Mo Cheeks wants Greg Monroe to improve his mid-range J

[QUOTE=Nastradamus]Agree to disagree there. I think we have plenty of potential to develop into a contender.[/QUOTE]

How do you figure? The front line is good enough to make the playoffs, but to be a contender you need a playmaker. The Pistons don't have one. Once Dec. 15th comes around things will be interesting. That's the date where you can make trades with guys that you signed as free agents. That means we could trade Smith and/or Jennings. I think we really need to see if Boston is willing to give up Rondo or not.

[QUOTE=dd24]How do you figure? The front line is good enough to make the playoffs, but to be a contender you need a playmaker. The Pistons don't have one. Once Dec. 15th comes around things will be interesting. That's the date where you can make trades with guys that you signed as free agents. That means we could trade Smith and/or Jennings. I think we really need to see if Boston is willing to give up Rondo or not.[/QUOTE]

Smith + Jennings

for

Rondo + Green

Drummond
Monroe
Green
KCP
Rondo

BAM! ha,

Will never, ever happen... Smith and Rondo want to play together

Smith + Stuckey

for

Green + Sullinger + 1st rounder

If we do decide to blow things up, there are some interesting packages we could look at. Bill Simmons suggested a Gordon,Andersen and WIthey for Charlie,ROdne y and Monroe deal. Boston is an obvious fit. Even if they don't include Rondo I'd be interested in Green,Lee,Olynyk and Sullinger. Barnes/Thompson and Lee?

Something like STuckey for Marcus Thornton would be interesting too. They don't really have a guy like Stuckey in Sacto and he'd be a good fit as their 3rd guard. This way they get Thornton out of Mclemore's way.

Even something with Boston like Stuckey and Jerebko(13 mil) for Lee,Bass and Brooks would be pretty solid. Cleans up their cap a bit. They can have Siva if they want lol.

I like trading Smith & Jennings. I'm fine with that. I don't like including Monroe in any of those other rumored deals. Monroe is the best player in all of those other rumors. Why give up the best player in a deal? Also trading big for small almost never works out.

I want nothing to do with Gordon & Anderson. I like watching them because they are pretty good, but they'll never lead teams to a championship. They'll always be the guys on decent teams.

I'm certain that Golden State won't give up Lee, Thompson and Barnes. Thompson is playing lights out this year. I don't see why they would ever trade him. In the scenario where it's just Barnes, I don't know why Pistons fans would even consider wanting that. It makes no sense because Monroe is a million times better than Barnes. I like Barnes but I have my doubts that he'll ever be an all-star. People do realize that he's not even a starter, right? I'd trade for him if it's a less talented player involved in the deal.

If we're going to put Greg Monroe in trade rumors we need to not set our goals so low. He's one of the best young big men in the game. It would have to be a blockbuster trade for an all-star. Even Rondo I'd much rather do Smith & Jennings for. Our front line of Monroe and Drummond is the core of this team. It's crazy that fans want to break that up so much. Think bigger everybody.

For me, I see two glaring problems with this team and one of them will be fixed with experience.

1) Brandon Jennings. He has shown glimpses of being the distributing point guard last game, handing off 14 dimes! But he really started distributing when he was at I think 4 pts and shooting 20% from the field. This has actually been a reoccuring theme. I saw it in the Sacramento game when he was shooting very poorly and started deferring. His assist numbers shot up. The team started firing up and gaining momentum.

If he could start off with that mentality from the start, I think we are fine at PG. His defense is still lacking, though. And that leads me into the next point...

2) Defense. Namely, our 3-pt defense. After a pick-and-roll, we start switching off, and when the ball begins to rotate through, we get LOST. There have been SOOOO MMAAANNNYYY OOOPPPEEENNN 3s the opponents have shot. And if not the 3, a rotation to a 3 pt shooter, then to a cutter. (Golden State game) The Lakers game last night was a prime example. We are going hoop for hoop with them, but the difference was we were hitting 2s, they were hitting 3s. Soon, an 8 pt deficit became a 19 pt deficit.

With this, we need to start teaching better perimeter D and communication. I don't know how much you can teach Jennings, he's Swiss cheese out there. But more effective communication has to be key. Good teams, you can hear the players shouting at each other on TV to move and rotate. I don't hear anything from the Pistons and only see mad glares afterwards.

I agree about the defense. It really seems like things are backwards this season, doesn't it? Before the season we thought we'd have a great defensive team that would have a hard time scoring the ball. What we ended up with is a good offensive team that can't play defense. I don't think Chauncey will be able to guard SG's on the perimeter this season. Stuckey is undersized for SG. I've said that for a while. KCP could be a good defender eventually. Jennings hasn't ever played great D so I don't expect that to happen either. I think we need to see a little more KCP in the lineup.

[QUOTE=dd24]I like trading Smith & Jennings. I'm fine with that. I don't like including Monroe in any of those other rumored deals. Monroe is the best player in all of those other rumors. Why give up the best player in a deal? Also trading big for small almost never works out.

I want nothing to do with Gordon & Anderson. I like watching them because they are pretty good, but they'll never lead teams to a championship. They'll always be the guys on decent teams.

I'm certain that Golden State won't give up Lee, Thompson and Barnes. Thompson is playing lights out this year. I don't see why they would ever trade him. In the scenario where it's just Barnes, I don't know why Pistons fans would even consider wanting that. It makes no sense because Monroe is a million times better than Barnes. I like Barnes but I have my doubts that he'll ever be an all-star. People do realize that he's not even a starter, right? I'd trade for him if it's a less talented player involved in the deal.

If we're going to put Greg Monroe in trade rumors we need to not set our goals so low. He's one of the best young big men in the game. It would have to be a blockbuster trade for an all-star. Even Rondo I'd much rather do Smith & Jennings for. Our front line of Monroe and Drummond is the core of this team. It's crazy that fans want to break that up so much. Think bigger everybody.[/QUOTE]

I meant Thompson or Barnes fwiw. They still might not do it, but they do have a lot of wings and Thompson is going to want a lot of money.

You aren't going to trade big name FAs you just signed. The earliest we would trade them, IMHO, is the Feb. 2015 trade deadline.

[QUOTE=Nastradamus]I meant Thompson or Barnes fwiw. They still might not do it, but they do have a lot of wings and Thompson is going to want a lot of money.

You aren't going to trade big name FAs you just signed. The earliest we would trade them, IMHO, is the Feb. 2015 trade deadline.[/QUOTE]

I guarantee if Rondo became available we'd move Jennings in a heart beat for him.

Maybe in the offseason if he shows he's healthy down the stretch this year. What's the fastest a FA of that caliber was ever traded i wonder?

I don't think anything will happen until right before the deadline (if it does). I do think the rumors start flying on the 15th though. I think there has been guys traded just after that date, although no names come to mind.