Bring Ben Wallace Home to the Detroit Pistons!

I know it’s only talk John, but what do you think so far?

I’m thinking good. Curry had things to say too when he first became the coach (let’s not get into what exactly), but he was never confident. He just seemed shy, not a leader; Keuster’s manner from what I can tell is a lot better. :]

He said.. “WE WILL ACCOMPLISH”…

Naw I’m good on Ben he deserted us. He’s getting what he deserves

Ben is still good enough for 10 minutes! Hope we could bring him back.

don’t make me slap you joey

Unless Dumars is holding a grudge against Ben, I can’t see why this move wouldn’t be a good one.

Even with his skill level dropping, I don’t know of anyone that’s available who can give us any more for the cheap a price tag that Ben will sign for.

C’mon, Mike! Forgive Him! You know you would have ran with that $60 million too.

The Prodigal Son (well, kinda; I don’t think Ben throws his money away) may be coming home. I can see him playing 15-20 minutes a game. Also he can show the new bigs how to play real defense. Big Ben had a chance to get what would turn out to be his only big payday and he took advantage of it. Everyone makes decisions based on what they thought at the time. Come on home Big Ben. I forgive you man; and believe it or not, some of us even miss ya’.

I was against bringing back Ben since the Pistons are going with a youth movement now.

But it seems that if they sign him they can use the veterans’ minimum, which doesn’t count against the cap.

So basically all it will cost the Pistons is about $1.4 million and a roster spot.

So I’m for it now. He’s still a big body (a la Kwame) who can play 10-15 mins at PF & C.

I’m sorry Deven but I cant rite now. It’s the die hard piston in me that keep reminding me of how the team fell apart once he ditched us.

I would give him nothing but 10 mins a game if he came until he proved me wrong.

I mean we made this man! He would be nothing without a Pistons uniform on his back and he has the nerve to come crawling back? Ben Wallace is the perfect example that money isn’t everything.

I can go on and on about this dude! The face of our franchise, cover of video games, cover of magazines, tons of commericials. Did you see any of the stuff after he put on another jersey? He did this to himself and he’s getting what he deserves. Sometimes it’s got to be about more than just money Deven. What we had at that time was a FAMILY. And if you were a true Pistons fan back then then you were a part of it too. He hurt the city of Detroit when he ran for the money so he’s getting what he deserves. We had a dynasty in the making but then he left. So he’s getting what he deserves!

LOL! I feel you Mike

I agree with you golden boy, the one thing we don’t have and haven’t had lately is defense. Ben, while he’s no longer the Ben we once knew, can still bring about the defensive mindset that we so desperately need.

I know he’s lost a few steps but he’s still has that defensive presence that can rub off on the other guys. He’s definitely worth 1.4 million

Mike Waston bringing the Pistonscast Passion boy!

“Pennies for my thoughts, Dimes in my bed, Quarters of dat k*** make dem h*** eyes red.”

Alright John imma tell who definately wasn’t the future Amir Johnson. LOL

C’mon John you gotta feel my passion like how you felt yours for Amir and how Darian felt here’s about Chauncey. You just don’t wanna see your favorite Pistons player in any other jersey.

LEAVE AMIR ALONE!!!

Amir’s not a cry-baby captain like Rip!

One thing you guys need to consider is that Ben happened to be a big part of the pistons turning on Flip. Even Sheed would listen to Ben, but if I recall correctly, #3 had a beef with Saunders and that’s when Sheed started to get out of control. I could be wrong, but I think there was more than just money with Ben leaving Detroit.

Now I’m not saying that we don’t need him, we certainly do and at the veterans min its like we’re stealing him. However I do agree with Watson that he doesn’t deserve a warm welcome.

Ohh and today’s my 17th birthday

Happy Birthday Ali!!!!

Thanks man. I tell you its nice to have a breath of fresh air. Those people at detroit bad boys just do not like new people and are total jerks

Welcome back Ali-eezy!

Big Ben Had good reason to get upset with Flip. Dice spoke as well!

When Flip got here, the focus went away from defense over to his offense.

Under LB, Ben touched the ball as much as anyone else on the offensive side. Brown’s philosophy was if you’re on the court you have to be a threat or else teams will cheat and help. That approach made the Pistons more effective overall.

Under Flip, with Ben out there, it was four against five because he excluded him from the offense completely.

During the regular season, it was fine but in the playoffs when things tightened way up, it spelled our demise.

DEFENSE WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!

That’s what I’ve been preaching man. If you get a defensive big like Okafor, you can turn this team from lottery to competing for the wild card. That’s why I kept bringing up people like Przybilla, they aren’t the greatest players, but they excel at rebounding, which our team sorely lacks.

I honestly think Orlando shot themselves in the foot when they went out and got Vinsanity. Turkoglu was the heart and soul of that team, Mr. 4th quarter, Mr. I’ve got your back. The VC I saw last year was as much of a star as AI was. He’s done dominating, all he has to offer is some more rebounding and a slightly better jumpshot.

But most importantly, now Cleveland has the advantage. Before they had no one to guard Richard Lewis at the 4, now that he slides down to the 3, LeBron can guard him and Big Z can take on the traditional PF while Shaq contains Howard.

I guarantee you that Orlando will be kicking themselves come this team next year.

Orlando couldn’t do anything about Turkoglu leaving; he made up his mind after they lost in the Finals that he was done with the Magic.

A starting lineup of Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, Brandon Bass, and Dwight Howard is very admirable.

Orlando also now has two PFs (Bass and Ryan Anderson, who is a threat from the 3 point line). They had no true PFs last season.

They had an abundance of guards and at thin front-court. This year that front-court has grown, and they still have great guards that helped them last season. I expect them to make a deep playoff run in 2010.

@Ali: I don’t think Cleveland would play too much of Ilgauskas at PF. At that point, you have two really slow centers who would have a really hard time getting back on defense in the full court game. I also think the younger power forwards would be able to eat him up, getting around him quickly.

As for Ben Wallace, I didn’t like this move at first, but I agree with Steve Kays. At the veterans’ minimum, which doesn’t count against the cap, I feel it would be beneficial to bring Ben back.

Actually it does count against the cap, but not much. For each roster spot, there’s a $300,000 cap hold, and that does count against the cap. So if we sign Wallace, we go from $3.5 to $3.2 mil, but it doesn’t change things much.

As for Orlando, you missed the point. Orlando beat Cleveland because of their matchup problems, not because they were necessarily the better team. This move makes them better for the regular season, but now it removed their biggest advantage for getting through the east. Cleveland had to put LeBron on Turkoglu, leaving Smith and Verajo to guard Lewis, neither of whom were even close to keeping up with him.

Just look at Lewis’ numbers in the confrence finals compared to when Odom matched up with him in the finals. He lost 10% from his fg% and more importantly hardly ever got to the line. That’s why LA won the title, they were able to contain Lewis and guard Howard one on one, not because Kobe was anything close to MJ. In fact Kobe’s numbers decreased in the finals compared to the conference finals.

Now that they have a conventional lineup, I think Cleveland has the edge simply because now they can guard Orlando straight up and have LeBron, a bunch of shooters and Shaq. That’s an instant recipe for post season success. So really it doesn’t matter who plays PF, in fact if their younger bigs step up, that makes them an even scarier team.

As it stands right now, my money is on Boston because both Sheed and Perkins can guard Shaq one on one and Rondo is turning into a monster point guard to feed the Big 3.

Everyone who played Orlando had match-up problems.

The way it works is when you have a dominating force like D12 or Shaq in the middle, it opens things up around him. Not so much the other way around.

I wouldn’t say Hedo was the heart and soul of that team at all. But he damn sure was the greatest beneficiary of Dwight Howard’s dominance in the middle.

Orlando beat Cleveland because of their approach to defending Lebron. They let him shoot and took away his greatest asset–his teammates.

Deven look at how much offense Orlando had. In the regular season, Cleveland allowed 91.4 points. In the 1st round, they averaged less than 80 points. In the 2nd round, they averaged still below 80.

However in the conference finals, they allowed over 100. They just could not deal with Richard Lewis. Once they went to double Dwight, Lewis would get open and would score. If they went small to put LeBron on Lewis, Dwight would dunk it all the time.

Cleveland offensively fell a bit short of 100 points per game Deven, that’s not much different from their usual production. This means that Orlando while Orlando did take away Mo Williams, they beat them primarily with offense. LeBron’s production was more than enough to cover for Williams.

Now that they have a conventional line up and Cleveland can guard them one on one, Orlando won’t be able to put up these big numbers and win at the last moment.

Think about it, in a lot of the games Cleveland got off to a big start and Orlando won iin the second half. The only way you can do that is if the other team either stopped trying, or you have a lot of matchup problems.

Ali Cleveland did play an uninspired Detroit team in the first round. So 91.4? C’mon now…

Fair enough about Detroit, but the Hawks were definitely trying. They just were overwhelmed by Cleveland.

Not to mention, Cleveland lost only 1 real game at home all of the regular season. Orlando would have beaten them at home 3 times if LeBron didn’t hit that buzzer beater or supply all of Clevelands final 30 some points.

Look at Boston vs Orlando, they could cover Dwight one on one and shut him down. But Orlando still won because Boston had no one to guard Lewis. Turkoglu also chipped in, but Lewis was their leading scorer against Boston.

Admit it Deven, Orlando lost a big asset by moving Lewis back to the 3. I’m sure they’ll do just as good, if not better, in the regular season. But come playoff time, Cleveland and Boston now have the advantage because without any match up issues, they are the better teams.

True Ali, with Lewis at the 3, they lose the advantage that came when the other teams big had to try to guard him.

BUT! Lewis is too small to defend a real power forward. Orlando was very fortunate to not have that weakness challenged til the finals with LA.

Remember round one against Philly? It went to game 6 because that was a pretty even match-up at both forward positions.

You could argue that Iguodala and Thad Young out played Hedo and Lewis (Barely) and the Howard was the difference.

True, also Marcin Gortat had a monster game when it counted.

However, you should keep in mind, Lewis would not be facing many true post players as a 4 in the east.

Even Kevin Garnett takes 72% of his shots from the perimeter. Should Toronto make the playoffs, Bosh also plays the high post taking 64% of his shots from the perimeter. Same 64% for CV31. Cleveland has that piece of shit Verajo for their sorry excuse of a PF. You could argue Josh Smith here as he takes 53% of his shots inside, but he doesn’t have many legit post moves; he just uses his strength and speed to get to the rim.

Fact of the matter is Lewis would be facing up perimeter players - not post players, which is to his advantage.

Now should Miami succeed in getting both Odom and Boozer, that changes everything.

Ali, don’t tell me what point I missed and didn’t miss.

I missed no point.

You have the tendency to tell people what they’re thinking, how they should be thinking, and how their mind is working.

See: Last post of Joe Dumars’s Forward Thinking.

Also, Rashard Lewis got killed in the Finals because of those match-up problems. A 3 playing the 4, and he couldn’t stop Gasol from averaging 19 points and almost 10 boards.

http://www.yougotdunkedon.com/2009/06/2009-nba-finals-pau-gasol-dunks-on.html

Yeah man, teams are really booting up like never before!

That’s okay, In Joe we trust!

@ Anyone, Give me your prediction on how Vince Carter will fit in with Orlando?

System wise, I’m a bit uncertain. Carter is a guy that’s always been used to having the ball in his hands and making plays. Now that Turkoglu is gone, he’ll have more oppertunities, but still not nearly as many as he’s used to.

That’s what I think they made a big mistake trading Courtney Lee. In the short term, it may work. But VC is clearly on the downside of his career and Lee has big upside.

Not to mention he fit their system extremely well. He made 40% of his 3s (higher than VC) and had 73% of his shots assisted. When you’ve got so many scorers on your team, you need guys that don’t need the ball at all times to be effective. If Rip was a better 3 point shooter, he’d be perfect for them.

Also I would argue Lee is a better defender. SG facing Lee shot considerable 5% lower and had a lower PER (45% eFG% and 15 PER for Lee, very respectable). Not to mention when the Nets went small, SF shot 57% percent agaisnt Carter and had a PER over 20! That’s AWFUL.

Ben will be back this year at the veteran minimum.

Did you already forget what bad behavior Ben had before he departed? He acted like a spoiled brat, hardly the kind of “leader” or coach at the practice facility we need here.

Not a good example for the younger players. Not at all.

I think what you saw from Ben was him expressing the frustration that we all felt at that time.

Detroit had gone from being a team built on playing defense, sharing the ball and taking good shots to being an offensive juggernaut no longer caring about defense and even struggling on offensive when it mattered the most.

I totally understood his frustration. At least he gave a damn –something that I haven’t seem from anyone since he left.