WHAT GRADE DO YOU GIVE JOE

[Dre Drummond]

Most people believed that Smith was the 3rd best FA this summer behind only Paul and Dwight so to land him says a lot IMO.

Big thing for me is by amnestying CV we could have upgraded two starting positions but now that's not an option unless we trade him and Stuck for an overpaid player most likely.

Bynum, Billups, Italian guy are all bench players on a championship team. We need to upgrade our starting SG position still.

[Hotmayo]

A

[ducler]

A for now.
A+ if CV and Stuckey are gone.

[Natopher]

It's pretty funny how just a few days ago a lot of people on this board (myself included) were hating on Joe. And now we're all raving about him =P

[engelbert321]

Before Billups signing: B+
After Billups signing: A-
If CV and Stuck are traded for an all-star/solid starter: A+

[bennett13]

I think he's at a B right now, but he's put him self in position to hit a home run and do better than an A+.

[theBigLip]

What happened to the other thread on grades? I'd like to see a before/after on those

[triplet1984]

I'm sticking with my grade in the post-Smith grades thread: B

I think there are legit offensive fit issues that prevent me giving an A but otherwise I'm pretty happy. I wish we had made more serious runs at guys like Teague, Neal, Ridnour, etc, but am very intrigued by Datome.

[ComboGuardCity]

I think Joe needs to make a trade or two. Hopefully Middleton for future seconds? I give him a B+. HE upgraded the SF spot, added shooters (Billups and KCP), and added bigs (Mitchell). Should be nice to see how he finishes. I think this is a playoff team now.

Why would he do that?

[Clarity]

After Rasheed & Chauncey anything but an A would be ridiculous even with the Smith questions. We needed veteran leadership, we already had some talent here.

[Clarity]

It's pretty funny how just a few days ago a lot of people on this board (myself included) were hating on Joe. And now we're all raving about him =P

Like I said then, the Joe hate was always way over blown. Hes done a pretty good job as GM, all you can expect is 50/50 & hes definitely done better than that.

but thats the life of a sports fan.

[Piston Pete]

I'm actually NOT thrilled about this offseason.

What has Joe done with our cap space?

1) He spent a HUGE chunk on Josh Smith. A really good player, but not a good fit here.
2) He spent a little on re-signing Bynum (meh move)
3) He spent a smaller chunk on Gigi Datome (inconclusive)
4) He spent to bring back Billups - love the setiment, but Billups hasn't been healthy since leaving Denver.

My grade for this offseason might be a B overall...and that's in hoping KCP and Mitchell eventually develop into plus players.

[Clarity]

I'm actually NOT thrilled about this offseason.

Noooooooooooo, no way. YOU didnt like something we did??!!?

I'm absolutely floored.

[ImHeisenberg]

As we currently stand- I give Joe an A for the offseason.

Great draft with KCP, Mitchell and Siva (even if he doesn't make the team)

Signed Josh Smith, Billups (he probably doesn't sign without Smith), Datome, and Bynum for cheap.

All things considered, I think he's done a fantastic job. He got the best free agent that wasn't CP3 or D12. He went outside the box, and got Luigi, who can bring shooting if nothing else, and is dirt cheap. And, any questions about a lack of leadership have now been put to rest as he signed Billups and got Sheed to join the coaching staff to mentor Drummond, Monroe and Smith.

The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the Mo Cheeks hiring. But, considering that he's draped him with Billups and Sheed, that's put a lot of my concerns to rest and I hope that he and Chauncey can add a new dimension to Knight's game.

It's been an exciting and hopeful off season, imho. And, Joe's still maintained a great level of flexibility through the season, still owning 18 million dollars in expiring contracts between Stuckey, DNP-CV and ktrl-V, where that space is likely to used on a Monroe extension primarily next year.

[ajaX82]

I'm actually NOT thrilled about this offseason.

What has Joe done with our cap space?

1) He spent a HUGE chunk on Josh Smith. A really good player, but not a good fit here.
2) He spent a little on re-signing Bynum (meh move)
3) He spent a smaller chunk on Gigi Datome (inconclusive)
4) He spent to bring back Billups - love the setiment, but Billups hasn't been healthy since leaving Denver.

My grade for this offseason might be a B overall...and that's in hoping KCP and Mitchell eventually develop into plus players.

One of the more reasonable posts I have seen yet. The Joe love right now cracks me up...we have no idea how any of these moves will turn out and I see a lot of risks. I mean give him credit for making us at least watchable but ya'll acting like we are suddenly contenders or something; we might make the playoffs. MIGHT

[Q00]

Definitely A+ offseason for me. I said A- a few days ago because I was still unsure of the KCP pick, but I'm starting to like him these last few games. Now add Billups too and its definitely a homerun offseason so far for Joe.

[DetroitPistons]

I give him a B.

Perfect draft +
Smith was the 3rd best free agent on the market +
Billups is the veteran leader we need to mentor Knight +
Datome is a shooter +

Bynum was a terrible signing -
Should've gone after Hollins instead of Cheeks -

If he can package our expirings/young assets/picks for a guy like Eric Gordon or even Gerald Henderson then I would boost my grade up to an A-

Dumars has been underrated around here for awhile. Imo he did an awesome job rebuilding by staying patient and letting the rebuild take it's course through the draft. Now was the perfect time to exit rebuild mode and enter playoff mode by signing Smith and some vets. Good job Joe.

[LDIZL]

Can't judge quite yet because I still feel there's a trade that's about to happen, and he has to drop a few people. But as of right now I'd give him a B+ or A-. This is the most excited I've been about the Pistons in a long time (possibly ever as I didn't start seriously following until the playoffs of 07-08). I can't wait for the season to begin.

Word except I've been down with the stones since hunter Houston and hill... Thats irrelevant, I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see us acquire rondo and Rudy for anyone not named Drummond... We could see the 2013-14 pistons with a starting 5 of Rondo Billups Gay Smith Drummond.. And that's enough to be in the same convo as the pacers and nets which are teams still chasing the heat