Can we win a title with Ilyasova as our starting PF?

[Canadafan]

If RJ KCP SJ and Andre all pan out as we hope.
If not then who's someone a PF we can target?

[Snakebites]

I don't think so. He's a bench player on a good team.

Its premature to even be asking questions like this about secondary players, though.

[zeebneeb]

Absolutely. In this case it's about the reserves, and at PF, and certainly in today's NBA, we are loaded at that spot.

Ilyasova starts and the sheer versatility that can replace him is excellent.

Tolliver. A three point threat, and a decent p&r defender.

Baynes. A bigger PF for bigger pf's. A banger with a jumper, also good athletically for his position. Also a good passers out of the high post.

Morris. For small ball lineups even though he's almost exactly the same size as Ilyasova. Great three point shooter, and a very good defender when motivated.

Is Ilyasova a title contending pf all by himself? That's something we'll find out as the season progresses but I am confident in the amount of options we have at that position, and if he gets injured we can go with;

Jackson
Pope
Stanimal
Morris
Andre

As a fast, and offensivly lethal lineup.

This team is going to be fantastic, and if everything gels as I hope could be contending as early as next year.

Edit-Not this year coming up, but the following year. Just a clarification.

[Blkbrd671]

IF he stays healthy, yes. He's a better version of Ryan Anderson, again, if he's healthy

[Warspite]

Are we supposed to win the title this yr?

Any reason we couldn't use the cap space next summer to bring in a FA PF or make a trade for one? After all he is a FA to be in the last yr of his current deal.

[DocRI]

I voted no, but I'm being harsh and I believe this is more than a simple yes or no question. More importantly, I think that it's WAY TOO EARLY for questions like this about our team because there are still just WAY too many variables throughout our lineup. That said, and with those qualifiers out of the way ...

If RJ KCP SJ and Andre all pan out as we hope.

I don't think we all have the same hopes for each guy. In particular, I probably hold a bit lower of expectations for KCP than many other posters. I tend to think KCP's ceiling is that of a Tayshaun in his prime, high-end role player / "glue guy." If he pleasantly surprises me and develops into more of an impact player — or if we upgrade from him to a true all star SG — then sure, we could eventually win a championship with Illy (or a similar level player) at PF.

If not then who's someone a PF we can target?

Well, just for stuff and giggles — Al Horford. He's a UFA next offseason and a dream fit next to Drummond.

[need4detroit]

I voted no, but I'm being harsh and I believe this is more than a simple yes or no question. More importantly, I think that it's WAY TOO EARLY for questions like this about our team because there are still just WAY too many variables throughout our lineup. That said, and with those qualifiers out of the way ...

If RJ KCP SJ and Andre all pan out as we hope.

I don't think we all have the same hopes for each guy. In particular, I probably hold a bit lower of expectations for KCP than many other posters. I tend to think KCP's ceiling is that of a Tayshaun in his prime, high-end role player / "glue guy." If he pleasantly surprises me and develops into more of an impact player — or if we upgrade from him to a true all star SG — then sure, we could eventually win a championship with Illy (or a similar level player) at PF.

If not then who's someone a PF we can target?

Well, just for stuff and giggles — Al Horford. He's a UFA next offseason and a dream fit next to Drummond.

Drummond would have to be the 4 on defense.

[ElectricMayhem]

You can win a title with Mario Chalmers, Tiago Splitter, Deshawn Stevenson, Derek Fisher, or Elson/Oberto in the starting lineup. On the offchance that ALL of our other players pan out as we hope (Drummond being a HOF-level dominant big man, RJax and Stanley becoming all-stars, KCP becoming a lights-out shooter, and a great FA haul), then of course he can. The probability of this dream scenario is very low, though.

When answering the survey, I took the word 'can' in its literal form.

[Pharaoh]

No! Hell No! Ain't no way no!

Illy will be gone before we're contenders

[A_dub06]

You can win a title with Mario Chalmers, Tiago Splitter, Deshawn Stevenson, Derek Fisher, or Elson/Oberto in the starting lineup. On the offchance that ALL of our other players pan out as we hope (Drummond being a HOF-level dominant big man, RJax and Stanley becoming all-stars, KCP becoming a lights-out shooter, and a great FA haul), then of course he can. The probability of this dream scenario is very low, though.

When answering the survey, I took the word 'can' in its literal form.

And what does all of the players you mentioned have in common? They had one of the greatest of all time on their squad (sg Kobe, sf lebron and pf Duncan) and that's not even taking into account the stellar support they had.

This discussion is far too early but I understand it's the offseason so anything flys. My answer is a no unless our other 4 positions exceed expectations. Let's assume for a second that Jennings regains 80% of his athleticism back. That still leaves us with Jennings, Meeks, Morris, Tolliver and Baynes as our backup core. Sure each player can bring something but we would also need our bench to exceed expectations to even consider making the NBA finals along with Cleveland and Chicago suffering huge injuries.

Anything is possible so from that standpoint yes, but so is winning the lottery or being struck by lightning.....



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[No-Man]

The better question is if you can win with Jackson/Drummond as your franchise cornerstones.

[tmorgan]

No, we can't. He's a solid enough placeholder while we figure out our PF position for the future.

Oh, and Fischella, you suck.

[pistontr]

yes sure. lineup like this "Curry- Thompson- Green- Ilyasova- Bogut" could win

[Dirtgrain]

Buddha

[ImHeisenberg]

Where the heck is this title talk coming from? "Can the Pistons make the playoffs with Ilyasova as their starting PF" should be the question.

Additionally, Ilyasova is not going to be the fulcrum on whether this team vies for a title in the future or not. It will be Drummond, Jackson and Johnson that will determine the distance this team can go.

Ilyasova is a role player, that's about it. SVG likely views him as a place holder until he can find a permanent long term fit next to Drummond.

[Canadafan]

That's basically what I'm asking. In the future, can you win a title with an Ilyasova as your PF. Cause if not, who can we get?

[Laimbeer]

You can, but he won't be among the four best players.

[DBC10]

We haven't even sniffed playoffs, so let's start there. He's a decent PF for a treadmill playoff team.

For a contender, you want a bit more toughness and defense. I'm not convinced he's a starter on a title team.

[hoophabit]

Healthy Ersan can surely play on a title team, and especially a SVG team and system. The question is will we ever see a healthy season from him again? He's only 28, so maybe. The odds of seeing this seem low, as you'd have to bet that any real chance for contention is some ways away. Being one of the "old" guys on the team, his chance of being replaced before a finals appearance seems good. However, guys who can really shoot, if they can stay healthy, have a way of sticking around.

[Cowology]

There have been worse starters on championship teams. As others have noted it's more about the rest of the roster, but we're so far away this seems kinda irrelevant.

For what it's worth I'd rather have Jerebko back. Shame he never really got a legit shot with Smith/Monroe in front of him. I wouldn't be shocked if either Morris or a player not yet on our roster are starting at PF by the end of this season or beginning of next.