How Good are the New Look Pistons?

Detroit nabbed its free-agent priority, Ben Gordon, with a big $50 million contract. Then they were able to secure the suddenly available Charlie Villanueva as well, putting the contract money they had previously spent on Allen Iverson to fantastic use. Both guys can shoot the lights out and will be integral building blocks for a Detroit team that has no patience for a rebuilding phase.

The problem right now is that the Pistons have already hit the salary cap. Having just watched Rasheed Wallace waltz over to Boston, a division rival, Joe Dumars has put a lot of stake in Charlie V. and Ben Gordon. In fact, he’s put far too much stock.

The issue with signing Gordon is that you now have two guys (Gordon and Richard Hamilton) who are on the books for $21.6 million between the two of them. Gordon averaged 20.7 points per game, but is the type of player that is solely effective when he’s shooting…and shooting lots. Defensively he’s adequate.

Richard Hamilton is the leader of this team with Rasheed and Chauncey Billups playing elsewhere. But when exactly is he going to get playing time? At 6-foot-7, and with a tremendous nose for defense, moving Rip to the swingman slot would put Tayshaun Prince on the bench. With Prince making $21.5 million over the next two seasons, that a lot of money to invest in a guy who’s not going to play that much.

My point is pretty clear. The backcourt is a freaking mess. Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Ben Gordon are all going to be fighting for minutes while Dumars waits to see if Will Bynum or Rodney Stuckey can become viable options at the point. If we know anything, it’s that Rip nor Gordon is suitable to play the point. Hell, we don’t even know if Rip can play small-forward effectively.

While Villanueva is a scoring dynamo, he does most of his damage from range, meaning that his post game is all but non-existent. That leaves Jason Maxiell and Kwame Brown as your only true, low-post options in Detroit. Do you see what I’m getting at?

The Pistons are done with the market right now, and the only thing they have to figure out is if they can get anything of value in return for either Hamilton, who is signed through 2012-13, or Prince, who comes off the books in the summer of 2011. The likelihood of either of those Pistons stalwarts moving is as good as the Pistons winning the NBA title next year.

Detroit was an unmitigated NBA betting nightmare last year, losing hype from the Iverson-Billups trade as soon as the season tipped off and Iverson faked a back injury because he didn’t want to come off the bench. The Pistons plummeted to a 34-48 ATS record last season. I really don’t see them improving considering their lack of point-guards, their mess in the middle, and their void of talent underneath the basket.

If Avery Johnson signs on as coach, as is expected, then he’s got a boat load of work to do. Joe Dumars is not going to give his future coach any head start when the Pistons enter the fray in 2009-10. Frankly, if you’re a guy who likes to bet on the Pistons, you should take 10 steps back and then run another hundred miles in that same direction. This is a mess you don’t want to become tangled in.