Post by Detroit Pistons on Dec 12, 2007 20:24:22 GMT -5
What an off-season its been for the Detroit Pistons. Right after the pistons lost in the finals to the new orleans hornets detroit was put under new management. The new gm Mr. Joe Dumars(Owner) hired was known to be a young up and coming stud gm, there was a lot of hype surrounding him as he made a statement saying that the team would most likely be breaking up the starting 5 detroit has come to love over the years during the off-season. He then said, "Don't get me wrong, I love the the starting 5 we have assembled but we need to get some youth in here, we aren't rebuilding by any means but looking for some young studs to go along with a couple of the staring 5 we have right now. Chauncey, Rip, Tay, Sheed, and C-Webb have been one of the best starting 5's in the league for years, ever sense winning it all in 2004. Of course Chris wasn't on the team then, but he did a good job replacing ben. But all-in-all I and the Detroit Staff feel that we need a shake-up." The first big move of the off-season made by detroit was when they sent sent Tayshaun Prince and Antonio Mcdyess to the Bobcats for a young star in Andre Iguodala. Not only did they get the star player but also freed up a lot of cap space for Free Agency. Detroit was sad to see two of its most loyal players go but wished them the best of luck with there new team the Bobcats. Newly acquired starting sf Iguodala was quoted saying,"Wow this is unbelievable, I am finally playing for a championship contender, no offence to Charlotte but i cant put in to words how excited i am coming to detroit. With a starting lineup that will consist of Chauncey, Rip, Myself, Rasheed, and C-Webb we should be able to go to the top this season." But little did Iggy know detroit would have a few more tricks up its sleeve and get an even better starting 5 around him, but there first priority was to sign there two biggest FA's, Chauncey Billups and Chris Webber. They were able to do what they wanted to do and signed both for fairly reasonable prices. Both understood that detroit wanted to keep some cap space for FA to make the team even better and give them a great bench. Detroit before made some minor moves acquiring Aaron Affalo from the draft and Willie Green along with Quinton Ross from trades. They also traded away Robert Horry to free up cap space. During FA the pistons were quick to strike coming out and offering Desmond Mason who was one of the top FA in the pool this year a 4 year deal worth over 19 million dollars. After his agent thought about it he liked the offer and accepted, making Mason detroit's new 6th man. After that the pistons also made a offer to a great young player from Kentucky. That player would be Kelenna Azubuike who is looking like a future great player. They snagged him up by offering a 3 year deal worth 10 million dollars. And the last player that they got off the Free Agent market was Chuck Hayes, who became a backup forward along side Jason Maxiell who already has put his name on the map with the year he had last year with the pistons. Now you're probally thinking this team is set, there nothing more they could possibly do in one off-season but that wasn't the case. The pistons traded an Aging Chris Webber and Back-up pg Flip Murray to the San Antonio Spurs for a defensive Beast in Marcus Camby. The trade got Detroit buzzing about how good the new starting 5 was, but there was still one more deal that the new detroit gm had sitting in place for a while. In the move they sent Rip Hamilton and a 1st round pick in 2009 for a former Michigan State Spartan in Jason Richardson. Richardson was filled with joy when he heard he would be heading back home to Michigan. He said," Wow i never thought i would have a chance to come back to Michigan and play. This is Great, I'm still in awe of the news my agent just gave me. I cant wait to get playing with players such as Sheed and Chauncey along with Iggy and Marcus and help detroit get another championship." Folks take a look at this starting five, Playing at PG Chauncey Billups, along side him at the SG position Jason Richardson, Filling the 3-hole Andre Iguodala, Posting up at PF Rasheed Wallace, and last but not least the a threat every year for Defensive Player of the year Marcus Camby. And not only is the staring five great, but the bench is probally one of the best in the league just like the starting 5. Filled with players such as Desmond Mason, Jason Maxiell, Kelenna Azubuike, Willie Green, Chuck Hayes, Lindsay Hunter, Quinton Ross, and Aaron Affalo. This team is diffidently one of the front runners for the NBA finals. There big compition in the east looks to be Milwaukee and Orlando, and you know in the back of the heads if they make the Finals they are going to want New Orleans back in the finals setting up a rematch of the 06' finals and a shot at redemption. Also on a side note the pistons team is looking pretty good in the preseason tourney. In both games all 5 starters posted double digits in scoring. If they win there next game it looking like they will play the Bucks in the 2nd round. A match-up that looks like a preview of the ECF.