GM Joe Dumars came to the realization this past season that that the Pistons squad as constructed was no longer a championship contender and rebuilding was in order. He traded away franchise point guard, Chauncey Billups, to the Denver Nuggets in return for Allen Iverson.
People have roundly criticized the Pistons for making this trade, the main reason behind their immediate demise this season, however the trade was made for the purpose of clearing cap space to become a player in free agency after letting Iverson’s contract expire.
The Pistons signed Gordon to a 5-year, $55 million contract.
This summer the Pistons always planned on spending money on free agents and making a splash, which now they have done. Yesterday sources reported that they had reached an agreement with Ben Gordon on a 5-year, $55 million contract and had also signed CharlieVillanueva to a 5-year contract in the $35-40 million range.
Signing Gordon certainly makes this team more explosive, but to me it seems they just found a younger, better shooting replacement for Iverson. While Gordon won’t be doing as much whining off the court as Iverson, he will certainly be expecting the same kind of playing time and opportunities to score that Iverson did. Gordon is a plus 20 points a game scorer, who can shoot a team to victory when he is on, but he is a defensive liability due to a combination of size and his own disinterest on that side of the floor.
Gordon certainly cannot be expected to play anytime at the point guard position, which leaves Detroit another situation where they must find enough minutes to keep both Gordon and Hamilton happy.
While signing Gordon can at the least be justified due to his ability to deliver consistently and under pressure, the signing of Villanueva is puzzling. The Pistons moved aggressively and came to terms with Villanueva on a contract, above market value for a player who has serious deficencies.
Villanueva likely will play the 4 spot for the Pistons and certainly gives them an offensive boost, but his defense is nearly non-existant. The Pistons’ interior defense was their calling card when they were conference and championship contenders. It looks like the Pistons have abandoned that in search of more offense.
The Pistons also signed Charlie Villanueva who will have to step up his game to justify the signing.
To me the signing of Villanueva to a team that was already on the decline defensively tells me that Joe Dumars did not do his research. Villanueva had the second highest usage rate among power forwards in the NBA last year. John Krolik of cavstheblog.com has a full write-up on all the question marks that surround which highlight Villanueva’s poor finishing in and around the basket as well as his sever defensive deficencies.
The biggest concern for Pistons fans should be how fast the Pistons not only signed these players, but also how quickly they shifted. Going into the offseason Detroit expected Carlos Boozer to opt out of the final year of his contract and enter free agency as an unrestricted free agent. The Pistons had targeted him as their top available free agent before Boozer opted to remain with Utah. It seems that they immediately shifted focus to signing Villanueva and fill their vacant power forward position in the starting lineup.
The Pistons had a greater need than a one dimensional scoring power forward. They need to add some size and toughness to their frontcourt. They would have been better off spending that money on Brandon Bass, who certainly would have been cheaper, a mid-level exception on Gortat and then perhaps re-signing Antonio Mcdyess.
Now it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Villanueva could improve defensively and take his offensive game up another level, but to take that risk spending $7-8 million a year and hampering your financial flexibility is puzzling. These signings do not help to move the Pistons back into serious contention and look more like a knee jerk reflex to simply put Detroit back in the playoffs.
Dumars has certainly taken a few risks this offseason and will also have to hire a new coach after firing Michael Curry after only one season at the helm. With new pieces to fit in to a core already consisting of Rodney Stuckey, Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, this will be an important hire for a team in flux.
#1 by dbrait - July 2nd, 2009 at 12:55
If you include the Hamilton extension mid-season they have just tied a ton of long term money up and given themselves no outs, which was the whole point of the Billups-Iverson deal in the first place. All you get from these signings is a guy to slow to guard a 3 and not strong enough to play a 4, and another pure scoring guard who is going to start bitching a month into the season when he isn’t getting enough minutes. Sounds like a team I would want to coach.
#2 by admin - July 2nd, 2009 at 14:25
@dbrait
Absolutely true. I’m all for adding some piece, but Joe looks like he outbid himself on Villanueva, who probably couldn’t have been happier. This is a guy who’s desire and commitment has been questioned every step of the way. I’m not sure what Joe D thinks is going to change now in Detroit.