| Looking Forward To The Past? Authored by Jason M. Williams - April 5, 2007 - 6:35 pm
While the Pistons strive for their fifth consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, General Manager Joe Dumars knows this upcoming off season is critical to the future success of the Detroit franchise. With six potential free agents, Number 4 must decide not only which of his current players to retain, but also which available players to acquire. Armed with a strong foundation, two first round draft picks, and enough room under the cap to maneuver, Dumars knows this is his opportunity to keep the Pistons atop the Eastern Conference for many more years to come.
Despite the fact that three of the six previously mentioned free agents have player options for next season, it is widely believed that they will exercise their option to test the free agent waters this off season. Chauncey Billups ($6.819M in 07/08), Antonio McDyess ($6.374M in 07/08), and Ronald Murray ($1.89M in 07/08) are all expected to opt out and seek more money, whether that be in Detroit or elsewhere.
Billups is becoming an elite point guard in the NBA and is now reaching the apex of his career. It is nearly certain he will command a near-maximum contract from many teams seeking a leader and a crunch time scorer. McDyess and Murray are undervalued for the performance they are capable of delivering. McDyess has settled in nicely as a role player off the bench for Detroit, but testing free agency could bring him one final big contract before he is no longer able to perform at a high level.
Murray has not developed as quickly as the fans in the Motor City would have liked, but his play recently while Richard Hamilton was under the weather has shown flashes of the abilities he displayed while leading the Cavs to a 3-2 Conference Semifinals lead over these same Pistons a year ago. Murray could easily top a $2M offer this off season from another squad, and is likely to do so.
The three players that are not under contract for next season are big men Chris Webber, Dale Davis, and 19-year-old Amir Johnson. Each one is eligible to seek a contract from another team and each one offers something different to this surging Piston team. Webber has become a leader on the team, Davis has provided stable frontcourt defense and rebounding, and Johnson could be the future power forward of the Pistons for years to come. Dumars will be forced to decide which of these big men should return to the Palace next season.
However, the more interesting question that remains is whether or not Dumars will continue his trend of bringing back the best power forwards from the 1993-1995 NBA Drafts. Since 2004, the Pistons have traded for Rasheed Wallace (No. 4 pick in 1995 Draft), signed Antonio McDyess (No. 2 pick in 1995 Draft) and signed Chris Webber (No. 1 pick in 1993 Draft). Luckily for Dumars, Joe Smith (No. 1 pick in 1995) becomes a free agent this summer, and perhaps he can pry Donyell Marshall (No. 4 pick in 1994) from Cleveland or Juwon Howard (No. 5 pick in 1994) from Houston in a trade. We could be looking at the all time greatest collection of early-mid nineties low post performers in history.
Of course, instead of continuing this aging trend, it would be more valuable for the future of the franchise if he decided to stick with one of his youths for a chance. Since the championship in 2004, the Pistons have watched Mehmet Okur make the Western Conference All Star team as a member of the Utah Jazz and traded human victory cigar Darko Milicic to the Orlando Magic, where he’s averaging 8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and nearly 2 blocks in only 24 minutes per game (~16 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks per 48 minutes) in his first full season as a regular.
This is also ignoring the fact that Dumars continued to lowball his flourishing stars and ended up watching team heart and soul Ben Wallace turn down his unappreciative offer to cash in for the rival Chicago Bulls. Note that Rasheed Wallace is paid $12M, Richard Hamilton $8.9M, and Tayshaun Prince $7.8M while in the early parts of their multi-year extensions. These salaries are hardly representative of today’s All Star caliber players, and Dumars knows it will soon catch up with him as it did with The Fro.
In a panic move after Big Ben struck in Illinois, the Pistons then signed Nazr Mohammad to a 5-year deal. Mohammad has been demoted from starting center to minimal contributor this season. Partnered with him at the far end of the bench are youthful frontcourt help in Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson. Both of these young big men have showed promise this season, with Maxiell earning 8 spot starts when sickness, injuries, and suspensions have sidelined Chris Webber and Rasheed Wallace. Meanwhile, Amir Johnson has been gaining valuable game experience lately in the NBDL. Dumars’ best option would be to start investing in his youthful bigs, rather than his recent infatuation with constructing the 1990s Power Forward All Star team.
Maxiell has quietly averaged 17.4 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.14 blocks per 48 minutes. Despite being undersized, he uses his body well and is able to block a lot of shots. The minutes given to Mohammad and Davis this year have limited his growth in his second season. However, having the older guys around has done nothing but increase his maturing process. He is able to take a lot from the veterans and it will ultimately help him develop his overall game and low post prowess. Hopefully, Dumars will lock him up with a long term extension, rather than continue to step back in time to fortify his front line.
Amir Johnson is another project, but one with tremendous potential. At age 19, he is still growing and stands at a lanky 6-11 and 210 lbs. He was a second round pick out of high school for the Pistons in the 2005 Draft after leading his high school (Westchester HS) to a California state title, being named California Mr. Basketball, and playing in both the McDonald’s All-America Game and the Round Ball Classic. He is currently averaging 19.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game for the Sioux Falls Skyforce and had a 34 point, 14 rebound game in a loss to the Dakota Wizards.
The Pistons have a pivotal off season fast approaching. Obviously the top priority will be either offering team leader Chauncey Billups a hefty contract extension, or at least obtain some quality picks and players in a sign-and-trade deal. The next best step would be to hope McDyess and Murray decline their player options and leave the team, rather than burden Dumars’ cap flexibility which can be utilized to bring in some youthful talent.
From there, Joe D will be in position to evaluate the young talent he already possesses in the front court positions. He needs to resist from acquiring the same guys who were entering their fifth year in the league while he was on his way off the court. With two draft picks slated for the middle to late first round of the draft, it is important for Dumars to stock up on youthful talent. That way, he can support his aging rotation with some stars he can groom into the future of Detroit basketball. Then again, he could just take a page out of fellow Detroit sports architect, Matt Millen, and use the two picks as pawns to acquire Donyell Marshall and Juwan Howard.
Feel free to contact Jason M. Williams with your thoughts on which ancient Power Forward Joe Dumars will acquire for next season. Jason can be reached at Jason.Williams@RealGM.com for comments. |
