Tayshaun at the Four

The Pistons started Tayshaun Prince at the four last game against Cleveland! I've been waiting for this move for quite a while. In my opinion, Kuester just doesn't have that much of a choice, but playing Tay at the four a lot more than Prince might like to.

There are way too many advantages for this roster than not exploiting Prince's versatility. I didn't get to watch or tape the game against Cleveland, so I can't give any strong evidence, but Prince has been a successful pro in this league for quite a while. He's a tremendous competitor and despite his lacking weight he gets quite a few rebounds. He can take the ball outside and either shoot or drive or he can go into the post and hit his babyhook. He's pretty much unguardable for a lot of Power Forward's in this league!

It is intriguing for this team to play small ball. We aren't going to win a lot of championships soon. Heck, we won't make the Playoffs this year, possibly next season too (if next season isn't a complete lockout anyway)!! The team is for sale and Joe Dumars pretty much can't do anything about it, he can't make major moves and we'll have to live with the logjam we have at the guard position.
Moving Tay out of the three and into the four makes room for Ben Gordon and Rip Hamilton to play more minutes. Well, I actually want to see Tracy McGrady get more burn at the position. Everytime he enters the game, Detroit plays more fluently. He gets the ball into the right spots and hits the right players. He's so incredibly intelligent that he doesn't need big plays to contribute, he can do a lot of small things and be very effective at that!

We desperately need a trade, there's just nothing out there. Dumars can't make a major decision without the future owner's approval. And given that pretty much all the players on the roster have equal value, any trade would be considered a major move. I'm not saying Austin Daye equals Rip Hamilton, but Hamilton earns so much more that a team would probably rather have Daye than Rip right now. We don't have a clear-cut leader of this team so either one of them is substitutable, as harsh as it might sound.

So our hands are tied and we need to make the best out of this situation and pull closer together!

Trading for Melo

The rumor has been swimming around (nice metaphor to start this off) that the Denver Nuggets might be inclined to trade their star, Carmelo Anthony. I know this is probably post number 500 what trade Joey D should make in which he would acquire a player he passed on on in order to draft Darko Milicic, but I'll just tell you why it makes sense for both teams, to do this trade, even IF Melo should sign with the Knicks next summer or won't extend his contract beyond the season.

Let's start with the actual trade. The Pistons give up Tay and Rip while the Pistons get JR Smith and Melo. This would the Pistons in contention in the Eastern Conference. The Nuggets want to trade both players and they both have expiring contracts, worth approximately $24 Mio. The Pistons would get two players that can score in bunches, which would probably help one of the worst offenses in the league, plus they get a great sixth man and both are capable of playing defense, although they don't always show that.
The Nuggets get two players of the Detroit championship year, so they wouldn't have to wonder at all if those guys will play together well. Honestly, which other scenario could practically guarantee that? CB and Rip once formed what can be called the best backcourt of the past decade. And Prince wasn't bad with them either. All of them would be thrilled to play together again and Rip and Tay would enjoy a bounce back season, if they stay healthy.

So, Tay's contract is running out too, the Nuggets could save his salary next season during a lockout if they choose to or re-sign him to a reasonable price. Detroit could take a shot at Melo, if they enjoy a great one-season run, maybe Melo doesn't think of Detroit as the worst fit, you know. If Greg Monroe develops into a reliable NBA center, Melo could think twice about leaving the D for the NYC spotlight. But even if he leaves, and Detroit doesn't sign either new addition next off season, it would clear $24 Mio of the books, giving Joe D another shot at re-modelling the roster.

Also, the last ten trades of the Pistons happened with the Nuggets, it feels like, so what the hell, go for it Joe! Although it would hurt to see both of them leave. I'd probably start liking Denver a lot more!

Pistons Trade Dreams: Chris Paul

So, Chris Paul unofficially demands a trade out of New Orleans (source Yahoo!Sports)! Well, let's dream!
The Hornets ownership will not get bac equal value, there's just no way that is going to work for them, but I will propose something that will give them back good value and at the same time two expiring contracts.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=2fnmhw3

As you can see, the Pistons would offer two expiring contracts in Tayshaun Prince and Rodney Stuckey. It would open up the 1-guard for Darren Collison and enable Stuckey to play the 2-guard. Tayshaun is such a versatile player that he'll fit with any team he plays for. If you want you can talk about draft picks too, but not necessarily. Although I'd hate to see Prince go, if you can work a trade for Chris Paul, you can't pass it up! Even Joey D, who is so fond of Stuck, would pull the trigger!

Chris Paul would be a great PG and franchise player complementing the skills of the other players as a distributor and facilitator enabling Ben Gordon and Charlie V to get open looks from the perimeter. Paul's also a terrific defender and has great leadership, he would easily carry the Pistons back into the playoffs all by himself, but as the roster is currently constructed, the Pistons might even make the second round.

So let's keep on dreaming!