Yesterday Joe Dumars delivered on his two-year promise to “change the culture” of Detroit Basketball by signing free agents Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. These guys aren’t exactly LeBron James or Kobe Bryant, but for what is on the strung out market for the year these two guys aren’t half bad.
It doesn’t appear that Rasheed Wallace will be re-signed, and with Gordon coming in to town it should be noted that Rip Hamilton is likely to be moved. Granted, it would be nice to have both Rip and Gordon on the team but that would mean one of them would have to take a 6th man role, which something that didn’t reside well with Hamilton last year after now former coach Michael Curry made the decision. Still, Hamilton is due 10 million in the upcoming season and with Gordon just signing a 5 year deal worth upwards of 55 million dollars it’s hard to imagine Hamilton will stick around.
Villanueva is a good offensive big man and at 7 million a year for 5 years it’s not a bad pickup, but I still think Detroit overpaid him by about 2 million a year. He can score though, averaging 16.2 points per game with the god-awful Milwaukee Bucks. And unlike Rasheed Wallace, he actually has a post game which is what Detroit has been missing for decades. I hope that whoever Detroit brings in as a new coach – rumor has it to be Avery Johnson, TNT broadcaster and former Dallas Mavericks guru – is able to get Villanueva to be a more physical rebounder because that is the one thing Detroit needs that he has shown to be lacking in.
If Hamilton is traded it will leave Tayshaun Prince as the lone member of the Piston’s core team since 2002, a team that lead them to six straight eastern conference finals with back-to-back championship runs resulting in a world title in 2004. I’m sort of bittersweet over the whole thing. Like most, I’ve wanted change for this team. But more than the players, I think the next coach will be very vital to the success of this team. I know the NBA is a business and if the team stinks you can’t fire them so you fire the coach. But often times I’ve felt like the Pistons have quit on a coach and this time, instead of following suit I’d like Joe Dumars to stand up for a guy he puts in charge.
Let us keep our fingers crossed that Detroit is able to re-sign Antonio McDyess. I love this guy and I think he’s a benchmark for Detroit’s success, but part of me wouldn’t mind seeing him join a true contender because he deserves a chance to win an NBA title, and I’m not so sure Detroit will be able to get that far in the playoffs next year.
Unless, of course, they find a way to trade for Chris Bosh.
We can all dream, can’t we?
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