, time to bail again So, once again, it's time for KD to move on to somewhere where the grass looks greener without him having to put forth the effort to make it green. This is KD. Look up the word "weak" in the encyclopedia and you'll find a picture of him...if anyone still has an encyclopedia.

Everything - and I mean everything - would have to click perfectly for them to be in the play-in. Not because they're a bad team acting like they might be good (the Dre years), but because they're all about 19-22 years old. They simply need another couple years to grow and learn. Spurs got a play-in game with 34 wins in the West, but in the East it was 43 wins for Charlotte. I'll reserve my final predictions for October, but right now I'm thinking 32-35 wins based upon what they did in the second half of last season. I don't think the loss of Grant hurts them much and the addition of some front-court vertical threats, some athleticism, and the growth of the second and third year players should help. Shooting and spacing (along with youth) will be the things holding them back

JE3 posted his first take on the Pistons depth chart.

Or maybe Hammond had a lot more to do with Dumars' success than people think.

He failed so hard for so many years straight that at the time I could really only come up with two ways it was possible to fail that hard: 1) It was built through sheer luck (or someone else's influence) 2) He was actively working to ruin the franchise and do everything wrong on purpose To this day I'm still wondering what the answer was.

I can't imagine this is the product they intended when they created Summer League. Teams just hold out their young players and 4 to 5 scrubs are on the floor at all times. Maybe they can rename this to "Summer Tryouts" and just have the GMs show up to watch a bunch of guys hoping to make a roster. Then create something more entertaining for the fans like a "Summer Preseason League" where most of the players have to actually be signed to your 15 man roster. Edit: In fact, maybe just move Preseason to summer and turn it into a tournament league. That way teams can be less worried about injuries since you have a few months before the season starts to nurse minor injuries back to health.

It's a good question. I wouldn't rule out Weaver stretching Olynyk's contract 🤣🤣🤣

Same. Bey/Livers as your PF rotation makes the most sense and is the archetype you need on most nights, especially come playoff time. It also frees you up to find a Wiggins-type for your SF as you work to round out the roster and get playoff ready in a couple years. But I don't see it happening this year because it means very limited minutes for 5 guys at one position (Stew, Bagley, Duren, Olynyk, and Noel). 3 of those guys are young, on multi-year deals, and need minutes to develop. 2 of them are vets with plenty of mileage left in the tank that will want to play. I assume/hope Weaver's going to make some moves to make sense of this roster by the All-Star break.

Well, I think what we've learned from Weaver's time here and what he's said in interviews - he likes trades a lot more than free agency. Which is good, because I've been super impressed with everything he does other than free agency, where I think he's been kind of poor. Plus, Detroit isn't a free agent destination anyway, so it's probably a good tactic. So, I expect Troy to prioritize trading into his cap space over waiting for the Free Agent market. What does that mean? Well, it means literally anything is on the table and it's a lot harder to predict. For example, this year people were throwing out all kinds of names for the Pistons, from Ayton to Portis, but Troy went totally out of the blue and traded to get Burks/Noel into the cap space. Two guys who were on nobody's radar for the Pistons because nobody knew they were available. I expect more of the same next offseason.

I love this kid. https://theathletic.com/3411166/2022/07/11/pistons-saddiq-bey-mountains-grid/

The front court is an issue with the roster as it's currently constructed because we have 5 Centers and no true PFs. Stew, Bagley, and Duren are three young big men whose natural position should be Center. They're all signed long term and they all need minutes to develop. I didn't mind the Bagley signing on paper, but once we already had Stew and Duren, adding another young Center created an odd roster situation, especially since we also have Olynyk and Noel. Olynyk is well within his playing years and the only big who can shoot (so far). Then you have Noel, who isn't ready to hang up the sneakers and should get minutes as well. All of these guys are Centers. Yea, you can put some of them in at PF (and we will), but none of them are PFs in today's game. They either can't shoot, can't dribble, or can't defend the perimeter well enough to be PFs. As for PFs, honestly the best PF on this team is Bey in my opinion. Loved the stretch of games he played at that position last year. He's strong enough to guard that position, rebounds well, and stretches the floor on offense. I'd love to see Casey start him at that spot (Cade, Ivey, Burks, Bey, and one of the Centers). However, if you do that, now you have even less minutes to distribute to the 3 young developing Centers and the 2 vets. Essentially 2 or 3 of those 5 Centers would get zero playing time. Even though I think it's our best lineup, I'm not sure that's going to happen. So, the more likely outcome is that they try to run Stew at the PF for a while and see if it can work. Can he guard the perimeter full time? Can he hit the three with consistency? Can he handle the more advanced passing and handling skills that are required at that spot? By the time Casey figures that out, it will be the All Star break and maybe KO or Noel get moved, we'll know more about Duren, and so on.

It was sad to see Ivey's night cut short by that injury, but I'm glad it doesn't look serious. He was absolutely brilliant in those 5 minutes. Looked great in the second half of game 1 as well after some rookie mistakes in the 1st half. He adjusted quickly after those mistakes and if that's a sign of things to come, then this is going to be a fun year. I really hope Casey starts Ivey and realizes that he should leave one of Cade and Ivey on the court at all times...but it's Casey so I'm sure he'll start Burks and run 5 in and 5 out like he's playing XBox lineups again this year. Stew looks like he might be able to shoot the 3 at a decent clip, but there's more to playing PF than just that. His handle and passing have a long way to go to be a PF. He also sags off of his assignment because he's still drawn to the paint on defense. He's got a lot to learn to be the Grant Williams or Al Horford type that Casey/Weaver have been comparing him to. That said, it was fun watching Duren and Stew make it crazy difficult for the Wizards in the paint for a long stretch - '04 flashbacks. In the end, I think Stew is a top tier bench big man on a good team, which is great value at pick #16, although I'm sure they'll continue to start him until Duren develops or they pickup someone good enough to supplant him in the lineup. Duren looks like a beast...and then looks lost...and back and forth. He's young and you can tell. My guess is he's going to get spot minutes for the first half of the season while he figures things out and then get a more consistent 12-15 minutes per game from All-Star break onward. The raw talent is there, but he's got a lot to learn about positioning on offense and defense. Too bad they shut Killian down. He needs the reps. Played ok, but still looked passive in that first game when he should be dominating this level of competition. At the end of the day, it's all about that catch and shoot three. If he can hit that with consistency and continue to be a plus playmaker and defender, then you've got a really solid bench PG. I'm guessing they'll shut down Stew for the next game. Hopefully they still play Duren though, because there's nobody else on the roster left to care about after that.

He also saw double teams (and triple teams) more than any other rookie (and most stars in the league). It's ok, this year we're going to fix that with all this shooting and spacing we added around him...oh wait, having to cover all the PF and C minutes between 5 Centers that can't shoot doesn't solve this problem?

I really hope they trade Durant to the team that gives them the most return (hopefully Sacramento) or plays hard ball and lets him decide if he just wants to sit out. The fact that they stuck their neck and signed a player who was injured for a full year, tried to put a team around him, and now he's demanding a trade because it's not easy enough for him with 4 years left is ridiculous. This needs to stop.

They didn't do it for a #7, #1, #16, or #19 pick. Zero chance he just gets stashed in the G-League all year as some are suggesting or only gets Darko minutes in a season where the only expectation is that you develop the young core of this team. He'll be getting 10-18 mpg by no later than the All Star break. If he spends a game or two with the Cruise, it won't be for long. Save that stuff for guys like Saben or Garza who may never make it in the league. You want this kid practicing, travelling, being around the big boys, and getting spot minutes while you acclimate him for the first half of the season so he can play solid rotation minutes after the All-Star break.

Different front office.

It sounds great in theory, but I don't see it happening. Even with all their talk about the MCC being a "partner", they haven't sent a first round pick, let alone a lotto pick, down to the G-League yet (outside of injury recovery). I'd be surprised if it happened unless Duren looks unplayable, which would be rare for a front-court player with his athleticism. I'm sure he can immediately come in and grab some rebounds and block some shots. More likely Noel will be hurt after five minutes of play, or people will start to realize why they call him "No Hands Noel". Also, I think I recall us having conversations about a crowded front-court in previous years...and then suddenly those guys started to disappear before the season...Weaver may not be done with moves. Someone like Kelly O could help a contender - or simply get cut and stretched as Troy loves to do with big men.

Bagley deal isn’t my favorite. Love everything else Troy has done this summer and it’s only a slight overpay in my eyes, so not terrible or anything. Would feel better if it was a third year team option. My real concern is the logjam of young guys who need development in the front court (Stew, Duren, Bagley). They’re going to try to fit one or two of them at PF but I’m not sure any of them belong at that position in a league where you need to be able to space the floor at PF and guard smalls. I’d rather see Bey or Livers at the 4, but then how do you find minutes for three young guys who need to develop along with a couple of vets (Olynyk, Noel) on top of that? Too many options for Casey to screw up the lineup is a bad thing.

5 minutes from the Finals with a home grown team...nah, let me go join the team that beat us for an easy championship instead. Now he wants to go the #1 seeded Suns. Classic Durant. How many more bridges will he burn before he's done? Between him, Harden, and Kyrie, it was nice having almost all of the players I hate on the Nets for a while. Spreading them out is going to make it harder to root for a team in the playoffs next year.

He was already looking like a train wreck with throwing his mouth guard at a fan and his drug using social media posts. And now this. I'm happy that Weaver has chosen to build a team of good character players that I can enjoy rooting for.

Get your mind prepared for the frustration of Casey's 4th quarter lineups: Cade, CoJo, Burks, Olynyk, Noel 🤣