Schedule Released

The Pistons announced their 2008-09 schedule today. The schedule has finally turned back into our favor a little bit. We play six fewer sets of back-to-backs and don't have to play the deadly Texas triangle at all. However, the beginning of the season is very road heavy. We'll have to work hard to come out strong at the beginning.

Make a Move or Stand Pat

We are at that point in the NBA off season where things have come to a grinding halt. The draft has come and gone. Most of the available free agents are signed. And most NBA fans are now focused this summer on watching the US try to get back to its rightful spot of #1 in the world at the Olympics in China. Yes, all is quiet. Which begs the question, what do the Pistons do now? Do we stand pat with what we have, knowing that this team is a bonified title contender right now; or do we still feel the need to make a big splash and shake up the roster? Is the addition of Kwame Brown enough? Do we still need that "go-to scorer"? These are all questions I'm sure that Joe Dumars contemplates day after day. If he hasn't been faced with enough tough decisions already, if we look ahead to the end of the upcoming season, he'll be faced with more. Rasheed Wallace will be an un-restricted free agent. Rip Hamilton will likely opt out of his contract and become un-restricted as well. Right there you have 40% of your starting lineup that will be on the open market to the highest bidder. Who knows, maybe the continued growth of Stuckey, Maxiell, and Johnson will make those players expendable. If that be the case however, don't you want something for those players? You certainly don't want to let them walk. However, at what point to you pull the trigger? Well, this is why Joe D makes the big bucks and us fans speculate on blogs and forums. For now, we can look forward to another fantastic Pistons season. Training camp is less than 2 months away. For now, vote in this weeks poll and give us your opinion of what Joe D should do, make a move; or stand pat...

Love for Stuck!

Rodney Stuckey continues to receive rave reviews from those in the NBA world. Fran Frischilla projected him to be on the Olympic team in 2012 during todays broadcast of USA versus Turkey on ESPN2. He went on for several minutes about how impressed he was with him when he played on the select team versus team USA in a warm up a few days ago. Add this to the continued hype that surrounds our 2nd year guard. If Stuckey lives up to all of this, and I sure hope he does, what do the Pistons do in the backcourt? Although the Pistons played him a lot backing up Billups last year, I believe for him to achieve his full potential, he needs to play the 2 spot. Much along the likes of D-Wade. If that is the case, what do you do with Rip? Rip can opt out of his contract after this season and more than likely will, if anything else to receive a pay raise. If the Pistons are committed to Stuckey at that point, they certainly wouldn't pony up bug money for Hamilton. So do you trade Hamilton now and make sure you get something in return? It certainly is something to think about. You definately don't want a player of Rip's caliber to just walk away when he could be a huge bargaining chip. Of course all of this rests on the potential of one possibly very special player...

Kwame Brown to the Pistons!

Breaking news on ESPN has Kwame Brown agreeing to a 2 year deal with the Pistons. Some of you may laugh at this deal but I for one am excited. Say what you want about KB (my new nick name for him) he is still young and still is a true center. We don't need a lot of scoring production at the 5 spot. He will provide a shot blocking presence and a rebound presence. He is still very young and still, I believe, has potential to grow his game. Maybe him being around a great big man influence in Rasheed will help him to improve. He was playing pretty well for the Lakers, with no one to help him up front. He won't have that problem in Detroit as we have a very solid starting front line and great reserves in Maxiell and McDyess. I think this could be a steal for the Pistons!

All is Quiet...

So far, Joe D's promise of big changes in the D has gone unfulfilled. This however should make us as Piston fans happy. Joe is taking his time. He's not jumping at some of these ridiculous deals that have been rumored to be offered. Let's not make changes just for the sake of change. We have 3-4 perennial all-stars on this roster. The idea that we would trade them for some guy who is the 6th - 8th man on his current team is ludicrous. The fact remains that we are still literally a player away from a championship. We just need to find that perfect match to take us to that next level and back to the promised land. Keep hunting Joe!

What's Next?

There are a lot of things floating around right now about what is next for the Pistons. I've heard ideas from trade the whole starting 5; or some who think nothing needs to be done. I think I am somewhere in the middle of that conversation. I do believe that some change is needed. A new infusion of talent if yo will that spices up the pot. However, I don't know exactly what that needs to be. That's why Joe Dumars gets paid the big bucks. He is the one challenged with making those decisions. It's possible that we could see a big trade from the Pistons on draft night. That would certainly make the draft more exciting. The Pistons pick 29th and 59th in the draft this year. It's virtually a lock that the Pistons will trade that 1st round pick. The one think this team definitely doesn't need is another guaranteed contract sitting on the bench. I guess we'll have to wait and see what Joe D can come up with.

I will say the one very intriguing idea I have heard is the idea of a Rasheed for Amare Stoudemire deal. Apparently this was discussed last year between the 2 teams and talks have resumed again. I have to say that a 24-26 year old Amare Stoudemire would look darn good in Piston red, white, and blue!

Big Changes Ahead

After a third straight disappointing loss in the Conference Finals, Joe Dumars has vowed that big changes are ahead. He started off by already letting Flip Saunders go. He also stated that everyone is in play on the trade market. When Joe says he is going to do something, it gets done. I'm positive that 1, if not 2 of our current starters will be gone by training camp next season. It's a bittersweet thought really. We've all grown to love this current group of players. They have brought many great seasons. However as Joe mentioned in his press conference, if you're good enough to be knocking on the door of the finals, you're good enough to get in. And frankly, the Pistons haven't gotten it done. Here's to the future.