The Waiting Game...

[GreekAlex]

I understand there are still many dominos that need to fall for free agency to get in full swing but maybe it's better to take a slower approach. I would love to see the roster shaken up as much as the next fan and I'm all for moving Smith and Jennings but I don't blame SVG if he wants to hold them while their value is at an all time low.

Fans have amazingly short memories and I don't think enough can be said about how much better Jennings was under Mo cheeks (and Mo Cheeks is a terrible coach). I'm not saying SVG can or cannot make Jennings and Smith players that are part of the Pistions future beyond this season but I firmly believe he can put them in a position to succeed and inflate their value enough to get better returning assets to move forward with.

Some of the more experienced posters realize how big of a change bringing SVG to coach and be the team president was and others just seemed consumed with changing the roster. Look how much the roster changed last season and how little the amount of success in the W-L columns changed. Above pursuing other teams FA's, I'm far more interested to see how SVG handles the Monroe RFA and what things look like when the dust settles.

[Blkbrd671]

I think SVG has attacked this offseason perfectly. Smith and Jennings don't need to be moved, but if the move makes us better, SVG is all for it. i think that is the perfect approach. Making resigning moose a top priority is also a great move, prior to the FA we all thought he was gettin the max, i think Joe D would have given it to him, i'm glad we are hearing we might get Fair Value.

Though we are still waiting

[Snakebites]

Some of the more experienced posters realize how big of a change bringing SVG to coach and be the team president was and others just seemed consumed with changing the roster. Look how much the roster changed last season and how little the amount of success in the W-L columns changed. Above pursuing other teams FA's, I'm far more interested to see how SVG handles the Monroe RFA and what things look like when the dust settles.

People want a roster change because we have a bad roster.

SVG is a good coach and he will make the team better, but its still not going far without a roster that is more soundly constructed.

That's why you're seeing people eager for a shakeup. I'm still hopeful to see some moves, but to be perfectly frank I'm perfectly fine with SVG not being more active on the free agent market given the absurdity of the prices for some of these guys.

[aad]

We will be better alone just with SVG as coach I bet this team win 40 or more games we won 29 games last season but lost more then 10 games in the 4th quarter while leading by 10 or more points plus we added shooting with meks and martin and improved drummond and KCP plus I still think bynum will be traded for a better shooting backup pg nelson im thinking

[BayAreaTreyArea]

Jennings and Smith could be revitilized with SVG or they could be traded once teams start drooling for talent to draw their fans in once they strike out in FA. We will see, but I think SVG should be the best move made by this team besides the drafting of Monroe and Drummond since our playoff run stopped. So lets not forget that our coach is one of our biggest pickups.

[Entourage27]

I look at it like this; our record last year was 29-53. With the changes to our team I think this is how our season improves this next year.

Replacing Mo Cheeks with SVG. +8 wins

Replacing Stuckey with Meeks. +3 wins

Replacing CV and Billups with Martin and Gray +2 wins

That puts us at 42-40 good for around 6-8 spot in the playoffs. The craziest part is that the offseason is no where near over. There is potential for better things coming to us as well. We have the potential of Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe, KCP, Singler, and even Brandon Jennings and Jonas Jerebko, on becoming better players then they ever were.

Even if we lose Monroe we will get great value back for him as that was what SVG said we would do for Monroe. We can maybe keep Monroe and trade Smith. Any of these things can add more wins to our team compared to last years team.

[Spider156]

In Stan I Trust. Even if we don't have Smith or Monroe, I believe Astana can get the playoffs with Drummond alone. The game is easy once you know the x and o and when you get the most of out of your guys. After all, the ball either goes in or out in a play and at the end of the game it's about having more pts than your opponent. Nobody should be worried. This guy Stan is a great coach! I trust him.

[Joe Berry]

This team still is terrible defensively and i just can't imagine in my wildest dreams the return of Smennings. (i mean both) These two guys took 30 shots per game, FG 37% and FG 41%. I know SVG is a pretty good coach but this is not a playoff team yet. Changes have to be made! This team needs a starting PG pretty badly, Jennings just isn't good enough. I hate the waiting game.

[princeofpalace]

We need to improve the roster, period.

We simply are not going to win many games with a SF rotation of Singler/Jerebko/Martin/Datome, nor will we win anything with Jennings/Bynum/Siva/Dinwiddie. We must upgrade PG and SF.

We have no clue what calls the FO is making and I think its more than a tad ridiculous that some posters think we arent even trying to land certain FA because they don't see a headline in the news. The offseason is only just starting, I think its likely that we get something done to help us at PG and SF.

[ImHeisenberg]

Trade season doesn't happen until after the free agent market has been picked apart.

Even then, SVG could want to hold onto Jennings and Smith in hopes that he can boost their stock, opposed to selling incredibly low on both of them.

Detroit has been a free agent wasteland during the third act of Dumars' tenure here. His army of bumbling idiot coaches, pretty much every player we brought in underperformed here and their stock dropped like a rock. Hopefully SVG's new regime can change that trend.

[Billl]

SVG is about as honest a guy as you are going to find in basketball. He tells you exactly what he is thinking. I'm not sure why some fans aren't just taking him at his word. He's said he isn't going to try to sign any big name guys in free agency. He said he isn't looking to dump any of our core players without a solid return. He said he wants to evaluate everyone in his system before making drastic changes. So far, that is exactly what has happened. I'm sure he would listen to any trade proposals, but I wouldn't be expecting change for change's sake.

[E-Z]

Van Gundy was big enough of an acquisition this off-season by a couple of miles. Giving the current roster a go before making any changes is respectable. I like all the moves he's made and hasn't made so far. He's had worse. Trust the man.

[joeposh]

Van Gundy was big enough of an acquisition this off-season by a couple of miles. Giving the current roster a go before making any changes is respectable. I like all the moves he's made and hasn't made so far. He's had worse. Trust the man.

That's exactly right. Landing SVG was the big prize this off season. It will take time to mold this roster into a contender, but we're already making incremental changes that I believe will serve as the foundation for bigger moves down the road.

[GreekAlex]

Trade season doesn't happen until after the free agent market has been picked apart.

Even then, SVG could want to hold onto Jennings and Smith in hopes that he can boost their stock, opposed to selling incredibly low on both of them.

Detroit has been a free agent wasteland during the third act of Dumars' tenure here. His army of bumbling idiot coaches, pretty much every player we brought in underperformed here and their stock dropped like a rock. Hopefully SVG's new regime can change that trend.

Seeing the way the market is shaping up, I no longer believe the J. Smith to Sac deal was good... I don't want either bad contract of Jason Thompson or Carl Landry coming back... To me they are far worse contracts than J. Smith's and I now believe the lowest return should be all expiring contracts. The only way I would take a contract with negative value that is not expiring if there is an asset attached.

[GreekAlex]

We will be better alone just with SVG as coach I bet this team win 40 or more games we won 29 games last season but lost more then 10 games in the 4th quarter while leading by 10 or more points plus we added shooting with meks and martin and improved drummond and KCP plus I still think bynum will be traded for a better shooting backup pg nelson im thinking

Do you know where those stats can be found regarding 4th Q leads? I read something similar and it also stated something regarding 20 point first half leads... I'd be real interested to see more stats like that.

[GreekAlex]

Some of the more experienced posters realize how big of a change bringing SVG to coach and be the team president was and others just seemed consumed with changing the roster. Look how much the roster changed last season and how little the amount of success in the W-L columns changed. Above pursuing other teams FA's, I'm far more interested to see how SVG handles the Monroe RFA and what things look like when the dust settles.

People want a roster change because we have a bad roster.

SVG is a good coach and he will make the team better, but its still not going far without a roster that is more soundly constructed.

That's why you're seeing people eager for a shakeup. I'm still hopeful to see some moves, but to be perfectly frank I'm perfectly fine with SVG not being more active on the free agent market given the absurdity of the prices for some of these guys.

I totally agree the best option is change but I have a theory when it comes to SVG. I believe he prefers certain other players but given the current roster and his makeup as a coach, he feels that if he buts the misfits (Smith & Jennings) in a better position to succeed he can get the most out of them. In business I always believe if people/employees have talent and are not successful they just aren't being utilized correctly by management and I think this is how SVG is approaching the situation.