2013 Free Agent Class (now relevant)

*I'm assuming that we amnesty Charlie V here; and I'm just going to plug John Henson in there right now, at the same contract B. Knight got.

C: G. Monroe-4.1mil
PF: J. Henson-2.8mil
SF: T. Prince-7.2mil, J. Jerebko-4.5mil
SG: R. Stuckey-8.5mil
PG: B. Knight-2.9mil

Total Salaries-30mil.
Salary Cap-58mil(?)
Cap Space-28mil

...28 mil to spend. That's a lot. That's almost enough to sign two max free agents (please find a way to move Tayshaun!!). How bout a look at the '13 class. 2013 NBA Free Agents | HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

One can dream (and not sure how Howard would impact on Moroe) but a Howard/Monroe/Jarebko/Stuckey/Knight team makes me salivate and would make us very relevant again.

I don't think that Dwight Howard or Chris Paul will be considering us, unfortunately. We'll be looking for second-tier steals.

I'm not sure that the "superstar" route is the way to go. With the kind of money that you would have to pay the guys that you mention, we could get a lot of depth to where were totally rock solid at every position.

In '04, EVERY single guy on the team contributed (even Darko sacrificed his hand for a title).
I think we have a better shot of building a team in this type of model rather than the "Superstars & Scubs" model.

'04 was an anomaly. The superstar route is the way to go if you have the possibility to do so. This because they have capped contracts and plays under their real value. The worst way to construct a team is the way the '04 team was constructed since you on average overpays the uncapped contract guys. However, since we don't have a realistic way of getting those superstars we have to settle for the 04 way but if, for any reason CP3 or/and Howard would be interested in signing with us those 04 plans should be thrown out of the window immediatly.

I wouldn't worry too much about Greg Monroe if Dwight Howard wanted to play here.

This would be a spot where Tommy Gores can leave his mark. When LeBron was looking at teams he was concerned with the ownership.

Don't forget to add in Magette's 3-year extension for $28 million.

I think the 2013 FA class holds more importance in who we don't pay (read: overpay) rather than who we do, if recent history is any indicator.

Our best chance at getting something resembling a superstar would be improving the roster. If the location isn't great, it's key to have a set of players that looks promising to and compliments one of the bigger players out there. We have neither. Oh and recent success doesn't hurt.

It obviously kind of depends on who the Pistons draft and if they trade any assets they currently have, but assuming that they have those guys you listed above, someone like Al Jefferson would be awesome. Bring Henson and Jerebko off the bench and the Pistons would be a big team.

I'd start any and all free-agent searches by looking at younger guys. I'd look at guys who are just coming off of their rookie deals or who are at least under the age of 26 or so.

Actually, this would be my dream situation (within reality, of course - excluding Paul/Howard/RFAs and assuming keeping those contracts above):

Amnesty Villanueva. Draft Leonard. Re-sign Macklin. Sign Al Jefferson ($17 million). Sign Tony Allen ($5 million)
Starting: Knight/Stuckey/Prince/Jefferson/Monroe
Bench: Allen/Daye/Singler/Macklin/Leonard/scrubs

Size: very good
Monroe (6'11"), Leonard (7'1"), Jefferson (6'10"), Macklin (6'10"), Jerebko (6'10"), Daye (6'11"), Prince (6'9")

Defense: average/above average
Prince can be a good defender if the heart is there. Monroe is a good on-the-ball defender, though his off-the-ball positioning needs work. Stuckey and Knight are underrated. Leonard gives them good height off the bench, and Allen is a very good defender capable of playing a Lindsey Hunter/Michael Curry type of role. Jefferson wouldn't be amazing, but he's capable and not there for his defense, anyway.

Rebounding: above average
Monroe (9.7), Jefferson (9.8), Prince (4.5), Stuckey (2.6), and Knight (3.2) are all good rebounders for their position. Off the bench Leonard should be a good one, and Jerebko, Jefferson, and Monroe all attack the glass well on offense.

Inside game: very good
Jefferson is a very good post player. Monroe and Jerebko are great slashers. We'd have to see what Leonard could do. Knight and Stuckey are excellent at getting into the lane, but they have to work at finding the open guy. They'll have to rely on some decent 3-point shooting to back them up.

3-point shooting: surprisingly good
Prince and Knight are good 3-point shooters, and off the bench Daye has the ability (if not yet the confidence) and Jerebko and Singler can step out and play that role well. Frank should be able to design an effective motion offense with this group that relies on the drive-and-dish.

I think this team would be well-balanced with a very good inside-out offense and a solid defense. I could easily see them competing for middle of the playoff pack for the following couple years.

I agree, but there isn't much out there, sadly. I'm not talking about Jefferson or West for long-term deals, just a couple years to carry the team over while the youngsters develop. I think Monroe and Leonard could learn a lot from Jefferson, actually - both in watching him on offense and practicing against him on defense.

I like Tony Allen.
That dude has "Piston" written all over him.

What about Maggette?

Trade bait?

His contract expires next year, so I'm assuming he'll be gone.

In a perfect world, Maggette is traded at the '13 deadline for a future 1st rounder.
Joe gets a pick back to make up for the one that we had to send to Charlotte in order to sucker them into taking Ben Gordon.

Yea, but you were making lineups/rotations for next year?

Nope... year following.

Aha... the confusion. I might have forgotten about any draft picks from next year's draft, but let's assume that I didn't and that Charlotte gets our 18th next year (cause we make the playoffs) and "random scrubs" includes the second-round picks that are hit or miss.

Please send me some of the mushrooms that you've consumed that have you believing that the Pistons will make the playoffs next year.
I'm really looking forward to the 2013 lottery. Pleases stop spoiling it for me!