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Tag Archive - Tayshaun Prince

Apparently Jeff Foster May Be The Price Of Freedom. Who Knew?

January 11, 2010 in by with 0 Comments

Denver’s desire to acquire an extra big man to throw at the defending champs from L.A. is no secret.

What I didn’t realize until the weekend is the need to start describing the Nuggets’ affection for Pacer lifer Jeff Foster in stronger terms.

Love is the word used by two sources close to the situation.

The obstacles to a Foster-to-Denver deal, though, are considerable.

Obstacle No. 1: Foster has one more season left on his contract after this season at nearly $6.7 million and has a 15-percent trade kicker in his contract. As much as the Nuggets would be thrilled to have Foster – giving them one more mobile counter to all of the Lakers’ feared size – that’s a lot to take on for a team that’s already looking at a luxury-tax payment in July of more than $5 million.

Obstacle No. 2: My man Chad Ford noted in his latest chat that the Nuggets would almost certainly need to find a third team to facilitate a deal for Foster unless they were willing to surrender rookie guard Ty Lawson. And you obviously presume Denver won’t be surrendering the speedy Lawson, who Chad says Indy nearly chose ahead Tyler Hansbrough and looks like an absolute steal as last June’s No. 18 pick.

via More trade chatter (if that’s OK) – TrueHoop Blog – ESPN.

Really? Jeff Foster? I mean, a good player, but for real? That’s the missing piece? But then, I guess you never know. If Eddie House is a vital component on a championship team, Jeff Foster can be one, too.

I’m violently opposed to chaining talented guards to the bench, especially behind established veterans, so I like the idea of Lawson getting loose. Particularly since Indiana could desperately use a young point. They’re unlikely to land Wall in the draft, and T.J. Ford is, um, well, enthusiastic about his own abilities without quite having the abilities to justify that confidence. It would be terrific to see him get his own show in Indiana.

Stein also talks about the McGrady-Knicks potential. You can’t believe Eddy Curry is worth the investment. David Lee might be but you’d have to take on he or Harrington to get the money deal going. I do believe Morey’s not going to buy him out. That team’s put up with enough crap from him, they can put up with it for another six months.

How bizarre would it be if McGrady ended up in Detroit for Tayshaun? McGrady ends his career where Grant Hill started his, after cosmically crossing paths in Orlando?

I’m not going to talk about Tyrus Thomas. I’m just not going to go spelunking in that cave.

The Coaching Equivalent Of A Rope-A-Dope

December 7, 2009 in by with 1 Comment

3. I know it’s kinda cool to set a starting lineup that you know will bring loads of energy and hustle, while saving some scorers for the pine, but isn’t Pistons boss John Kuester taking it a bit far? Charlie Villanueva…Ben Gordon…Will Bynum…all explosive scorers and highly respected players that do not hear their names announced in the pre-game introductions. With Austin Daye also coming alive tonight with a sparkling 5 for 5 from the floor, the Pistons reserves managed to outscore the starters by a 54-44 margin. It’s been working fine so far, and obviously things will change once Rip and Tayshaun return, but Kuester is definitely playing with fire for the time being. Thankfully, Rodney Stuckey has been shooting the ball very well lately, making the “effort” starting lineup look a little more potent than they really are. Non-scorers like Maxiell, Jerebko, and Ben Wallace all sharing the court at the same time is generally not a recipe for success. But they’ve been getting off to solid starts as of late with this group, so I can’t blame Mr. Kuester too much. Just don’t get too comfortable with it, as there is almost assuredly a single-digit first quarter coming from these guys in the very near future.

via High Socks Legend: High Socks Review: Five Thoughts on the Detroit Pistons.

Some good stuff here on the progress the Pistons are making, particularly by using a high-muscle-high-motor lineup to start, then swinging with the scorers off the bench. Villanueva has no ego and Gordon’s used to coming off the bench. So this works well until Rip and Tayshaun get back. I still have serious concerns about how their chemistry will be when those two return. This team is becoming its own entity, taking on its own personality, and it’s radically different from the world Prince and Hamilton have known. Detroit’s also four games under .500, so it’s not like they don’t have the right to say their way is better. Detroit has won two in a row, now, though, so maybe they’re starting to put things together. That’s definitely something to watch, not only when those two return, but as we head for the trade deadline.

By the way, is anyone else blown away by Jerebko’s play? He’s like a less messy Taj Gibson! Only his team’s fans don’t hate him!

Nobody Makes The Pistons Bleed Their Own Blood! Nobody!

November 30, 2009 in by with 1 Comment

Mike Abdenour, Arnie Kander, a towel, a timeout and some gauze stuffed up his nose finally stopped Villanueva’s bleeding. Then, the forward went to the free-throw line and finally stopped the Pistons’ bleeding.Sure, they snapped a snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 94-88 win over Atlanta. But more importantly, they became a team I – and I suspect many other Pistons fans – can be passionate about.

via PistonPowered » Blog Archive » The game I fell in love with the 2009-10 Detroit Pistons.

PistonPowered is seeing the win over the Hawks as a turning point, where the team finally started exerting full effort and shook off their lethargy to win as a team. This without Ben Gordon, Rip Hamilton, and Tayshaun Prince.

Of course, Ben Wallace has 10 points, six over his average (though no one is a better rebounder this season. Not Howard, nobody). The Hawks only drew 8 free throws, and Jonas Jerebko had 10 on 13 shots in 42 minutes. But still. Effort!

In closing, the fact that Will Bynum is not starting is abject lunacy. And what the hell are they going to do when Hamilton and Gordon both get back? Just bury Bynum, who has been their MVP so far?