Pistons Nab Villanueva, BG

• Add a Comment
• x

  Invite a Friend

  Your name:
  Your email:
  Friend name:
  Friend email:
  
  Invite a friend
• • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
• RSS

• Ty Kish Posted: Jul.2 at 9:04 am
  Watch LeBron James’ answer to the Kobe Bryant Lil Wayne song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epwac8efNug

• rav Posted: Jul.2 at 9:06 am
  so who out of ben gordon and rip hamilton is coming off the bench then? bonehead move this - approx $20m next year for 2 SG’s who hate coming off the bench, and gordon overpaid by at least $15m over the life of that contract, so the pistons have screwed this one up it seems

• Boing Dynasty aka Free Lester Hudson Posted: Jul.2 at 9:07 am
  Gordon is not 20 Million dollars better than Charlie V.

• Ryne Nelson Posted: Jul.2 at 9:07 am
  Two nice pieces in the Detroit rebuilding process; although, I didn’t expect both NY natives to sign. Ben, it was nice cheering for you as a Bull.

• Boing Dynasty Posted: Jul.2 at 9:08 am
  Rav, maybe try reading hole post before you start calling other people bone heads. Its not a good look for you.

• Moose Posted: Jul.2 at 9:08 am
  Oh snap.

• Boing Dynasty Posted: Jul.2 at 9:10 am
  Whole*

• Mansonovic Posted: Jul.2 at 9:11 am
  Good move for the Pistons, I say. Chances are that they would have lost out in the 2010 sweepstakes, so Joe D is making sure they win games now.

• thegfunk Posted: Jul.2 at 9:11 am
  The amount of money some atheletes demand is simply outrageous

• Mansonovic Posted: Jul.2 at 9:12 am
  Although $55m over 5 years seems pretty steep to me.

• Anton Posted: Jul.2 at 9:12 am
  Hey Charlie, have fun rotting away in Detroit. Don’t bother calling us when your body’s been wasted on losing seasons like a whore.
  Hey Pistons, good job over-paying ($95M) on 2 players who will bring you championships!

• Mansonovic Posted: Jul.2 at 9:14 am
  Wow…bitter much, Anton?

• Marco Posted: Jul.2 at 9:15 am
  exceptionally bad moves

• Anton Posted: Jul.2 at 9:15 am
  We suck. I got St.Anger ’round my neck.

• rikson Posted: Jul.2 at 9:17 am
  Detroid is going to trade rip and gordon will give us a monster-season -> so all the haters will see why he gets that kind of money!

• rikson Posted: Jul.2 at 9:21 am
  And dont forget, that CV was sitting his a** off on the bench in milwaukee, with Li and his promised minutes! But all of those, who remember his days in toronto will agree with me: this guy got game!

• rav Posted: Jul.2 at 9:22 am
  boing - are any takers out there for a 31 year old hamilton at $11m+ a year for the next 4/5 years though? they may want to trade him but i find it hard that there will be many takers for a contract of that size and length, or at least enough offers that will give them a decent level of talent in return. and it doesnt take away from the fact that they’ve hideously overpaid for gordon - i understand that you usually overpay for another teams FA’s (ben wallace to chicago in ‘06?) but $55m/5 years is far too much (and i have nothing against gordon in this case) - better case scenario would have been trading for someone else and absorbing extra salary with their cap space (redd? kevin martin? monte ellis?). although the charlie v deal is nice - a bit too long for my liking but a good deal for both sides

• Big Ben Posted: Jul.2 at 9:23 am
  Will everybody just stop with the whole 2010 sweepstakes? Bosh, James, Wade, whoever - none of them are going to come to Detroit. Detroit isn’t exactly a hot destination. Name one superstar Detroit’s had in the last 30 years that they haven’t drafted - and Billups doesn’t count, because nobody wanted him when he went to Detroit. Dumars has to build a team in Detroit differently than someone building a team in New York, Boston, Chicago, or somewhere with warm weather. You just aren’t going to get big name guys in the prime of their careers. I mean, there’s always a chance, but you don’t want to put all of your eggs in one basket. What if Dumars waits till next year, and can’t get anybody to come here? Then what? I mean, they didn’t exactly get better, but at least they got younger.

• wilz Posted: Jul.2 at 9:25 am
  bad moves???they werent getting boozer, so this is the first of many moves that make sense. make a few good trades (hamilton and prnce both have good trade value) and u got a half-decent-looking team. maybe ill be more inclined to go to some more pistons games regardless of their opposition

• Eboy Posted: Jul.2 at 9:26 am
  I don’t see where this is a great move for the
  Pistons….and that’s overpayment personfied for Ben.

• Mo Charlo Posted: Jul.2 at 9:27 am
  Bulls are still a 7 seed, Pistons still an 8.

• Mo Charlo Posted: Jul.2 at 9:28 am
  I didn’t expect this much BG hate.

• JE Posted: Jul.2 at 9:29 am
  How crazy would it be if AI went to the Bulls?

• JE Posted: Jul.2 at 9:32 am
  @Mo Charlo: Until Rip and/or Tayshaun get traded, Detroit is at-worst a 5 seed.

• Jukai Posted: Jul.2 at 9:34 am
  I thought this was a FANTASTIC move until I saw the price tag. Sheeeeesh….

• rav Posted: Jul.2 at 9:38 am
  “I didn’t expect this much BG hate. ” i dont think its hate towards him just people are quite surprised the pistons paid him that much and think he’s overpaid (and lets not forget the economic issues in detroit right now)

• JE Posted: Jul.2 at 9:53 am
  If Dumars does indeed plan to gut the team and get rid of Rip and Tayshaun, here’s what I see happening:
  3 way trade between New Orleans, Houston, and Detroit.
  Pistons get: Tracy McGrady
  Rockets get: Richard Hamilton and Tyson Chandler
  Hornets get: Tayshaun Prince

• rav Posted: Jul.2 at 9:57 am
  JE - wouldnt it make more sense for the pistons to get chandler and not t-mac (unless he wants to sell seats/jerseys like with the iverson trade) - something like pistons get chandler, hornets get an expiring contract around £9-11m plus one or two first rounders and the other team gets hamilton/prince?

• rav Posted: Jul.2 at 9:57 am
  would make more sense IMO

• Clockwork Posted: Jul.2 at 9:58 am
  Ben Gordon is basically a poor man’s Iverson, if it didn’t work with AI, how will it work with BG? When he’s on fire, great, everything’s good. But when he doesn’t hit shots, what does BG give the Pistons? Certainly not defense or ball movement. I would have rather seen the Pistons just sign Villanueva (let’s hope he wakes the f*ck up) and saved the remainder of their money for someone else.

• JE Posted: Jul.2 at 10:06 am
  rav: To win right away, definitely. But I was thinking more along the lines of Tracy’s contract coming off the books after this season, and the Pistons having enough cap room to pursue Chris Bosh.

• sab Posted: Jul.2 at 10:07 am
  i’m not sure these guys are good enough to justify this much money. they will need to do a trade to have a chance - as it stands, they’re set up to fail for the next few years.

• JE Posted: Jul.2 at 10:08 am
  and in all likelihood, the Rockets would remain contenders.

• rav Posted: Jul.2 at 10:18 am
  JE: wasnt really thinking of 2010 with regards to the pistons - in that context it isnt a bad deal provided that there is a strong chance that bosh will want to go there and of course staying the year in toronto but i cant imagine toronto running the risk of bosh leaving for nothing and i definitely wouldnt put all my eggs in bosh FA basket if i’m detroit as there are more attractive potential offers out there for him (miami, NY, and i think dallas may have enough cap space) - if i’m colangelo i’d ask bosh straight up if he wants to stay - if he says yes i pull out a 3yr max extension and ask him to sign, if he says no or maybe i trade him (which is probably detroit’s best chance of getting him tbh)

• Cheryl Posted: Jul.2 at 10:18 am
  11 mil for a perennial sixth man? I like Gordon, but this was a little steep for him. Two or three years down the road Dumars is gonna be looking for some team to take this contract off his hands. The Charlie V signing is a good one though.

• Kas Posted: Jul.2 at 10:19 am
  I’ve known this for 8 hours now. slam you are slow

• wrencis Posted: Jul.2 at 10:22 am
  You’re getting Gordon and CV’s prime years and not overpaying (by NBA standards). You get “yeses” from the 2 players you targeted on the first day of free agency? Joe is a genius.
  No I don’t love the 2 players. Of course, I didn’t love Rasheed and Chauncey at the time either. How about you? Truth is, they are Dumars’ kind of guys, talented and motivated to prove doubters wrong.
  BOS is aging, CLE is in danger of losing Lebron, ORL is good but not great, ATL still has to prove it, MIA will add an elite FA in 2010 to D Wade.
  So in 2 seasons, doesn’t DET match up fairly well w/ other EC elites?

• Z Posted: Jul.2 at 10:27 am
  I want to hear TAD. Rip has got to go now but they extended him last year! Where’s the direction?!

• JE Posted: Jul.2 at 10:29 am
  rav: agreed, but also keep in mind that Boozer will be a free agent next year as well, since he exercised his option with the Jazz. I personally hope Dumars keeps both Rip and Tayshaun, but that’s the move that makes sense to me if he does want to move them.

• TADOne Posted: Jul.2 at 10:29 am
  Ok, the positives: Both players are young, both are good character guys, both have games that can get better, Gordon is a premier 3 point shooter and scorer in the clutch, Villanueva is an emrging talent who averaged a career high in points and rebounds last season.
  The negatives: both are at best 2nd and 3rd options, Gordon is one dimesional, Villanueva is an average rebounder for his height, both are average defenders, and both contracts are more than they may have gotten from another team.
  Bottom line: I’m not overly impressed with either signing, but i’m quite sure Dumars has another move he is working on. At this point, i’ll give the Pistons a ‘C’ grade. Now, hire Avery Johnson!

• wrencis Posted: Jul.2 at 10:31 am
  And people need to stop with the ‘Gordon’s a bench player’ line. He’s bench like Manu Ginobilli’s bench. Gordon’s averaged over 33 min and 20 ppg the last 3 seasons. I’d bet the bank he’ll play an All-Star game or 2 in a Pistons uni.

• Russ Bengtson Posted: Jul.2 at 10:36 am
  I need to send Joe Dumars a thank-you card.

• wrencis Posted: Jul.2 at 10:36 am
  Rip and Ben will play together. Either Stuckey, or more likely, Prince will move to 6th man.
  Pistons get a couple rebounders and this is an EC contender.

• TADOne Posted: Jul.2 at 10:40 am
  The funny thing is, Ben only got $1 mil more per season than what the Bulls originally offered him.

• JE Posted: Jul.2 at 10:43 am
  @wrencis: Neither Prince nor Stuckey will come off the bench. BG’s the 6th man until a trade happens.

• niQ Posted: Jul.2 at 10:44 am
  i’m not sure how this will help the pistons but, if it turns out, then i will be surprised!

• wayno Posted: Jul.2 at 10:49 am
  Ok, so basically the trade was Chauncey Billups (32) for Charlie V (24) and Ben Gordon (26). IMO, that’s not that bad. Chauncey, while still good, is getting old and they got two young players who can score like crazy. They also both help Detroit’s massive 3 point scoring deficiency. This does however put an end to the slow, grind it out, defensive, half-court style of basketball in Detroit. They’ll be a run n’ gun team with a very potent offense. I think 3 things need to happen for Detroit to be a contender this season. 1.) Stuckey needs to take a couple more big steps forward in his development 2.) We need to trade RIP and/or Tayshaun for a big 3.) At least 2 of the rookies need to be able to contribute right away. Either way though I think this is a step in the right direction. I’ve heard varying reports on the sizes of these contracts, but most indicate that Detroit will have slightly more than $4 mil left in cap space which gives them a bit of flexibility as far as trades go.

• Babygab Posted: Jul.2 at 11:02 am
  Until now the best mosves were made by the Spurs and the Cavs. It was a bad move from Chicago to not pay Ben Gordon their leading scorer for the past 4 SEASONS. Anyway they still have enough tools to work with. Next season should be interesting !

• Izzo Posted: Jul.2 at 11:07 am
  This is great for the future of the Bulls.Please don’t let Avery Johnson anywhere near Derrick Rose.

• Z Posted: Jul.2 at 11:10 am
  i don’t know if that’ll do any good to stuckey now though. he’ll guard and be guarded by 2-guards now, therefore negating his strength advantage.

• Z Posted: Jul.2 at 11:13 am
  that’s why bg as a go-to guy is always shaky: he can’t guard his own position. players like that always mess up the system. that’s why teams had trouble adjusting to ai, he couldn’t guard 2s. i remember a quote by svg that was saying that ‘your position is found on defense in the L and not on offense’. you are who you can guard. that’s why guys like odom and charlie v are 4 even though they can handle. that’s why gil is forced to be a 1. bg on the other hand, is absolutely incapable of playing the 1… even a scoring 1 à la mo williams. the court vision and handles are non existent.

• kipp Posted: Jul.2 at 11:14 am
  I wouldn’t mind seeing AI in the Chi…

• Lz - Cphfinest3 Posted: Jul.2 at 11:18 am
  The CV part of the deal is a pretty good deal, the BG part - not so much. Good luck trading RIP or getting them to coexist. Can we get a TAD-take on this?

• wayno Posted: Jul.2 at 11:19 am
  Another try at a 3 gaurd rotation in Detroit would be a disaster…but who is going to pick up RIP’s big fat contract? And where does Aaron Afflalo fit in? He’s a solid player who hasn’t had that much of a chance to play yet. Also, where does Will Bynum fit into that gaurd rotation? I’m seriously worried about this unless they can pull a trade involving RIP.

• TADOne Posted: Jul.2 at 11:26 am
  Well, Rip’s contract isn’t THAT bad. He is making $9.5 mil per. That is the same amount as Chris Kaman, who I figured may be an option to trade for before the Clips moved Randolph.

• Diesel Posted: Jul.2 at 11:27 am
  With a few small changes and one year’s time, the Pistons have managed to go from one of the best defensive teams to probably the worst in the league. I just like BG’s comment that he’s going to Detroit because they’re committed to winning. I’d like to know what he’s referencing when he says stuff like that.

• SLAM ONLINE | Posted: Jul.2 at 11:29 am
  [...] Pistons Sign Gordon, Villanueva [...]

• Bryan Posted: Jul.2 at 11:37 am
  Good moves.

• rikson Posted: Jul.2 at 11:43 am
  Well, BG has a MUCH better J and he is younger, so there is at least a possibility that he’ll fit into Detroids system! But the biggest difference is that BG is (or at least can be) a winner -> while AI is definetly NOT!

• Jacob J Posted: Jul.2 at 11:44 am
  @ Diesel. I bet your favorite team couldnt even compete with detroit over the last 7-8 years. So just shut the fck up and talk about something that you actually know about.

• Big Ben Posted: Jul.2 at 11:49 am
  Speaking of Pistons who need to step up: Don’t “sleep” on Walter Sharpe! Oh, SNAP! I am ON today! Get it? See, Walter Sharpe has narcolepsy, which is a chronic sleep disorder that causes the affected individual to experience extreme fatigue, sometimes resulting in said individual falling asleep at inapropriate times. You know what, on second thought, just forget it. Sorry.

• rainman10 Posted: Jul.2 at 11:53 am
  Maybe Larry Brown and company go after Rip or tay. But I dont know if they have the contracts to trade for Rip. Thats if the rumor doesn’t come true that they get AI.

• The D Train Posted: Jul.2 at 11:54 am
  I totally 100% agree with Russ. I’ve waited to vent about Gordon since the end of round 1, so now let the official “2009 Ben Gordon-Hate-On” begin: I implore you, go back and watch any of those first round Chicago/Bos games. Watch everyone on Chicago’s body language when BG gets the ball. Movement stops because everyone knows what he’s doing. Everyone raved about his performances when he was on fire (which was some amazing shooting, I will at least give him that), but he was not involving a single teammate. Kobe gets DESTROYED on here, and everywhere else, when he does it. Hell, even LBJ takes heat when he starts jacking up shots without even considering his teammates. For some reason Ben Gordon is immune to this. God only knows why. Go back and look at the face of your 2009 Rookie of The Year whenever he, or anyone else, passed the rock to Gordon. Or Heinrich (who is a much better piece as a SG/PG combo who actually plays solid D and passes). Or anyone. Ben was going 1-5 almost every single time he touches the ball. And that’s just on offense. He gets toasted on the other end constantly. Ray Allen looked like Ray-Ray circa 2006 until they got past Chicago and someone actually played D against him. Overall, Ben was a detriment to Derrick Rose’s development, he was a detriment to the Bulls team defense, and he was a detriment to their chances of improving as a team. Thank you Joe D. Now maybe we’re even for Ben Wallace.

• niQ Posted: Jul.2 at 12:06 pm
  does BG even play D?

• Big Ben Posted: Jul.2 at 12:06 pm
  Kobe gets destroyed here and everywhere else because he’s a total douche with the personality of a Jonas brother.

• TADOne Posted: Jul.2 at 12:10 pm
  D Train: I agree with your assessment. I was not on the “Bring Ben Gordon to Detroit” bandwagon, but now I have to deal with him since he is here. Hopefully, the Pistons will hire a strong-willed coach like Avery Johnson who can get thru to BG and not have him jacking up shots like the ball is on fire. Honestly, i’m not a big fan of either signing, but I have to remain hopeful.

• Diesel Posted: Jul.2 at 12:11 pm
  Wow Jacob, tell us how you really feel. I wasn’t talking about Detroit’s past. I was talking about Detroit now…2009. They traded away their best player, are talking about trading away their second best player, and just signed 2 me-first players that don’t play D. Please tell me what’s so good about them right now and grace us with your basketball expertice.

• The D Train Posted: Jul.2 at 12:14 pm
  TAD: I hear you, man. My rant was not to say that Ben can’t ball, cuz he’s a crazy scorer when he’s on. And I’m pretty sure I’ll see more than a game or 2 when he shoots holes in Chi-Town. The bottom line as a Bulls fan is that we can breathe a sigh of relief that we don’t have to pay 10 mil a year to an undersized ball-hog who doesnt play defense. He is good for entertainment purposes on any given night though…hence the nickname Madison Square Gordon.

• TADOne Posted: Jul.2 at 12:16 pm
  I’m more worried about Villanueva getting aggressive and averaging more than 6.7 boards per game.

• TADOne Posted: Jul.2 at 12:18 pm
  Also, i’m pretty certain BG will win the bench press competitions in the training room.

• Diesel Posted: Jul.2 at 12:19 pm
  I just look at it as: for the same money you could have got Hedu. He’s as good a shooter, 6′10″ and plays decent D.

• T Money Posted: Jul.2 at 12:29 pm
  Please Please Please let Tayshaun run the point next year.

• TADOne Posted: Jul.2 at 12:30 pm
  That is true, but i’m not sure I would pay a 30 year old $11 mil per for 5 seasons. At least BG has youth on his side.

• tavoris Posted: Jul.2 at 12:53 pm
  Am I the only one that thinks Andre Miller would have been a better fit in detroit than Gordon? Now, they STILL don’t have a post presence, nor to they have a player that can distribute the ball to all their shot-happy players.

• Triple J Posted: Jul.2 at 1:04 pm
  I don’t get all of the BG hate. Did anyone watch the playoffs? Yeah the C’s ended up winning but would the Bulls have gotten more than a game without BG? True BG is a one dimensional player, but he is probably one of the top 3 shooters in the league. Anyone who watched the Pistons over the last few years knows what killed them more than anything during the playoffs was the long scoring droughts they went through, BG showed he can carry a team’s offense and hit clutch shots. The man has shot over 40% from 3 over his career. Overpaid? slightly but if you’re the Pistons you’re not getting any bargains when trying to lure FAs. Charlie V is 24 and only coming into his prime. 20 and 9 is not out of the question for him (he averaged 16 and 7 in like 26mpg), and at 7-8mil a year that’s a steal. Rashard Lewis got paid like 4 times more, is he really 4 times the player Charlie V (who is a lot younger) could be over the next 5 years? Plus Charlie along with BG helps with one of the Pistons biggest weaknesses, they were in the bottom 5 in 3pt shooting. Orlando showed how important 3 point shooting has become. All that being said the Pistons have to make a move for another impact big (likely Rip for someone). But they def are on the right track, and let’s remember no one was excited about any of Joe D’s old moves (sign and trade G Hill for Big Ben & Chucky, signing Chauncey, trading Stack for Rip) and all that did was bring the Pistons a ring, another finals appearance, and 6 staight ECFs. I don’t know about you guys but I think the majority of fans would be more than happy if their team gave them a stretch like that.

• Joel O's Posted: Jul.2 at 1:04 pm
  Wow. The great thing about this is that Rasheed is a good mentor and I think Villanueva, with his similar skillset, can only benefit from being in Detroit. But what’s to become of Rip?

• Triple J Posted: Jul.2 at 1:11 pm
  I should probably clarify Rashard signed for 6 years 118 mil, Charlie is 5 years 35-40 mil. So not 4 times more a year but you get the point.

• jpeezy Posted: Jul.2 at 1:16 pm
  pistons should keep sheed cuz whos gonna take hi place at cener kwame

• TADOne Posted: Jul.2 at 1:23 pm
  Joel: Unofortunately, Sheed is a goner.
  Triple J: Good points. I agree and disagree. I know that Dumars is looking at BG just like he was looking at AI last year…as a scorer who can create his own offense when the offense bogs down. However, he is still a liability on defense and doesn’t roatate the ball at all, which were things the Pistons have been known for the last 7-8 years. Also, he plays the same position as Rip. As for Charlie, I agree that he has the youth and potential to only get better, but he doesn’t really have any sort of post presence on offense or defense. I may have to start calling them the Etroit Pistons.

• TADOne Posted: Jul.2 at 1:24 pm
  ^I have an extra ‘o’ up there for no good reason.

• The D Train Posted: Jul.2 at 1:37 pm
  Triple J: I can’t speak for anyone else, but watching Ben jack up contested jumpers and hardly ever attempt to move the ball in the playoffs this year is where my hate comes from. Granted, it was different in previous years when he was the alpha dog on the team, and they were terrible. I was always leery of rooting for Ben because his success was a double-edged sword. Once he got hot, no one else was touching the ball. Seriously, go watch those first round games. Ben was in serious glory-mode. Rose, Heinrich, Salmons all became much less effective when Ben was “on” because the ball movement came to a stand-still. You want to know the common thread among all 3 games the Bulls won in the first round? Someone other than Gordon was the high scorer. You want to know the common thread in all 4 games the Bulls lost in the first round? Gordon was the high scorer. His best games in the playoffs (and he got a lot of pub for how great he played) were all in losses.

• Joel O's Posted: Jul.2 at 1:48 pm
  @TAD: Really?! Whoa. Bold moves… looks like a huge overhaul. Who would you keep out of him, Rip or Tayshaun?

• Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Jul.2 at 1:51 pm
  Great move for the Pistons. Charlie V is a really good player who can score from basically any range on the court.
  Now it looks like they’re either going to shop Ripchard or have Gordon come of the bench.
  Joe Dumars has been slipping lately, but this move somewhat redeems himself.

• Bryan Posted: Jul.2 at 1:53 pm
  Tad, I don’t think charlie v is as bad of a rebounder as his numbers suggest, he’s always had his minutes limited but I think as a starter he grabs 7-9 rebounds a game. From a sheer numbers standpoint at this point in time he looks better on paper than sheed.

• TADOne Posted: Jul.2 at 2:01 pm
  Man, I hope you right Shia. Detroit needs to get rebounding from somewhere next season. I can’t bank on Kwame Brown becoming a double-double machine.

• TADOne Posted: Jul.2 at 2:03 pm
  Joel: Sheed’s contract was up. I don’t really think it was ever in Dumars plan to re-sign him. I do know that Joe is working hard to re-sign Antonio, but I see him going to a contender.

• Triple J Posted: Jul.2 at 2:04 pm
  Fair points about BG guys. In my opinion a lot of how players play depends on the system their in. Most players are mediocre defenders saving their energy for the offensive end. The true defensive stoppers tend to be guys limited to no offense (aka Bowen, Battier, Dahntay Jones, etc). While I agree BG may be a below average defender I think he can stay in front of PGs, while Stuckey (6′5, solidly built) matches up with the bigger SGs. If the next coach (I assume Avery Johnson) can come in with a defensive plan that takes into account his teams weaknesses the extra offense should offset the defensive liabilities. Since the handchecking rule change the days of the lockdown defenses of the old Pistons and Spurs are over. Just look at these past playoffs, most games were in the high 90s-low 100s. Also towards the point of BG being a ball stopper/ball hog. You make mention of how the Pistons are a ball moving team, etc. I def agree but at the same time think that part of the problem with that was that when they went cold no one guy could break them out of their funk, a scorer like BG could do that. Also unlike the Pistons the Bulls have not been a ball moving team, much more of an iso/drive and kick type of team so it is possible that he could adapt to the Pistons style of play. That all being said I don’t think this is a guaranteed home run, but I do think that this has a great chance of paying off. Plus I think this was basically the best the Pistons could do considering the FA market and the fact that their in Detroit (I love it here but I can see why outsiders may not be jumping to move here). If Rip doesn’t get traded for a impact big (hopefully one with an impact on the defensive end, covering up BG & Charlie’s weaknesses) I will be a lot more skeptical. But as of right now I’m excited about the possibilities of picking up 2 up and coming guys who are about to enter their primes and offer scoring ability that we haven’t seen on the Pistons in some time. Clearly not a contender yet but in my opinion on the right path.

• Bryan Posted: Jul.2 at 2:08 pm
  I think if he gets 34 mpg or so depending on who is coaching you will see a breakout 19 and 8 from charlie v.

• TADOne Posted: Jul.2 at 2:11 pm
  Great points Tripe J. It is nice having another Pistons fan and Detroit native on these boards.

• Triple J Posted: Jul.2 at 2:17 pm
  Thanks TADOne. It’s good to see a board where people know what their talking about. On the Detroit newspaper boards people act like this is the end of the world or throw up a bunch of crazy trade proposals that would never happen.

• TADOne Posted: Jul.2 at 2:29 pm
  It happens here too if you stick around long enough; however, all in all there are some very knowledgeable fans of the game on here.

• Pardeep Posted: Jul.2 at 2:41 pm
  If Hamilton dont get traded this is a dumb move. It is going to be the same thing as last year. Hamilton will probably get traded for a center or small forward that is better than Rip. T-Mac?? anyone??

• Josh D Posted: Jul.2 at 2:43 pm
  Great,now BG can play 4 GB this Summer

• Z Posted: Jul.2 at 2:51 pm
  BG got paid for game 2 and game 2 only. Seriously go on basketball ref and look at his game logs. People are talking like he had an out of this world series but he dropped 24 on 39% (!) shooting. That won’t get you anywhere. Yes, the jumper is money and he’s very ballsy but he takes A LOT of stuff off the table. The D is atrocious at best, he can’t handle (he likes to dribble on his own foot, no really…), he can’t pass, he obviously doesn’t rebound. What I find really strange is that he is no way an upgrade over Rip. I’m much more excited about the Charlie V signing. Rebounding is actually not a concern because he was getting limited minutes with Skiles. His per36 were 22 and 9 last year. He’s a keeper.

• wayno Posted: Jul.2 at 3:20 pm
  @ TAD & Triple J - I miss the D, I’ve been a displaced Detroit fan for about a year now (Of course the year I move to SoCal is the year LA wins…*sigh*) I miss it like crazy. Good points by both of you. It’s always nice having fellow knowledgeable Pistons fans on here.

• chazz michael michaels Posted: Jul.2 at 3:27 pm
  yeah okay real smart. “oh we have a problem with who is going to come off the banch AI or RIP!” ok so in the offseason they sign another player who plays in the same position as AI and RIP??? Yeah Okay great move. The pistons already had friepower they needed a good bigman not rasheed. he has proven to be useless.

• TADOne Posted: Jul.2 at 3:44 pm
  chazz michael: I agree with you about Detroit needing a big, but who exactly was out there to sign? Other than Villanueva, Boozer never opted-out, the Suns aren’t sure whether they want to trade Amare, Millsap and Lee are restricted, Gortat is a career backup, they already did the Okur thing, Z-Bo is Z-Bo, Tyson Chandler may be the only realistic possibility left. Not exactly a sterling group.

• Quail Posted: Jul.2 at 3:51 pm
  hopefully tayshaun will go to portland for Przybilla and some other add-ons. then have rip start at the 3.

• Scott Carter Posted: Jul.2 at 4:56 pm
  I’m thinkin a swap of RIP HAMILTON/TYSON CHANDLER would be the ideal move.

• RedRum Posted: Jul.2 at 5:08 pm
  The NBA will be amazing next year. Cavs, Celtics, Detroit, Magic from East, all contenders (I am sure others will pop up). The west has Lakers, Spurs, Nuggets etc. I see that next year there will be at least 10 teams that could win the chip. Everyone is reloading, even the Clips could do some damage!

• seven deuce Posted: Jul.2 at 5:13 pm
  I guess Detroit really doesn’t want to win with defense, because the group they have damn sure won’t. On the plus side, CV’s tweets are going to be hysterical this season. Still think he should’ve gone to Cleveland.

• bashmo Posted: Jul.2 at 5:38 pm
  With a contract like that, BG is DEFINETLY not coming off the bench…Joe Dumars wants him to work very hard for sure.

• Sturm Drang Posted: Jul.2 at 5:39 pm
  Villanueva at $35 million for 5 years or so? That’s a pretty good value buy for a guy who can still improve a fair amount. Gordon’s deal though, is a head-shaker. To me, he’s kind of like AI was (though maybe not as awful a locker room presence/influence) - an undersized, streaky scorer. If he could actually learn how to play the point, then he’d *maybe* be worth that much money, but if all there is for that contract is a bigger Iverson who shoots the 3 better but passes and steals the ball less… It’s really not worth it. He’s still an under-sized 2 and he needs to be a better play-maker. It’s not worth it to try to trade Rip (who may be too difficult to trade) just to sign Gordon for this much money. You’re trading one more 3 pointer made per game and losing one assist per game (as well as having worse defense), and you’ve lost your cap space. Not a good move.

• Sturm Drang Posted: Jul.2 at 5:53 pm
  That is - getting Gordon and losing Rip - You’ll get maybe 1 or 2 more 3s per game, on average, at the cost of 1 or more assists per game and Gordon’s bad defense. Even if the Pistons trade Rip, which I don’t know they’ll manage to do, the Pistons have basically lost cap space for a player that is not better than the one they’re giving up. Gordon is not worth that much. I mean, Hedo might be older, but at least he has decent defense, provides the same great shooting, AND HE CAN PASS. Hedo > Gordon at that price.

• Enigmatic Posted: Jul.2 at 7:24 pm
  The Pistons, contenders??? For the playoffs maybe. Should be interesting to see them fighting over shots. If Villanueva hustles some, he could average 12 boards a game chasing down errant BG, Rip and uhh….Villanueva shots. As for my Bulls, losing BG isn’t nearly as bad as it would be if we didn’t have Salmons. I’ve been saying for years we needed a bigger 2-guard and now we’ve got him. I think we’ve got a really good chance to improve to a five or six seed. With D. Rose, we’ll be contenders soon enough.

• tealish Posted: Jul.2 at 7:43 pm
  Silliness. I just want to know where AI’s going. Chi town would be fun.

• Meloman20 Posted: Jul.2 at 7:56 pm
  ahh man. As a raptors fan, im happy Charlie V is getting what he deserves. a phat contract to match his phat game.

• edilvia4sho Posted: Jul.2 at 8:45 pm
  I’m from Chicago. This wasn’t exactly the best news for me. But, then again.. Ben Gordon left us for the PISTONS(suckness).. You know how much the Chi offered this year?? Who knows, cause’ we didn’t offer him anything ha.. Chicago is cookin’ something, and I’m sure it involves better defense than what Ben gave us.. Maybe saving some money, cause’ next year there will be some very awesome free agents, SUPER STAR status players. Players who can play DEFENSE, not just offense. & So what is he saying about Chicago?? Winning is everyone’s number 1 priority, moron!

• Quail Posted: Jul.2 at 10:06 pm
  @Tealish: i heard AI is gonna meet with the Wolves sometime this summer. doubt it’s true, but it’s the only rumor i got right now.

• Darksaber Posted: Jul.3 at 2:19 am
  So who’s Rip gonna blame now when things don’t go his way. curry and Iverson are gone, Sheed’s being courted and Tay might be next on the chopping block. You think he’ll blame his *gasp* advancing age, and loss of explosiveness? Naaaa. Rip is a STAR, he’ll find a scapegoat. FREE ANTONIO MCDYESS ALREADY, DAMNIT!

• agapax Posted: Jul.3 at 9:40 am
  I dont think so piston needs a guard,U got stuckey,they need ligimate center thats the truth!dumars

• Mo Posted: Jul.3 at 12:06 pm
  Hello Detroit, welcome to the level of the Bucks, Raptors, Grizzlies, Warriors…I dont fully understand what direction this team is headed but i know that playoffs will be way out of reach….my advise, blow of this season and get 2 lottery picks in the next draft

• Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Jul.3 at 8:09 pm
  LOL Co-sign Darksaber: Actually though, its Dumars who always gets away with finding scapegoats. Ripchard is next.

• Ty Posted: Jul.4 at 12:23 pm
  Absolute shame…..huge stepback. Pistons are lost and in rebuilding mode for the next several years.

• iLL wiLL Posted: Jul.4 at 7:25 pm
  90 million combined for CV and BG? Desperate times in Detroit, no?

• scntfc Posted: Jul.5 at 5:40 pm
  Gordon and charlie bring you a combined 37 ppg,and 10 rpg, and lets be stingy and say 3 apg. at roughly 17 mill a year I would say that those are steals by anyones standards. name a team with two similar players at that price tag.Lets not forget that both are in their mid 20s and charlie still has yet to reach his peak. I consider where they are now a better place than they were in 03. lets look at that squad and how “they” came to acquire those players. Jerry Stack for Rip, chauncy after playing for 5 teams in a trade, Tay in the draft, Sheed for pennies on the $ and a draft pick,Okur draft,Ben Wallace: a throw away from Orlando. catch my drift? stop all the whining, these are good moves, Detroit is really young, and they have more tradeble assets than ever before. more moves are yet to come.

• tavoris Posted: Jul.31 at 2:39 pm
  scntfc..actually they combine for 37ppg, 8rpg, and probably 3 assists, along with NO defense or ball movement whatsoever. If Stuckey doesn’t turn into a ball-distributing PG they need, they aren’t gonna do any better than last year. Maybe Rip can be moved (not likely a market for him tho) for a PG (I hear steve blake may be available, altho the blazers would need a 3rd team to make that work)

• tavoris Posted: Jul.31 at 2:42 pm
  JE…I’d like the Pistons going after Okur over Boozer….he’d just get in CV’s way