Pistons Are Back - Aren't you thrilled?

[401don]

Assuming the deal is ratified, Joe Dumars will have about one week to sign a couple of leftovers from the free agent pool and form a roster. It will then be up to Tom Gores to start rebuilding a brand that was already in the toilet. They are going to have to offer a lot of those $59 packages that include tickets, drinks, popcorn, t-shirts and maybe free parking & gas.

[DetroitPlanner]

The only thing that seems good to me is that Mr Gores will have a chance to rebuild the team. I've felt sorry for him buying the team only to have it put on hold all year. I was wondering if there may be some regrets.

[sirrealone]

I think Gores knew full well what he was getting into and the possibility that his 'investment' could be on hold for up to a year. His deal also included the Palace and Pine Knob, didn't it, which are going to continue to make him money.

I am excited for the Pistons long term prospects. By no means do they look to be playoff ready regardless of what they do with some of the veterans, but Dumars was pretty much resigned to sitting in his office and twiddling his thumbs the past year or two with Karen D nixing any possible move. They've got a few good young pieces in place that they could build around and start getting back into position to make playoff runs as early as 2012-13.

In all honesty, I think fans got quite spoiled by their long run of success. They went to six straight conference finals, meaning that they were one of the top four teams in the league for that long. A couple more championships would have been nice, but let's face it, there were 20+ teams that would have loved to have had our 'problems' back then. A couple of down years will get fans re-energized when the team starts winning games again.

[kenp]

Didnt miss it one bit

[Thruster315]

Didnt miss it one bit

I honestly believe that was one of the biggest mitigating factors to why the agreement got done as fast as it did. The players and the management saw the apathy or the lack of outrage at possibly no NBA basketball. People didn't have the concern as they did when the NFL strike/ lockout occurred.

People were fretting and wringing their hands for the possibility of an NFL work stoppage. It was news and people were upset. When the thought of no NBA basketball, I don't recall people getting as upset and the talks between the players and management wasn't headline news.

I'm sure a part of this apathy is because of the multi-millionaire players' own doing. Some of them come across as snobs, entitled, and see themselves as bigger than the game. Prime example is LeBron James- for a guy who is as talented as he was/is, people saw him abandoning his Cavaliers to go play for the money- and it's not like he didn't have enough money to begin with IN Cleveland. That's not exactly an attribute that people relate to easily.

I think most fans don't relate well to NBA players and there's a disconnect there. It's not to say there aren't multi-millionaire snobs and thugs in the other sports but somehow they're much more accessible and easier to cheer for than your NBA superstar.

I respect the NBA players, their abilities, and the game of basketball itself but somewhere along the way I saw the NBA lose a bit of its connection with many of us fans.

[Big Dog]

With the pistons as is, I'm at a loss for words, for now.

[firstandten]

I honestly believe that was one of the biggest mitigating factors to why the agreement got done as fast as it did. The players and the management saw the apathy or the lack of outrage at possibly no NBA basketball. People didn't have the concern as they did when the NFL strike/ lockout occurred.

People were fretting and wringing their hands for the possibility of an NFL work stoppage. It was news and people were upset. When the thought of no NBA basketball, I don't recall people getting as upset and the talks between the players and management wasn't headline news.

I'm sure a part of this apathy is because of the multi-millionaire players' own doing. Some of them come across as snobs, entitled, and see themselves as bigger than the game. Prime example is LeBron James- for a guy who is as talented as he was/is, people saw him abandoning his Cavaliers to go play for the money- and it's not like he didn't have enough money to begin with IN Cleveland. That's not exactly an attribute that people relate to easily.

I think most fans don't relate well to NBA players and there's a disconnect there. It's not to say there aren't multi-millionaire snobs and thugs in the other sports but somehow they're much more accessible and easier to cheer for than your NBA superstar.

I respect the NBA players, their abilities, and the game of basketball itself but somewhere along the way I saw the NBA lose a bit of its connection with many of us fans.

I think that most of that is due to NFL not MLB being the nations pastime. Fans are not going to worry as long as football is there. Basketball fans can make the transition to college basketball and that would carry us thru April after that there would be a few people upset about no NBA. The players and owners can't go that long.

[DetroitZack]

Idk about thrilled but I'm glad the NBA is back. Though I don't think the Pistons are going to be very good. How about some predictions? I will give them 32 wins of the 66 games.

[401don]

Watching some of the games yesterday you see all the talented big men, with power and speed, on the top teams and you realize just how far away the Pistons are now compared to a few years ago. I will optimistically predict 24 wins.

[Hypestyles]

who has been to the Palace since the new season started? any changes inside? different displays? different food offerings? higher prices? etc.? Does Hooper still roam the concourse?

[firstandten]

Watch them against the Pacers, they are not very good, its going to be a long (lock out shorten) season.

[Thruster315]

Watch them against the Pacers, they are not very good, its going to be a long (lock out shorten) season.


We'd best be prepared to hunker down to some re-building here. Tom Gores had better be a patient man as should us fans. An opening night shooting percentage of 36% does not bode well for these guys. I also saw that the Pistons looked vastly undermanned underneath the net when it came time for rebounding. We can only hope that somehow Brandon Knight catches fire, swings up the learning curve and can do something to ignite this team.

It's a mediocre product at best right now. And in the light of the Lions making the playoffs, the Red Wings being perennial contenders, and the Tigers doing well- this Pistons team is going to be the red-headed step child for awhile.

Personally I'm thankful it's going to be a shortened season. Hell, if they would've stayed locked out a little longer it wouldn't have hurt this team that much at all in the long run. The quicker we can muddle through this season, the quicker we can hope for a lucky ping pong ball to bounce our way in next year's draft.

[firstandten]

We'd best be prepared to hunker down to some re-building here. Tom Gores had better be a patient man as should us fans. An opening night shooting percentage of 36% does not bode well for these guys. I also saw that the Pistons looked vastly undermanned underneath the net when it came time for rebounding. We can only hope that somehow Brandon Knight catches fire, swings up the learning curve and can do something to ignite this team.

It's a mediocre product at best right now. And in the light of the Lions making the playoffs, the Red Wings being perennial contenders, and the Tigers doing well- this Pistons team is going to be the red-headed step child for awhile.

Personally I'm thankful it's going to be a shortened season. Hell, if they would've stayed locked out a little longer it wouldn't have hurt this team that much at all in the long run. The quicker we can muddle through this season, the quicker we can hope for a lucky ping pong ball to bounce our way in next year's draft.

You are so correct ! If you watched the x-mas days games, then watch the Pistons the next day you can tell rather quickly that the Pistons lack height and overall talent. A few years of management neglect will do that to a team. Now with the new ownership in place I have confidence that Dumars
will be given the time and resources to turn it around. We just may need to deal with a few lean years before that happens

[kenp]

I have no confidence in Dumars, from Iverson to signing Gordon and Charlie to is AWFUL coaching choices. He has been one of the worsts GM's for the last number of years.
He no longer can live off of his past success.

[firstandten]

I have no confidence in Dumars, from Iverson to signing Gordon and Charlie to is AWFUL coaching choices. He has been one of the worsts GM's for the last number of years.
He no longer can live off of his past success.


The thing that needs to be considered with those moves is the fact that Davidsons widow didn't want the team and she wasn't looking for Dumars to spend any more money than was necessary.
Especially if you look at the coaching moves. She wasn't going to allow Dumars to spend the money to hire a proven coach and she's trying to get expenses down to a bare minumin to get buyers. Dumars had a balancing act. He had to get a competitive enough team on the floor so people wouldn't stop coming completely, but he couldn't do the things that would get the team over the top and compete for a championship.

[401don]

There's a saying that there's nothing worse than being a .500 team in the NBA. That's especially true for the non marquis franchises that won't draw free agents until they are contenders. You rarely get lucky with later draft picks like you can in other sports. The Pistons are better off hoping for a top 3 or 4 pick.

[jerrytimes]

The only part of an NBA game that is entertaining is the final 2 minutes of a close game. Needless to say, I am not thrilled that it's back

[Divine Mitchell]

Not being cheesy here, but let's not lose hope. Our team will make it far someday. That someday could be now!

[firstandten]

The team will make it far "someday" but someday is not this year. The team does has some parts they can build around but overall they lack talent. Two or three years of ownership neglect plus not addressing an aging core group of players that got you to the Eastern Conf. finals a number of times will do that to an organization.

[401don]

Okay. I can't watch any more of this for a few weeks. Monroe, while he can't play defense yet, appears to have enough talent and effort to develop into a solid player. Supposedly this year's draft will be deep in big men so hopefully we get someone to play along side him as it appears certain we'll get a top 1-4 pick. Knight on the other hand looks lost out there. I know it's extremely tough for a rookie to step in at point guard in the NBA but it really looks like the game moves too fast for him. He panics, dribbles into traffic, turns the ball over constantly and makes bad decisions. Maybe he's just trying to do too much to get the team going when it's down. Prince is putting in a solid effort most nights but he often gets beat by faster no. 3's. The rest of team should be gone in a year or two so they don't really matter.

[Erin Dominguez]

What do you think about hiring a European coach for the team? European style of playing is more focused on teamwork rather than individual play/talent. Remember, Team USA got defeated by Greece and Yugoslavia. Just my two cents.

[kenp]

What do you think about hiring a European coach for the team? .
I understand your point, but the issue is that the NBA is all about individual performance and appeal. When the Piston last won a championship is was because we had the best "team".
The NBA didnt like it much.

[firstandten]

What do you think about hiring a European coach for the team? European style of playing is more focused on teamwork rather than individual play/talent. Remember, Team USA got defeated by Greece and Yugoslavia. Just my two cents.

Unless they widen the lane like in Europe a European coach would have us playing such a finesse game we would get physically manhandled every night.

[401don]

What a difference a couple of weeks makes. Are the Pistons suddenly getting too good for their own good? 6 out of the last 8 and leading the Celtics again as I type this, would you prefer the Pistons continue to improve, possibly challenging for a playoff birth or stay in the bottom 4-5 in the league and get that big man in the draft?
Clearly with Stuckey playing better and continued improvement from Monroe and Knight, there is a small core to move forward with. However the Pistons badly need a power forward and this year's draft is deep in bigs. Jerebko could be a strength coming off the bench as opposed to a weakness (he recently lost his starting role to Maxiell of all people). Prince is playing well and could really help a contender either this year or next. I'm watching the games, hoping the young guys continue to improve and the team loses 2 of 3.

[Teresa Rutherford]

I'm excited about this! :D