Less than a week into free agency, the Pistons have already done a lot this summer. They added Austin Daye in the draft, then agreed to terms with Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva on the first day free agents were allowed to talk to teams. A lot of people are confused about what exactly Joe Dumars and Detroit are trying to do. The Pistons now have Gordon, Daye, Rodney Stuckey, Rip Hamilton, Will Bynum, and Tayshaun Prince under contract for their perimeter positions, but only Villanueva, Jason Maxiell and Kwame Brown to fill minutes as their bigs. Whether you can see Dumars' vision yet or not, what is clear is that the Pistons are changing their image and style of play.
Most former players who become GM's try to build a team in their own image. Of course that makes sense. People draw on their own experiences and characteristics that helped them become successful to map out what should make a successful team. John Paxson and Larry Bird tried to build teams around heady, high IQ players and put less emphasis on physical talent. Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng, Troy Murphy, Jeff Foster, Travis Diener, and even Jamal Tinsley to a certain extent are all examples of this. Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan tried to build teams around physical talent with the hopes that they could teach those players how to play. This is why Thomas brought in Zach Randolph when he had Eddy Curry in New York, and why Jordan traded Rip Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse.
Like most former players, Dumars is trying to build the Pistons around his strengths as a player. By signing Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, it seems that Detroit will be built on its versatility. While neither are primary ball handlers, both can handle the ball well enough to cause matchup problems and can score off the dribble. Just like Dumars and Thomas and Mark Aguirre. The question the Pistons have to answer has less to do with how their new players fit in and everything to do with how its two remaining starters from the 2004 championship team mesh with the current plans. So here is what Detroit can do to make their vision clearer and return to contender status as quickly as possible:
1) Trade Tayshaun Prince. There have been some rumors about Detroit shopping Rip Hamilton, but it seems like Prince is a worse fit for the Pistons' new core. Stuckey can play the point and the 2. Gordon can play the 2 and give very limited minutes as a backup 1. When Stuckey and Gordon are in the backcourt, Hamilton can swing over to the 3. Villanueva can play spot minutes at the 3 in addition to his minutes at the 4. Prince is the only key perimeter player Detroit has who is sort of stuck playing one position. And the Pistons will have to capitalize on their versatility to keep up with more talented players like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. The NBA is about creating matchup advantages, then having players who can take advantage of the opportunities from those mismatches. Without an elite superstar talent, Detroit has to have players who can play multiple positions to create and capitalize on their opponents' weaknesses, much like Orlando did against Cleveland by playing two perimeter forwards at the same time.
Detroit should see what they can get for Prince now before they run into a situation like last year where there aren't enough minutes to go around for their perimeter players. A couple of trades that work and may make sense include Prince to the Clippers for Chris Kaman or Marcus Camby, to Portland for some combination of its young talent like Channing Frye and Nicolas Batum, or to Utah for Carlos Boozer. Another interesting trade option for Prince would be to the Suns for Ben Wallace. Giving up Prince for a player who is thinking about retirement would be tough for Detroit fans to swallow, but it would make the Pistons players in next year's free agent market again and drastically speed up the rebuilding process.
2) Trade Aaron Afflalo. Under normal circumstances, Afflalo wouldn't have the same value that he does now. But with the salary cap decreasing and teams more reluctant than ever to go over the luxury tax threshold, players on their rookie contract who can contribute to the rotation are more valuable than ever. With the Pistons' backcourt depth and frontcourt holes, Afflalo is a luxury Detroit cannot afford. Teams like Toronto, Denver and New Orleans all have obvious financial needs that may cause them to give up players or future assets that they wouldn't otherwise part with. If they can get back a big man, the Pistons may also be able to trade Kwame Brown way above his normal market value due to his expiring contract.
3) Target Amar'e Stoudemire. It's no secret that Stoudemire is going to be one of the big-name targets for a lot of teams next year. What's also not a secret is that Stoudemire wants to be the franchise player wherever he goes. That's where a team like Detroit fits in. Most other teams with cap space next summer will not have the backcourt pieces in place the Pistons have. The other teams also will likely be vying for other free agents, which will not feed into Stoudemire's ego the way that Detroit can. And Stoudemire would be a better fit in Detroit than almost any other team he could go to. The Knicks still need a playmaker to make Mike D'Antoni's offense go, Chicago will likely alienate Stoudemire to some extent by rumors of concerns about his character. Miami should have enough cap space to go after Stoudemire, but has Michael Beasley at the 4 as well, and Stoudemire will likely not want to think he is a 5. If Detroit can get under the cap, they may be the best option for Amar'e. Assuming the Pistons are able to trade Prince for expiring contracts, their 2010-2011 lineup could look something like:
- Rodney Stuckey
- Ben Gordon
- Rip Hamilton
- Charlie Villanueva
- Amar'e Stoudemire
Joe Dumars has a decent vision for the Pistons' future. He doesn't have a star playmaker, so he is creating a lineup based on creating more mismatches than anyone else. But Dumars cannot stop there. He has to be bold and creative in order to keep the Pistons moving in the right direction. If he can take a temporary hit this year and clear some salary cap space, Detroit just might get Amar'e and be in a position to make another long run at the top of the Eastern Conference.
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