SVG grilled by Valenti on 97.1

[MotownMadness]

SVG was very political about a lot of those questions, but there's really no other way he can answer. What's he supposed to say, that they're stuck in mediocrity? That winning a championship isn't realistic for the next five years? That Drummond is more likely to continue regressing than ever approach his ceiling? I wish somebody else had been asking the same questions in a less cynical fashion.

Yeah Valenti knows SVG can't answer half of that stuff honestly. Kinda cornered him with a lot of those questions.

[hoophabit]

Andre Drummond is going on his SIXTH season in the league. Who gives a flying frig if some one time red shirt senior is older than him in this years draft - that excuse is so damn tired and played out. He is who he is going to be at this point. And what he is is not good enough.

LMAO!

That's your comment after listening to the interview?

Dre is 24 years old! Apparently is what he is?

How many players don't improve at all from age 24 through 30?

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Just wanted to let you know I'm reporting this post. We're not having any rational or hopeful stuff on the board this off-season! We're doomed, DOOMED, get that through your head!

Just for information's sake, Drummond will be 24 on Aug 10th. I agree with SVG that he didn't regress, he just didn't improve. It's all about the FTs. That he can hit them at an acceptable rate in practice shows that it's in his head. To be the contrarian, I don't think Dre needs to "care more," but rather relax and just play the game.

[The Penguin]

After witnessing failed tanking by teams like Orlando has had for the past 5 years while they are still worse than Detroit, I want nothing to do with watching the Pistons be bottom feeders for the next 5 years. Tankers normally end up no better than teams that do not tank. Maybe, one team in 5 actually gets lucky. Because, that is all it is, getting lucky after wasting years of player development, employees jobs and fans time.

one of the things "pro-tank" people don't really seem to mention is how rare it is for tanking to "work". this guy was a clear example of that, he was so quick and so emphatic to point out the like two actual examples where a team tanked and one player turned their franchise around. there are countless teams like the orlandos, sacramentos, minnesotas of the league that nobody will remember because they were largely irrelevant. that those 2, 3 examples are the main supporting points for tanking is kind of crazy.

also kind of funny that it's such a big problem that we're capped out when even if we had max money available we wouldn't be able to land an all-star level player with it. i understand that it limits other, smaller transactions as well but that's not a huge reason to get upset imo.


honestly, the majority of the nba is "stuck" where they don't have an elite player which more or less caps their potential and i think a lot of those teams should try to make incremental improvements and hope that somewhere along the way they get lucky. i think that's a more realistic approach than tearing it up every chance you get in the hopes you end up with the next lebron.

The Cavs were able to attract Lebron because they tanked and got Kyrie and the Wiggins pick. The Warriors tanked hardcore to get the Harrison Barnes pick, but got Steph and Klay in the lottery, found one of the best 2nd round picks in league history in Draymond and was able to attract Durant because of that core. OKC built Durant-Westbrook-Harden out of top 5 picks, Minnesota looks to be in pretty prime position with Towns-Wiggins, the 76ers look to have the backbone of a very interesting core through tanking.

You cite teams like Orlando and Sacramento, but they largely got into trouble because 1) they blew high picks and 2) they decided to push all in for playoff runs. Bottom line, the only way we are getting a player who can move the needle on legitimate contention is through the draft. The odds are exponentially higher of getting those types of players picking top 5 compared to picking in the teens. Are there failed examples? Absolutely. Can "franchise" players be found in the teens or later? Yes. But bottom line, if we are going to build into a contender again, it's going to be with drafting much better than we have done.

I get there's something to be said for being the Hawks / Raptors. You put an entertaining product on the court for ~50 home games a year, fans come out to the arena and best case scenario you are the Spurs who happen to find that one player (Duncan-Kawhi) through later draft luck or a one year blip where everything goes wrong. The way the Cavs and Warriors are loaded up, that's likely the best case scenario 90% of the league can hope to obtain. But I (and likely other pro tank posters) don't believe what we currently have on the roster is even a "best case Hawks" team. That's where the desire to bottom out comes from.

[BadMofoPimp]

After witnessing failed tanking by teams like Orlando has had for the past 5 years while they are still worse than Detroit, I want nothing to do with watching the Pistons be bottom feeders for the next 5 years. Tankers normally end up no better than teams that do not tank. Maybe, one team in 5 actually gets lucky. Because, that is all it is, getting lucky after wasting years of player development, employees jobs and fans time.

one of the things "pro-tank" people don't really seem to mention is how rare it is for tanking to "work". this guy was a clear example of that, he was so quick and so emphatic to point out the like two actual examples where a team tanked and one player turned their franchise around. there are countless teams like the orlandos, sacramentos, minnesotas of the league that nobody will remember because they were largely irrelevant. that those 2, 3 examples are the main supporting points for tanking is kind of crazy.

also kind of funny that it's such a big problem that we're capped out when even if we had max money available we wouldn't be able to land an all-star level player with it. i understand that it limits other, smaller transactions as well but that's not a huge reason to get upset imo.


honestly, the majority of the nba is "stuck" where they don't have an elite player which more or less caps their potential and i think a lot of those teams should try to make incremental improvements and hope that somewhere along the way they get lucky. i think that's a more realistic approach than tearing it up every chance you get in the hopes you end up with the next lebron.

The Cavs were able to attract Lebron because they tanked and got Kyrie and the Wiggins pick. The Warriors tanked hardcore to get the Harrison Barnes pick, but got Steph and Klay in the lottery, found one of the best 2nd round picks in league history in Draymond and was able to attract Durant because of that core. OKC built Durant-Westbrook-Harden out of top 5 picks, Minnesota looks to be in pretty prime position with Towns-Wiggins, the 76ers look to have the backbone of a very interesting core through tanking.

You cite teams like Orlando and Sacramento, but they largely got into trouble because 1) they blew high picks and 2) they decided to push all in for playoff runs. Bottom line, the only way we are getting a player who can move the needle on legitimate contention is through the draft. The odds are exponentially higher of getting those types of players picking top 5 compared to picking in the teens. Are there failed examples? Absolutely. Can "franchise" players be found in the teens or later? Yes. But bottom line, if we are going to build into a contender again, it's going to be with drafting much better than we have done.

I get there's something to be said for being the Hawks / Raptors. You put an entertaining product on the court for ~50 home games a year, fans come out to the arena and best case scenario you are the Spurs who happen to find that one player (Duncan-Kawhi) through later draft luck or a one year blip where everything goes wrong. The way the Cavs and Warriors are loaded up, that's likely the best case scenario 90% of the league can hope to obtain. But I (and likely other pro tank posters) don't believe what we currently have on the roster is even a "best case Hawks" team. That's where the desire to bottom out comes from.

Wait. They tanked for ONE of those picks. They were the 9TH worst team in the league when they were gifted Wiggins.

Harrison Barnes was drafted 7TH, not a top 3 or even 5 hard tanking effort. The fact is, if you tank, odds are your team is still going to suck. Thus, you are wasting everyones time within the organization for an entire year and fans patience.

I don't mind if a team tanks for a single year to regroup and fix their salary situation, but for years on end praying to god you get lucky is plain assinine.

[Manocad]

Lol please, I've never once listened to valenti and thought he didn't sound like a giant douche.

BUT I will give this a listen, my buddy texted me while it was happening and said it was the greatest radio interview of a coach he's ever heard lol

The interviewer comes off as a aggressive fanboy.

About Dre, about not tanking, about being in NBA purgatory...

His approach IMO was unprofessional but Stan handled him well

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He's a bit of a Detroit sports hater but I actually like Valenti. Guy knows his stuff and tells it like it is. Don't really listen to the radio much anymore though.

Yep. Me being a Michigan alum his Michigan hatred gets a little old, especially when he contradicts himself. But his sports analysis is top notch and he's a VERY entertaining radio personality.

[Pharaoh]

The desire to bottom out is understandable - I just don't think SVG or more importantly Gores is gonna go for that.

IF Gores wanted to tank Joe would not have been given a playoff or bust ultimatum

You think SVG didn't get the same memo?

Revisit every transaction we've completed under SVG and you'll find that in every situation the following holds true:

1- gave up little of consequence at the time or in the way of future assets

(Cap room is not viewed as a asset to Detroit since we are forced to overpay to get players to come)

2 - acquired "misfit toys" with flaws

Mook - off court issue
RJ - locker room issue
Tobias - no D + Orlando

3 - all key pieces acquired under SVG have/had team friendly deals or the situation put us in pole position to retain them (RJ)

IMO the goal under SVG has always been to build a perennial playoff team and then hope something breaks right for you once you're there.

Gores & SVG have used the term "community asset", SVG has spoken often about our record over the 5 YEARS before he arrived, Gores told Joe he wanted the playoffs NOW

Doesn't take a genius to see what the goal was/is.

Granted, tanking is now more acceptable by hardcore fans but we're not the ones Gores & SVG are selling to

They want the casual fans...and history in Detroit shows that if you're winning the people will come.

It's for all of the above I don't believe Gores will approve a tank job so it's pointless to discuss it as anything more than a wish, a dream, a figment of our collective imagination

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