Betrayer

Montiejunas looks like even more of an idiot with his crying on Twitter about how Detroit is ruining NBA careers by failing physicals on trades.

15pts is "went off" now?

I’d take a flyer on him for JJ, but honestly I wouldn’t make any minor moves until the Grant trade gets done. You may need those smaller contracts to make the deal work and that’s the far more important trade.

Hami has been big for this team in their recent success. He simply brings something nobody else does with his elite athleticism and ability to attack. I just don’t understand Casey’s reluctance to play him the 4th - last night I watched the lead whittle away while Hami rode the pine until the 2:50 mark in the 4th, even though he was clearly one of the biggest difference makers in creating the lead. Same thing the other night. Also, once again the team was better with a big man who is an offensive threat on the floor. It was to our benefit that Stew got into foul trouble. should we start talking about the 6-10 pick? This recent winning is nice, but…

Collins can be traded after January 14th, which is coming up...now. But again, that was me wishing. I don't see Atlanta moving him.

This 100%. And they need that same guy for rim protection and competent rebounding on the other end too.

Totally agree. I don't like Lyles at all. Which is why it infuriates me even more that they look better with him on the court than Stew. This team needs a competent pick n' roll big in a bad way.

The Chicago deals I've been hearing similar to this one make the most sense. They're in "win-now" mode with DeRozan. Not a fan of most of the trades on the Athletic. The NYK trade is decent. The Washington trade is 'meh'. I want Anfernee + Covington if we're trading with Portland, not Powell and definitely not McLemore. Lakers can GTFO with that garbage. Atlanta might still be able to put together a nice package for Grant. I'd take those first round picks, Okongwu, and Gallinari (for salary match). I'd also be interested in a package if it involved Collins, but I doubt they let him go. Golden State is another team I'd talk to. Wiseman and Kuminga are both interesting young prospects and they have a closing window that's not long enough for those kids to make an impact. Grant, on the other hand, can be huge for them on both ends immediately. After losing their last two games to playoffs teams (Bucks and Grizz), they might be ripe for a discussion. Phoenix is also in win-now mode with Chris Paul's tiny window. I want Cam Johnson in that trade. Saric would probably have to come back for salaries, plus some other stuff in that deal to make it work. Sadly Phoenix doesn't have a pick to trade. I've heard Boston discussed by those who theorize that they're ready to give up on the Tatum/Brown pairing. Obviously, I'd do almost anything to get Brown, but I don't see that happening. Swapping firsts this year might sweeten the pot, but they'd still want more than just Grant. However, if you can pull that off, then suddenly the window changes. You throw all your money at Ayton in the offseason and you've got a core (Cade, Brown, Ayton) that can start making noise immediately next year.

Also, Cam Reddish got moved to the Knicks. So, a lot of the trade rumors out there about the Pistons going after Cam in a Grant trade are off the table. However, some are speculating that Atlanta may have collected that extra first round pick from the Knicks in order to do a subsequent trade...Grant maybe?

I think Hayes with the starters is hurting his own development, but Stew with the starters is hurting everyone else's. At least 3 of Cade's turnovers in the Bulls game were due to Stew's bad hands and inability to be a vertical threat. Both Cade and Killian were touted as tremendous pick and roll players, but between Coach Casey's terrible "dribble-hand-off into an iso" offense and Stew's lack of ability to be the roll guy when they do try the pick and roll, you've got a developmental mess out there in the starting lineup. There's a reason why this team has looked so much better on the offensive end when Lyles is out there with the starters, and it's not because Lyles is a good player. It's simply because he's at least a mediocre threat to score.

Such a fun game to watch after a really slow start out of the gate. Cade and Bey leading the charge. Diallo was playing well so I was a bit confused about JJ taking his minutes to finish the 4th, but maybe they're trying to move him before the deadline and need to give him some extra time. Probably need to address the elephants in the room: Hayes and Stew. Time to move Hayes to the bench to run that unit. I was hopeful with his 3pt percentage early on, but he's just a non-factor out there 90% of the time. Maybe running the second unit with less pressure can make him more aggressive. Any of Frank, Saben, or CoJo would be better with the starters. As for Stew, this team is just better with someone on the court who can be a factor on the offensive end or a threat in the pick and roll. Whether that's Lyles or Kelly (when he comes back), it may be time to move Stew to the bench unit as well. I think that's where he belongs long-term anyway. He's got a great heart, but he's limited simply due to his size, lack of offensive skill, and lack of athleticism.

Everything I've heard over the past few weeks is saying exactly the opposite of this. That his value is still sky high and that many teams are calling about him. There are legitimate sources, such as James Edwards III, reporting this.

Nice appetizer while we wait for the Grant trade to come in. Gave up nothing and got a big man with some potential on a trial contract.

Pistons certainly made it fun to watch, but you pretty much knew they would come up short in the end. Lyles game looked nice on paper, but Miami knew just who to go after on the other end. They ran a screen to get him defending the guard (usually Lowry) every time down the court and it resulted in either a layup or a wide open look for a Heat player after the help had to come. They just picked him apart and he gave up as much as he got on the offensive end, if not more. Josh Jackson is abysmal. Mistake after mistake. I have no idea what happened to him, but he seems to have completely regressed. CoJo can play 42 minutes in a game like this but this team won't play its 20 year old starters more than 25 minutes on most nights...? Another nice game from Bey who seems to be figuring some things out since donning the headband. Would really like to have seen more Garza in this game. What could it hurt? It's not like we're winning games. Instead they rolled Cheick Diallo out there and went small a lot. It's going to be a long couple of weeks without Cade, Stewart, and Hayes.

Miami doubled him off of every screen to take him out of the game. He made the right read and got 10 assists as a result. Would've had way more if guys could hit their shots. 3rd solid game from Bey in a row. He's been getting started each game with some bully-ball for easy looks, using his strength. With his confidence up, the three ball has started to fall more regularly. Let's see if he can keep it up.

Sure, it's probably not a game they were going to win anyway, but Casey does it again. He leaves the second unit in until 5 minutes left in the 4th. They score just 1 point in that time period and the game completely flips. Casey has no concept of momentum or game management. KD plays 41 minutes at age 33 and we've got 20 year olds that Casey is afraid to play more than 20 minutes. Diallo was 5 for 8, but only played 20 minutes, and didn't even play in the 4th. On a good note, Cade continues to look really good. Yeah, the turnovers are rough, but he's scoring, rebounding, passing, stealing, and just filling the stat sheet. 26 points, (9-18 and 5 for 8 from 3), 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 1 block. Saben finally got a legitimate chance and played very well off the bench. 17 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 1 block. Hopefully we can be done with CoJo now. Lyles is still trash.

It's not like Jerami was getting us a bunch of wins. Honestly, I'm just sad they lost a potential trade piece. What does this starting lineup look like now? I was already pulling for moving Hami in as a starter in place of Bey, but I doubt that's possible now unless Casey really shakes things up. I think I'd try Hami at SF and Bey at PF. Bey has the strength to guard most PFs and he won't get beat by their quickness like he often does against SFs and SGs. Give that until Kelly returns and if it's not working you can tweak things again. But let's be real. This is Casey. He's going to find a way to start either Lyles or CoJo.

He's the real tank commander. Great character guy, which is good for development but I'm actually starting to wonder if his (lack of) offense, iso-plays, and lineups are actually hurting these player's NBA development. Maybe it's fine for this year, but we'll need to move on if we want to start getting some wins next year. He truly mishandled this game with his video game lineups where he rides 5 bench players for half of the 4th quarter. And that last play was just atrocious. They need a 3 with less than a second on the clock and: 1. Initially he leaves Stewart and Hami on the floor, while leaving Killian (the team's best 3 pt shooter) on the bench. 2. Cade - who has scored the last 4 buckets in OT is inbounding. 3. We try the play (to get Frank a shot at the logo) and they sniff it out, so Casey calls a timeout because we can't get the ball inbounds. 4. Casey swaps Stewart for CoJo (why CoJo?) and still runs the EXACT same play that they had already sniffed out. When asked why Killian wasn't in the game, Casey's response is that his +/- wasn't good for the game. Seriously? Plus/minus? That's what matters when you need to get a three with the last shot in OT? What a train wreck of a coach. And can we talk about Trey Lyles? There was a point where he went into 3 defenders and got his shot crushed at the rim (subtract 2 pts). Then the very next play he commits an intentional foul 30 feet from the bucket to prove a point (subtract 2 more points) and then gets a tech on top of it (subtract 1 more point). As soon as I saw it I said, "that guy is sitting on my bench for the rest of the game. And if we lose this game by 5 pts or less, he's not playing in the next game either." Guess what? We lost by 3.

Rough loss, but good for the tank. Cade had a really good game. His turnovers need to get under control, but he was the best player on the court for 3 quarters until SGA went crazy. Really didn't expect him to be such a good rebounder as well. Killian had a nice first half and then struggled in the second half. He's improving though and I really like watching him on defense. Bey continues to be not just bad, but terrible, this season. Hit a few shots in the first quarter to give us hope, but wound up 5 of 16, which means he was absolute trash outside of Q1. I think he only hit 1 shot the rest of the way. He's pump faking himself out of open shots, taking terrible side-step threes, and just looking lost out there. If Hami didn't have a broken face, I would make a lineup change. Casey continues to put this team in a bad position. This lead disappeared when he rode that terrible bench squad for way too long in the 4th. He simply decides on a rotation and never deviates no matter how the momentum changes during the game. Everyone watching could see what was happening, but he made no changes, didn't try bringing starters back early to shake it up at all. Lyles is straight trash. Goes out and jacks up bad shots, tries to take people off the dribble all the time, and just isn't good at any facet of the game. He was 2 for 7. Your back up big is shooting 41% from the floor and 29% from three with an eFG of 47% - that's bad on an epic level. Not sure who else to play, but he's not the answer. This team really needs a bouncy big man who can rebound, protect the paint, and be a vertical threat in the pick and roll.

Diallo out with a fractured face. It's too bad because he was playing well and with a lot of energy on both sides of the ball. In fact, I probably would've moved him into the starting lineup over Bey at this point. Corey Joseph ruled out due to a knee issue. Probably music to most fan's ears at this point. Maybe that means Saben minutes or maybe Casey will look to stagger Cade/Hayes by bringing one of them out early. I prefer he kept them playing together because they're really starting to build chemistry with passes to each other and back door cuts. They also have the best +/- of any duo on the team.

Booker is out for a little while.

Not sure of the answer to that, but I'm not worried about Cade. Rookies don't typically shoot well. Even KD shot 28% from three in his first season. Trae Young shot 32%. There are so many other examples. He's averaging 6.5 Rebounds, 5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game, so he's finding ways to contribute. Not to mention that he'd easily be averaging 8 assists a game if anyone on this team could shoot. When comparing to last year, I also think people underestimate the impact of last season's vets. Mason Plumlee was a big man in the starting lineup who brought size and verticality to the squad. We also had Rose, Wright, and Ellington playing starter minutes for half the season. Those guys aren't All Stars, but they're enough to make the difference between 16 wins (current pace) and 20 wins (last year). Casey's offense isn't doing this team any favors either. Don't get me started on that. That said, there are a couple of concerns I have: Saddiq Bey - I have no idea what the deal is with Saddiq but it might be time for a lineup change. Hami has been really bringing it since given a chance to play and he could fit nicely in that starting lineup at SF. He's very active on defense, gets to the rim, and is the only real lob threat on the team (I have no idea why Casey doesn't run plays with Grant going to the rim off of a screen). It also addresses the lack of athleticism in that starting lineup, which is a major concern. The combo of Cade, Hayes, Bey, and Stewart is way too unathletic to work long term anyway. You won't be missing Bey's three ball...because it's not there anyway. This could also benefit Bey, who seemed to do well when running with the bench crew earlier in the year when Casey was trying to stagger Grant and Bey as the primary scorers before Cade came back. Beef Stew - Even with all the shooting woes on this team, the biggest need is still a Center who can rebound, block shots, and (especially) be a lob threat. I love Beef Stew's motor, but he looks more and more like a bench big man than a starter. He just doesn't offer any sort of offensive outlet to our ball handlers after setting the screen. The defense can key in on the ball handler with plenty of time to recover to Stew due to his lack of explosiveness, verticality, or willingness to shoot. This is really hurting the offense and our young ball handlers in particular.

Yep, I watched it, as always. Open looks just clanging off the rim. Not exactly sure how it's possible for a team to shoot this bad for this long.

The shooting discussion is both sad and funny because in the offseason I remember quote after quote from Casey and Weaver about how everything they were doing was to get shooters. Got rid of Mason. Added Kelly. Drafted Garza. Drafted Cade. Brought back Frank. Drafted Livers. Brought in Lyles. Literally every move was to get more shooters to the point where the team is hurting for any sort of athleticism and verticality because they doubled down on floor stretching. And yet here we are and they're not just bad at shooting - they're historically bad. Makes you wonder how that can be possible. Coaching? Confidence? Youth? Cade would have double digit assists every night if this team could shoot, because he's finding them for open looks over and over.

I think everyone knew the NBA was going to side with its darling, Lebron. He punches Stew in the face, makes him gush blood, but Stew gets suspended for longer. Whatever. Honestly, if I was the NBA I would have given them both 4 games because I have no idea how they're going to police that game in LA.