How the Detroit Pistons are WINNING the NBA Offseason!

How the Detroit Pistons are WINNING the NBA Offseason!

Uh, and you know what? We got to talk a little bit of this NBA because the Detroit Pistons, they were rumored all weekend to one be bringing back Shruder, then be signing and trading him, then just letting him walk. No, then getting a trade exception. No, then back on to sign and trade. Nobody knows what’s going on. This is a saga that has tweets, deleted tweets, like people having to retract official reports. I do believe this. Trejan Landon is moving to the beat of his own drum. That’s what I believe is going on right now. I think he’s like, “No, I’m not just taking what you want.” And you hear things leaked because there are agents and there are other people involved and such. It’s like being this close to it now, you start to understand how this stuff gets out there and why it gets out there, too. And there are certain people who think that maybe we can force certain hands and maybe we can get the fans to be in support of something of that nature. But with Tre Landon, I’ve seen a guy who he just seems like he knows what he wants to do. He understands what the core of this team is. He understands what it means to have K. Cunningham and these young players with the right shooters around them and I’m glad that he’s not just saying you know what yeah push button I’m just going to take Malik Monk when you look at the contract even though he’s a decent player you’re looking at a guy over the next three years who is 19 20$22 million a year that is that’s something that you have to really think about when you’re talking about we’re paying what Jaylen Duran and Jayen Ivy and Marcus Sasser and then Osar Thompson got a lot of young guys who you believe can contribute and that’s why I keep saying I told y’all be at the beginning of this thing I do believe that next year is the year The Detroit Pistons are going to get a lot more busy. This year is a nip and tuck because you got to know what you have and at least where it differs from before when they said two, three years ago, we need to know what we have. This time it’s these guys leading the charge rather than leading you to the bottom of the East. And so with the Pistons kind of falling out of this thing for right now, I am actually more comfortable with that than not because you have a large portion of what this team was. But I do believe with the East so seemingly wide open and you see some of these other dysfunctional teams making moves, it would have been nice to see the Pistons have done something. But I’m glad they’re not just doing something for the sake of doing something. Yeah. And if if I’m being honest about one thing, I think a lot of fans are a little bit too bullish on Malik Monk specifically for for me. And I and I’m not saying that he’s not a good player. I’m not saying that he can’t be a spark plug and he’s had really good scoring numbers on a per minute basis. He’s improved his onball game as a distributor as well, but he’s one of those guys that can get really hot and he’s had some seasons where he’s been a good catch-and three-point shooter. But at the end of the day, a lot of what you think he is is based off of the fact that a he has a really pretty shooting form, that’s for sure. and B his hot streaks. He’s actually a pretty average to below average three-point shooter for the most of his career. And I’m not saying that’s a deal breaker, but to me, Malik Malik Monk and Caris Levert are more similar than different. At least to me, from what I have seen and from what I have gathered, I know a lot of people are going to disagree, but and I’m not saying if it’s if the Pistons get Malik Monk, I’ll be pounding the table like, “No, how could you do that?” I know they’ll find a place for him, but I see a lot of almost like get Malik Monk at all cost. It would be what puts you over the top. And I’m like, I’m not so sure. Put you over the top for what? I’m not so sure. That’s what I’m saying. They’re not necessarily championship level just yet. But in terms of being able to put yourself in a better position to take advantage of the East, does Malik Monk do that? I don’t quite know. I think that you need a front court player at this point in time. I believe that where they are, you got your guards. You you you have them. Even with Jay Ivy coming back from injury, you’re comfortable with what you have in the guard and and somewhat the wing position because you’re expecting top five picks to take that next leap. When we got Jay Navy, we were talking about co-star running mate. When we got Osar Thompson, everybody said alien. We know where these guys are going. Why are they going to get there? You know, because these guys are getting to their second contract. Now, to put this in perspective, K Cunningham, who we knew was going to be unquestionably one of the best players from that draft and one of the best players the Pistons have taken ever. This guy literally stepped into AllNBA in allstar on his rookie contract. I don’t know the last time we had a player do that. Do we have to go back to Grant Hill? Yes. Like, yeah, that’s what I’m saying. Like, it’s a long time, but it would have been nice to know one of these other players can at least start to make that ascent. I’m glad that we saw a lot out of players like Assar and Jade Ivy to start the season, you know, but it this is a situation to where because I see David TZ, he said, “We’re not making we’re not going to make huge moves.” Why? Because it would require us to gut the roster in a sense. It’s not that they don’t want to gut the roster. It’s that what do you gut? I believe that they’re more apt at the trade deadline to do something because you’re more understanding of what your needs are. You’re more understanding of the trends where the players are going. And then guess what? Even if you wanted to trade a guy like Jay Na’vi, is the league telling you, “Well, he’s damaged goods even though you know that he’s worth more than that.” So now you’re in a position to where if you believe in this young core, you get the opportunity to play up the value of this team. You get the ability to play up their value. I’ve always said this, you want them to be valuable to you both in a trade as well as to you if you choose to keep them on your team. That’s what you want. There’s some guys out there and you’re looking at players getting tossed and traded for like whatever guys that we probably once wanted in some of these prior drafts and it’s because these teams have not they have not cared about protecting the value of these players or building it back up before they become RFAS. So, it’s like yeah, you know, I’m I’m looking forward to what the Pistons are going to do here because I think that Trajan is moving smart even though it’s not necessarily as aggressive as some fans probably would have wanted it. Well, and on to piggyback off of that and KG, I know it’s your first day back and and you probably need to get your Woodward legs back under under you, so I don’t want to put you on the spot, but uh how are you feeling about the uh Pistons off season up to this point? I’m so glad you asked because some of the backlash, bro, that I saw from the signings of Caris Lever and then Duncan Robinson, I thought it was unwarranted. Like, seriously, I understand and I’m not saying that the Pistons can’t still improve more. They absolutely can improve more, but for what they were able to do, especially considering the circumstances, my boy, my boy Malik broke, he out here gambling on games. You were able to pivot million, man. That [ __ ] was crazy when that dropped. But you were able to go out, you got Duncan Robinson who is equal to shooter to Malik Beasley. Yes, he’s not 300 threes like we just saw this past season, but he is very, very serviceable. He’s a movement shooter. He’s going to provide what Malikite Beasley provided for this team. And then when you replace Simone Fonteo with a Caris Levert off the bench, I think that’s that’s great considering what we were getting from Simone Fonteo and what Caris LeVert can bring to this team. And I understand he’s not the great scorer that he once was. You know, he’s slowed down a bit. He’s been injuryprone a little bit, but he is still somebody that is capable of going out there hitting a consistent three-point shot. He can give you a little bit of defense and he’s going to be able to to drive uh be able to draw defenses in when he drives to the paint. That way he can kick out, get his own bucket, I’m telling you. And playing with a a guard like K Cunningham is going to make the world of difference for him. So I’m cool with the Pistons off seasonason so far. Could they do a little bit more? Sure. But if your players aren’t out there, I don’t want Tan just making moves for the hell of it. And I love that he’s smart and he’s tactful and he’s just paying attention to this thing. If my guys aren’t here, I can wait it out. We have the cap space. We have the draft picks. We have everything that we need to make a talented roster right now. Exactly. And this you still have a young core that is ascending. So, I’m cool with everything they’ve done to this point. I would like another move personally and some of the moves that we talked about the last week I would really really like. But I think the underlying thing when it comes to Caris Levert and Duncan Robinson, I think that there are players that recently have gotten a bit of a bad rap. They’re the type of players that when you first hear about the signings, not me so much with a Duncan Robinson, but certainly with a Caris Levert, I was a little bit underwhelmed. But that’s why you got to go in and dig deep and see what he actually does well and what he actually can do. And what you find out about Caris Levert is that obviously we know that he’s a good onball player. He could even lead your bench unit. But also, and I had the numbers last week. I didn’t have I don’t have them now, but you’re just going to have to take my word for it or or or I’ll look them up yourself. He’s had seasons where he’s actually been pretty good as a catchandoot three-point shooter. Not on a super high volume, but three, four attempts per game. He could give you like 38% on a catch and shoot threes. And of course with with Duncan Robinson, he’s had a season, it was a few years ago where he had 273s. He’s had another one where he had 250. Last year he was uh or it was either last year or the year before he was really really good. And he’s also had two really damn good playoff runs. Yeah, that’s what I was about to pull up where the Heat made the finals. You can’t say that about Malik Beasley. I’m not trying to kick a man while while kick a man, you know, on on his way out, but at the end of the day, it is what it is. Don’t put that energy out. They owe the barber $37,000. Sorry, man. I know. Me wild. I know. I know. But like my my point is I’m not trying to just discard What kind of haircut was that, bro? Right. How do you owe a barber 37 grand, dog? I’m not trying to discard what what Malik Beasley did, but you know how upset I am about how he ished himself in the playoffs. Yeah. I mean, we can see now where his his mind was probably on a whole bunch of other things. This was a good year on the court, regular season, but it was a lot in his personal life throughout the course of this year that just went belly up for him. And uh you know what? Damn, man. Free bro, man. You know, Terry Roier got off, man. Free bro, man. Right. It’s it’s it’s it’s bad for him right now, dog. It’s all bad. But you know what, man? There’s something that you state there. You know, when you’re looking at just the numbers of it, you can dig in and see it. But what I really like about Caris Severt and Duncan Robinson is who these players have shown themselves to be. Because when you talk about the best of these players, you got to look at, well, who did they play with? When you talk about are these guys getting a bad rap in recent years, well, what are their situations? You’re looking at Duncan Robinson who the usage rate went from I’m playing with Jimmy Butler to now we have budget allstar and Tyler Harrow. Yeah, that makes a huge difference. And now all of a sudden they’re looking for Duncan Robinson to do things he shouldn’t have to do. Damn, I didn’t even huge difference. Tyler Harrow is not the type that makes those around him better. He’s a good He’s a really good player and certainly I think has out succeeded where he was drafted, but he’s not the type of he’s not the type of player who’s going to make those around him better. Be like a winner like Jimmy Caris Levert coming like bro Carris Levert just naturally cuts. You don’t have to tell him that. Thank you. Cade Jaylen Duran pick a roll on the right side. Caris Levert sneaking behind on the left side. That type of stuff. He can go get his. Think about the stuff that Assar does that we’re we’re seeing flashes in terms of the how he can we we talking about the dives how he can hit the gaps at the elbow corners from the three-point line. Caris Avert does this in his sleep. We’re not talking about he that he does this at a insane clip like he’s going out there and popping off for 25 or 30, but when you’re talking about a player that’s going to get you concentratedly 15 to 23 minutes per game, uh maybe a little bit more on some nights. I don’t quite know how they’re going to do this thing, but when you’re looking at a guy getting you at least 15 to 23 a night, playing some of these minutes with some facilitators, with some rim runners, with some guys like Assar, like uh Cade, like Marcus Sasser, who took a big step forward in the second half of that season. This is where I am more bullish about these signings and where I do believe you see Malik Beasley, you see some of these shooters. This Pistons team made a lot of threes this year and it was playing off of the space that K Cunningham was creating in the fact that he is a master tactician, a master facilitator, a connector, was one of the top players in the league. Still one of those players that’s at the tops with potential assists. And I do believe getting more players like this, it makes the game easier. We don’t need Caris Stivert and Duncan Robinson’s usage or or their responsibilities to be as if Jimmy Butler’s no longer there with Duncan Robinson. So now what’s going to happen? Now all of a sudden he’s not just catching and shooting. Now he’s getting the ball with a defender and he’s having to do something with it. That’s a different style of basketball. Very different style of of a basketball. And I feel like I was a little negligent for not mentioning that. I was I was glazed I was giving giving Duncan Robinson the glazing which probably out succeeded what any other show did. But that’s another great point. With Tyler Herro as your star, you’re not going to get those kind of opportunities. But, uh, like I said, so far so good. I, like I said, I’d like him to make another move. I know it’s easy to look at what the Atlanta Hawks have done, what the Orlando Magic did, the injuries to Hallebertton, the injuries to uh, Jason Tatum, Dame Lillard, and look at it as maybe they need one more. So far though, with Caris Levert and Duncan Robinson in a vacuum on this basketball team, I’m cool with it. Mhm. One more and I’m probably just ready to go. None more and I’m still feeling pretty okay. But where do y’all want them to go next? I’ve been screaming that power forward for forever, man. I wish we could get a power forward that can stretch the floor and play a little bit of defense. I would have loved like a Christos Porzingis or somebody of that nature, but I know that wasn’t really realistic, but just what where do y’all want them to go? Because I still see John Collins as a name that they can possibly go get. I would love to have him on this team. I’ve been screaming his name for forever, but do you have anybody in mind or do you have like a specific position? Well, we were talking about trades the last week and a name that we all brought up because there’s it’s not outside of the realm of possibility. I talked about Obie Toppin. I talked about Keegan Murray as a couple that I would really like. Cool with you. I think we even talked about Rui Hatumura, which I wouldn’t like him as much as the other two, but those were just some names we discussed. Go ahead. Yeah. No, that’s what I was going to say. It’s front court for me. It’s been front court for a long time. I’ve been pleased with the guards for a long time. I I don’t even think we need that. I think the the only thing I’ve wanted if we got another guard is just somebody who’s either going to run the backup point guard effectively and you put Marcus Sasser in his more comfortable shooting guard combo spot. Uh or if you go out there and you just get an absolute gunner, an absolute gunner who’s either coming off the bench or starting. But the thing that I think all of us in unison, it’s been that floor stretching big man. And I don’t even need floor spacing big man. I don’t even need this person to hit the threes at a high clip, but I need somebody who can give me a little bit something defensively in the paint, a little bit defensively at the rim, not be aloof. And the problem is if it was a if it was that readily and easily accessible, everybody in the league would have that. You would see it more. And that’s the point. So, it’s like Trajan, I think that he knows that there are things he could do, but how much does that put them behind the eightball because he stated they don’t want to make any move that’s going to hinder. Yeah. So, for me personally, I like John Collins. Um, I love that. You know, that’s a monster move if they do that. There was a time when I was we were hoping Rod and I talked about on the pod maybe two two years ago. We were hoping, all right, maybe it’s it’s John Collins. But we heard that at the time the Hawks were basically asking for a King’s ransom and that Collins wasn’t going to be the guy. Even when he wind up getting traded, we were just like, “Okay.” Like, you know, we were sitting here like, “Oh, man. They couldn’t have done a deal with us to be able to get Collins over here because at this point in time, do I think he’s the perfect fit that we need?” No. If I can pick anybody, hey, let’s go and trade for Lori Marketing. Oh, man. But John screaming that name. Yeah. Who we know is is effectively one of those guys who’s been on trade block with his last two teams. At this point in time, I do believe that that is your only available like ceiling razor in the front court. Everybody else is what they I see Vousvich as a name flying around out there. Yeah. Uh there was another big I forget the name, but there’s a couple names that are kind of out there if the Pistons want to be able to take a flyer. But I do I believe you you you kick the tires on what’s up with John Collins and if not realistically got to run it back. He’s another one though that I think gets a little bit of a bad rap. And does he I think he does. Do Do you agree with me? He does. He we never heard there. There’s a lot of people in our chat that will see him as radioactive. Just just let’s take a quick one. We’ll get back because John Collins I think is is that our most kumbaya pick in terms of the ones that we see are like out there. We believe that’s the need. They’ve gone and brought in a couple wing guard type players. 20 point a game scorer. Absolutely. 36 38% from behind the arc. You talk about now pick and pop, you know. So you got your your rim run with uh Jaylen Duran. You got your pick and pop with John Collins who can still get into the paint. Yeah. We got to say what up though too. [Music]

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