Was BG the worst Pistons signing ever?

[dd24]

I think one could make the case that it was, and probably one of the worst in NBA history as well. I don't blame Joe D for drafting Darko. Nearly every other GM would have then too. As soon as BG was signed we were all disappointed as fans. He never produced at all for us or any team he has been with since. It was an expensive contract too. By giving him that money we helped make Chicago better. They've been winning for all these years. If they had that contract they would have been really hurting. So Joe D makes this trade thinking he was going to have a contender and that pick would have been outside of the lottery. That was a horrible gamble. What he did with that money that we saved from Maggette's contract dropping off a year earlier was he went out and got Josh Smith. I think we were all shocked about that move too. We tried to be positive about it. Right away most everybody that has ever played basketball knew it wasn't going to work. So he threw away that money. Then we have just bad enough of a season that in a very deep draft he threw away a lottery pick too. So now the Bobcats, who actually made the playoffs and have a few decent players now have a lottery pick. Michael Jordan doesn't look so dumb as a GM (as long as whoever he picks can produce....). I just feel like when a GM takes such a risk in signing a player like that for that kind of money it sets back the team another 3-4 years. Now we have Smiths contract. At least he's a talented player, but he clearly doesn't fit this team. It's going to be another 3-4 years before this team will be able to do anything. All this started with signing BG.... worst signing for Detroit ever.

[Aussie Dunker]

Just on face value, I am sure there has been worse (Charlie V was FAR less productive)...

But if we consider the domino effect of the BG signing, and the magnitude in which it has single handedly effected this franchise - then yes, without a doubt it is the WORST signing ever for the Pistons...

[dd24]

I never looked at Charlie's contract as being all that terrible. The length of it was. Neither one should have been offered 5 years. But Charlie's was 5 years 40 million. At 8 million per season it wasn't really as bad as people made it out to be. Plus you have to figure he just never really had a chance in the rotation after some injuries in the beginning of it.

BG on the other hand had every opportunity with the Pistons and the Bobcats to put up numbers. He also had a major contract making close to 12 million per season. A contract like that means you need to have some very good production.

[ZMonkey11]

Yea, the fallout of BG really set our team back. I think once those dominoes fell, Joe D knew he was on notice and his job was going to be questioned, so he kept trying to make moves to get into the playoffs. And panic moves were not helping at all.

I'll agree. Although worst signing in NBA history has to be Gilbert Arenas.

[dd24]

The panic moves are really going to hurt us for years. It's actually going to be hard to judge SVG and the job he does because he has so little to work with right now. We'd honestly have to give the guy 4 years before we could even make a judgement. That is if he's the one making all the personnel moves too.

[Nastradamus]

He shouldn't need that long to turn things around. Drummond and Monroe is a solid enough base, we have a little cap space to work with and I think both Smith and Jennings can be dealt. The loss of the 1st rounder was definitely a big hit though.

KCP developing would be huge for us. That could be the difference in how quickly we become respectable.

[Nastradamus]

Fwiw, while I blame Joe for most of the bad moves he's made, Gores is a big reason for the loss of the 1st rounder and the Smith/Jenning signings. He didn't want to amnesty Ben and he basically demanded that we sign some big money players in an attempt to make the playoffs this year, rather than being patient.