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On needing to string wins together after not winning more than three in a row for more than three months:

“It’s tough to be confident when you haven’t played well. People don’t feel sorry for you in this league. If they can beat you, they beat you. … I just feel like losing doesn’t hurt to most of our guys. It just doesn’t hurt. People don’t take it personal. And if you don’t, people are going to beat you every night. Because everybody needs a win in this league. No matter if you’re on a winning streak or a losing streak, everybody wants and needs a win. If it just doesn’t hurt, then it’s going to keep happening.”

On whether repeated mistakes were the result of mental errors or insufficient effort:

“I think both. Nobody really wants to lose, but there’s a price to pay for winning and I don’t think, overall as a team, we’re not willing to pay the price right now. If the games all ended at halftime, shoot, we might be a three or four seed. But when the games get tough and you’ve got to play with your heart and your will, we fall off every time.”

On why the defensive chemistry hasn’t clicked this season:

“Our defense has struggled mightily this season. I think first and foremost, defense is about effort. There are concepts involved and there are principles involved, (but) defense is all what’s inside of you. You’ve got to want to play defense because it’s not fun all the time. Offense is fun. But I just think that if it’s in you to go out and get a stop, then you can do that. If it’s not, then people are just going to run all over you.”

There's more Q&A in the article too.

http://www.nba.com/pistons/features/tru ... 40307.html

Seems like we have a lot of players on this team who don't care if we lose, get rid of them all!!!

"you’re going to play a little harder in the fourth quarter because it means more, you value possessions more and the tough-minded teams will win most fourth quarters. Some of the shots we shoot are like turnovers and we don’t get that."

Season in a nutshell.

I remember saying that those dumb jumpshots were turnovers back in November.
Can't even believe Cheeks had the nerve to run totally through Smennings and bench Monroe in the 4th. Mindboggling.

vic wrote:"you’re going to play a little harder in the fourth quarter because it means more, you value possessions more and the tough-minded teams will win most fourth quarters. Some of the shots we shoot are like turnovers and we don’t get that."

Season in a nutshell.

I remember saying that those dumb jumpshots were turnovers back in November.
Can't even believe Cheeks had the nerve to run totally through Smennings and bench Monroe in the 4th. Mindboggling.

Chauncey should really shut the hell up

We signed him for 2.5 MILLION to sit on the bench and do nothing while collecting his check

He hasnt done **** to help Jennings become a smarter player and now he is talking **** in the media.

I really hope we dump him next year there are tons of young guys that would kill to get almost 3M to come off the bench for our team and instead we have this piece of **** taking up a spot on our roster and contributing nothing on or off the court.

sfballa13 wrote:

vic wrote:"you’re going to play a little harder in the fourth quarter because it means more, you value possessions more and the tough-minded teams will win most fourth quarters. Some of the shots we shoot are like turnovers and we don’t get that."

Season in a nutshell.

I remember saying that those dumb jumpshots were turnovers back in November.
Can't even believe Cheeks had the nerve to run totally through Smennings and bench Monroe in the 4th. Mindboggling.

Chauncey should really shut the hell up

We signed him for 2.5 MILLION to sit on the bench and do nothing while collecting his check

He hasnt done **** to help Jennings become a smarter player and now he is talking **** in the media.

I really hope we dump him next year there are tons of young guys that would kill to get almost 3M to come off the bench for our team and instead we have this piece of **** taking up a spot on our roster and contributing nothing on or off the court.

Why should he shut up? So he doesnt hurt Jennings and Smith's feelings or something. These two guys are clowns and have destroyed the game of basketball in this town. While Chaunceys game cant back up his talk anymore, Hes still accomplished quite a bit in his career and knows how to play the right way. He was brought in here as a vet to help teach the young guys and these guys cant be taught so maybe hes venting a little.

Does Chauncey still come to the games? I don't remember seeing him on the sidelines?

MotownMadness wrote:

sfballa13 wrote:

vic wrote:"you’re going to play a little harder in the fourth quarter because it means more, you value possessions more and the tough-minded teams will win most fourth quarters. Some of the shots we shoot are like turnovers and we don’t get that."

Season in a nutshell.

I remember saying that those dumb jumpshots were turnovers back in November.
Can't even believe Cheeks had the nerve to run totally through Smennings and bench Monroe in the 4th. Mindboggling.

Chauncey should really shut the hell up

We signed him for 2.5 MILLION to sit on the bench and do nothing while collecting his check

He hasnt done **** to help Jennings become a smarter player and now he is talking **** in the media.

I really hope we dump him next year there are tons of young guys that would kill to get almost 3M to come off the bench for our team and instead we have this piece of **** taking up a spot on our roster and contributing nothing on or off the court.

Why should he shut up? So he doesnt hurt Jennings and Smith's feelings or something. These two guys are clowns and have destroyed the game of basketball in this town.

This myth really needs to stop. Good basketball has been absent in this town for 5-6 years, long before either Jennings or Smith were on this team. If you enjoyed watching last years 29 win team more somehow, more power to you, but its no different to me. The names on the jersey's may have changed, but its not like we didn't see guys like Bynum, CV, Maxiell, Tayshaun, Stuckey, etc, doing the same things last year as well like hogging the ball, over-dribbling,, settling for jumpshots, taking bad shots early in the clock, not playing defense, not giving effort etc.

This is a culture issue that's been going on for a long time. So to act like this just started with the arrival of Jennings and Smith is just not true. If you really want to single out a chucker for this teams chucking culture, go straight to the source - King Bubba Chuck himself - Allen Iverson.

I don't think its a coincidence that the culture change of this team started that 08-09 season after the trade. It wasn't just not having Chauncey around, but also having that selfish twit Iverson around bringing that whole And1 mentality into our franchise.

Suddenly guys like Rip and Tay, who were the epitome of selfless team players their whole careers, started playing iso way more than they used to. Because when you bring in a guy like Iverson who starts hogging the ball, other guys then hog it back when they finally get the ball too. Its like a disease. I remember when he first got here, all those ultimate team guys like Rasheed, McDyess, Tay, Rip, would just stand around watching Iverson dribble and you could tell they did not like it. After a while, they just **** it and started doing it themselves too.

Then you had impressionable young guards like Bynum and Stuckey on that team learning that was the right way to play. And even though the other guys left, they stayed and continued that whole culture going forward. Then to compound the problem we sign two guys like BG/CV who literally couldn't do anything but shoot, and felt entitled to because they got big contracts, and suddenly we have a whole team full of selfish iso chuckers.

All of that before even signing Smith and Jennings. So as you can see, this is something that's been building for years and didn't just start with their signings.

I agree though that its good to hear Chauncey speaking up. He's saying what this team needs to hear and no one else is taking accountability so someone has to say it. If Gores or Joe were around maybe he wouldn't have to. He could just sit quietly, collect his money, and then retire and not give a **** about what happens to this franchise. Instead he's trying to offer some advice and help change the culture back by calling out some of these lazy ass defenders and selfish ballhogs. As a fan I don't care who says it, but its needed to be said for years.

Lol at comparing tayshaun and max to smith. Check their salaries.

Q00 wrote:

On needing to string wins together after not winning more than three in a row for more than three months:

“It’s tough to be confident when you haven’t played well. People don’t feel sorry for you in this league. If they can beat you, they beat you. … I just feel like losing doesn’t hurt to most of our guys. It just doesn’t hurt. People don’t take it personal. And if you don’t, people are going to beat you every night. Because everybody needs a win in this league. No matter if you’re on a winning streak or a losing streak, everybody wants and needs a win. If it just doesn’t hurt, then it’s going to keep happening.”

On whether repeated mistakes were the result of mental errors or insufficient effort:

“I think both. Nobody really wants to lose, but there’s a price to pay for winning and I don’t think, overall as a team, we’re not willing to pay the price right now. If the games all ended at halftime, shoot, we might be a three or four seed. But when the games get tough and you’ve got to play with your heart and your will, we fall off every time.”

On why the defensive chemistry hasn’t clicked this season:

“Our defense has struggled mightily this season. I think first and foremost, defense is about effort. There are concepts involved and there are principles involved, (but) defense is all what’s inside of you. You’ve got to want to play defense because it’s not fun all the time. Offense is fun. But I just think that if it’s in you to go out and get a stop, then you can do that. If it’s not, then people are just going to run all over you.”

Wow, good read. I sort of think Billups could have been referring to Drummond and Stuckey when he talked about losing pains. Both of those guys seem so friendly on the court and after games. Jennnings, Smith, Singler and Monroe all seem pissed when we lose.

Q00 wrote:

MotownMadness wrote:

sfballa13 wrote:
Chauncey should really shut the hell up

We signed him for 2.5 MILLION to sit on the bench and do nothing while collecting his check

He hasnt done **** to help Jennings become a smarter player and now he is talking **** in the media.

I really hope we dump him next year there are tons of young guys that would kill to get almost 3M to come off the bench for our team and instead we have this piece of **** taking up a spot on our roster and contributing nothing on or off the court.

Why should he shut up? So he doesnt hurt Jennings and Smith's feelings or something. These two guys are clowns and have destroyed the game of basketball in this town.

This myth really needs to stop. Good basketball has been absent in this town for 5-6 years, long before either Jennings or Smith were on this team. If you enjoyed watching last years 29 win team more somehow, more power to you, but its no different to me. The names on the jersey's may have changed, but its not like we didn't see guys like Bynum, CV, Maxiell, Tayshaun, Stuckey, etc, doing the same things last year as well like hogging the ball, over-dribbling,, settling for jumpshots, taking bad shots early in the clock, not playing defense, not giving effort etc.

This is a culture issue that's been going on for a long time. So to act like this just started with the arrival of Jennings and Smith is just not true. If you really want to single out a chucker for this teams chucking culture, go straight to the source - King Bubba Chuck himself - Allen Iverson.

I don't think its a coincidence that the culture change of this team started that 08-09 season after the trade. It wasn't just not having Chauncey around, but also having that selfish twit Iverson around bringing that whole And1 mentality into our franchise.

Suddenly guys like Rip and Tay, who were the epitome of selfless team players their whole careers, started playing iso way more than they used to. Because when you bring in a guy like Iverson who starts hogging the ball, other guys then hog it back when they finally get the ball too. Its like a disease. I remember when he first got here, all those ultimate team guys like Rasheed, McDyess, Tay, Rip, would just stand around watching Iverson dribble and you could tell they did not like it. After a while, they just **** it and started doing it themselves too.

Then you had impressionable young guards like Bynum and Stuckey on that team learning that was the right way to play. And even though the other guys left, they stayed and continued that whole culture going forward. Then to compound the problem we sign two guys like BG/CV who literally couldn't do anything but shoot, and felt entitled to because they got big contracts, and suddenly we have a whole team full of selfish iso chuckers.

All of that before even signing Smith and Jennings. So as you can see, this is something that's been building for years and didn't just start with their signings.

I agree though that its good to hear Chauncey speaking up. He's saying what this team needs to hear and no one else is taking accountability so someone has to say it. If Gores or Joe were around maybe he wouldn't have to. He could just sit quietly, collect his money, and then retire and not give a **** about what happens to this franchise. Instead he's trying to offer some advice and help change the culture back by calling out some of these lazy ass defenders and selfish ballhogs. As a fan I don't care who says it, but its needed to be said for years.

Wow, there's a big difference in a 29 win team developing young guys then there is a 29 win team with two heavily payed chuckers on new contracts taking the ball away from the youth while making us a laughing stock. So yes I enjoyed last years team a lot more.

Last years team was working towards a bright future. This years team makes the future look like crap because it's going to be hard to find someone to take these cancers off of our hands so were not stuck with them for 4 more years.

ComboGuardCity wrote:Lol at comparing tayshaun and max to smith. Check their salaries.

yeah they combined to make the same salary as Smith and both had been inefficient chuckers here for years.

You must've forgotten Tayshaun's last 2 years here when he scored 12 ppg on 12 FGAs with 42% FG. He was no more efficient than Smith, but for taking a few less shots per game that he left over for Maxiell to chuck instead, with his 6 points on 6 shots avg himself during that span.

Smith scoring 16 ppg on 16 FGAs for 14 mil/yr - or - Prince/Max scoring 18 ppg on 18 FGAs for 14 mil/yr doesn't really make much difference, except you had two chuckers instead of one.

Jennings is a low-IQ player. I believe that's a huge problem at the PG position.

There was a possession in which Jennings was leading in transition, maybe one on two, or one on three, and just casually dished a no-look to a trailing Josh Smith on the right wing and bricked the jumper. This was in the fourth quarter, early into the shot clock, but late into the game. I forgot what opponent, but I turned the game off right there. Detroit's offense could be summed up by that one possession to say the least.

Most of his decisions are turnover-esque even if they aren't actually turnovers. It's further compounded by the incredibly long leash Smith has. Detroit needs a smarter PG if they plan on making this offense work more efficiently. I definitely would refrain from passing Smith the ball late game if he isn't cutting to the hoop or getting inside position.

The arrogance of Dumars to believe that Smith and Jennings wouldn't effect the culture of this team (which was already bad).

Jennings, Stuckey and Smith- the All-Star Sulking Team!

Regardless, I'm disappointed that Billups' swan song will be a bust. Hopefully the next GM will come in and clean house. Get rid of the players just there for a pay check and instate a true winning culture and coaching team.

MotownMadness wrote:

Q00 wrote:

MotownMadness wrote:Why should he shut up? So he doesnt hurt Jennings and Smith's feelings or something. These two guys are clowns and have destroyed the game of basketball in this town.

This myth really needs to stop. Good basketball has been absent in this town for 5-6 years, long before either Jennings or Smith were on this team. If you enjoyed watching last years 29 win team more somehow, more power to you, but its no different to me. The names on the jersey's may have changed, but its not like we didn't see guys like Bynum, CV, Maxiell, Tayshaun, Stuckey, etc, doing the same things last year as well like hogging the ball, over-dribbling,, settling for jumpshots, taking bad shots early in the clock, not playing defense, not giving effort etc.

This is a culture issue that's been going on for a long time. So to act like this just started with the arrival of Jennings and Smith is just not true. If you really want to single out a chucker for this teams chucking culture, go straight to the source - King Bubba Chuck himself - Allen Iverson.

I don't think its a coincidence that the culture change of this team started that 08-09 season after the trade. It wasn't just not having Chauncey around, but also having that selfish twit Iverson around bringing that whole And1 mentality into our franchise.

Suddenly guys like Rip and Tay, who were the epitome of selfless team players their whole careers, started playing iso way more than they used to. Because when you bring in a guy like Iverson who starts hogging the ball, other guys then hog it back when they finally get the ball too. Its like a disease. I remember when he first got here, all those ultimate team guys like Rasheed, McDyess, Tay, Rip, would just stand around watching Iverson dribble and you could tell they did not like it. After a while, they just **** it and started doing it themselves too.

Then you had impressionable young guards like Bynum and Stuckey on that team learning that was the right way to play. And even though the other guys left, they stayed and continued that whole culture going forward. Then to compound the problem we sign two guys like BG/CV who literally couldn't do anything but shoot, and felt entitled to because they got big contracts, and suddenly we have a whole team full of selfish iso chuckers.

All of that before even signing Smith and Jennings. So as you can see, this is something that's been building for years and didn't just start with their signings.

I agree though that its good to hear Chauncey speaking up. He's saying what this team needs to hear and no one else is taking accountability so someone has to say it. If Gores or Joe were around maybe he wouldn't have to. He could just sit quietly, collect his money, and then retire and not give a **** about what happens to this franchise. Instead he's trying to offer some advice and help change the culture back by calling out some of these lazy ass defenders and selfish ballhogs. As a fan I don't care who says it, but its needed to be said for years.

Wow, there's a big difference in a 29 win team developing young guys then there is a 29 win team with two heavily payed chuckers on new contracts taking the ball away from the youth while making us a laughing stock. So yes I enjoyed last years team a lot more.

Last years team was working towards a bright future. This years team makes the future look like crap because it's going to be hard to find someone to take these cancers off of our hands so were not stuck with them for 4 more years.

You call Maxiell starting and avg 25 mpg while Drummond gets 20 mpg off the bench developing young guys?

Monroe and Drummond played like 10 minutes together total all season. Did you forget about that? That's developing our young core towards a brighter future?

How bout Tayshaun, Stuckey, Calderon, Bynum, Maxiell, and CV combining for 50 FGAs per game, while Drummond, Singler, Middleon, and Daye got 23...

Knight was 2nd in attempts, and he's not even on the team anymore. Instead he's now the starting PG for the worst team in the league. So much for us watching our bright future last year lol That's more like revisionist history. The way I recall it, we watched a bunch of vets hog the ball and steal minutes from our young guys, and watched our 8th pick from the year before confirm he wasn't PG. (Did you forget about when Calderon stole his job?)

Even though we still have vets hogging the ball, at least this year we are getting to watch Drummond start and play major minutes, and we've also seen Monroe and Drummond together WAY more this year than last. So if anything I feel like we've gotten to watch our bright future more this year, because our only real future is Drummond and he's finally starting and playing big minutes. For that reason I've enjoyed watching this season way more than the last 4 years.

Q00 wrote:

MotownMadness wrote:

Q00 wrote:
This myth really needs to stop. Good basketball has been absent in this town for 5-6 years, long before either Jennings or Smith were on this team. If you enjoyed watching last years 29 win team more somehow, more power to you, but its no different to me. The names on the jersey's may have changed, but its not like we didn't see guys like Bynum, CV, Maxiell, Tayshaun, Stuckey, etc, doing the same things last year as well like hogging the ball, over-dribbling,, settling for jumpshots, taking bad shots early in the clock, not playing defense, not giving effort etc.

This is a culture issue that's been going on for a long time. So to act like this just started with the arrival of Jennings and Smith is just not true. If you really want to single out a chucker for this teams chucking culture, go straight to the source - King Bubba Chuck himself - Allen Iverson.

I don't think its a coincidence that the culture change of this team started that 08-09 season after the trade. It wasn't just not having Chauncey around, but also having that selfish twit Iverson around bringing that whole And1 mentality into our franchise.

Suddenly guys like Rip and Tay, who were the epitome of selfless team players their whole careers, started playing iso way more than they used to. Because when you bring in a guy like Iverson who starts hogging the ball, other guys then hog it back when they finally get the ball too. Its like a disease. I remember when he first got here, all those ultimate team guys like Rasheed, McDyess, Tay, Rip, would just stand around watching Iverson dribble and you could tell they did not like it. After a while, they just **** it and started doing it themselves too.

Then you had impressionable young guards like Bynum and Stuckey on that team learning that was the right way to play. And even though the other guys left, they stayed and continued that whole culture going forward. Then to compound the problem we sign two guys like BG/CV who literally couldn't do anything but shoot, and felt entitled to because they got big contracts, and suddenly we have a whole team full of selfish iso chuckers.

All of that before even signing Smith and Jennings. So as you can see, this is something that's been building for years and didn't just start with their signings.

I agree though that its good to hear Chauncey speaking up. He's saying what this team needs to hear and no one else is taking accountability so someone has to say it. If Gores or Joe were around maybe he wouldn't have to. He could just sit quietly, collect his money, and then retire and not give a **** about what happens to this franchise. Instead he's trying to offer some advice and help change the culture back by calling out some of these lazy ass defenders and selfish ballhogs. As a fan I don't care who says it, but its needed to be said for years.

Wow, there's a big difference in a 29 win team developing young guys then there is a 29 win team with two heavily payed chuckers on new contracts taking the ball away from the youth while making us a laughing stock. So yes I enjoyed last years team a lot more.

Last years team was working towards a bright future. This years team makes the future look like crap because it's going to be hard to find someone to take these cancers off of our hands so were not stuck with them for 4 more years.

You call Maxiell starting and avg 25 mpg while Drummond gets 20 mpg off the bench developing young guys?

Monroe and Drummond played like 10 minutes together total all season. Did you forget about that? That's developing our young core towards a brighter future?

How bout Tayshaun, Stuckey, Calderon, Bynum, Maxiell, and CV combining for 50 FGAs per game, while Drummond, Singler, Middleon, and Daye got 23...

Knight was 2nd in attempts, and he's not even on the team anymore. Instead he's now the starting PG for the worst team in the league. So much for us watching our bright future last year lol That's more like revisionist history. The way I recall it, we watched a bunch of vets hog the ball and steal minutes from our young guys, and watched our 8th pick from the year before confirm he wasn't PG. (Did you forget about when Calderon stole his job?)

Even though we still have vets hogging the ball, at least this year we are getting to watch Drummond start and play major minutes, and we've also seen Monroe and Drummond together WAY more this year than last. So if anything I feel like we've gotten to watch our bright future more this year, because our only real future is Drummond and he's finally starting and playing big minutes. For that reason I've enjoyed watching this season way more than the last 4 years.

Drummond not starting was frustrating but he did get the starting gig eventually and now weve completely put a stunt on both him and Monroe with these two chuckers around. Prince was traded and Maxiell was done so the future was starting to look good but now were In worse shape with these two scrubs under new contracts.

MotownMadness wrote:

Q00 wrote:
This myth really needs to stop. Good basketball has been absent in this town for 5-6 years, long before either Jennings or Smith were on this team. If you enjoyed watching last years 29 win team more somehow, more power to you, but its no different to me. The names on the jersey's may have changed, but its not like we didn't see guys like Bynum, CV, Maxiell, Tayshaun, Stuckey, etc, doing the same things last year as well like hogging the ball, over-dribbling,, settling for jumpshots, taking bad shots early in the clock, not playing defense, not giving effort etc.

This is a culture issue that's been going on for a long time. So to act like this just started with the arrival of Jennings and Smith is just not true. If you really want to single out a chucker for this teams chucking culture, go straight to the source - King Bubba Chuck himself - Allen Iverson.

I don't think its a coincidence that the culture change of this team started that 08-09 season after the trade. It wasn't just not having Chauncey around, but also having that selfish twit Iverson around bringing that whole And1 mentality into our franchise.

Suddenly guys like Rip and Tay, who were the epitome of selfless team players their whole careers, started playing iso way more than they used to. Because when you bring in a guy like Iverson who starts hogging the ball, other guys then hog it back when they finally get the ball too. Its like a disease. I remember when he first got here, all those ultimate team guys like Rasheed, McDyess, Tay, Rip, would just stand around watching Iverson dribble and you could tell they did not like it. After a while, they just **** it and started doing it themselves too.

Then you had impressionable young guards like Bynum and Stuckey on that team learning that was the right way to play. And even though the other guys left, they stayed and continued that whole culture going forward. Then to compound the problem we sign two guys like BG/CV who literally couldn't do anything but shoot, and felt entitled to because they got big contracts, and suddenly we have a whole team full of selfish iso chuckers.

All of that before even signing Smith and Jennings. So as you can see, this is something that's been building for years and didn't just start with their signings.

I agree though that its good to hear Chauncey speaking up. He's saying what this team needs to hear and no one else is taking accountability so someone has to say it. If Gores or Joe were around maybe he wouldn't have to. He could just sit quietly, collect his money, and then retire and not give a **** about what happens to this franchise. Instead he's trying to offer some advice and help change the culture back by calling out some of these lazy ass defenders and selfish ballhogs. As a fan I don't care who says it, but its needed to be said for years.

Wow, there's a big difference in a 29 win team developing young guys then there is a 29 win team with two heavily payed chuckers on new contracts taking the ball away from the youth while making us a laughing stock. So yes I enjoyed last years team a lot more.

Last years team was working towards a bright future. This years team makes the future look like crap because it's going to be hard to find someone to take these cancers off of our hands so were not stuck with them for 4 more years.

Developing young guys?

We started Maxiel over Drummond and then replaced Knight at PG with 30-something Calderon.

People seem to forget that we went the route of trading away an inefficient shooter (Prince), so we could start Singler, Knight and the king-of-efficient-shooting (Calderon) last year and it didn't exactly make much difference.

FWIW Jennings is still a young guy, and I'd hazard a guess that the starting lineup was younger this year. You do have a valid point about the future though. Definitely doesn't look as bright as it did last year.

Im glad somebody in the organization finally had the cojones to call it like it is.

ChipButty wrote:

MotownMadness wrote:

Q00 wrote:
This myth really needs to stop. Good basketball has been absent in this town for 5-6 years, long before either Jennings or Smith were on this team. If you enjoyed watching last years 29 win team more somehow, more power to you, but its no different to me. The names on the jersey's may have changed, but its not like we didn't see guys like Bynum, CV, Maxiell, Tayshaun, Stuckey, etc, doing the same things last year as well like hogging the ball, over-dribbling,, settling for jumpshots, taking bad shots early in the clock, not playing defense, not giving effort etc.

This is a culture issue that's been going on for a long time. So to act like this just started with the arrival of Jennings and Smith is just not true. If you really want to single out a chucker for this teams chucking culture, go straight to the source - King Bubba Chuck himself - Allen Iverson.

I don't think its a coincidence that the culture change of this team started that 08-09 season after the trade. It wasn't just not having Chauncey around, but also having that selfish twit Iverson around bringing that whole And1 mentality into our franchise.

Suddenly guys like Rip and Tay, who were the epitome of selfless team players their whole careers, started playing iso way more than they used to. Because when you bring in a guy like Iverson who starts hogging the ball, other guys then hog it back when they finally get the ball too. Its like a disease. I remember when he first got here, all those ultimate team guys like Rasheed, McDyess, Tay, Rip, would just stand around watching Iverson dribble and you could tell they did not like it. After a while, they just **** it and started doing it themselves too.

Then you had impressionable young guards like Bynum and Stuckey on that team learning that was the right way to play. And even though the other guys left, they stayed and continued that whole culture going forward. Then to compound the problem we sign two guys like BG/CV who literally couldn't do anything but shoot, and felt entitled to because they got big contracts, and suddenly we have a whole team full of selfish iso chuckers.

All of that before even signing Smith and Jennings. So as you can see, this is something that's been building for years and didn't just start with their signings.

I agree though that its good to hear Chauncey speaking up. He's saying what this team needs to hear and no one else is taking accountability so someone has to say it. If Gores or Joe were around maybe he wouldn't have to. He could just sit quietly, collect his money, and then retire and not give a **** about what happens to this franchise. Instead he's trying to offer some advice and help change the culture back by calling out some of these lazy ass defenders and selfish ballhogs. As a fan I don't care who says it, but its needed to be said for years.

Wow, there's a big difference in a 29 win team developing young guys then there is a 29 win team with two heavily payed chuckers on new contracts taking the ball away from the youth while making us a laughing stock. So yes I enjoyed last years team a lot more.

Last years team was working towards a bright future. This years team makes the future look like crap because it's going to be hard to find someone to take these cancers off of our hands so were not stuck with them for 4 more years.

Developing young guys?

We started Maxiel over Drummond and then replaced Knight at PG with 30-something Calderon.

People seem to forget that we went the route of trading away an inefficient shooter (Prince), so we could start Singler, Knight and the king-of-efficient-shooting (Calderon) last year and it didn't exactly make much difference.

FWIW Jennings is still a young guy, and I'd hazard a guess that the starting lineup was younger this year. You do have a valid point about the future though. Definitely doesn't look as bright as it did last year.

Knight was never going to be a PG and he was still starting while Calderon ran the point. Also Calderon is actually a good shooter and better passer then Jennings. Prince was replaced with Singler before the deadline putting him in his natural position. Drummond would have replaced Maxiell after the all star break if it werent for injuries. Even with Maxiell out there we knew he was gone after the season and Dre and Monroe would be the new building blocks. So our lineup half way through the season if it wasnt for Drummonds injury was alot more promising and I was fine with losing because of growing pains but this crap this year theres no excuse for it.

Calderon/Stuckey
Knight/Stuckey
Singler/Middleton
Monroe/Maxiell
Drummond/Slava

Exactly why im glad Chauncey came home. Exactly why I hope he walks upstairs to the front office the second he retires.

Chauncey the next gm?