Game 61: Pistons (14-46) @ Hornets (30-31) Feb. 27 7:00 PM EST

[Southern Piston]

These are the times when we should give him the chance to be the number one option, see how he does, it would make him a better player. Cade ultimately will be the one, but Saddiq having the ranks for 20 games might be huge for his development , and the team.

[Uncle Mxy]

Grant is a guy that in theory should be an asset. He's just gotta get his head outa his ass sometimes and remember it's 5v5.

Grant, the guy who scored 7 of our 11 points in OT, is a guy that in theory should be an asset. And, he is. I think any issues with Grant will work themselves out in due time. His other options are rooks and sophomores who only recently stopped slumping, for the most part. I kinda wanted him to figure this out in the off-season, though, after the tank is complete.

[Manocad]

Meh he's a good shooter from 3 but inside the arc he's probably below average. Ideally he should be a 4th 5th type guy. More good role player than star.

Sent from my 5087Z using RealGM mobile app

Ideally the 4th and 5th best players in the NBA would be the 4th and 5th options on your team.

Hehehe, I see what you did there. Took my tiny brain a couple seconds to compute that, but when i did....mind blown

Hyperbole of course, but used to demonstrate that the idea a 16 PPG guy who's a second year player, still improving, and can drop 20+ on any given night being your 4th much less 5th option isn't very realistic.

[GBanga3]

Besides Olynyk being great for us tonight and hitting the game winner, Bey also just incredibly solid for us.

28 and 8 while shooting 11 of 18 (3 of 8 from deep)

I'm starting to feel more and more that Bey needs to be our #1 option most nights. We need to make sure we're running sets for him and not just leaving him in the corner all the time. He's great in the corner so its fine for him to be there some of the time, but we also need to get it in his hands more as well.

Plenty of room on the Bey bandwagon. Right now it's just me and zeeb and a whole lotta empty seats. The kid is legit.

Good on ya mate! Haha

Pretty sure there’s more than two Bey fans amongst us

[Manocad]

Besides Olynyk being great for us tonight and hitting the game winner, Bey also just incredibly solid for us.

28 and 8 while shooting 11 of 18 (3 of 8 from deep)

I'm starting to feel more and more that Bey needs to be our #1 option most nights. We need to make sure we're running sets for him and not just leaving him in the corner all the time. He's great in the corner so its fine for him to be there some of the time, but we also need to get it in his hands more as well.

Plenty of room on the Bey bandwagon. Right now it's just me and zeeb and a whole lotta empty seats. The kid is legit.

Good on ya mate! Haha

Pretty sure there’s more than two Bey fans amongst us

Yeah, I think 99% of the board believes Cade and Bey are the two untouchables on the team.

Unless a freak Mobley for Cade trade offer pops up from Cleveland. Obviously then the Pistons should jump all over that and make up for screwing up the draft pick by taking Cade over Mobley in the first place.

[Piston Pete]

1-0 without Bagley.

[Cowology]

Besides Olynyk being great for us tonight and hitting the game winner, Bey also just incredibly solid for us.

28 and 8 while shooting 11 of 18 (3 of 8 from deep)

I'm starting to feel more and more that Bey needs to be our #1 option most nights. We need to make sure we're running sets for him and not just leaving him in the corner all the time. He's great in the corner so its fine for him to be there some of the time, but we also need to get it in his hands more as well.

Plenty of room on the Bey bandwagon. Right now it's just me and zeeb and a whole lotta empty seats. The kid is legit.

Good on ya mate! Haha

Pretty sure there’s more than two Bey fans amongst us

So you're ready to join me in saying he's going to be at least a 24/7/5 type player? Because I'm not talking about him just being a decent starter; I'm talking about that level of production as an expectation.

[Moses ShamMoses]

I don't think Bey is untouchable so I guess I'm part of the 1%. He's got value don't get me wrong, but I could totally see Weaver trading him for a borderline all-star type. In my mind, Bey is still a high floor, medium ceiling type guy. If you take out the fact that he's very up and down with his play (that's ok for a sophomore), he still has fairly underwhelming speed and athleticism.

[edmunder_prc]

Most talented players on the team, in order.

1. Cade
2. Bey

3. Grant/Diallo When Diallo had a green light he also looked pretty good. To me its a tie.

After this it really doesnt matter - mostly 'just another guy'.

[MotorCade2]

Diallo is now as good as Grant? This board continues to amaze me...

[Piston Pete]

Diallo is now as good as Grant? This board continues to amaze me...

I think Grant is better.

But I see the Diallo effect, and it’s happening more frequently of late. There are times where Diallo makes HUGE impacts on a game. If he can get his 3-point percentage up to around 35%, he’d be pretty scary.

[Manocad]

I don't think Bey is untouchable so I guess I'm part of the 1%. He's got value don't get me wrong, but I could totally see Weaver trading him for a borderline all-star type. In my mind, Bey is still a high floor, medium ceiling type guy. If you take out the fact that he's very up and down with his play (that's ok for a sophomore), he still has fairly underwhelming speed and athleticism.

When I say "untouchable" I mean Godfather type of offer. And that's not because I think Bey has some incredible value but under the logic that you're never going to get to a championship if you keep gutting the team for "better value."

[Moses ShamMoses]

I'm totally and completely happy with Saddiq Bey's progress. If we keep him, I feel good about him being a core piece moving forward. The big question is can he develop enough to be the #2 guy on a playoff team (featured scorer) or will he be a #3 or #4 starter (role player). It's sort of the same question and situation that Jerami Grant finds himself, but at least Bey is only 22 and on a better trajectory.

[Sort]

There's clearly nobody that's untouchable in the NBA today. Those days are done. I like Bey's progression. He's definitely limited with athleticism, but he's certainly either a core player going forward or can be used to get a better core player. He's getting better at every position but the three, the one place you imagine he'll be great at once he is used to attacking the basket and playing off the high post position. His rebounding is subpar for a four, and he can't really effectively defend the the three, but realistically, it's about the mix of his teammates and whether or not skills compliment one another than just his ability level.

He's a hard nosed competitor - take those all day. He is not though just a plug and play guy.

[zeebneeb]

I'm totally and completely happy with Saddiq Bey's progress. If we keep him, I feel good about him being a core piece moving forward. The big question is can he develop enough to be the #2 guy on a playoff team (featured scorer) or will he be a #3 or #4 starter (role player). It's sort of the same question and situation that Jerami Grant finds himself, but at least Bey is only 22 and on a better trajectory.

One thing that seems to be getting lost on a lot of people (not saying you, just in general)is that Bey has become somewhat of a scoring machine, and a player, much like Cade, has to be gameplanned for.

He is turning himself into a three level scorer, which is absolutely great, and definitely a cog in the Pistons future plans.

[Manocad]

There's clearly nobody that's untouchable in the NBA today. Those days are done. I like Bey's progression. He's definitely limited with athleticism, but he's certainly either a core player going forward or can be used to get a better core player. He's getting better at every position but the three, the one place you imagine he'll be great at once he is used to attacking the basket and playing off the high post position. His rebounding is subpar for a four, and he can't really effectively defend the the three, but realistically, it's about the mix of his teammates and whether or not skills compliment one another than just his ability level.

He's a hard nosed competitor - take those all day. He is not though just a plug and play guy.

Sure there are untouchable players. First, let's dispel the notion that Team A is going to waaaaay overpay for Team B's MVP-level player because they can't. If that player is already at or near max level on a long term deal there's nothing Team A can do that makes it a no-brainer for Team B to give up their MVP-level player unless circumstances have lead to Team B being garbage other than their MVP-level player. For example, Giannis just won a championship with Milwaukee and earned a max contract. Tell me a scenario in which another team could get him. Or Steph Curry for that matter.

In any case, the point was not to paint Bey as being on the level with Giannis or Curry, obviously. The point was simply that the team has to stand pat with a core that they'll build around for at least some period of time in order to reach championship level. Constantly hitting the reset button by going for the "greater value" in either a known player or unknowns in prospects/high draft picks for every single player on the team has never produced an immediate NBA champion that I'm aware of. Especially considering that Bey is one of those guys you'd try to GET, not give up.

[edmunder_prc]

Diallo is now as good as Grant? This board continues to amaze me...

I think Grant is better.

But I see the Diallo effect, and it’s happening more frequently of late. There are times where Diallo makes HUGE impacts on a game. If he can get his 3-point percentage up to around 35%, he’d be pretty scary.

When Grant has an excellent defensive game that really ups his value, but there arent that many them.

Plus Grant's favorite shot is the long 2. I dont know why but he loves to dribble for a while, fake driving and then take a long 2. Zero ball movement, lowest value shot.

Diallo takes mostly 2s too, but they are within 10 ft of the basket, layups, dunks, very short shots. So to me there isnt a huge different. But Diallo rebounds like a 7 footer, plays the best defense on the team, etc. When Diallo was 'showcased' and had 15 shots a game he also scored a lot, just like Grant.

[FloridaMan78]

He’s Middleton level to me. He’s pretty much there, he just needs to be more efficient and tighten up his handle to break people down one on one.

[Cowology]

Boston is a team that comes to mind. It certainly was not a constant stream of cycling through assets every year or two years, but Ainge did about as good a job as anyone at collecting assets. He was able to parlay the likes of Al Jefferson, Jeff Green and a combination of other players along with 1st round picks in order to pickup Ray Allen & Kevin Garnett.

The difference was they already had Paul Pierce and he was the one piece they never were willing to move (while in his prime).

And then Ainge once again showed a willingness to make moves that most of his contemporaries refuse when he traded away both KG & Pierce in a sweetheart deal with NJ that brought back a metric **** ton of assets. Most GM's wait 2 or 3 years too long. Sometimes longer. Ainge pulled the trigger at the right time.

Not exactly the same thing as what you guys are talking about, but it's probably the closest model that yielded results. I HATE the guy with a passion from his playing days, but he basically modelled what asset acquisition could do for a franchise and he did it over a pretty long period of time, keeping a steady stream of talent in that organization without having the benefit of landing a marquee FA.