Wild West
by Keith Langlois
Editor’s note: Pistons.com today starts a six-part series examining the off-season moves made by the NBA’s 30 teams in a division-by-division analysis. In today’s Part I, we look at the Pacific Division: Coming in Wednesday’s Part II: Southwest.
Fitting enough that we start with the Pacific Division, because it was the startling decision by Baron Davis to opt out of the final year of his contract with Golden State that set the course for the NBA’s free agency season. When Davis opted out and immediately agreed to bolt to a divisional rival, the Los Angeles Clippers, all indications were that Davis would team up with Elton Brand to give the Clippers a shot at contending in the hypercompetitive Western Conference.
After all, it was only because Brand also made the surprising decision to opt out of the final year of his contract that the Clippers had the salary-cap space to accommodate Davis. But the eight-day moratorium period between the start of free agency and the time contracts could be signed gave Philadelphia the time it needed to clear additional cap space and bowl over Brand with an offer that sent one of the NBA’s most potent scoring and rebounding threats out of the West.
Here’s a look at the summer scoreboard for the Pacific Division’s five members in order of their significance of activity:
GOLDEN STATE
COMING – The Warriors responded to the loss of Davis by signing two free agents from within the division, getting Corey Maggette from the Clippers and Ronny Turiaf from the Lakers. Though they might have overpaid a little for each – the Lakers could have retained Turiaf, a restricted free agent, but passed on the chance to match the four-year, $17 million deal – they represent a pretty nice recovery from the shock of losing the dynamic Davis. Golden State also picked up LSU’s Anthony Randolph with a lottery pick and Randolph, though impossibly skinny at 6-foot-10 and barely 200 pounds, showed in Las Vegas he has potential to one day develop into a multidimensional weapon on the wing. A minor trade helped address the void at point guard when the Warriors got disappointing second-year guard Marcus Williams from the Nets.
GOING – The losses weren’t limited just to Davis. Golden State also lost two useful wing players to free agency, Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes, and let 2006 lottery pick Patrick O’Bryant walk away as a free agent.
PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Monta Ellis (Marcus Williams, C.J. Watson); shooting guard: Stephen Jackson (Marco Belinelli); center: Andris Biedrins (Ronny Turiaf, Kosta Perovic); power forward: Al Harrington (Brandan Wright, Richard Hendrix); small forward: Corey Maggette (Kelenna Azubuike, Anthony Randolph).
BOTTOM LINE – In the long run, Golden State probably is better off not tied to a risky contract with Davis, who has had longstanding health and conditioning issues. In the short term, it remains to be seen if Ellis can be an orchestrator in addition to being the mercurial scorer he’s already proven to be. The Warriors are believed to be shopping Al Harrington to clear playing time for youngsters Wright and Randolph. How Maggette, a slasher who needs the ball to be effective, fits with Don Nelson’s spread-the-floor, manic attack, remains to be seen.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
COMING – For a few giddy days after signing Baron Davis, the Clippers allowed themselves to believe they’d be a force in the West next season. Without Elton Brand as his sidekick, things don’t look quite so rosy for Los Angeles’ distant No. 2 team. The Clippers used the cap room they gained when Brand signed with Philly to take Marcus Camby off of Denver’s hands in a salary purge designed to get the Nuggets out from under their heavy luxury tax burden. They also picked up a serviceable backup point guard Jason Hart in trade from Utah for Brevin Knight, signed aging Jason Williams to further supplement the position and plucked Ricky Davis, a high-maintenance wing scorer, from the free-agent pool. The draft could yield major dividends. The Clips got Indiana freshman guard Eric Gordon, who possesses both deep shooting range and explosiveness to the rim, and a second-rounder with a high ceiling in Texas A&M’s massive DeAndre Jordan. Though a limited player, adding veteran tough guy Brian Skinner to a frontcourt that could use a little muscle was a decent pickup.
GOING – Losing Elton Brand was a major and thoroughly unexpected blow for the Clippers, though – as with Golden State and Davis – there was inherent risk in committing $80 million to a 265-pounder coming off a torn Achilles tendon. In order to add Camby and Ricky Davis, the Clips wound up renouncing a handful of journeymen, which leaves them a little thin around the edges. The one they might regret losing is Shaun Livingston, whose massive knee injury two years ago derailed what looked like a very bright career. Losing Corey Maggette leaves a scoring void, but the Clippers needed to make room for promising second-year forward Al Thornton, anyway.
PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Baron Davis (Jason Williams, Jason Hart, Mike Taylor); shooting guard: Cuttino Mobley (Eric Gordon): center: Chris Kaman (Brian Skinner, DeAndre Jordan); power forward: Marcus Camby (Tim Thomas); small forward: Al Thornton (Ricky Davis).
SACRAMENTO
COMING – The Kings are pretty much in rebuilding mode with Kevin Martin now entrenched as the team’s centerpiece. Their lottery pick produced the first real surprise pick of the draft when the Kings opted for Rider 7-footer Jason Thompson. Thompson will be joined by another boom-or-bust type of rookie, Syracuse freshman Donte Green, acquired in a trade that can’t be formalized until 30 days passes from Green’s July signing of his rookie contract with Houston. Point guard Beno Udrih, who enjoyed something of a breakout season, was retained in free agency after the Kings traded away Mike Bibby at the trade deadline last February to make Udrih the starter. If Bobby Jackson can stay healthy – he’s also en route from Houston – he’ll help the Kings win games. Bobby Brown’s play in the Las Vegas Summer League had several teams interested in signing him and the Kings, without much behind Udrih, made the strongest pitch.
GOING – Every team in the league explored the pluses and minuses of taking on Ron Artest and all that he entails, but in the end a late first-rounder (Green) and a veteran with a lot of wear on his tread (Jackson) was the best package the Kings could fetch. The only other loss of any significance was backup point guard Anthony Johnson, who signed with Orlando in free agency.
PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Beno Udrih (Bobby Brown, Sean Singletary); shooting guard: Kevin Martin (John Salmons, Quincy Douby); center: Brad Miller (Spencer Hawes, Jason Thompson); power forward: Mikki Moore (Kenny Thomas, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Shelden Williams); small forward: Francisco Garcia (Donte Green, Patrick Ewing Jr.).
BOTTOM LINE – The Kings have a glut of big men – quantity, at least – and not much in the way of wing players. They would have loved to have moved Kenny Thomas and his big contract in the Artest deal, but nobody was biting. If Thompson and Green become quality players, then the future doesn’t look so bad. But it’s a pretty safe bet Sacramento has at least one more year in the lottery.
PHOENIX
COMING – The Suns made their big move last February when they traded for Shaquille O’Neal, to mixed results. They headed into August with only 11 players signed but capped out, meaning they’re probably looking at nothing more than adding a few journeymen to veteran’s minimum deals. The big splashes of the summer were using the pick obtained from Atlanta in the Joe Johnson deal to land Stanford big man Robin Lopez, considered less of an offensive threat than his twin brother Brook, and signing erratic but athletic Golden State wing Matt Barnes in free agency. The Suns are also hoping to add second-round European point guard Goran Dragic as the backup they currently lack to Steve Nash.
GOING – An equally uneventful summer … the only player who won’t be back who even occasionally dented last year’s rotation is Brian Skinner.
PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Steve Nash (D.J. Strawberry); shooting guard: Raja Bell (Leandro Barbosa); center: Shaquille O’Neal (Robin Lopez); power forward: Amare Stoudemire (Boris Diaw); small forward: Grant Hill (Matt Barnes, Alando Tucker).
BOTTOM LINE – Given the age or frailty of O’Neal, Hill and Nash, the Suns look almost dangerously thin and without the resources to do much about it unless ownership reverses itself and commits to serious luxury taxation. Hard to project anything but a step or two back for Phoenix.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
COMING – The Lakers drafted former Detroit Renaissance and Kentucky guard Joe Crawford late in the second round. If he makes the team – a pretty considerable if – he’d have to stick around a long time before anyone thinks of him rather than a certain pugnacious NBA referee whenever the name “Joe Crawford” is uttered.
GOING – The Lakers are going to miss Ronny Turiaf, though it’s hard to question the decision to not match Golden State’s offer to the restricted free agent considering the presence of Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom.
PROJECTED LINEUP – Point guard: Derek Fisher (Jordan Farmar): shooting guard: Kobe Bryant (Sasha Vujacic, Coby Karl, Joe Crawford): center: Andrew Bynum (Chris Mihm); power forward: Pau Gasol (Vladimir Radmanovic); small forward: Lamar Odom (Luke Walton, Trevor Ariza).
BOTTOM LINE – The key for the Lakers is getting Bynum back with a healthy knee and playing at the level he was at in mid-season before going down, then learning how to play in tandem with Gasol. If that happens, there’s no question who’ll go into next spring’s playoffs as the favorite to emerge in the West.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Will Bynum: At the Point
Editor’s note: Pistons.com continues an eight-part series on the eight players from the Pistons’ NBA Las Vegas Summer League roster who have NBA futures. This week we’ll do daily stories on the three second-round draft picks, holdover center Cheikh Samb and free agent point guard Will Bynum. Next week we’ll post stories on the three players who figure to be part of the playing rotation – Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo and Amir Johnson. In today’s Part II, we look at Will Bynum. Coming Wednesday: Trent Plaisted.
The Pistons thought former Illinois All-American Dee Brown was coming to Summer League with them and first in line to vie for the No. 3 slot at point guard behind Chauncey Billups and Rodney Stuckey. But when Washington offered Brown both a contract and a clearer path to playing time even before Summer League, the Pistons wasted no time in moving on to Will Bynum.
They acted with similar decisiveness in offering Bynum a guaranteed contract just hours after Summer League play wrapped up on July 20.
So it’s safe to say the Pistons saw what they were hoping to see in Bynum, a 2005 product of Georgia Tech who lifted the Yellowjackets to the 2004 NCAA title game with a driving last-second layup in a semifinal win over Oklahoma State.
That type of explosiveness and scoring ability is part of what attracted the Pistons to Bynum, but it’s been the willingness to adapt and focus on the defensive end that earned him his shot to stick in the NBA this time after a brief fling with Golden State in the 2005-06 season, when Bynum was also named NBA Development League Rookie of the Year.
“Just putting a whole bunch of pressure on the ball and trying to change the tempo of the game,” Bynum said in Las Vegas of his role. “I think that’s pretty much what I’ve got to be. I’ve got to focus every single possession on locking down my guy and putting a bunch of pressure on the ball.”
Bynum, who played with Euroleague power Maccabi Tel Aviv the last two seasons and turned down a lucrative offer in Italy to join the Pistons, averaged 11.8 points and 3.2 assists a game in Las Vegas, starting the final three games when Rodney Stuckey was idled by a minor toe injury. His seven steals tied for the team lead with Walter Sharpe.
Bynum’s season had just wound down in Israel in early July when he got an unexpected phone call from Joe Dumars, asking him if he’d like to come to Las Vegas for a chance to earn a spot in the NBA.
“It was a big shock,” Bynum said, “to get a call from a Hall of Fame player telling you he wants you to play for his team. It’s definitely a blessing. It’s a great opportunity for me.”
“Will has always been a guy that Joe has liked, as well as our staff, dating back to college when he was coming out,” Pistons vice president Scott Perry said. “I’ve watched him since he was a high school guy. Will has always been a guy with what we consider, even coming out, NBA offensive ability. The guy has a second gear. He can explode, he’s athletic, he can score, he can get in the lane and make plays – he’s always been able to do that.
“The things he had to work on when he didn’t stick around the league is defending the basketball, which he always could do but was maybe never required to do coming through high school and college, and becoming a little more responsible with the ball. He’s trying to shed himself of that and I think he’s done a nice job of that in his development.”
Bynum seemed humbled and appreciative of the opportunity the Pistons provided him and that went a long way toward convincing them that he would have the right makeup to accept the role being offered, even though Bynum has always been a big-time scorer who left the Chicago playgrounds as something of a legend.
“We all mature in life,” Perry said. “We all grow. Will is no different. Like most young kids who play, he had a dream of playing in the NBA. He got a taste of it in Golden State, but he had to go overseas, go to the D-League, go a tough route. You learn to appreciate things more. So when people tell him, because he’s a little smaller in size, ‘Hey, for you to stick on an NBA roster, you’re going to have to pick up defensively 94 feet and really get after people,’ he’s ready to do that. He accepts that.
“He’s got an opportunity now with us. He’s got a guaranteed contract and now it’s time to fulfill that dream of playing.”
Bynum has another fan in Pistons coach Michael Curry, who came to appreciate Bynum’s talents when Curry worked in NBA League Operations and spent considerable time working with D-League players and coaches.
“He’s made a concerted effort to get better defensively,” Curry said. “He’s playing the best defense I’ve ever seen him play. Sometimes he’s a little too aggressive, but we can bring that back. It’s harder to try to make a guy aggressive than calm him down.”
The role the Pistons foresee for Bynum is spot minutes behind Chauncey Billups and Rodney Stuckey, used similarly to the way they’ve employed Lindsey Hunter – coming on for four- or five-minute stretches to harass the opposition point guard and make it difficult to get into the half-court offense. Even if Hunter decides to come back and play one more season, the Pistons don’t want to put the 38-year-old veteran into a role that demanding over the course of 82 games.
But if Billups or Stuckey were to miss a week or two with a minor injury, Perry thinks Bynum would be capable of stepping up to No. 2 and giving the Pistons 12 or 15 solid minutes nightly.
“He’s got the ability to do that,” Perry said. “We looked at teams and their third point guards and went through that list of names. Hey, Will Bynum can play with that group. There’s no question in my mind.”
The Pistons thought former Illinois All-American Dee Brown was coming to Summer League with them and first in line to vie for the No. 3 slot at point guard behind Chauncey Billups and Rodney Stuckey. But when Washington offered Brown both a contract and a clearer path to playing time even before Summer League, the Pistons wasted no time in moving on to Will Bynum.
They acted with similar decisiveness in offering Bynum a guaranteed contract just hours after Summer League play wrapped up on July 20.
So it’s safe to say the Pistons saw what they were hoping to see in Bynum, a 2005 product of Georgia Tech who lifted the Yellowjackets to the 2004 NCAA title game with a driving last-second layup in a semifinal win over Oklahoma State.
That type of explosiveness and scoring ability is part of what attracted the Pistons to Bynum, but it’s been the willingness to adapt and focus on the defensive end that earned him his shot to stick in the NBA this time after a brief fling with Golden State in the 2005-06 season, when Bynum was also named NBA Development League Rookie of the Year.
“Just putting a whole bunch of pressure on the ball and trying to change the tempo of the game,” Bynum said in Las Vegas of his role. “I think that’s pretty much what I’ve got to be. I’ve got to focus every single possession on locking down my guy and putting a bunch of pressure on the ball.”
Bynum, who played with Euroleague power Maccabi Tel Aviv the last two seasons and turned down a lucrative offer in Italy to join the Pistons, averaged 11.8 points and 3.2 assists a game in Las Vegas, starting the final three games when Rodney Stuckey was idled by a minor toe injury. His seven steals tied for the team lead with Walter Sharpe.
Bynum’s season had just wound down in Israel in early July when he got an unexpected phone call from Joe Dumars, asking him if he’d like to come to Las Vegas for a chance to earn a spot in the NBA.
“It was a big shock,” Bynum said, “to get a call from a Hall of Fame player telling you he wants you to play for his team. It’s definitely a blessing. It’s a great opportunity for me.”
“Will has always been a guy that Joe has liked, as well as our staff, dating back to college when he was coming out,” Pistons vice president Scott Perry said. “I’ve watched him since he was a high school guy. Will has always been a guy with what we consider, even coming out, NBA offensive ability. The guy has a second gear. He can explode, he’s athletic, he can score, he can get in the lane and make plays – he’s always been able to do that.
“The things he had to work on when he didn’t stick around the league is defending the basketball, which he always could do but was maybe never required to do coming through high school and college, and becoming a little more responsible with the ball. He’s trying to shed himself of that and I think he’s done a nice job of that in his development.”
Bynum seemed humbled and appreciative of the opportunity the Pistons provided him and that went a long way toward convincing them that he would have the right makeup to accept the role being offered, even though Bynum has always been a big-time scorer who left the Chicago playgrounds as something of a legend.
“We all mature in life,” Perry said. “We all grow. Will is no different. Like most young kids who play, he had a dream of playing in the NBA. He got a taste of it in Golden State, but he had to go overseas, go to the D-League, go a tough route. You learn to appreciate things more. So when people tell him, because he’s a little smaller in size, ‘Hey, for you to stick on an NBA roster, you’re going to have to pick up defensively 94 feet and really get after people,’ he’s ready to do that. He accepts that.
“He’s got an opportunity now with us. He’s got a guaranteed contract and now it’s time to fulfill that dream of playing.”
Bynum has another fan in Pistons coach Michael Curry, who came to appreciate Bynum’s talents when Curry worked in NBA League Operations and spent considerable time working with D-League players and coaches.
“He’s made a concerted effort to get better defensively,” Curry said. “He’s playing the best defense I’ve ever seen him play. Sometimes he’s a little too aggressive, but we can bring that back. It’s harder to try to make a guy aggressive than calm him down.”
The role the Pistons foresee for Bynum is spot minutes behind Chauncey Billups and Rodney Stuckey, used similarly to the way they’ve employed Lindsey Hunter – coming on for four- or five-minute stretches to harass the opposition point guard and make it difficult to get into the half-court offense. Even if Hunter decides to come back and play one more season, the Pistons don’t want to put the 38-year-old veteran into a role that demanding over the course of 82 games.
But if Billups or Stuckey were to miss a week or two with a minor injury, Perry thinks Bynum would be capable of stepping up to No. 2 and giving the Pistons 12 or 15 solid minutes nightly.
“He’s got the ability to do that,” Perry said. “We looked at teams and their third point guards and went through that list of names. Hey, Will Bynum can play with that group. There’s no question in my mind.”
Walter Sharpe: the Razor Sharpe
Editor’s note: Pistons.com today starts an eight-part series on the eight players from the Pistons’ NBA Las Vegas Summer League roster who have NBA futures. This week we’ll do daily stories on the three second-round draft picks, holdover center Cheikh Samb and free agent point guard Will Bynum. Next week we’ll post stories on the three players who figure to be part of the playing rotation – Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo and Amir Johnson. In today’s Part I, we look at Walter Sharpe. Coming Tuesday: Will Bynum.
One by one, the free agent small forwards who might have filled the most obvious hole on the Pistons’ roster – a quality backup behind Tayshaun Prince – signed elsewhere this summer.
James Posey left Boston for New Orleans. James Jones hooked on with Miami after getting squeezed out in Portland. Orlando snatched Mickael Pietrus off the market from Golden State. C.J. Miles signed an offer sheet from Oklahoma City as a restricted free agent. And on it went.
The Pistons weren’t about to pay starter’s money to someone who doesn’t figure to command more than 15 minutes a game – if that.
And it’s not like the Pistons don’t have options. They would bring back Walter Herrmann at the right price. Arron Afflalo showed as a rookie that he’s capable of guarding most small forwards, especially in a league trending smaller. Rip Hamilton has shown eye-opening ability to contain the elite small forwards in the East, everyone from LeBron James to Paul Pierce.
And then there’s the X-factor – Walter Sharpe.
Sharpe, the surprise pick of the Pistons when they traded out of the first round from 29 to 32 and picked up an extra second-rounder from Seattle in the process, comes to Detroit with a shallow body of work. He played only 18 college games over the past three seasons, dogged by academic and behavioral woes that he and the Pistons are fully confident have been remedied by the diagnosis and successful treatment of narcolepsy, a sleep disorder.
But as Sharpe showed in the Las Vegas Summer League, he has a rare skill set – a lanky frame that seems to make him bigger than his 6-foot-9 listed height, a fluid running motion and, most notably, an obvious comfort level handling and passing the ball on the perimeter.
The Pistons aren’t going into training camp expecting Sharpe to emerge as Prince’s backup, but they’re not going to put up barriers to stunt his growth, either. Though Sharpe’s relative inexperience might argue against a quick ascent, it also could suggest that his learning curve will be accelerated once he gets a healthy dose of exposure to the speed of the NBA game.
“I wouldn’t say anything is unrealistic,” Pistons vice president Scott Perry said after watching Sharpe in Las Vegas. “I’m sure if you talk to Walter, he’d say (being Prince’s backup) ‘is going to be me.’ That’s part of the reason he’s a good player. He has that belief. We know he has to grow and mature. If that happens, that’s tremendous. But we are not putting that pressure on him to have to be that from day one.”
Sharpe started all five Summer League games at small forward – in itself a transition, since he’d always been an interior player – and averaged 8.8 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 37 percent.
But it wasn’t in the numbers but the flashes – the ability to take the ball from the wing to the basket in a few long, easy strides; the comfort level in posting up overmatched smaller forwards in the post; the ease with which he strokes the ball from the perimeter to beyond the 3-point line – that makes observers feel Sharpe has an NBA future, whenever it arrives.
“We’re asking Walter to come in and move from being in the post to being a perimeter player and guard the hardest position on the floor,” Pistons coach Michael Curry said in Las Vegas. “It’s an adjustment for him, but he’s a kid that loves to play.”
Sharpe said the biggest adjustment is on the defensive end, expending a level of energy to which he was unaccustomed in chasing small forwards through screens and guarding in a much wider space than when he would check big men.
“It was different,” he said midway through the Summer League. “It took me the first two games. It was mostly fatigue, coming down and playing the three and just moving the whole game. I never had to do that. It’s just a transition. I’m adjusting.”
“At this level, and I know Michael’s told him and we’ve mentioned it to him as well, at that position – not to suggest there are nights off at other positions – but that position, in particular, is a bear,” Perry said. “Most of your teams, you’re dealing with a guy who is a focal point of your offense. Small forwards typically score and they typically run around a lot, receive a lot of screens, use ball screens, make one-on-one moves off the dribble.
“In college, he played primarily inside and could lock into a guy on the post and move in a much smaller area. Now he’s having to defend the whole court. As he gets in NBA-caliber shape, he’ll be able to do that in longer stretches and feel more comfortable doing it.”
The focus on defense and the pace at which he was learning to play affected his offense, Sharpe said, yet the flashes were already becoming more prevalent as Summer League wound down. Sharpe began to show that in individual workouts for NBA teams as the draft drew nearer, once he began focusing his efforts on basketball when his hope of regaining NCAA eligibility began to fade around June 1. In the three weeks between then and his workout for the Pistons – which they stretched to two days to get a better feel for him as both a player and person – Sharpe shed 20 pounds and began outplaying similarly sized players many had pegged for the lottery.
“I feel good about Walter Sharpe,” Perry said. “I felt good when we drafted him and I wasn’t surprised at anything I saw in Las Vegas. He’s a guy who if you look at five minutes of tape, you say, ‘Man, who is this big, skilled, talented guy?’ And then you look at another five minutes and say, ‘He’s got a lot to learn.’ We knew both of those sides when we drafted him. The bigger thing will be just getting through the year and adjusting and learning more about his body and conditioning and how all that is going to get handled and worked through.”
Under Joe Dumars, the Pistons have put a premium on players of strong character and players with a burning desire to win. The Pistons see those traits in Sharpe and were encouraged by the way he took to coaching in Las Vegas.
“The more organized basketball hours he gets, the more he learns about the game – learning to be more efficient – the better he will be,” Perry said. “He has a lot of natural ability, but he will quickly learn that at this level, there are a lot of guys with natural ability. What begins to separate them is the work they put into the game to surpass the next guy.
“Michael has commented a number of times that Walter is like a sponge. He’s going to remember what you tell him. He’s a willing learner. It’s going to be a year of learning, like it is for every rookie, no matter how talented.”
One by one, the free agent small forwards who might have filled the most obvious hole on the Pistons’ roster – a quality backup behind Tayshaun Prince – signed elsewhere this summer.
James Posey left Boston for New Orleans. James Jones hooked on with Miami after getting squeezed out in Portland. Orlando snatched Mickael Pietrus off the market from Golden State. C.J. Miles signed an offer sheet from Oklahoma City as a restricted free agent. And on it went.
The Pistons weren’t about to pay starter’s money to someone who doesn’t figure to command more than 15 minutes a game – if that.
And it’s not like the Pistons don’t have options. They would bring back Walter Herrmann at the right price. Arron Afflalo showed as a rookie that he’s capable of guarding most small forwards, especially in a league trending smaller. Rip Hamilton has shown eye-opening ability to contain the elite small forwards in the East, everyone from LeBron James to Paul Pierce.
And then there’s the X-factor – Walter Sharpe.
Sharpe, the surprise pick of the Pistons when they traded out of the first round from 29 to 32 and picked up an extra second-rounder from Seattle in the process, comes to Detroit with a shallow body of work. He played only 18 college games over the past three seasons, dogged by academic and behavioral woes that he and the Pistons are fully confident have been remedied by the diagnosis and successful treatment of narcolepsy, a sleep disorder.
But as Sharpe showed in the Las Vegas Summer League, he has a rare skill set – a lanky frame that seems to make him bigger than his 6-foot-9 listed height, a fluid running motion and, most notably, an obvious comfort level handling and passing the ball on the perimeter.
The Pistons aren’t going into training camp expecting Sharpe to emerge as Prince’s backup, but they’re not going to put up barriers to stunt his growth, either. Though Sharpe’s relative inexperience might argue against a quick ascent, it also could suggest that his learning curve will be accelerated once he gets a healthy dose of exposure to the speed of the NBA game.
“I wouldn’t say anything is unrealistic,” Pistons vice president Scott Perry said after watching Sharpe in Las Vegas. “I’m sure if you talk to Walter, he’d say (being Prince’s backup) ‘is going to be me.’ That’s part of the reason he’s a good player. He has that belief. We know he has to grow and mature. If that happens, that’s tremendous. But we are not putting that pressure on him to have to be that from day one.”
Sharpe started all five Summer League games at small forward – in itself a transition, since he’d always been an interior player – and averaged 8.8 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 37 percent.
But it wasn’t in the numbers but the flashes – the ability to take the ball from the wing to the basket in a few long, easy strides; the comfort level in posting up overmatched smaller forwards in the post; the ease with which he strokes the ball from the perimeter to beyond the 3-point line – that makes observers feel Sharpe has an NBA future, whenever it arrives.
“We’re asking Walter to come in and move from being in the post to being a perimeter player and guard the hardest position on the floor,” Pistons coach Michael Curry said in Las Vegas. “It’s an adjustment for him, but he’s a kid that loves to play.”
Sharpe said the biggest adjustment is on the defensive end, expending a level of energy to which he was unaccustomed in chasing small forwards through screens and guarding in a much wider space than when he would check big men.
“It was different,” he said midway through the Summer League. “It took me the first two games. It was mostly fatigue, coming down and playing the three and just moving the whole game. I never had to do that. It’s just a transition. I’m adjusting.”
“At this level, and I know Michael’s told him and we’ve mentioned it to him as well, at that position – not to suggest there are nights off at other positions – but that position, in particular, is a bear,” Perry said. “Most of your teams, you’re dealing with a guy who is a focal point of your offense. Small forwards typically score and they typically run around a lot, receive a lot of screens, use ball screens, make one-on-one moves off the dribble.
“In college, he played primarily inside and could lock into a guy on the post and move in a much smaller area. Now he’s having to defend the whole court. As he gets in NBA-caliber shape, he’ll be able to do that in longer stretches and feel more comfortable doing it.”
The focus on defense and the pace at which he was learning to play affected his offense, Sharpe said, yet the flashes were already becoming more prevalent as Summer League wound down. Sharpe began to show that in individual workouts for NBA teams as the draft drew nearer, once he began focusing his efforts on basketball when his hope of regaining NCAA eligibility began to fade around June 1. In the three weeks between then and his workout for the Pistons – which they stretched to two days to get a better feel for him as both a player and person – Sharpe shed 20 pounds and began outplaying similarly sized players many had pegged for the lottery.
“I feel good about Walter Sharpe,” Perry said. “I felt good when we drafted him and I wasn’t surprised at anything I saw in Las Vegas. He’s a guy who if you look at five minutes of tape, you say, ‘Man, who is this big, skilled, talented guy?’ And then you look at another five minutes and say, ‘He’s got a lot to learn.’ We knew both of those sides when we drafted him. The bigger thing will be just getting through the year and adjusting and learning more about his body and conditioning and how all that is going to get handled and worked through.”
Under Joe Dumars, the Pistons have put a premium on players of strong character and players with a burning desire to win. The Pistons see those traits in Sharpe and were encouraged by the way he took to coaching in Las Vegas.
“The more organized basketball hours he gets, the more he learns about the game – learning to be more efficient – the better he will be,” Perry said. “He has a lot of natural ability, but he will quickly learn that at this level, there are a lot of guys with natural ability. What begins to separate them is the work they put into the game to surpass the next guy.
“Michael has commented a number of times that Walter is like a sponge. He’s going to remember what you tell him. He’s a willing learner. It’s going to be a year of learning, like it is for every rookie, no matter how talented.”
Deron Washington The Future Asset
Editor’s note: Pistons.com continues an eight-part series on the eight players from the Pistons’ NBA Las Vegas Summer League roster who have NBA futures. This week we’ll do daily stories on the three second-round draft picks, holdover center Cheikh Samb and free agent point guard Will Bynum. Next week we’ll post stories on the three players who figure to be part of the playing rotation – Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo and Amir Johnson. In today’s Part IV, we look at Deron Washington. Coming Friday: Cheikh Samb.
The Pistons drafted Deron Washington at No. 59 with the future in mind – both his and theirs.
Washington will spend at least a season in Europe honing his skills, but at some point the Pistons think they’ll have a first-class perimeter defender plus a player whose athleticism meshes nicely with the NBA’s increased emphasis on playing the game over all 94 feet.
“There’s no question he will be able to defend guys at the two and three positions,” Pistons vice president Scott Perry said after Washington’s stint in the Las Vegas Summer League affirmed the team’s predraft evaluation of him. “With his length, he’s got the athletic ability and he’s got the mind-set to do it. He’s good in the open court. He can slash to the rim and make plays at the rim and with the way the game is going you need some guys on your team like that. I think he’s got a good upside and good future ahead of him.”
Washington comes by his athleticism honestly. His father, Lionel, played 15 years as a defensive back in the NFL and is currently a secondary coach for the Green Bay Packers. His mother, Denise, played college basketball at Xavier University in New Orleans.
Washington went to Virginia Tech out of high school in New Orleans – his mother, a schoolteacher, lost her home to Hurricane Katrina – and started 125 of the 128 games he played over four years for the Hokies, averaging 13.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists a game as a senior. He also became something of a You Tube legend for his feistiness – see the play in which a frustrated Washington, late in a tough loss to Duke, gives Lee Melchionni a little something extra – and his highlight-reel dunks.
“He’s not short on any toughness,” Perry said. “He will compete and he will fight, which is an important quality for us. But he’s very coachable and I think a guy who will make the most of whatever opportunity he gets. I was pleased with how he played in the Summer League.”
Washington averaged 6.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in 22 minutes a game while swinging between small forward and shooting guard behind both Walter Sharpe and Arron Afflalo. Though his outside shot is not yet a strength, Washington did shot .545 in Las Vegas, knocked down his only 3-point attempt and showed a nice stroke that suggests he could become an asset from the perimeter. Right now the best part of Washington’s offense comes as a finisher in transition and as the receiver of lob passes where he can use his quickness and leaping ability to go over the top of a defense. Even without having developed any chemistry with point guards Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum, Washington threw down a few lob dunks that brought the Las Vegas crowd to its feet.
“He’s a tremendous athlete who we thought could defend on the wing and he illustrated both of those things in the Summer League,” Perry said. “He’ll continue to develop his perimeter shot. He has a good form that he can develop and become a pretty good shooter. Going overseas and having the time to do that – the time and the focus to do that – will help. I like him down the road.”
The Pistons have been working with Washington’s agent and using their network of European contacts to secure the best situation possible for him and hope to land him with a team in either Italy or Spain soon. Before Washington has to leave for abroad, they hope can take part in some or all of the three weeks of voluntary workouts Michael Curry has scheduled in Auburn Hills for August.
“We sit down (with his European coaches) and say these are the things we think he needs to develop so in time he can come back – that’s the idea,” Perry said. “And it’s important that he has coaches who have shown the willingness and the ability to develop guys. It’s also important that he has the opportunity to play. It makes no sense if he’s not going to get minutes on the floor. That will be an integral part of where he’s going as will the living situation. You want him to have the opportunity to be in a place where he’ll enjoy living a little bit because that will be a part of the adjustment.”
The Pistons drafted Deron Washington at No. 59 with the future in mind – both his and theirs.
Washington will spend at least a season in Europe honing his skills, but at some point the Pistons think they’ll have a first-class perimeter defender plus a player whose athleticism meshes nicely with the NBA’s increased emphasis on playing the game over all 94 feet.
“There’s no question he will be able to defend guys at the two and three positions,” Pistons vice president Scott Perry said after Washington’s stint in the Las Vegas Summer League affirmed the team’s predraft evaluation of him. “With his length, he’s got the athletic ability and he’s got the mind-set to do it. He’s good in the open court. He can slash to the rim and make plays at the rim and with the way the game is going you need some guys on your team like that. I think he’s got a good upside and good future ahead of him.”
Washington comes by his athleticism honestly. His father, Lionel, played 15 years as a defensive back in the NFL and is currently a secondary coach for the Green Bay Packers. His mother, Denise, played college basketball at Xavier University in New Orleans.
Washington went to Virginia Tech out of high school in New Orleans – his mother, a schoolteacher, lost her home to Hurricane Katrina – and started 125 of the 128 games he played over four years for the Hokies, averaging 13.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists a game as a senior. He also became something of a You Tube legend for his feistiness – see the play in which a frustrated Washington, late in a tough loss to Duke, gives Lee Melchionni a little something extra – and his highlight-reel dunks.
“He’s not short on any toughness,” Perry said. “He will compete and he will fight, which is an important quality for us. But he’s very coachable and I think a guy who will make the most of whatever opportunity he gets. I was pleased with how he played in the Summer League.”
Washington averaged 6.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in 22 minutes a game while swinging between small forward and shooting guard behind both Walter Sharpe and Arron Afflalo. Though his outside shot is not yet a strength, Washington did shot .545 in Las Vegas, knocked down his only 3-point attempt and showed a nice stroke that suggests he could become an asset from the perimeter. Right now the best part of Washington’s offense comes as a finisher in transition and as the receiver of lob passes where he can use his quickness and leaping ability to go over the top of a defense. Even without having developed any chemistry with point guards Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum, Washington threw down a few lob dunks that brought the Las Vegas crowd to its feet.
“He’s a tremendous athlete who we thought could defend on the wing and he illustrated both of those things in the Summer League,” Perry said. “He’ll continue to develop his perimeter shot. He has a good form that he can develop and become a pretty good shooter. Going overseas and having the time to do that – the time and the focus to do that – will help. I like him down the road.”
The Pistons have been working with Washington’s agent and using their network of European contacts to secure the best situation possible for him and hope to land him with a team in either Italy or Spain soon. Before Washington has to leave for abroad, they hope can take part in some or all of the three weeks of voluntary workouts Michael Curry has scheduled in Auburn Hills for August.
“We sit down (with his European coaches) and say these are the things we think he needs to develop so in time he can come back – that’s the idea,” Perry said. “And it’s important that he has coaches who have shown the willingness and the ability to develop guys. It’s also important that he has the opportunity to play. It makes no sense if he’s not going to get minutes on the floor. That will be an integral part of where he’s going as will the living situation. You want him to have the opportunity to be in a place where he’ll enjoy living a little bit because that will be a part of the adjustment.”
Cheikh Samb: Ahead of Schedule
Ahead of Schedule
by Keith Langlois
Editor’s note: Pistons.com continues an eight-part series on the eight players from the Pistons’ NBA Las Vegas Summer League roster who have NBA futures. This week we’ve posted daily stories on the three second-round draft picks, holdover center Cheikh Samb and free agent point guard Will Bynum. Next week we’ll post profiles on the three players who figure to be part of the playing rotation – Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo and Amir Johnson. In today’s Part V, we look at Cheikh Samb. Coming Monday: Arron Afflalo.
The Pistons have seen enough from Cheikh Samb to know he has a long NBA career ahead of him if he so chooses. What they don’t know yet is just how great his impact on the game will be.
As a big man with an uncanny shooting touch and an enormous wing span that makes him a shot-blocking force, Samb has a skill set unique enough among to ensure he’ll always find a place on an NBA roster. And because he’s only been playing basketball for about five years, he’s still learning the nuances of the five-on-five game.
How far Samb can go will depend on a number of other factors. Can he continue to develop physically to become strong enough to battle thicker and stronger players? Will he develop enough of a back-to-the-basket game to complement his ability to step outside and knock down 18-footers? Can his love of the game and his thirst for knowledge overcome all the years of experience he missed as a youngster in Senegal more interested in soccer until his younger brother, Mamadou, began playing basketball and others urged the gangly Cheikh to give it a try?
“Cheikh brings a different component to the game,” Pistons coach Michael Curry said in Las Vegas, where Samb averaged 10 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots a game in the Summer League. “He can really shoot the basketball and defensively he can change the game around the basket for us. We definitely have to continue to develop him and get him out on the court. We’re going to find minutes for him (during the regular season) in certain situations.
Samb appeared in four games for the Pistons last season, two in November when Antonio McDyess was sidelined by a shoulder injury and two late in the season when Flip Saunders began resting his starters for the playoffs. Samb was particularly impressive in a November game in Los Angeles when he blocked two shots, altered another handful, and grabbed four rebounds in 15 minutes against the Lakers, knocking down a baseline jumper, as well.
The 7-foot-1 Samb also had two stints with Fort Wayne of the NBA Development League, setting a league record with 10 blocked shots in a triple-double performance. He broke his jaw and had two teeth dislodged in his second D-League game, impressing the Pistons by not shying away from contact upon his return. And while many big men are pushed into the game because of their size but never really embrace it, Samb has amazed the Pistons with his work ethic and his openness to coaching.
“He has come in and worked hard,” said Darrell Walker, brought in by Curry as an assistant coach. “I didn’t know he was that long – very, very long. Any big man that can shoot the ball in this league has a chance to stick around and get some minutes. And with this team, Michael wanting to play his bench a lot more, he has a chance to get some minutes and he can make some shots.”
“The kid can shoot,” Rodney Stuckey said. “He’s going to be a big part of our team during the season, too. He can get in the lane and block shots and he’s coming along really well. I think he’s ahead of schedule.”
When the Pistons traded Maurice Evans to the Lakers on draft night 2006, their original blueprint called for Samb to spend two more seasons playing professionally in Spain. But when Samb showed up considerably stronger for Summer League 2007, they decided to bring him to the NBA a year ahead of time. Now they might be rethinking their original plan to give Samb a second year of D-League seasoning.
“Depending on how everything goes in camp, if he’s getting some regular time on the floor, then obviously there’s no need to send him to the D-League,” Perry said. “But if he’s not playing as many minutes and he’s inactive, the value of him getting more game experience is always an option and a possibility.”
That’s the most critical piece to hastening Samb’s development – more live, full-court basketball. All the work Samb has put into the weight room and shooting and taking individual instruction from assistant coaches, especially Dave Cowens, is also important, but there’s no substitute for basketball as played under game situations.
“The big thing for Cheikh is just getting more playing time,” Perry said. “The only thing that’s going to take care of that is continue to practice five on five, get game opportunities. He’s got to play more basketball and only time is going to cure that. You just have to wait and see when he gets here in the fall how far he’s come along. I can see the improvement in his body. You’re talking about a young guy who hasn’t played basketball for a very long time.”
Samb was listed at 195 when the Pistons traded for him, but he began seriously attacking the weights when he suffered an ankle injury during his last season in Spain. He’s somewhere in the 235 to 240 range, now, with a noticeably bigger upper body.
“For any basketball player, core strength is important – abs, back, upper legs, the middle part of the body,” Perry said. “I think his legs have gotten a little bigger, too. He just has to continue to get stronger in that base, because he’s playing against some big, strong men. He’s a taller, leaner body. As he gets stronger, the more he plays, he’ll learn how to establish better leverage and position and use the strength he does have to get places on the floor. That’s going to come, again, with just playing more basketball.”
by Keith Langlois
Editor’s note: Pistons.com continues an eight-part series on the eight players from the Pistons’ NBA Las Vegas Summer League roster who have NBA futures. This week we’ve posted daily stories on the three second-round draft picks, holdover center Cheikh Samb and free agent point guard Will Bynum. Next week we’ll post profiles on the three players who figure to be part of the playing rotation – Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo and Amir Johnson. In today’s Part V, we look at Cheikh Samb. Coming Monday: Arron Afflalo.
The Pistons have seen enough from Cheikh Samb to know he has a long NBA career ahead of him if he so chooses. What they don’t know yet is just how great his impact on the game will be.
As a big man with an uncanny shooting touch and an enormous wing span that makes him a shot-blocking force, Samb has a skill set unique enough among to ensure he’ll always find a place on an NBA roster. And because he’s only been playing basketball for about five years, he’s still learning the nuances of the five-on-five game.
How far Samb can go will depend on a number of other factors. Can he continue to develop physically to become strong enough to battle thicker and stronger players? Will he develop enough of a back-to-the-basket game to complement his ability to step outside and knock down 18-footers? Can his love of the game and his thirst for knowledge overcome all the years of experience he missed as a youngster in Senegal more interested in soccer until his younger brother, Mamadou, began playing basketball and others urged the gangly Cheikh to give it a try?
“Cheikh brings a different component to the game,” Pistons coach Michael Curry said in Las Vegas, where Samb averaged 10 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots a game in the Summer League. “He can really shoot the basketball and defensively he can change the game around the basket for us. We definitely have to continue to develop him and get him out on the court. We’re going to find minutes for him (during the regular season) in certain situations.
Samb appeared in four games for the Pistons last season, two in November when Antonio McDyess was sidelined by a shoulder injury and two late in the season when Flip Saunders began resting his starters for the playoffs. Samb was particularly impressive in a November game in Los Angeles when he blocked two shots, altered another handful, and grabbed four rebounds in 15 minutes against the Lakers, knocking down a baseline jumper, as well.
The 7-foot-1 Samb also had two stints with Fort Wayne of the NBA Development League, setting a league record with 10 blocked shots in a triple-double performance. He broke his jaw and had two teeth dislodged in his second D-League game, impressing the Pistons by not shying away from contact upon his return. And while many big men are pushed into the game because of their size but never really embrace it, Samb has amazed the Pistons with his work ethic and his openness to coaching.
“He has come in and worked hard,” said Darrell Walker, brought in by Curry as an assistant coach. “I didn’t know he was that long – very, very long. Any big man that can shoot the ball in this league has a chance to stick around and get some minutes. And with this team, Michael wanting to play his bench a lot more, he has a chance to get some minutes and he can make some shots.”
“The kid can shoot,” Rodney Stuckey said. “He’s going to be a big part of our team during the season, too. He can get in the lane and block shots and he’s coming along really well. I think he’s ahead of schedule.”
When the Pistons traded Maurice Evans to the Lakers on draft night 2006, their original blueprint called for Samb to spend two more seasons playing professionally in Spain. But when Samb showed up considerably stronger for Summer League 2007, they decided to bring him to the NBA a year ahead of time. Now they might be rethinking their original plan to give Samb a second year of D-League seasoning.
“Depending on how everything goes in camp, if he’s getting some regular time on the floor, then obviously there’s no need to send him to the D-League,” Perry said. “But if he’s not playing as many minutes and he’s inactive, the value of him getting more game experience is always an option and a possibility.”
That’s the most critical piece to hastening Samb’s development – more live, full-court basketball. All the work Samb has put into the weight room and shooting and taking individual instruction from assistant coaches, especially Dave Cowens, is also important, but there’s no substitute for basketball as played under game situations.
“The big thing for Cheikh is just getting more playing time,” Perry said. “The only thing that’s going to take care of that is continue to practice five on five, get game opportunities. He’s got to play more basketball and only time is going to cure that. You just have to wait and see when he gets here in the fall how far he’s come along. I can see the improvement in his body. You’re talking about a young guy who hasn’t played basketball for a very long time.”
Samb was listed at 195 when the Pistons traded for him, but he began seriously attacking the weights when he suffered an ankle injury during his last season in Spain. He’s somewhere in the 235 to 240 range, now, with a noticeably bigger upper body.
“For any basketball player, core strength is important – abs, back, upper legs, the middle part of the body,” Perry said. “I think his legs have gotten a little bigger, too. He just has to continue to get stronger in that base, because he’s playing against some big, strong men. He’s a taller, leaner body. As he gets stronger, the more he plays, he’ll learn how to establish better leverage and position and use the strength he does have to get places on the floor. That’s going to come, again, with just playing more basketball.”
Afflalo and Stuckey Extends the contract as a Piston
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the team exercised its team option on the contracts of guards Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo. Both contracts are now extended through the 2009-10 NBA season.
“We are pleased to have both Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo signed through the 2009-10 season,” said Dumars. “Both players will continue to grow and mature within our system and we look forward to the contributions they will bring this season and beyond.”
Stuckey, 22, appeared in 57 games (two starts) last season, averaging 7.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 19.0 minutes per game. In two starts (Pistons 2-0 in those games) he averaged 18.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 28.5 minutes per game. Stuckey saw action in 17 playoff games (2 starts), averaging 8.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 22.4 minutes per game. Filling in for an injured Chauncey Billups, he averaged 10.5 points and 4.5 assists in two playoff games as a starter, recording playoff career-highs in points (19) and minutes (34) at Orlando (5/7) in the second round. He missed the first 25 games of the season after suffering a broken left hand in the club’s final preseason game vs. Washington (10/24).
Afflalo, 22, appeared in 75 games (nine starts) last season, averaging 3.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 12.9 minutes per game…In nine starts (Pistons 6-3 in those games) he averaged 7.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 21.1 minutes per game. Afflalo became the first Pistons rookie since Grant Hill (1994-95) to start a season opener at Miami (11/1) when he played in place of Richard Hamilton who missed the game tending to the birth of his son. He scored 10-plus points seven times and led the team in scoring twice during the year. He also recorded a career-high 15 points twice [at Miami (3/27) and at Cleveland (4/16)], grabbed a career-high eight rebounds and dished out a career-high four assists at Cleveland (4/16).
“We are pleased to have both Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo signed through the 2009-10 season,” said Dumars. “Both players will continue to grow and mature within our system and we look forward to the contributions they will bring this season and beyond.”
Stuckey, 22, appeared in 57 games (two starts) last season, averaging 7.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 19.0 minutes per game. In two starts (Pistons 2-0 in those games) he averaged 18.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 28.5 minutes per game. Stuckey saw action in 17 playoff games (2 starts), averaging 8.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 22.4 minutes per game. Filling in for an injured Chauncey Billups, he averaged 10.5 points and 4.5 assists in two playoff games as a starter, recording playoff career-highs in points (19) and minutes (34) at Orlando (5/7) in the second round. He missed the first 25 games of the season after suffering a broken left hand in the club’s final preseason game vs. Washington (10/24).
Afflalo, 22, appeared in 75 games (nine starts) last season, averaging 3.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 12.9 minutes per game…In nine starts (Pistons 6-3 in those games) he averaged 7.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 21.1 minutes per game. Afflalo became the first Pistons rookie since Grant Hill (1994-95) to start a season opener at Miami (11/1) when he played in place of Richard Hamilton who missed the game tending to the birth of his son. He scored 10-plus points seven times and led the team in scoring twice during the year. He also recorded a career-high 15 points twice [at Miami (3/27) and at Cleveland (4/16)], grabbed a career-high eight rebounds and dished out a career-high four assists at Cleveland (4/16).
Kwame Brown: Welcome to the Motown Pistons
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Given the legal morass swirling around Detroit’s mayoral Manoogian Mansion, it wouldn’t appear a great time to be Kwame in Detroit. But with apologies to Kwame Kilpatrick, Kwame Brown thinks it’s a great time to be a Detroit Piston.
With his career at something of a crossroads, the No. 1 pick in the 2001 draft has chosen a path that has established aimless careers or restored damaged ones for so many before him – Ben Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Rip Hamilton, Antonio McDyess, et al.
“I’m happy to be back (in the Eastern Conference),” Brown said in a Tuesday morning conference call. “I feel like I can use my size, my defensive presence and my strength to my advantage a little better over here. And I’m just very excited about how they’ve embraced me – the coaching staff, my teammates. It just seems like a first-class organization.”
Though Brown, who spent the past three years with the Los Angeles Lakers before being traded to Memphis as part of the Pau Gasol trade in February, is a seven-year veteran, he’s still only 26. That makes him less than a year older than Jason Maxiell, a player the Pistons feel still has plenty of growth potential. As Brown evaluated his free-agent options – he says he considered a few other teams, but wouldn’t divulge which ones – he saw Joe Dumars’ Pistons as the one with the greatest capacity to help him unleash his potential.
“I can’t speak for Mr. Dumars, but I definitely hope he sees in me what a lot of people don’t see,” he said. “A lot of people don’t take pride in their defense and don’t tip their hat to guys that go out and stick their nose in there and play hard on defense. I think I’ve been one of the underrated defensive players in the league. I think on this team I’ll have a chance to shine and that’s exactly what this team needs. Every team doesn’t need a big guy that plays defense and runs the court, but this team happens to have that gap in the size they need.”
The Pistons’ depth chart at the two interior positions includes incumbent starters Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess backed by fourth-year forwards Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson. So even if other teams weren’t quite as deep up front, Brown’s hope is that his great size – at 6-foot-11, 270 pounds, he becomes the closest thing the Pistons have to a true power player able to defend opposing centers – will carve out a niche for him.
“I’m just happy to be a Detroit Piston,” he said. “I think a lot of things will be answered once we start playing. I’m not concerned about playing time, not concerned if I start. That’s the coaches’ job. I just have to get myself the best prepared as I can.”
That’s a process that will start next week for Brown when he anticipates coming to Auburn Hills to huddle with strength coach Arnie Kander and spend a few weeks absorbing the culture of his new team.
That will be his chance to make a positive first impression in what sets up as a critical season for Brown, who signed what has been widely reported as a two-year contract worth $8 million with the second year at his option. That means that if Brown muscles his way into the rotation and becomes a mainstay for a winning team, he could strike it rich in free agency next summer.
He’s banking on the winning environment here and the career reclamations that have occurred for others to rehabilitate his tarnished reputation.
“Those are the things that will work themselves out,” he said. “It’s a long season. My thing is this is a team that is definitely a contender. They’ve been to the Eastern Conference finals and the playoffs every year and that’s what I wanted to surround myself around. I wanted to go to a team that’s already established. It’s about coming out and playing hard and playing smart. Being around guys like Rasheed and Chauncey and Tayshaun and Rip Hamilton can definitely help elevate me to the next level.”
Brown has lived with the tag of being a disappointment since his rookie season when Michael Jordan made him Washington’s No. 1 pick as a high school kid who didn’t start getting national attention until his senior year, when he’d signed a letter of intent to attend Florida. His best season came in his third year, 2003-04, when he averaged 10.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 30 minutes a game for the 25-57 Wizards. After an injury-played 2004-05 season that limited him to 42 games, Brown was shipped to Washington in the deal for Caron Butler.
“I can sit here and spill out all kinds of stuff, injuries or what have you,” Brown said for the reasons his career has stalled. “But I’m not going to do that. The past is the past. I’m not going to disrespect my new organization by saying anything that sounds like an excuse. This is a first for me – I was able to pick and choose from a couple of different teams. This is where I wanted to go and this is where I decided to be and this is my home now.”
Physically, the Pistons are getting Brown at that point in his career when he should be at or nearing his peak. Mentally, Brown says, they’re getting a player who’s been prodded and tested at every turn.
“I’ve heard it all. I’ve been through it all. I’m only 26, but I’ve been through things the average man couldn’t imagine. Your shortcomings play out in the media and get blown up tenfold, but whatever you can say negative about Kwame Brown, everybody who’s met me hasn’t had that opinion. Those people don’t know me. Those people haven’t sat down and broken bread with me.
“I’m in the best situation ever. I’m in a situation now where no one is expecting nothing. I came into the league the No. 1 draft pick. Now I’m on the different end of the spectrum.”
The Pistons are hoping it’s the best time for Kwame in Detroit.
With his career at something of a crossroads, the No. 1 pick in the 2001 draft has chosen a path that has established aimless careers or restored damaged ones for so many before him – Ben Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Rip Hamilton, Antonio McDyess, et al.
“I’m happy to be back (in the Eastern Conference),” Brown said in a Tuesday morning conference call. “I feel like I can use my size, my defensive presence and my strength to my advantage a little better over here. And I’m just very excited about how they’ve embraced me – the coaching staff, my teammates. It just seems like a first-class organization.”
Though Brown, who spent the past three years with the Los Angeles Lakers before being traded to Memphis as part of the Pau Gasol trade in February, is a seven-year veteran, he’s still only 26. That makes him less than a year older than Jason Maxiell, a player the Pistons feel still has plenty of growth potential. As Brown evaluated his free-agent options – he says he considered a few other teams, but wouldn’t divulge which ones – he saw Joe Dumars’ Pistons as the one with the greatest capacity to help him unleash his potential.
“I can’t speak for Mr. Dumars, but I definitely hope he sees in me what a lot of people don’t see,” he said. “A lot of people don’t take pride in their defense and don’t tip their hat to guys that go out and stick their nose in there and play hard on defense. I think I’ve been one of the underrated defensive players in the league. I think on this team I’ll have a chance to shine and that’s exactly what this team needs. Every team doesn’t need a big guy that plays defense and runs the court, but this team happens to have that gap in the size they need.”
The Pistons’ depth chart at the two interior positions includes incumbent starters Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess backed by fourth-year forwards Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson. So even if other teams weren’t quite as deep up front, Brown’s hope is that his great size – at 6-foot-11, 270 pounds, he becomes the closest thing the Pistons have to a true power player able to defend opposing centers – will carve out a niche for him.
“I’m just happy to be a Detroit Piston,” he said. “I think a lot of things will be answered once we start playing. I’m not concerned about playing time, not concerned if I start. That’s the coaches’ job. I just have to get myself the best prepared as I can.”
That’s a process that will start next week for Brown when he anticipates coming to Auburn Hills to huddle with strength coach Arnie Kander and spend a few weeks absorbing the culture of his new team.
That will be his chance to make a positive first impression in what sets up as a critical season for Brown, who signed what has been widely reported as a two-year contract worth $8 million with the second year at his option. That means that if Brown muscles his way into the rotation and becomes a mainstay for a winning team, he could strike it rich in free agency next summer.
He’s banking on the winning environment here and the career reclamations that have occurred for others to rehabilitate his tarnished reputation.
“Those are the things that will work themselves out,” he said. “It’s a long season. My thing is this is a team that is definitely a contender. They’ve been to the Eastern Conference finals and the playoffs every year and that’s what I wanted to surround myself around. I wanted to go to a team that’s already established. It’s about coming out and playing hard and playing smart. Being around guys like Rasheed and Chauncey and Tayshaun and Rip Hamilton can definitely help elevate me to the next level.”
Brown has lived with the tag of being a disappointment since his rookie season when Michael Jordan made him Washington’s No. 1 pick as a high school kid who didn’t start getting national attention until his senior year, when he’d signed a letter of intent to attend Florida. His best season came in his third year, 2003-04, when he averaged 10.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 30 minutes a game for the 25-57 Wizards. After an injury-played 2004-05 season that limited him to 42 games, Brown was shipped to Washington in the deal for Caron Butler.
“I can sit here and spill out all kinds of stuff, injuries or what have you,” Brown said for the reasons his career has stalled. “But I’m not going to do that. The past is the past. I’m not going to disrespect my new organization by saying anything that sounds like an excuse. This is a first for me – I was able to pick and choose from a couple of different teams. This is where I wanted to go and this is where I decided to be and this is my home now.”
Physically, the Pistons are getting Brown at that point in his career when he should be at or nearing his peak. Mentally, Brown says, they’re getting a player who’s been prodded and tested at every turn.
“I’ve heard it all. I’ve been through it all. I’m only 26, but I’ve been through things the average man couldn’t imagine. Your shortcomings play out in the media and get blown up tenfold, but whatever you can say negative about Kwame Brown, everybody who’s met me hasn’t had that opinion. Those people don’t know me. Those people haven’t sat down and broken bread with me.
“I’m in the best situation ever. I’m in a situation now where no one is expecting nothing. I came into the league the No. 1 draft pick. Now I’m on the different end of the spectrum.”
The Pistons are hoping it’s the best time for Kwame in Detroit.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Baracael got mafiad. who knows?
Cops face blank wall over FEU player's shooting
from gmanews.tv
you see thats why i hate game fixes and deals.
it can cause death.
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