Boston beats Detroit and leaves what?
NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.
Who will do this if Rasheed Wallace is gone?
Image details: Boston Celtics v Detroit Pistons, Game 6 served by picapp.com
It is simply amazing to me, your basketball writer, how fans and writers alike can simply take a one game loss and magnify it to immense proportions.
The Secret
Here is a little secret. Boston, another NBA team and a good one at that, beat Detroit. The U.S. Army did not storm in to Detroit and destroy the city. The Marines did not try to take out the Palace, which is in a suburb of Detroit called Auburn Hills. There was no Naval support in Lake Erie or on the Detroit River.
Detroit went to the Conference Finals for the 6th straight time and that seems to tire out the fans and writers more than anything.
Are the Pistons getting old? Yes, but then again the Boston big 3 of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett are already old.
Are the Pistons as hungry as they used to be? No. That is human nature.
The Question
Will Joe Dumars break up the Pistons? That is the Question.
First, let’s look at contracts. Who is under contract for next year?
It appears that 9 out of the top 10 players are under contract for next year.
The sole exception is Lindsey Hunter and he will most likely retire and move into the front office. Someday you may see Lindsey sitting next to Joe Dumars in the stands and wouldn’t that be something.
Here are the other 9 with their position, age, and next 3 years of contracts, if any.
Rasheed Wallace PF 33 $12,540,000 $13,680,000
Chauncey Billups PG 31 $10,000,000 $11,050,000 $12,100,000
Richard Hamilton SG 30 $9,750,000 $10,562,500 $11,375,000 PO
Tayshaun Prince SF 28 $8,675,620 $9,500,000 $10,324,380
Antonio McDyess PF 33 $6,373,900 $6,960,000 $7,000,000
Amir Johnson F 21 $3,666,666
Rodney Stuckey PG 22 $1,569,600 $1,687,320 TO $1,805,040
Jason Maxiell PF 25 $1,041,360 $1,877,572 QO
Arron Afflalo G 22 $944,520 $1,015,440 TO $1,086,240
(Note: TO: Pistons have option to renew or let player become free agent. PO- Player option. QO: Pistons can make a qualifying offer to the player, who then becomes a restricted free agent, which means the Pistons can match any other team’s offer.)
Source of salaries hoopshype.com, to see updated chart
Play like Joe Dumars
To understand Joe D, you must keep in mind that he likes to build a team that is good now without sacrificing the future. So, when Rasheed Wallace’s contract is up after next year, he will be old and will not be offered a max deal. Teams could outbid for him and the Pistons would lose him like Ben Wallace. This may mean that Joe would look to move him now while he has high value.
This presents a problem, due to the fact that Detroit was really one big man short all year. Amir Johnson did not develop into starter minutes and Theo Ratliff, a late addition is old.
Chauncey and Rip are aging, but still under contract for the next two years. Rodney Stuckey will begin to see some of their minutes. If he excels and many think he will, then one of those two could become expendable. Would Joe Dumars make that move now? Doubtful, because Rodney has not established his outside game enough and he is more combo guard right now than point or 2 guard.
Joe Dumars will certainly be looking for another big man down low. Perkins killed them in the Boston series and the Pistons used multiple fouls to guard Dwight Howard. They cannot hope to win a title without more beef up front.
As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.
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POSTED IN: Boston Celtics, Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons, Flip Saunders, NBA Basketball, Rasheed Wallace, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince
1 opinion for Boston beats Detroit and leaves what?
Eric
Jun 2, 2008 at 8:40 pm
The Pistons are definately aging, but they are experienced.Too bad , they get clicking together and then all of the sudden got to break up.I personally think Wallace is a crybaby and a thug.They need more big guys down low that have discipline and skill.I think Wallace has a negative effect on the whole team.Trade him and ride out the next couple of years with Rip and Billups and Stuckey.Jason Maxiell is one of my favorites on the team , he deserves more time.
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