| The Point Of Standing Pat? Authored by Curtis A. Clark - February 23, 2006 - 8:50 pm
Detroit mastermind Joe Dumars elected not to make a last minute deadline move this year. Dumars, widely considered one of the best General Managers in professional sports, shipped much maligned center Darko Milicic and back up point guard Carlos Arroyo to Orlando earlier in the month.
While moving Milicic, the former number two overall pick, grabbed the headlines, the loss of backup point guard Carlos Arroyo went under the radar. With the departure of Arroyo, the Pistons moved veteran Lindsey Hunter into the backup role, a gamble for a team with title aspirations. Hunter has played under 20 minutes all year, and while last season he was an important part of the Pistons Finals run, Hunter is coming off of ankle surgery and his productivity is still unknown. A year older, 35, Hunter has played 13 years in the NBA and is still not in game shape. The risk is very un-Joe like, with the deadline passed Dumars will be left with waiver wire vets and NBDL call ups if Hunter goes down, perhaps Mateen Cleaves.
Detroit has always won and lost with their starters, but they are putting even more pressure on Mr. Big Shot Chauncey Billups. The Pistons would have been in a world of hurt if Billups missed time before the deadline. Now left with Hunter and rookie Alex Aker a converted point, they would be helpless. It seems like a very costly gamble on the part of a man praised for his management.
As is now, with the team healthy, the team has Billups, Hunter, and Aker who can play point, along with Tayshaun Prince who can play point forward. Still the team will obviously need to find a solution at the backup spot in the off season with Hunters impending retirement. Why wouldn’t Dumars have solved that problem now through trade and create more security? He has a new draft pick, an expiring contract in Kelvin Cato he could have dealt.
If something happens to the Pistons at the point, whether it is fatigue or injury, Dumars will look back at this deadline and wish he would have pulled the trigger one more time. There was plenty of available, cheap, point guard talent. Cleveland got Flip Murray from Seattle for almost nothing, Miami obtained Derek Anderson for less than nothing. Names like Steve Blake, Jannero Pargo, Tyronne Lue, and Tony Delk all come to mind as cheap point guard help, nothing long term and all rumored to be available.
But alas there is a golden rule in Detroit… Never Doubt Dumars. You hate to do it and more than not you will be made the fool for trying. If Joe thinks the team is in good shape with its depth and coach Flip Saunders wasn’t requesting help at the point, then no one can blame Joe’s inactivity. One can only hope for Detroit’s sake that my fate will be the same as all other Dumars detractors. Just another writer spouting off and second guessing something Joe D. has in hand.
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