Motor City Basketball: Restoring the Pistons' Glory

[Myles Nelson]

I have my eye on a certain small forward who would completely upgrade my roster in so many ways. He'd bring toughness, defense, shooting, experience; essentially my glue guy. Unfortunately, he's got the 90 day restriction on him, so towards the end of this month I will be trading for him.

Detroit 105, Atlanta 88
Toronto 113, Detroit 102 - You've gotta be kidding me.
Phoenix 115, Detroit 112 - Now it's just embarrassing.
Detroit 107, Denver 104 - And then this. In Denver no less.
Sacramento 128, Detroit 113 - This might have been embarrassing last year, but they look pretty dangerous now.
Golden State 110, Detroit 101
Los Angeles Clippers 119, Detroit 111 - We are now a completely average team.
Detroit 113, Oklahoma City 98 - Kevin Durant has no help in OKC. They are 11 games under .500 and I bet Durant wishes he didn't resign.
Detroit 121, Indiana 105 - It's back to the good old days as Turner and Splitter combine for 57 points.
New York 120, Detroit 115
New Orleans 116, Detroit 105 - CP3, Collison, and Boozer... what a top 3.
San Antonio 115, Detroit 112 - The Aging 3 turn back the clock and show us they still got something left in the tank.
Detroit 118, Houston 99 - They REALLY suck.
Detroit 117, Charlotte 98

TRADE

Detroit Pistons send
Taj Gibson
Jason Maxiell
2013 2nd
2014 2nd

Miami Heat send
Shane Battier
2014 1st
2013 2nd
2012 2nd

Why: Gibson was starting at SF and Maxiell was just a contract dump. The Heat get younger and a potential replacement to Beasley, who they are actively shopping.

Winner: It mostly depends on how good of a 2014 1st that is. Miami gets some young talent, and the Pistons fill a need. A good trade for both teams.

The coaching in this game is seriously f*cked. Rudy T has Shane Battier starting at PG. There are no less than four players with higher pass/handle ratings than him. At the very least, start Turner (62/61 PAS/HDL) who's already starting at PG and move Battier to SG (45/65). Pathetic.

So despite what he put in the depth chart, he started Walker-Turner-Battier-Splitter-Oden. Much better.

Pistons 118, Wizards 107 - Battier had 19 in his Detroit debut. Not shabby.
Pistons 107, Bulls 84

We end the month on a four game winning streak and at the top of our division.

[K.J.]

The coaching in this game is seriously f*cked. Rudy T has Shane Battier starting at PG. There are no less than four players with higher pass/handle ratings than him. At the very least, start Turner (62/61 PAS/HDL) who's already starting at PG and move Battier to SG (45/65). Pathetic.

This is why I manually adjust my depth chart, even as I use the coaches' recommendations as my point of reference. In Pro Basketball 1, for a few seasons, the AI made my dynastic Celtics teams merely excellent.

[Myles Nelson]

I had originally discontinued this because I though I had lost the files. Turned out I still have them. I'll start updating this again.

[Cleasby]

great cant wait to hear the next stage!

[Myles Nelson]

[SIZE="5"]Sports Illustrated, February Issue[/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]Catching Up with the Detroit Pistons[/SIZE]

February 3rd, 2012 - In June of 2010, we named the Detroit Pistons as one of the three toughest teams to turn around. They had just the worst combination of bad contracts (Hamilton, Gordon, Villanueva, Maxiell), aging talent (Prince), and questionable young "stars" (Stuckey). With all these roadblocks in the way, we thought it would be four or five years before the Pistons could see themselves having a winning season again.

Enter General Manager Myles Nelson. He came in unafraid to make big moves and no one on the roster was safe. He turned this roster upside down. Let's take a look at how he did it.

6/28/10 (Draft Day) - PF Charlie Villanueva, PF Dajuan Summers, 2nd round Pick for C Nazr Mohammed, 1st round pick

Villanueva: 7.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg
Summers: DNP
2nd round pick (selected Jeremy Lin): DNP

Mohammed: 7.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg
1st round pick (selected Ed Davis): 6.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg. TRADED

The Pistons clearly won this trade, as Mohammed had a shorter contract, outperformed Villanueva, and got more from their 1st rounder than the Bobcats got for the other two players combined

6/28/10 (Draft Day) - Drafted SF Paul George.

George: 7.2 ppg, TRADED

George could have been a good defensive player with serviceable offense, but Nelson was far too impatient for that.

12/1/10 - Traded SG Rip Hamilton, SF Austin Daye, 2011 2nd Round Pick for PF Taj Gibson, SG Gerald Henderson

Hamilton: 13 ppg, 43% fg
Daye: D-League
2nd Round Pick (used on Mickey McConnell): D-League

Gibson: 8.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 48% fg, TRADED
Henderson: Released

Hamilton has been better in the short run for the Bulls, who were looking to win now. For the Pistons, it was a financial move, but Gibson has since been traded anyway. The Bulls may have won this one in the short run, but the Pistons were better off with the money.

1/6/11 - Traded C Ed Davis, SF Paul George, SG Antoine Wright, 2013 1st Round Pick for C Greg Oden, SG Jordan Crawford, 2013 1st Round Pick, 2011 1st Round Pick

Davis: 7.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 48% fg, 1.8 bpg
George: 5.8 ppg, 38.7% fg
Wright: Released

Oden: 15.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.1 bpg, 1.0 spg, 59% fg
Crawford: 13 ppg, 45% from 3, TRADED

The key here are the 1st round picks. Portland clearly believes that the Pistons will have a bad 2013 season, but that doesn't seem likely now. While Davis has improved, Oden is still light years better. Detroit made out like a bandit here.

6/28/11 - Draft Day

#4 - Kemba Walker
#21 - Jordan Hamilton
#32 - Tyler Honeycutt

6/28/11 - Traded SG Jordan Hamilton for PF Tiago Splitter

Hamilton: 4.7 ppg, 44% from 3

Splitter: 16.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 58% fg

While Hamilton could be a very good role player one day, Splitter is an offensive force right now.

7/26/11 - Traded SG Jordan Crawford, SF Tyler Honeycutt, PG Rodney Stuckey, 2014 1st Round for SF Andres Nocioni, SG Evan Turner, PF Derrick Williams

Crawford: 4.5 ppg, 48.5% from 3
Honeycutt: 8.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 49.3% fg
Stuckey: 14.7 ppg, 4.6 apg from the SG slot

Turner: 19.7 ppg, 6.5 apg, 4.7 rpg, 50% fg
Williams: 10.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 51% fg
Nocioni: TRADED

Honeycutt has turned out to be a major surprise, playing much better than Nelson ever predicted. Stuckey has been about the same, and Crawford is getting unfair bench splinters. However, Turner and Williams have been so impactful that losing these three key players doesn't even hurt.

Free Agency

Signed Timofey Mozgov, Joel Przybilla, Carlos Arroyo, Kyle Korver

Finally, it seemed as though this team might have been too young, without any toughness on the perimeter or veteran leadership. Enter the trade that addressed that issue.

1/29/12 - Traded PF Jason Maxiell, PF Taj Gibson for SG Shane Battier, 2014 1st round pick

It's too soon to say how each player has done since the trade. But with Splitter and Williams already at the PF spots in Detroit, the Pistons had an excess. Battier fit a need, and they got a pick out of it too. It seems like the Pistons won this one.

The current roster is as such:

PG Kemba Walker - 10.7 ppg, 5.3 apg, 2.3 topg
SG Evan Turner - 19.7 ppg, 6.5 apg, 4.7 rpg
SF Shane Battier - 10 ppg
PF Tiago Splitter - 16.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg
C Greg Oden - 15.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.1 bpg

Carlos Arroyo - 7.1 ppg, 3.1 apg
Ben Gordon - 12.2 ppg
Jonas Jerebko - 4.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg
Kyle Korver - 4.8 ppg
Derrick Williams - 10 ppg, 5.6 rpg
Joel Przybilla - 4.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg
Timofey Mozgov - 1 GP

Which brings us to today. The Pistons are 28-19, on a 5 game winning streak, and with 17M in the bank, they have plenty of money to extend two or three of their young stars. Oden is locked up for the next five years at a very manageable price, Gordon comes off the books in two more years, and Walker, Turner, Splitter, and Williams are going to want big money in a few years. It's a nice headache for Nelson to have, and one he won't have to face before another couple of successful seasons. Hats off to him, the man who changed Detroit basketball within a season and a half.

[Myles Nelson]

Western Conference
New Orleans Hornets 33-10 (CP3, Darren Collison, Carlos Boozer)
Los Angeles Lakers 34-12 (Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum)
Los Angeles Clippers 32-15 (Eric Gordon, Blake Griffin, Baron Davis)
Sacramento Kings 27-17 (Tyreke Evans, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol)
Dallas Mavericks 27-18 (Dirk Nowitzki, Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood)
Denver Nuggets 28-19 (Melo, Chauncey Billups, Nene)
Golden State Warriors 26-19 (Monta Ellis, Steph Curry, Derrick Favors)
Utah Jazz 26-21 (Deron Williams, JJ Redick, Andrei Kirilenko)
Portland Trail Blazers 24-21 (Brandon Roy, Corey Maggette, Lamarcus Aldridge)
Phoenix Suns 20-28 (Jason Richardson, Steve Nash, Luis Scola)
San Antonio Spurs 18-27 (Manu, Tim Duncan, George Hill)
Oklahoma City Thunder 16-31 (Kevin Durant, Jamal Crawford, Russell Westbrook)
Minnesota Timberwolves 14-31 (Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins, Al Jefferson)
Houston Rockets 12-35 (Kevin Martin, Aaron Brooks, Yao Ming)
Memphis Grizzlies 9-36 (OJ Mayo, Brandon Knight, Greg Monroe)

Eastern Conference
New Jersey Nets 42-5 (LeBron, Chris Bosh, Brook Lopez)
Washington Wizards 28-17 (Gilbert Arenas, John Wall, John Henson)
Detroit Pistons 28-19 (Evan Turner, Tiago Splitter, Greg Oden)
Miami Heat 25-20 (Dwyane Wade, Mike Miller, Michael Beasley)
Orlando Magic 25-21 (Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, Jameer Nelson)
New York Knicks 26-22 (Joe Johnson, Amare Stoudemire, David Lee)
Boston Celtics 24-21 (Arron Afflalo, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo)
Chicago Bulls 25-25 (Derrick Rose, Rip Hamilton, Luol Deng)
Indiana Pacers 22-23 (Danny Granger, David West, Peja Stojakovic)
Milwaukee Bucks 20-27 (John Salmons, Andrew Bogut, Brandon Jennings)
Cleveland Cavaliers 19-26 (Mo Williams, Al Horford, Wilson Chandler)
Philadelphia 76ers 18-30 (Andre Iguodala, Rodney Stuckey, Elton Bran)
Charlotte Bobcats 17-30 (Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace, Raymond Felton)
Toronto Raptors 15-30 (Hedo Turkoglu, Andrea Bargnani, Jarrett Jack)
Atlanta Hawks 11-35 (Josh Smith, Mike Bibby, Tracy McGrady)

[Myles Nelson]

Detroit 114, Toronto 92
Detroit 106, Minnesota 97
Detroit 108, Boston 85 - Beating a team like Boston on the road is always nice
Detroit 111, Washington 99
Detroit 109, Orlando 98 - On the road in Orlando, these are games we would have lost earlier in the season. I think Battier has really made a difference.
Detroit 131, Cleveland 124 - Overtime game. Evan Turner gets 30 and Ben Gordon drops 27.
Chicago 127, Detroit 99 - Second game of a back-to-back, after overtime, we were exhausted. Rose absolutely punishes Kemba and Marcus Thornton gets 27 off the bench.

[Myles Nelson]

Stanley Robinson wins the dunk contest with an insane self-alley oop 540 dunk. It was nice.

Raja Bell beats out Channing Frye and Steph Curry to be the 3 point champion!

The Sophomores beat the Rookies 120-102. John Wall is given MVP honors with a 34 point performance. Turner gets 16, Splitter 17, Kemba Walker drops 22 for the rookies and D-Will plays but doesn't score.

In an All-Star game that saw the West set a record with 88 points in a half, Kobe become the all-time scoring leader in the All-Star game, what was at first a blowout became a great game in the second half. With the score 151-149, the East had a chance to tie or win the game. LeBron decided to pass it off though, and his pass was intercepted! The West held on to win the game, with Ellis getting MVP honors with 37 points and Turner scoring 7 points in his limited time in the game.

[Raoul Duke]

Stanley Robinson wins the dunk contest with an insane self-alley oop 540 dunk. It was nice.

Raja Bell beats out Channing Frye and Steph Curry to be the 3 point champion!

The Sophomores beat the Rookies 120-102. John Wall is given MVP honors with a 34 point performance. Turner gets 16, Splitter 17, Kemba Walker drops 22 for the rookies and D-Will plays but doesn't score.

In an All-Star game that saw the West set a record with 88 points in a half, Kobe become the all-time scoring leader in the All-Star game, what was at first a blowout became a great game in the second half. With the score 151-149, the East had a chance to tie or win the game. LeBron decided to pass it off though, and his pass was intercepted! The West held on to win the game, with Ellis getting MVP honors with 37 points and Turner scoring 7 points in his limited time in the game.

Sounds familiar...

Congrats on turning the Pistons around, they're a daunting task at the start of the game with all those bloated contracts. Looking forward to seeing just how far this group can go before you have to break it up.

[Myles Nelson]

Yeah, the funny thing was in the game, LBJ had 4 turnovers, Blake had 1 steal, the final score was 152-149, and the West scored 88 points in a half (it was the 2nd half though). So it's very possible that it actually happened the way it did IRL