Beast of the Night: Brandon Jennings finished with 31 points, four rebounds, eight assists, four steals and seven three-pointers last night. He shot 36 percent (9-25) from the floor, 75 percent (6-8) from the free-throw line and had zero turnovers. Since Jan. 17, Jennings is averaging 24.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.9 steals and 3.6 threes per game, while shooting 45 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free-throw line. For the season, he’s putting up top 10 averages. Read More »
Just put Dwight on the line, right? That was Mark Jackson’s strategy on Thursday against Orlando and it seemed good for a while against the career 59 percent free-throw shooter. The Magic didn’t lead through the first quarter after going wire-to-wire against Portland in its own building the night before. Well, Howard’s not exactly Mark Price from the stripe but if you send a guy there an NBA-record 39 times (he made 21), he’s going to get his, anyway, and score with a stopped clock to help a comeback, too. That’s how Orlando held off Golden State, 117-109. Read More »
Whereas last summer reshaped the NBA and as a byproduct of that, helped usher in the extended lockout, the upcoming abbreviated free agency period won’t include a single franchise player. There are probably no future Hall of Famers available. Hell, there might not even be a single All-Star out there. But what is being given up will be replaced in a frenzy. The signings and player movement will be fast and furious, and without any sure things, there will be plenty of opportunities to criticize GMs who panic and throw ridiculous contracts at simply average players. Read More »
UPDATE: Chad Ford is reporting that Rodney Stuckey is “balking at the Pistons’ 5-year, $40-$45 million offer.”
As a guard and then a Pistons executive, Joe Dumars is experienced at building Detroit into a winner and what parts such a run require. Not all of those parts are always easy to work with, and Dumars understands that playing with Isiah Thomas. But he’s proven his savvy as a GM in that same regard, turning Chauncey Billups from a journeyman to a building block after his arrival in 2002.
If he wants to turn Detroit, 30-52 during a contentious 2010-11 season, into a contender again for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, he knows a first step would be keeping Rodney Stuckey as his premier guard. But at what cost? Read More »
I wanna know, is anyone not surprised by this? I think we could poll the entire basketball nation, and perhaps 90 percent of you would’ve said “Yeah, Tayshaun is gone” at the start of free agency talks. But Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Tayshaun Princewill re-sign with the Pistons for four year and $27 million-plus. Um… excuse me? Detroit became such a basketball wasteland in the past two seasons that pretty much everyone assumed mass changes were in order. This is certainly a step in a different direction. Read More »
Next up for fantasy basketball discussion: the Detroit Pistons. There’s a good deal to like here from a fantasy perspective – although there’s no first-round stud, there is some decent value in the middle rounds and a few fill-in guys to watch on the waiver wire when need be. With a good number of free agents for the Pistons, fantasy owners should expect things to change in the upcoming season. Read More »
Apparently, Joe Dumars wants Tayshaun Prince back in Detroit. Joe D contacted the free agent’s agent (Bill Duffy) just before the lockout started to let him know that the marriage wasn’t quite beyond repair just yet. Despite that, we doubt Prince wants to go back. Detroit is a mess right now, with no real direction and no real future. Prince is now 31, and has seen his stock drop in the last few years. Some contender is bound to come calling. And we’re pretty sure Prince will listen Read More »
Ironically, just as last week’s NBA Draft had about as much star power as a WNBA game, this summer’s free agent class is also incredibly weak up top. Today, news broke that David West will opt out of his contract and become a free agent. He seriously might be the best player available this summer. Compare that to one year ago when it seemed every franchise player was on the market. Read More »
-->