Detroit Pistons & NBA Talk

You’re not getting a 2nd star to go with Cade right out the gate though A 2nd star would mature hopefully by 2024. There’s a better chance that 2nd star comes from off-season free agent or trades.

It is not structured though. It is a lot closer to open gym than an actual games.

The Pistons aren’t getting one in the FA market. Maybe trade but their best path towards getting a 2nd star is through the draft. Detroit will never be a destination for NBA players. That’s a fact.

2 Likes

Maybe, but many of the teams engineer scenarios specifically to haywire the prospect. Read about Bam’s workout with the Heat where he started screaming at the coaches that they f’ing with him, and it wouldn’t work.

My personal opinion is that Sharpe has a higher potential to be a star than Keegan Murray or Benedict Mathurin (the other guys I’d consider at #5). I am personally more positive that Murray will be a useful player, but next to no chance of being an all-star. In the Pistons’ shoes, I rather take the guy who has a 33% change of being a star and a 33% chance of being a bust than a guy who has a 55% chance of being Saddiq Bey (not a knock on Bey). Sharpe is one of a few people in this draft (Ivey and Chet being the others) I see as being franchise changers. Maybe Jabari, but I think he’s more a #2/#3 (you can convince me his greater likelihood of being a #2 is worth more than Sharpe).

2 Likes

They can do it but it’s not really the same since it’s more individual or group workout setting.

Sharpe may have higher potential but he also have the highest chance of being a bust. I also am pushing back on James Edwards III’s infatuation with Murray at top 4 which goes against what he thinks of the Pistons weaknesses IMO.

All of it is why I want the Pistons to land at top 3/4 pick so we won’t have to deal with the 2nd tiers.

1 Like

I just see the Sharpe conundrum to be similar to the Kuminga one last year. Unquestionably a tantalizing collection of skills - can it be made to work?

Personally, I had Kuminga higher on my own list than he got drafted simply because the ceiling was too high for me to ignore. But my feeling is that at this point in the draft you swing at the potential franchise changers (and he’s the last on the board at 5 in my opinion) and not try to hit a single.

2 Likes

Kuminga, to me, has lower risk because he played at Ignite so you know what he can do and can’t do as a player whereas Sharpe, it’s unknown since he hasn’t played in a year. Kuminga landed in a great situation with the Warriors where they have the depth to bring him along slowly by sending him to the G-League. He’ll be ready to take over Wiggins role once Wiggins contract is up.

1 Like

I I’m increasingly becoming convinced that sharpe is the pic if you land at five or lower. The guys you pick in front of him aren’t guys you’d miss horribly if you didn’t have them. Good solid players you can find in free agency.

2 Likes

I had to vote Keegan bc I know he’s good. Haven’t seen either of the other two play. Counting on Weaver to do better than that.

I’d say that’s a perception. Jerami Grant took the same amount of money in Detroit that Denver was offering. The Josh Smith signing didn’t turn out well, but he was considered a (if not the) top FA of that offseason. I also think there are certain players out there who might want to join a winning culture. The Pistons still have to return to that culture, but Cade looks to be a very good cornerstone to build around.

I want Shaedon Sharpe so badly

That’s one example. One doesn’t make it false. The only way the Pistons could attract top tier FA is to overpay them. Detroit is not a destination and that’s not a perception IMO.

To be clear, having less info about Sharpe does not mean that he has the highest chance of being a bust.

2 Likes

Very few stars even hit FA at this point, because no team is willing to let them go for nothing. They’ll sign and trade them, or just extend them (because the player makes more money) and look for a trading partner in the future. FA is a way to pick up mid-tier players or aged-out stars at this stage.

1 Like

I disagree. Not enough info is exactly why I think he has the highest chance of being a bust. Not playing competitive ball in a year is a huge factor bc he never played against D1 level. Last time he played was against bad defense and that’s not useful for evaluation IMO.

This is true when the team isn’t good. If Cade develops and the team is competing, it’s possible FA would be more interested. I’m sure some free agents would consider Milwaukee right now whereas it wasn’t attractive previously. Detroit is never going to be LA or Miami, but with a competitive team capable of winning, I think they wouldn’t need to overpay as much.

2 Likes

His chance, and the chance of any prospect, being a bust is unknown. The amount of busts in the lottery every year demonstrates that any projections of a players ability, or his chance of being a bust, comes with a pretty huge margin of error. The less info you have, the greater the uncertainty and margin of error you have in your projections, that’s all.

It’s kind of impossible to say he has the highest chance of being a bust, because nobody really has any idea.

2 Likes

It was actually two examples. And Ben Gordon was a top guy in 2009’s FA-class. This article ranks him #2 that summer: Top 30 NBA Free Agents and Where They Will Sign In 2009 | Bleacher Report | Latest News, Videos and Highlights
Again, like Smith, that signing bit the Pistons in the ass, but that isn’t really the point.

I know Detroit is not as easy a sell as Los Angeles or Miami. I’d include NY but the Knicks have struck out on landing a big fish a ton of times over the last 15 years. Brooklyn has done well (at least as far as attracting big names, but maybe not in ROI) recently. That doesn’t mean it’s a no-go ever.

1 Like

I think if Ben Gordon and Josh Smith are “prime free agents” (I’m not debating with that classification, I’m not going to research their FA classes) that’s possibly instructive of what players reach FA and what players do not.

Gordon had a breakout playoff performance that postseason. You could say he was the Jordan Poole of 2009. But, I think teams locking up their young players (and doing so by paying them superstar money) has become a greater priority in this era.

Just for the heck of it, here’s a clip of BenGo, going off:

1 Like