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Sign up for E-newsPistons Mailbag - Thursday, April 7, 2011
Pistons.com editor Keith Langlois answers your questions about the Pistons and NBA. Click here to submit your questions - please include your name, email address and city/state on the form. Return to the Mailbag homepage.
We reserve the right to edit your question for the sake of brevity or clarity.
Peter (Jackson, Mich.): You said in a recent Mailbag that in the past two seasons the Pistons have rarely gotten good performances from both Rip Hamilton and Ben Gordon, which is true. You went on to say that would have to change if they were both still on the roster next season. I think I speak for many Pistons fans in saying if they are both still on the roster, I won’t be watching.
Langlois: It’s inevitable there will be a different mix of perimeter players next season, Peter. Tracy McGrady and Tayshaun Prince are unrestricted free agents and Rodney Stuckey will be a restricted free agent. Where free agency takes them will shape some of Joe Dumars’ off-season strategy. Will he make trading one of Hamilton or Gordon a priority? Too soon to say. The first clue could come when Dumars addresses the media in his postseason press conference. I don’t think he will flat-out close the door to the possibility that both could return next season, if for no other reason than he won’t trade one or the other in any deal that doesn’t begin to address the team’s other roster issues. But I think it’s fair to assume Joe D is going to go into the off-season determined to shake up the mix.
Geoff (San Francisco, Calif.): What are the chances of getting Jerry Sloan to coach the Pistons next season? He personifies everything Detroit basketball is, or is at least supposed to be, about.
Langlois: Let’s first acknowledge that John Kuester is under contract for next season and any decision on his status rests with Joe Dumars. Sloan told Salt Lake City media last week that he doesn’t have interest in returning to coaching at this time. He’s 69, and while I’m sure that if he put his mind to it he would still be a highly effective NBA coach, there’s no reason not to take him at his word at this time. That said, Joe D has made no secret of his admiration for Sloan. If Sloan ever expressed interest in returning to the sidelines and the Pistons were in the market for a coach at that time, I would expect Joe D would at least dip his toe into those waters. But those are two pretty big ifs.
Ben (Lansing, Mich.): I’m confused as to whether the Pistons could negotiate a sign and trade for Rodney Stuckey due to his status as a restricted free agent. Is that possible?
Langlois: Not under the current CBA, which won’t be in effect when Stuckey becomes a restricted free agent on July 1, regardless. Under current rules, it works like this: Stuckey puts himself on the market as a RFA. If he can entice somebody to offer him a contract he finds suitable, he signs an offer sheet. The Pistons would then have a week to match. But they can’t match it and trade him. In fact, if Stuckey signs an offer sheet and the Pistons match, they can’t trade him for one full year without his consent – and they could not trade him to the team that extends the offer sheet for a year, regardless of consent. If Stuckey did not agree to another team’s offer sheet, as best I interpret the CBA, once he were to re-sign with the Pistons, he could then be traded no earlier than Dec. 15. But, again, the new CBA figures to alter the rules across the board.
Erges (Tirana, Albania): Am I the only one who’s praying for Joe D to call John Henson’s name on draft night? Unless the Pistons get a top-three pick, I don’t see any other guys with Henson’s upside in the 7-8 range.
Langlois: Can’t happen anymore, Erges. Henson, unless he does a 180, has said he is headed back to Chapel Hill. He was considered a lock to be a lottery pick, perhaps a top 10 pick and even a candidate to be picked by the Pistons.
Shawn (Garden Grove, Calif.): After watching some of Arizona’s games during March Madness, Derrick Williams seems like he has the greatest potential to be a playmaker in the coming draft other than Kyrie Irving. Do you think if the Pistons get the No. 1 or 2 pick they would take Williams?
Langlois: NBA scouts were aware of Williams after a surprising freshman season at Arizona, but he didn’t start the season as a lottery pick. By the time the NCAA tournament arrived, Williams was considered a consensus top-five pick. He sure didn’t do anything in the tournament to hurt those chances. Depending on who’s in the draft, he’s now a likely top-three pick with a shot he’ll go No. 1 depending on who gets the top pick. The Pistons don’t share their evaluations of players, of course, but I think it’s pretty fair to assume they like him and would consider him strongly should they get a top-three pick on May 17. Of course, Williams has yet to declare his intentions, though most assume with his stock as high as it can get, he’s coming out.
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