Realistic "Building around Blake" Plan:

[blueadams]

If I'm in charge.. I'm trading Blake (and everyone else I can) asap, I'm tanking for at least 3 yrs, and I'm rebuilding through the draft. Buuut, I'm not in charge.. and building around Blake is what we're doing.. so what the hell.

For the sake of optimism.. Blake's playing the best basketball of his career right now. He's a borderline Top-10 player in the league right now. He's developed a legitimate perimeter game. He's no longer completely reliant on youth & athleticism. He's 100% healthy and his injury issues -- knock on wood -- seem to be behind him. If there's someone in the league his game compares to, it's..actually..probably LeBron James, who's still dominating right now at 34; and Blake's only 29. He's everything you could ever ask for in a leader. He seems to be very happy here too; very patient and understanding. And.. the '04 Pistons.. who was their most talented player? Ben, Chauncey, Sheed, Rip? Blake's at least as talented as our last championship team's best player was.

2019 Off-Season:
-Assuming no major moves are made at the deadline (and, currently, it doesn't sound like any are to be expected).. we're going to have Blake(34.4M), Dre(27.1M), Reggie(18.1M), Leuer(9.5M), Langstom(7.3M), *Smith(5.3M), Kennard(3.8M), '19-1st Rd(~3.1M), Brown(1.4M), Thomas(1.4M) and '19-2nd(~0.8M) on the books. Total = 112.2M. Cap = 109M (*projected). Cap Space = -3.2M. So.. there probably aren't going to be any major FA additions made this off-season. Fortunately, Stefanski and co are so-far-so-good in the draft. Brown looks like he's going to at least be a solid defender off the bench, potentially developing some offensive upside eventually. And Thomas has potential to become a nice 3&D point-guard defender. Stefanski seems to prioritize athleticism/defense, intelligence and shooting in that order. And that strategy seems to actually give you a nice "high-floor-defender / could be a really good player if he can shoot" typical prospect profile. We are probably going to be drafting around 9th overall though, so even if we hit, it's unlikely that our on-court 2019-20 product will be significantly better than our 2018-2019 product. Hopefully Blake has another healthy season, continuing to evolve his perimeter game. Hopefully our rookie has a nice big year. Hopefully Brown and Thomas develop some.

2020 Off-Season:
-Now, before we get here, we're going to have a lot of expiring deals to move at the deadline next yr, and there's a chance we could add a really good unforeseen player or two that way. Not going to get into predicting the completely unpredictable here though. So, assuming we don't take on any major contracts, and assuming Dre opts out of his contract (relatively safe to assume, at this point, he will.. as he's only 25 and could probably still land a big long-term deal somewhere) we'll have.. Blake(36.8M), '19-1st Rd(~3.7M), '20-1st Rd(~3.1M), Brown(1.7M), Thomas(1.7M), '19-2nd(~1.4M), '20-2nd(~0.8M). Total = 49.2M. Cap = 118M (*projected). Cap Space = 68.8M.

$68.8M in Cap Space.

That's a lot.

Some potential targets..

PG D'Angelo Russell. He's an RFA this off-season. He'll probably sign a one-yr tender and become an UFA next summer. Very similar to Chauncey Billups in that he is a very big (6'5, 198), very talented (#2ovr pick in '15) point guard who's original team gave up on him too quickly. Shooting a very nice 38% from 3 thus far this year, as an all-star alternate. A respectable defender already with a -0.8 DBPM ("Defensive Box Plus-Minus"...which is very respectable among elite PG's). 15th best PG in the league thus far this season in terms of WS. 22 yrs old. And he'll only have 5yrs NBA experience under his belt...meaning he'll be eligible for the cheapest max-contract classification. And a max-deal is probably what it'll take to get him. $29.5M/season. I'd do it. Leaves $39.3M to spend.

SG Malcom Brogdon. In the same boat as Russell ^. An RFA this off-season. He'll probably sign a one-yr tender and become an UFA next summer. Very similar to Rip Hamilton in that he is a completely unnoticed superstar. 2nd highest WS total among SG's in the league thus far this season. 26 yrs old. An outstanding 42% from 3 this yr. A -0.1 DBPM defender so far this yr, very respectable among top SG's. Great size at 6'5 229. Will have only 4yrs NBA experience under his belt, so he'll be in the same low-max classification as Russell ^, and still getable for us if he really blows up and a max contract is what it takes. Hopefully though, he'll be a little bit more affordable.

C Montrezl Harrell. No one is ever going to be the next Ben Wallace. But take a look at this guy. Starting for the Clippers at C this yr, 20th in the league in WS (10th best among C's). 25 yrs old. 6'8 240. A +1.7 DBPM defender. Very athletic, tough, hard-working, competitive, etc. He could make for a very nice, cheap, impactful, under-the-radar signing.

SF David Bertans. 26 yrs old. 6'10 225 combo forward coming off the bench for the SA Spurs. League leading -- and qualified -- 48% from 3. Respectable -0.2 DBPM. 19th among PF's in total WS thus far this season. He could be a very, very bright way to spend our MLE next summer.

C: Harrell
PF: Griffin
SF: Bertans
SG: Brogdon
PG: Russell

Bench: '19 and '20 1st Rd Picks (could be starters?), Brown, Thomas, '19 and '20 2nd Rd Picks.

It's ^ not exactly the GSW 2.0. But if you draft well, it could be a competitive team in the East. Celtics could be losing Irving this off-season. Sixers could be losing Butler (hopefully they both go to the Knicks and suck there). Raptors will be losing Kawhi (probably to the Lakers). Bucks could be losing Giannis, who'll be a UFA in '21.

Thoughts?

[DTP]

Even if you got that team, 3 years for now....would it even contend to make it past the second round? That's the upside we have to look forward to? No thanks. Btw, Russell isn't signing a one year QO this summer. Brooklyn will lock him up, for sure. And Russell isn't leaving New York to come to Detroit.

Any type of rebuild in any way will have to come through drafting and trading....free agency isn't an option. I've been following this team since 2001/02 and the only real impactful free agents to sign here in those 18 years have been Chauncey & McDyess, and McDyess came after a championship. It just doesn't happen here, don't count on it.

[Kilo]

I don't think Dre opts out because he makes probably 18M tops AAV his next contract. Also where is the idea coming from that Russell will sign the QO this off-season? Kid is going to get paid with a $100M+ offersheet. Clippers will keep Harrell as well assuming they spend their cap space on a big time UFA's this off-season, they'll be capped out and keeping Harrell will be important for depth.

[Invictus88]

I don't think the current front office has made any significant moves to indicate which direction they are going. So the foundation of this thread is a bit shaky.

We'll get our first taste this offseason based on the draft and/or what they decide to do with Ish and Bullock. They've been handcuffed by SVGs moves till this point.

[Uncle Mxy]

When does Blake get hurt in this scenario?

[_Und3r][D4wg_]

When does Blake get hurt in this scenario?

Blake has been pretty much an iron man this season. The only games he's missed so far were two enforced rest days. He's been constantly getting hammered by every opponent's defense -- even getting hurt a few times -- yet he has shrugged it all off and continued to play beast-mode. I believe he was merely unfortunate over his past injuries, but those are now mostly behind him.

Given his discipline over maintaining optimum physical condition, as well as his dedication & hard work towards expanding & improving his game, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that he will still be a major force to reckon with by the time he reaches LeBron's age.

[_Und3r][D4wg_]

When does Blake get hurt in this scenario?

Blake has been pretty much an iron man this season. The only games he's missed so far were two enforced rest days. He's been constantly getting hammered by every opponent's defense -- even getting hurt a few times -- yet he has shrugged it all off and continued to play beast-mode. I believe he was merely unfortunate over his past injuries, but those are now mostly behind him.

Given his discipline over maintaining optimum physical condition, as well as his dedication & hard work towards expanding & improving his game, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that he will still be a major force to reckon with by the time he reaches LeBron's age.

I hope to God my post doesn't jinx him.

[Billl]

So the "realistic" plan is that none of these promising players get offered contracts and end up with 1 year rental deals to make them unrestricted. And then they sign reasonable deals with the pistons?

[Laimbeer]

There is no path to being a serious contender while Blake is here. Even if we were willing to trade our draft picks for a few years and used our cap space well I can't see a player we can acquire that gets us there.

Gores does want to compete for the next few seasons. But I don't think he realized how difficult it is to get a lot better. We just don't have much people want.

My guess is we unwisely make a low level trade for a Batum or THJ and keep our picks (hopefully drafting better) simply because the offers aren't good enough.

Our best hope is another Blake out there at the price we paid for him. But who would that be?