Our Bench (Going Forward)

[DocRI]

WARNING!!!! This thread is intended for future conjecture based upon the premise that our starting lineup within the next few years will eventually settle into Jennings / Pope / Smith / Monroe / Drummond. If you want to argue something different about one of those five players (i.e. Monroe will be traded, Pope won't be a starter, Billups is better than Jennings, etc.), please do so in the appropriate other thread on this board. Thanks in advance!

So I noticed something today — assuming that Peyton Siva signs a typical two year, second-rounder contract, the Pistons don't have a single dollar of salary committed to any bench player past the season after next. Aside from the five players I mentioned in the first paragraph, every other player on our roster — Billups, Bynum, Stuckey, Singler, Datome, Mitchell, Villanueva, and Jerebko — could be gone after the 2014/15 season (if not sooner).

As such, here's my question — thinking long term, who stays? Assuming the starting lineup previously listed, how many of our current bench players do you still see in Piston blue on Opening Night 2015? I know this is hard to forecast, but since speculation is fun, how do you guys see Dumars shaping our bench in the next few years?

My two cents worth, I think Stuck and CV are gone after this year (for obvious reasons), Billups retires either after this year or the next, and Jerebko is deemed too expensive and/or replaceable. I think one of Bynum or Siva sticks around (hopefully Siva, simply because he's younger and that would mean he's outplayed Bynum). I think both Singler and Mitchell are re-signed due to their age, potential, and relatively cheap price tags. And I think Datome is the ultimate wild card; he could literally be our 6th man and a dead-eye sharpshooter off the bench, or he could be another failed Euro experiment destined for the scrap heap. I also think (or at least DESPERATELY HOPE!!!) that Dumars has learned from his BG/CV mistakes and won't overpay for bench talent going forward (of course, that should be helped by the fact that he'll need to save money for Monroe and Drummond's extensions), so I'm hoping he upgrades the bench with a couple of shrewd MLE-level deals to young players who fill specific roles, like a stretch big man and a backup combo guard. Perhaps Spencer Hawes and Ramon Sessions (I just plucked those names off next year's free agent list)?

[ComboGuardCity]

My thoughts:

Spark Plug/6th Man - Lou Williams (2014)
Back up PG - Siva
Swingman - Singler or Datome
Backup Big - Udoh (2014)

It leaves us with a small overall back court though.

[Warspite]

I like giving out 2 yrs to bench players. The benches in the NBA are becoming more and more specialised and we are seeing fewer allround bench players. Either your a shooter, rebounder, defender or your gone. It means a greater drop off and it limits your team when you have injuries but for the most part your looking at parts that you can replace.

My guess is that 2nd rd picks and signing cheap FAs or former 1st rders who have fallen out of favor with there team will replenish the bench . The days of having that 10 yr vet bench player (Vinnie Johnson) are over. Its a 48 month league.

[Natopher]

I like giving out 2 yrs to bench players. The benches in the NBA are becoming more and more specialised and we are seeing fewer allround bench players. Either your a shooter, rebounder, defender or your gone. It means a greater drop off and it limits your team when you have injuries but for the most part your looking at parts that you can replace.

My guess is that 2nd rd picks and signing cheap FAs or former 1st rders who have fallen out of favor with there team will replenish the bench . The days of having that 10 yr vet bench player (Vinnie Johnson) are over. Its a 48 month league.

I actually agree with a lot of this. Bench players do seem to be more specialists than anything, and I actually don't really think that's a bad thing. Of the players on our roster who stay I think Mitchell and Singler are the most likely players remaining. I'll throw KCP in there as well as there's a chance he could be our backup SG. Other than that I really don't know who'll stay. I'd like for those guys to stay though, and I'd also like it if we could keep Siva (unlikely he'll be on the roster this year) and (please don't kill me) Villanueva.

If I get hate for wanting CV to stay I completely understand why. That said, I think that with this team he would fit really well coming off the bench. Villaneuva spaces the floor pretty well and can score in bunches. Assuming we got a defensive C coming off the bench with him, I don't see any problem with him being on the team as a backup. Our team was (at least for me) incredibly exciting last year when our bench of Bynum, Stuckey, Daye, Villaneuva and Drummond were coming in and lighting things up. I think that with Billups, Stuckey, Datome/Singler, Villanueva (and whatever C we sign this year) they could do similar things. I'm not trying to imply that they'll do it every night or anything like that, I just really like having that kind of firepower off the bench. Especially to compliment a mostly defensive starting lineup. Having shooters like that coming off the bench is incredibly exciting and can really help put a game out of reach as most benches don't score much.

I really like the idea of having elite (or very good) 3 point shooters coming off the bench with a defensive C. That way our defense has a shot to be solid and our bench could shoot the lights off some nights. That said, if Mitchell shows any kind of promise (unless he can play center for us, which I don't think he can) I'd be completely fine with making him our primary backup PF and ditching Villanueva. My desire to keep Villanueva has a lot to do with the fact that we don't know what Mitchell can provide in the NBA (if anything). If Mitchell shows any promise I'd want him as our backup PF.

[vege]

KCP won't start however those 5 guys you listed are our "core" and expected to be the starter 5 soon.

We have no place for Siva, we already have 3 PGs and 1 combo guard, it would be better for Detroit and Siva if he plays in Europe.

Singler is not "young with potential" he is what he is, a low ceiling, glue guy who won't do anything great but won't do many mistakes, teams need players like him so he will probably stick around.

Bynum will be old after his contract I doubt he comes back. Jonas/CV/Stuckey should be gone asap as well.

Mitchell and Datome are the wild cards and could fit the role player mold Warspite described. Is Datome too slow to play in the NBA? Will Mitchell develop into something passable to the NBA? He could be an Amir 2.0 minus the absurd amount of fouls.

Best case scenario we could have Siva/Singler/Datome/Mitchell all being worth an NBA roster spot + we could find something else in the next 2 drafts to fill our bench and fill a need via MLE.

Worst case scenario none of those guys are worth anything and we need to bring complimentary pieces using our MLE/trades/minor cap space which shouldn't be too difficult.

What we should do imo however is trade Stuckey and/or CV for roleplayers who fill immediate needs for us. Stuckey for Courtney Lee + Jordan Crawford type of deals for example or try to grab Willie Green for a minor asset.

[Pharaoh]

There was a video on youtube that was circulated during the early stages of the lockout... had a roster with salary breakdowns... can't seem to find it anywhere now

It gave a very good breakdown of how an NBA team could spread the wealth throughout the roster and avoid the luxury tax...

but I'm loving this discussion.

A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link and I'm a big believer that your bench is just as important as your starters.... anyone who takes the floor for matters!

[retrolenny]

Billups stays the 2 years.
Datome becomes primary 3 off the bench
Mitchell will be a player and get some minutes at the 3 & 4
Siva will either make the team in a Bynum type role or be traded
Bynum will play a minimal role and be offered a trade. He stays because of family. Not a bad 3rd pg off the bench
JJ will be moved
Stuck will be moved
CV will be moved
Singler will be moved

Long term

Jennings/Billups/Siva or Bynum
KCP/FA or trade
Smith/Datome/Mitchell
Moose/Smith/Mitchell
Dre/Moose

*EDIT: This projection is not for this year but going forward!!