I believe Melo was generally regarded higher than Bosh or Wade, just from a draft perspective at the time. Guessing that’s who they would have taken. It’s possible the Pistons would have won multiple championships with Anthony…or none. We’ll never know. I do believe Larry Brown would have gotten the best out of a young Anthony, fresh off the Syracuse title.
Some very good discourse here on the Pistons / Darko draft but it seems like we still left one question unanswered…
Does DARKO factor in swag levels?
I’m guessing they’re using the room exception for this and still have their 26 mil in cap space to facilitate trades for draft capital.
This one feels more like their signings/acquisitions from last year but fortunately they already got THJr and Harris.
My dream scenario is facilitating a sign-and-trade for DeRozan and the Heat and getting Duncan Robinson and draft picks for the trouble.
Defense is still gonna be a big issue but hopefully the offense will get out of the gutter and at least make games entertaining this year.
Looks like the plan is to get short term shooting (1-2 year contracts) and buy time to see how the young players develop.
My first takeaway is that Malik Beasley can’t leave the Pippens alone
Franz Wagner signed the largest contract in history for a player with no all stars, all nba, or all defense nods
Is Franz the first Michigan player since like 2000 to sign a max?
Since Webber? Maybe
Didn’t even hear about it. He seemed like he had some promise early in his career. Has fallen off for sure.
I actually like this move. Always liked Beasley, and he can shoot. I wonder what the over/ under on wins will end up at.
As long as JB can do a coherent rotation, that’s an improvement to whatever Monty was doing last season which is a very low bar to clear.
Wasn’t THJ a max with the Knicks?
No, don’t think he was close
Tobias Harris does not add shooting
He is a less effective three point shooter than Isaiah Stewart
He may not be a shooter, but he’s not “not” a shooter. Just two seasons ago he shot 39% from 3 on 4.4 attempts per game. Career 37% shooter. Stewart just shot 32% 2 seasons ago. Not sure how reliable his 38% mark from last season is moving forward.
If you’re asking me to have Stewart or Harris shoot a 3 in a big moment, I’m taking Harris every time.