This is part one of a five part series highlighting the NBA Central Division as the preseason begins this weekend. The series will culminate Sunday with the Chicago Bulls, who play Monday against Washington.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Central Division was the victim of more movement than any other division in the NBA. Starting with the Detroit Pistons, here is a five-part look at the Central Division as we head into the 2014/15 season.
Management: Original “Bad Boy” Joe Dumars announced in April that he would be stepping down as President of Operations and General Manager after 14 years of mixed results. Dumars retired as the Pistons all time games leader (1,018) in 1999 and became the Pistons General manager immediately following his retirement.
Beginning in 2000, Dumars worked with two different owners, orchestrated multiple division winners, one championship (2004), and a rapid decline. The beginning of the end was in 2008 when Dumars traded away core players Antonio McDyess and Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson. He followed up the next offseason by signing Ben Gordon to a 5 yr. /$55MM deal and Charlie Villanueva to a 5 yr. /35MM contract in an attempt to rebuild through free agency.
Since that season, the Pistons have remained below .500 and yearly participants in the NBA lottery. In the summer of 2013, Pistons owner of 2 years, Billionaire Tom Gores decided to bring in Phil Jackson to conduct a coaching search to replace the recently fired Lawrence Franks. Maurice Cheeks was hired as head coach as recommended by Jackson. On Feb.9, 2014, after just 50 games, Dumars relieved him of his coaching duties. This turned out to be the final move for Dumars as General Manager.
On May 14th, Stan Van Gundy was hired on to become the head coach and President of Basketball Operations. Van Gundy hired Jeff Bower as his General Manager and brought on former NBA players Tim Hardaway, Quentin Richardson, and Malik Allen to join Brendan Malone, Bob Beyer and Charles Klask in filling out his coaching staff.
Players retained: G Will Bynum, F/C Greg Monroe, G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, F Luigi Datome, C Andre Drummond, G Brandon Jennings, G Tony Mitchell, F Kyle Singler, F Josh Smith, and F Jonas Jerebko
Departures: Rodney Stuckey was selected with the 15th pick of the 2007 NBA draft by Joe Dumars. He started 260 games in his first 6 NBA seasons before starting only 5 in the 2013/14 season.
Stuckey was a favorite of Dumars and became Maurice Cheeks’ unofficial closer in 2013 before his departure. With the new regime in place and Van Gundy setting the foundation for the new look Pistons, Stuckey wasn’t tendered a contract offer and signed with the Indiana Pacers for one year on the veterans minimum at $1,227,985. Stuckey departs the Pistons with career averages of 13.4 points per game and 3.4 assists on 42% FG shooting.
Chauncey Billups exercised his early termination option in his contract and is still deciding if he wants to play next season or accept one of the many offers for coaching or television that he has on the table.
Charlie Villanueva left via free agency and is still trying to find an NBA home after not five non-productive years in Detroit. Van Gundy continued to clean house by waiving backup center Josh Harrellson and reserve guard Peyton Siva.
Acquisitions: Van Gundy wasted no time in trying to change the culture in Detroit after six straight sub .500 seasons. He acquired six players this summer to add to their young and talented roster. Here are the players Van Gundy added to the Pistons roster this offseason:
- J. Augustin – Augustin signed a 2 year $6 million contract with the Pistons after playing his first 4 seasons with the Charlotte Bobcats. Augustin played his previous 2 seasons with the Pacers and Toronto Raptors before having his best stretch as a professional with the Chicago Bulls in averaging 14.9 points in 61 games. Augustin will serve as the primary back-up point guard and bring his professional attitude to a team with much talent, but little leadership.
- Caron Butler – After 12 years and six teams, Butler signed a 2 year $9 million contract to be the veteran voice of the Pistons. Butler brings a career 15.1 point per game average in 786 NBA games to the Pistons.
- Jodie Meeks – Meeks spent the last two seasons chasing Kobe Bryant around as the backup shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers prior to signing on to be the starter for the Pistons. After Bryant was injured in 2013, Meeks enjoyed a career high 15.7 PPG in 70 starts with the Lakers and brings his .401 three point shooting average to the Pistons after signing a 3 year / $18.81 million contract.
- Aaron Gray – Gray brings his 7 years of experience on a 1 year $1.27 million contract with a player option for a second season.
- Cartier Martin – After 220 career games, Martin brings his 38.3% three point accuracy to the Pistons after signing a 2.4 Million dollar two year deal to help improve on their long distance shooting.
- Spencer Dinwiddie – With the 38th overall pick in the (second round) of the 2014 NBA draft, the Pistons selected 6’6’’ shooting guard Spencer Dinwiddie out of Colorado. In other years, Dinwiddie would have been a first round pick, but the wealth of talent in this year’s draft allowed the Pistons to net a first round talent with their second round pick.
Outlook: The Pistons did much to improve and balance out their team that finished 29-53 last season. The additions could very well propel the Pistons into playoff contention, and if the team remains as currently constructed, they could avoid the lottery for the first time in 5 years.
Van Gundy’s additions didn’t come without adversity as Josh Smith’s name has come up all summer as a potential trade candidate, most recently being shopped to the Sacramento Kings. Failed contract extension negotiations with Greg Monroe resulted in him accepting the $5.4 million qualifying offer allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
There were reports that suggested that there was mutual interest on an extension, but the two sides simply couldn’t agree on a long term deal. The Pistons managed to avoid losing any of their core players while adding scoring and leadership which should result in a definite increase in wins.
Early Prediction: With Van Gundy, the Pistons have a win at all cost coach and aggressive general manager. He has already demonstrated that he has what it takes to lure free agents to a most recently woeful team. Look for the Pistons to be one of the most active participants around the trade deadline.
If the team remains intact, the Pistons should be battling for the 8th playoff seed in the eastern conference and 3rd spot in the central division.
