NYLion

I think they almost have to, the chemistry between he and the franchise player is special. Ivey is the big question mark. I think he might have enough value along with the 1sts they will now have full control of to bring in a legit #2 option to team with Cade but that depends on what a team thinks of his ability to recover from injury because he was showing some notable improvements prior to the injury. Maybe they just keep Ivey and can now get him at a lower number on the next contract because of his injury but I'm still unsure of his fit and with the Pistons in what should be getting close to win now mode starting next season so I'm not sure they should be tinkering with fit like developmental teams do.

Blaha, while clearly way way past his prime, seems rejuvenated with his play calling this season much like we feel watching the team I'm sure. I just can't imagine watching the Pistons post-Blaha, man is a legend that's been through all of it.

That's exactly it. People say, they'll draft an edge and guard at the draft but Holmes never drafts for need so i doubt he wants to go into the draft being forced to draft for need so I have to think that with this money he has to play with that there's something fairly significant coming before the draft. I saw a report that Zeitler wanted to sign closer to where his family lives so it seems like Holmes didn't have much of a choice.

Zeitler signed with the Titans 1 year $9m. That's a big loss for the Lions, as of now they have a rookie in Mahogany and a past his prime Glasgow at guard. Not ideal. Real significant holes at edge and guard that need to be addressed.

I thought they needed and edge opposite of Hutch before he went down. I'm not expecting a Hendrickson level addition but they need better than oft injured Davenport and Paschal on the other side if they want Superbowl aspirations IMO. Maybe they draft a guy but I don't think should be shoehorned into drafting for need. They need another guy. Love the Levi signing, shocked that he didn't get better offers on the open market. They desperately needed somebody to fill the Alim gap and this works.

And when they're not living off of Purdy's rookie contract. In terms of the Lions, I'm a bit surprised that Holmes hasn't brought in a defensive end after cutting Za'Darius. I assumed he had something bigger cooking when he made that move and it hasn't materialized. Still way early in free agency though so makes me wonder if it's a trade he's looking at.

There's no such thing as a rough week when you have back to back what should be layups against the Wizards. Assuming that they sweep the Wizards, the game against OKC might be the biggest in the history of LCA, sad yes but still shows how far this team has come.

Really like the Reed signing, Lions still need a pass rusher and an interior D-lineman. Hutch and that band aid on the other side isn't gonna cut it and you don't want to shoehorn yourself into drafting for need so Brad needs to do something here.

He plays a different position than those two, he was playing more in a SAM role before he got injured, so I think they see a still young player that has some pass rushing chops. Not a lot of sacks but you could see the improvements in his game before the injury. Also, as has been mentioned, the cap is going up significantly so you can't compare this to previous deals.

Never take what a GM or coach says at face value. There's rumors that the Lions were reaching out to the Browns for Garrett even back during the season so Holmes definitely has at least some interest in taking a big swing. With that said, it's unlikely that they trade for Hendrickson but it's a worthwhile conversation.

Payroll isn't a big concern. They can easily fit in his contract this offseason and any extension shouldn't be too enormous because of his age and if he does go elsewhere for the big contract, you get the 3rd round comp pick. The cost for him should be in the 2nd rounder+ range I'd think so I don't think the cost will be too prohibitive. This is much more realistic than the Crosby/Garrett stuff has been.

Pretty manageable schedule coming up. Not that the games will be easy by any means but they have 1 real playoff contender on the schedule in the next 12 games... @Utah, Clippers, Warriors perhaps without Butler, Blazers Wizards (twice), Thunder at home, @Pelicans, Heat and Mavs probably without AD then Pelicans and Spurs at home This will be an opportunity to make a real run at the 4 seed or at the very least strengthen their hold on a playoff spot.

Quite frankly I don't care about what he did with the Bucks last year or the previous few years or whatever. Sometimes guys just don't fit at other places then find their fit in another place and it clicks. Maybe it's a one-off, maybe it's not sustainable. I really don't know, but what I do know in the here and now is that Beasley has been great for the Pistons this season which is what I'm basing my praise of him on. I even said that I'd be careful to not overpay him on his next contract and that I think the Pistons need to find a better 2nd option going forward but, again, in the here and now Beasley is certainly better than an end of the bench player on a good team. There's absolutely no debating this so I'm not sure why you're arguing with me about his future here when I'm not saying that they should back the brinks truck up for him.

Well, this is poorly worded too. He's in the running, if not the leading candidate, for 6th man of the year on a good team unless you think the Pistons aren't a good team which I'd take issue with. As I said before, the Pistons will need a better 2nd scoring option when they're ready to really contend and they need to be careful to not overpay but you're really downplaying the impact Beasley has had on the team this year.

It did seem like you took a shot at him when you say it's no surprise that the Pistons got badly outplayed with Beasley, and the other two, on the court. The Pistons are a good team and he's been their 2nd best player (offensively at least). Ideally you don't want him to be that going forward but he's been a god send for this team this year on and off the court tbh. Beware of overpaying him though, that I'd agree with.

Wait, what? Beasley has been amazing this year, in his role. THJ sure, Tobias earlier in the season sure but Beasley doesn't belong in that group.

Sure but he's been really good the last 10 games or so albeit against weaker competition. I think of Beasley as their #2 scorer anyway. Regardless, the Pistons are playing with house money this year so it doesn't matter much who their #2 option is now anyway. Starting next year though, Langdon needs to build a roster capable of taking the next step. I think the current group even with a healthy Ivey has a limited ceiling without a legit #2 to team with Cade.

Good win against a vet team. The Boston game might be the biggest Pistons regular season game in 15 years, nice for the current version but also sad at the same time considering how awful the last 15 years have been.

Good win but one gripe of mine is putting Ausar on Trae early and getting him in foul trouble. They struggled defensively without him, I would have played Ausar on somebody else to start the game then switch him on to Trae in the 4th.

This includes the play-in. With less than 30 games left, the Pistons are 9 games ahead of the Nets, 8.5 games ahead of the Bulls, 4 games ahead of the Hawks, 3 ahead of both Orlando and Miami. It would take a collapse of epic proportions to finish behind all of those teams and miss altogether.

I just don't think Ivey has enough value to warrant trading him now. I do think he was on a nice trajectory before the injury and would have been a nice piece to add into a trade for a more proven star especially now that they have full control of their picks most likely after the season but with the injury, I think it puts a damper on his value until he comes back 100% and proves that the injury is behind him completely. The Pistons are in an interesting position. They have young guys surrounding Cade that have all shown signs of progress (not coincidentally the moment Monty was shown the door) but how much of a ceiling do they have and are there any legit #2 options blossoming among any of them? I think Ausar has the highest ceiling of the bunch but he'll likely never be a knock down shooter so that caps his ceiling. The other issue is that Ivey and Duren are closing in on the end of their rookie deals so are they worth signing that 2nd contract because once you do, you're sort of locking into them as the core and running mates for your budding superstar. Ivey is a big part of that discussion and I'm honestly not sure what the right move is whether to keep developing him or trade him and find a better running mate for Cade. Also, the aprons are confusing where teams like the Celtics with double the payroll of the Pistons are able to navigate it while we're talking about the impending Pistons cap crunch with one large contract on the books and among the lowest tier of cap committed salary this offseason.

Same with his brother who has also blossomed this year as well, can't hit an outside shot but is an impact player. They don't need Ausar to hit 3's if he keeps playing like this.

Have said it before and will say again. Ausar's ascension raises the ceiling for this team considerably, not to mention Duren unlocking some playmaking potential. Really soft schedule the last 4 games but the signs of a good team emerging are there. This season displays even more what an incompetent buffoon Monty Williams was last year.

Ha, I thought about you immediately when seeing the score.

I keep saying to keep the level of competition in mind but it's hard not get at least a little excited by Ausar's ascension, he has star potential.