|
I don't have a prediction for — or much interest in — tonight's Pistons-Raptors tilt, but I am interested in the Pistons' upcoming off-season because it's a safe bet they're going to let both Allen Iverson and Rasheed Wallace (neither of whom is expected to play tonight) leave via free agency. This means they could have in the range of $15-17 million in cap space this off-season depending on the salary cap for the 2009-10 season.
While he's made his share of mistakes (the names Darko and Memo come to mind), you still have to admire the way Joe Dumars has run that franchise since he took over in 2000. After an initial losing season, the Pistons won at least 50 games in each of the following seven seasons. That streak will be broken this season, but Dumars has already set the necessary "retooling" plan in motion by creating the cap space to either go after a free agent like Carlos Boozer or Ben Gordon in 2009, or wait until 2010 to angle for a really big fish.
Smart drafting has been the key to Dumars' ongoing success in Detroit. The Pistons' roster is well-stocked with young prospects Dumars drafted outside of the lottery picks — including Rodney Stuckey (15th overall in 2007), Jason Maxiell (26th overall in 2005) and Amir Johnson (56th overall in 2005). Even with the inevitable loss of two former All-Stars in Iverson and Wallace, Pistons fans can rest assured that 2010 will most likely include their ninth consecutive post-season appearance.
Compare the Pistons' recent draft record with the Raptors' performance (with higher picks) over the last five drafts and it's not hard to see one of the main reasons this franchise is in the state it's in. I wouldn't trust input from this scouting team any more than I'd trust a crackhead with my vintage pipe collection — one way or another, you know things are going to get fucked up.
Of course, this might take away some of the credibility from my suggestion in yesterday's post about the Bosh-Calderon trade that the Raptors should be accumulating draft picks in their rebuilding process. The good news is that the 2011 draft pick I suggested the Raptors acquire from Atlanta would most likely be used as a trading piece. In particular, it could be used as a trading piece when several of the financially struggling teams inevitably have to dump high contract stars on anyone with the wherewithal to pick them up.
This is the position I'd like to put the Raptors for the next two seasons. Thanks to MLSE's various cash cows, they are unlikely to have any problem with coming to the rescue of financially struggling operations that need to cut costs by any means possible — including trading their star player for 50 cents on the dollar — just to survive. Bill Simmons wrote about the upcoming sorry state of the NBA in a column last month. It's entirely possible that guys like Danny Granger, Kevin Martin, Al Jefferson, Andre Iguodala, Devin Harris and Andrew Bogut could be acquired for next to nothing by whichever team is able to absorb the most financial burden.
Is it a gamble? Sure, but so is the draft. I think it's a gamble worth taking. Remember how the Lakers got Pau Gasol? I'd love to hear fans of the other 29 franchises howling over how the Raptors came out unfairly ahead in a trade or two. Wouldn't that be a refreshing change? 
|
