Pistons Fire Quickly
Joe Dumars wasted no time jumping into the free agent pool. On the first day of open negotiations, the Pistons agreed to five-year deals with guard Ben Gordon and forward Charlie Villanueva. According to the Detroit News, Gordon's deal is worth closer to $55 million, and Villanueva's contract comes in at around $35 million. No free agents can officially sign until July 8.
The agreements come shortly after the Pistons announced that they would not bring back coach Michael Curry for another season. It's a new day in Detroit, although possibly not a welcome one as our "Smoking Pistons" blog explains. We won't be surprised if the next head coach has less of a hard-nosed, defensive edge and more of a run-and-gun philosophy.
Where do the signings leave Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince? Reports suggest Dumars wants to feature a three-guard attack with Rodney Stuckey and Hamilton in the starting lineup and Gordon coming off the bench as a sixth man. When all three guards are in the game, Hamilton will slide to small forward and presumably boot Prince to the pine. Or they will run with an very small lineup. We have to wonder if Rip will like having such a prolific scorer backing him up, though. The Allen Iverson experiment didn't work too well this past season.
The Pistons will use their remaining cap space to bring back big man Antonio McDyess. If they fail to bring him back, the Pistons may have no choice but to dangle Hamilton and Prince in trade talks in an attempt to fortify their frontcourt.
If the Pistons sign McDyess and end their summer there, it could make for a tough situation for fantasy owners to assess. Hamilton expects to get his 15-16 shots and average 17-19 points per night. Gordon expects to get his 15-16 shots and average 18-21 points. Stuckey is in the point guard role, but he is also a promising scorer. Will there be enough touches for those three guards, not to mention Prince and Villanueva?
Villanueva set career-highs with 16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds in 2008-09, and the Pistons obviously feel like he can continue to produce at those levels. The Bucks disagreed, as they failed to extend a qualifying offer his way. He is considered a softer player who doesn't hit the board hard or play strong defense.
Given Gordon and Villanueva's strength, it's clear that the Pistons are turning away from their muscle car tradition and moving towards a sleeker, faster future. They averaged only 94.2 points last season, and this current cast looks more like a running, firing, 100-point squad. The outlook will obviously be altered by who Dumars hires at the next head coach. If we're correct about this new philosophy for the Pistons, fantasy owners may find room for optimism - both for the scorers on this squad and for teams visiting Detroit.
The Bulls spent a lot of time acting like Gordon was their priority this summer, but they've now freed up time in their backcourt and at small forward. They should now have enough minutes to spread around between Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich, John Salmons, and Luol Deng. Between an improving Rose, a healthy Deng, and Salmons, the team should be able to cover much of Gordon's lost offensive output.
The Bucks are in a tough financial crunch, but it was still a bit surprising that they let Villanueva walk away so easily. They've already lost Villanueva (16.2 points) and Richard Jefferson (19.6) this summer. The returns of Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut will help, but the Bucks will still need to uncover some additional scorers. That will be something for fantasy owners to watch as the summer leads into training camp and preseason play.
The agreements come shortly after the Pistons announced that they would not bring back coach Michael Curry for another season. It's a new day in Detroit, although possibly not a welcome one as our "Smoking Pistons" blog explains. We won't be surprised if the next head coach has less of a hard-nosed, defensive edge and more of a run-and-gun philosophy.
Gordon and Hamilton may now run together.
The Pistons will use their remaining cap space to bring back big man Antonio McDyess. If they fail to bring him back, the Pistons may have no choice but to dangle Hamilton and Prince in trade talks in an attempt to fortify their frontcourt.
If the Pistons sign McDyess and end their summer there, it could make for a tough situation for fantasy owners to assess. Hamilton expects to get his 15-16 shots and average 17-19 points per night. Gordon expects to get his 15-16 shots and average 18-21 points. Stuckey is in the point guard role, but he is also a promising scorer. Will there be enough touches for those three guards, not to mention Prince and Villanueva?
Villanueva set career-highs with 16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds in 2008-09, and the Pistons obviously feel like he can continue to produce at those levels. The Bucks disagreed, as they failed to extend a qualifying offer his way. He is considered a softer player who doesn't hit the board hard or play strong defense.
Given Gordon and Villanueva's strength, it's clear that the Pistons are turning away from their muscle car tradition and moving towards a sleeker, faster future. They averaged only 94.2 points last season, and this current cast looks more like a running, firing, 100-point squad. The outlook will obviously be altered by who Dumars hires at the next head coach. If we're correct about this new philosophy for the Pistons, fantasy owners may find room for optimism - both for the scorers on this squad and for teams visiting Detroit.
The Bulls spent a lot of time acting like Gordon was their priority this summer, but they've now freed up time in their backcourt and at small forward. They should now have enough minutes to spread around between Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich, John Salmons, and Luol Deng. Between an improving Rose, a healthy Deng, and Salmons, the team should be able to cover much of Gordon's lost offensive output.
The Bucks are in a tough financial crunch, but it was still a bit surprising that they let Villanueva walk away so easily. They've already lost Villanueva (16.2 points) and Richard Jefferson (19.6) this summer. The returns of Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut will help, but the Bucks will still need to uncover some additional scorers. That will be something for fantasy owners to watch as the summer leads into training camp and preseason play.
