Quote:So what's the deal with Monroe and Detroit? Why will they not sign him long term? Who will replace him when he leaves? I'm a Pistons fan but have not been following them that much the last few years but I know Monroe can ball.

 

Andre Drummond is who the Pistons need to build around. He has the potential to be elite and will deserve every bit of his max contract in a few years. You don't want to give Greg Monroe a max contract because he and Drummond play the same position. If Joe Dumars was competent, they would have traded Monroe last year. Monroe is very good and definitely an asset, but Dumars was trying to tread water and refused to throw in the white towel.

 

Josh Smith is a PF. When he plays PF, he is actually extremely good both defensively and offensively. When you move him to the 3, Smith becomes a below average defender and a terrible offensive player because it magnifies his biggest weakness (shot selection and 3pt shooting).

 

Going Forward

Stan Van Gundy has never missed the playoffs. He did a phenomenal job of taking over a bad Magic team and turning them into an Eastern Conference power. How did he do it? He built a team around an extremely gifted, freakishly athletic big man named Dwight Howard. Now, he inherits a team with an extremely gifted, freakishly athletic big man named Andre Drummond. Look for Van Gundy to model the Pistons after the Dwight Howard-era Magic. That means players with the ability to shoot at every other position on the floor. He has already done that by signing free agents that are all above average shooters (Caron Butler, D.J. Augustine, Jodie Meeks, and Cartier Martin).

 

The great thing is, the Pistons 2013 1st round projects to be a great shooter, so that is 1 player definitely sticking around in Van Gundy's plans. What I expect, or hope, we see happen is move Greg Monroe for a SF that can shoot and play good defense. That would maximize the potential of this team and Drummond. In the meantime, bring him off the bench as long as he is on the Qualifying Offer.

 

For 2014/2015 I'd like to see this rotation:

 

PG: Jennings / Augustine

SG: Caldwell-Pope / Meeks

SF: Singler / Butler / KCP (getting minutes at both positions)

PF: Smith / Monroe

C: Drummond / Monroe

 

 

The Pistons are still a a couple years from being contenders. The goal should be to have a perfectly built team when Drummond starts entering his prime. I don't foresee Monroe, Smith, or Jennings being part of that team. 

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