Big time obvious assets:
1) Drummond
2) Monroe
The two "duhs." Very obviously we're building around them. And for great reason, they both should become great players, and Drummond could become one of the top 5 players in the game within a few seasons. Any team with those two has a big future. It'll take time, but it'll be worth it. Every other rebuilding team is jealous of the Pistons because of this duo.
Very possibly very fine assets:
3) Knight
4) Singler and Middleton.
5) Maybe JJ, too
Knight's a guy any team wants - huge heart, big time athlete, super hard worker, plays through any injury (and he had major injuries to his legs/feet this season), great shooter. We don't know is position, but we know he's a core player going forward. Possibly there'll come a time when he's traded, but if so, it's for a big time player.
Singler and Middleton are likely keepers. Both wing players who can shoot and defend, especially Middelton. Consider:
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/922 ... m-suggests
As the league changes, certain skills become more and less valuable, and the teams who sniff out those value shifts first reap the benefits. The NBA today is much different than it was even five years ago. Teams shoot many more 3-pointers, they cram the paint on defense, and they use schemes that often require players to be able to guard multiple positions. Being a wing in a Thibodeau-style pack-the-paint scheme requires smarts, effort, and crazy athleticism — the ability to move from the 3-point line to underneath the basket and then back out to the 3-point line within the same 15-second half-court sequence.
If I were running an NBA team — ha! — I'd be scouring the world for role players who can do all of the following three things:
• Defend shooting guards.
• Defend small forwards.
• Shoot 3-pointers proficiently.
This is the perfect role player, a sort of New Age Shane Battier.
...
More Intriguing But Unknown Young Guys
...
• Kyle Singler: Singler shot 35 percent from deep and provided some valuable spacing for the shooting-challenged Pistons while logging time at both wing positions. Has to prove he can hold his own defensively.
• Khris Middleton: Detroit is high on Middleton's potential to become precisely this sort of player, but he attempted just 45 3s and didn't receive consistent minutes (or really any meaningful minutes at all) until the last month of the season.
IMO, we rock and roll with Singler and Middleton, and possibly even JJ who can potentially be a hybrid type who can guard 3's and stretch 4's enough and also be a hustling crash the boards type who can also knock down 3 pt shots. JJ showed me a lot the last month.
Other assets: cap space and expiring contracts
Stuckey, CV - I don't trust Stuckey anymore, although on paper he makes sense to start the season with us. By midseason, both of these contacts could be major gets for any team trying to get under the cap in preparation for the summer of 2014 or to avoid luxury taxes. I've no problem if, strategically, Joe hangs onto both of these guys going into the season. Stuckey really could provide short term stability at the PG position and he has the size/strength and ball-handling ability that Knight has to have if we start him at SG.
Offseason Acquisition and Drafting Plan
We have three needs assuming we're committed to the development of our existing assets - which I think is the best plan.
1) PG of the future. Draft a big one (MKG or the German guy or McCollum if we're convinced he's a top young PG, which I'm not sure about right now),or trade for one if we can. No idea who's available.
2) If not a PG, draft a big man to play in rotation with our two young stars - or make a trade for or sign one one. It'd be ideal if the big could shoot and defend. Len maybe, and the scouting reports still seem to say that Zeller could turn into the ideal complimentary player in a few seasons. A stretch 4 who can also rebound and be a presence in the lane - this does sound like Len
3) A super defender who can defend the 1 and the 2 - that's Oladipo. Alternatively, this is a place where it's likely that we'll spend some of our cap money.
The Brapman #1 best plan of eternity is not to panic, not to overspend, and to build around assets that I'm pretty convinced are in place. The 4 key assets in place in my humble opinion are Drumroe, Knight and Middleton. I love Middleton and think he's the ideal guy. I would not trade for or draft a player at his SF position.
