Posts tagged ‘Richard Hamilton’

Richard Hamilton has become a distraction for the Pistons, according to a team source.

He missed Sunday’s game and complaints about his diminished role have led some in the organization to wonder if Hamilton has quit on the Pistons.

“He quit on us,” one team source said. Another team source said Hamilton is acting out of emotion and should adjust.

“If I need to have a long talk with him, I will,” team president Joe Dumars said Monday on WDFN.

“I’ll see how Rip is doing tomorrow when he gets in here. Rip’s been good for me.”

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Ummm… Richard Hamilton had already been a distraction.

I’m glad the Detroit News has confirmed this through team sources but die-hard Pistons fans (even super Rip fan Mike W.) already knew this.

I can’t believe that it has come to Rip having an “upset stomach” and missing the New Orleans Hornets game for people to finally question his heart.

Seriously, I just don’t get the infatuation with Rip.

I understand he was a key piece of our championship run but the day Chauncey was traded, the day Lebron James torched the Pistons for 48 points — including his team’s final 25 and 29 of its final 30, the Pistons dynasty was over.

It was just a matter of time a guy like Rip would quit.

I’ve said and type it numerous time, we need to trade Rip at all cost.

I’LL TAKE A SECOND ROUND PICK!

Just give my minutes for Gordon, McGrady, and Daye and some cap relief.

Maybe we don’t even need the cap relief…

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A source close to the situation told FanHouse the Pistons are committed to trading Richard Hamilton by the upcoming offseason.

Hamilton, who turns 32 next month, has three more years left after this one at a total of $34 million.

Pistonscast Response…

THANK GOD!!!

Leadership is one of those words that can be difficult to nail down a concrete definition for. In terms of basketball, I believe a leader is the one who takes on the responsibility of successfully accomplishing the specific goal set by the team.

I think the question of leadership is the only difference between Rodney Stuckey and some of the NBA’s great young point guards like Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Derrick Rose. All three are  proven leaders who’s play determines the outcome of games every night.

In only his rookie season, Derrick Rose was clearly the leader of the Chicago Bulls and the heart and soul of the team. So far, Stuckey hasn’t impacted his team quite as much as Rose has in Chicago, but he has shown signs of greatness.

In Stuckey’s defense, unlike the other guards previously mentioned, he hasn’t really had the same opportunity to be a leader. As a rookie, his job for Detroit was to be back-up to Chauncey Billups. The following season he had more opportunities but with the constant line-up changes, it still was some time before his role was clearly defined

Now, with the dawning of a new day in Detroit, is this the season for Rodney Stuckey or will another player step up and become the leader of the Detroit Pistons?

Join Pistonscast LIVE on blogtalkradio Monday, July 27^th at 6:00pm, when we discuss who the Detroit Pistons next number one guy will be.

I never thought the day would come that I would endorse this trade…

Its such a sad day, but this must be done.

Its time for Richard “Rip” Hamilton to be traded to the Utah Jazz for the often injured Carlos Boozer.

If you listen to Episode 112, I emphatically said Carlos Boozer will never play for the Detroit Pistons.

The reason I said Boozer would not be Piston is I thought we were going to spend 12 to 14 million dollars to acquire him via the 2009 free agency market.

When a re-emerging team like the Pistons have 19 million in cap room and you spend 75% on Boozer that doesn’t equate to a logical acquisition.

But, Boozer opted to stay with Utah Jazz and I was relieved.  I knew we could pursue a great young talent like Charlie Villanueva who I think can be an All-Star by 2011.

As much as signing Charlie V makes sense, Ben Gordon creates a lot of questions marks.

Is he tall enough, is his defense good enough, and will he be happy coming off the bench.

These are all issues that you have to consider because the 6′1 ish Ben Gordon is now the highest paid player on the Detroit Pistons.  (Money=Stardom & Ego)

But as many questions as Gordon creates, he also provides multiple answers.

He can score on anyone in the NBA, he’s a deadly and consistent long range shooter and he’s only 26.

As much as experience counts for in the NBA, its a young man’s league.

Mr. Rip Hamilton is 31 years old and his play will only decline in the future.

I think your highest paid player, (Ben Gordon) should start for the simple economic fact of getting your money’s worth.

If I was the President of a company, I would not have my highest paid employee only work part-time.

That employee would work the long hours needed to get the job done.

Ben Gordon can’t help us win a championship off the bench. I need him to start and play 38 minutes a game, to go hard on defense and average 22 points a game.

I need him to be on the court as much as possible with Rodney Stuckey and Tayshaun Prince to establish the rapport needed to continue the championship culture that Joe Dumars started to create in 2002.

It’s obvious that Richard Hamilton will not be happy off the bench, remember when he said this… “Something’s got to give. I’m all for doing whatever it takes for the team, but coming off the bench with us not winning, something’s got to change”said Hamilton.

Rip’s already called his shot and for the Detroit Pistons to get another step closer to contending for a championship we need all the firepower we can get in our starting 5.

Right now our top five players are, Stuckey, Gordon, Hamilton, Prince, and Villanueva.

Doesn’t that look eerily similar to small ball?

How quickly do we forget that Pistons fans worldwide could not stand that lineup.

And you know what, the Detroit Pistons players hated that “Small Ball” lineup even more.

With all that said, how often in the NBA are trades for All-Star caliber players fair. (Not Often)

If we can trade Richard Hamilton for Carlos Boozer, WE MUST TAKE THAT DEAL.

Utah’s weakness has always been at shooting guard, and if they really love Paul Milsap then they should be happy to make this switch.

Rip should be happy to go to Utah’s because he can play with what he desperately needs, a point guard.

In my opinion, the young Deron Williams looks like a more polished, pass first version of Chauncey Billups.

If you’re Utah, a your starting five is Deron Williams, Richard Hamilton, Andrei Kirilenko, Paul Milsap and Memo Okur, then you are honestly ready to compete for the NBA championship.

Will you win one, probably not, but with the sometimes volatile Ron Artest and the often injured Andrew Bynum starring on the Los Angeles Lakers, anything can happen.

The new look Pistons would practically be complete, Rodney Stuckey at PG, Ben Gordon at SG, Tayshaun Prince at SF, Charlie Villanueva at PF, and Carlos Boozer at C.

Thats a starting five that would compete well against any team in the NBA.

Don’t forget the Pistons have one of the best, training staffs in the league.  If Boozer comes to town and listens to what they have to say, he should be able to stay on the court for 70+ games and most importantly be ready for the 2010 playoff push.

And remember if this Boozer merger doesn’t work, Carlos will still be a 2010 free agent…

Peace,

John W. Davis

Pistonscast.com

Got a question for Pistonscast.com? Send it to John W. Davis. And for Pistonscast news and updates follow John on Twitter.

By Deven Khrucell (aka Pimp Scwalla)

When the Detroit Pistons go on the clock June 25th, it’ll be anybody’s guess who Joe Dumars might draft at number 15 and even more of a mystery is what position. One thing’s for sure, with the current state of the Detroit Pistons, he had better choose carefully.

The Piston’s main concern right now is trying to pick up impact players from the free agent market or by trading for them. Most of the big name free agents are big men like; Bosh, Okur, Boozer, etc… Players like those won’t come cheap. In order to make this possible, there’s a good chance they will lose Rip Hamilton and/or Tayshaun Prince.

The draft pick that I see fitting best in this mix is Louisville Cardinal, Terrence Williams. Williams is a lock-down defender with plenty of explosiveness and is able to knock down three point shots when needed. I also like the fact that he is a four year guy who can guard both the two and the three.

While Williams won’t quickly replace Rip or Tay, drafting a guy like Williams could help soften the blow of losing one or two of Detroit’s cornerstone players. His versatility makes it easy to slide him into either the shooting guard or the small forward position. He also gives the Pistons some leverage when decide which players are going to be here in the future.

Many believe Rodney Stuckey is a better fit at shooting guard and the Piston’s should draft a point guard. That definitely makes sense, but let’s look at the whole picture. Drafting and working with another young point guard (at this point) will be too daunting and could be disastrous for an inexperienced Michael Curry. Besides that, we still don’t know for sure that Rodney’s late season woes were because of the position he plays or the fact that being a great NBA point guard can’t be achieved over night.

Either way we look at it, in order for Detroit to get better, it’s going to cost them at the shooting guard or small forward position–leaving a big hole in the line-up. Why not fill in that hole with someone that can play both - it just makes sense.

What do you think?

Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Allen Iverson (CLICK THE LINK) participated in a full-team practice with the Pistons on Friday, which hasn’t happened in over a month.

“They were all out there and they all looked good,” coach Michael Curry said. “I am saying that everybody is going to play (Saturday in Washington) because I want to be positive. I told Abs (athletic trainer Mike Abdenour) to make sure he brings everybody’s uniform.”

Hamilton is the only player of the three that is certain to face the Wizards on Saturday night.

“Realistically, Allen probably won’t play,” Curry said. “The one I am most confident about is Rip. We will have to see how Allen and Sheed respond. Allen hasn’t done anything for 15 games, so that’s tough. Sheed and Rip both moved around real good. So hopefully with treatment and some rest they will be ready to play, at least in a limited role.”

VIA DETROIT NEWS

Pistons guard Richard Hamilton is expected to return to the court on Saturday against the Wizards after missing six straight games with a groin injury.

Hamilton has been sidelined a total of 14 games by the injury this season.

Detroit coach Michael Curry also indicated that forward Rasheed Wallace might return from a calf injury against Washington.

VIA DETROIT FREE PRESS

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If the Pistons ever needed a starter more than right now… You get my point, my drift and I’m sure you share my happiness!  Rip is back against his former team!  LETS GO RIP!  Let’s go Detroit!

Good News, since we are the 7th seed 8th seed at the moment, we are still currently matched up right about there with Orlando in the 1st round because they have taken over the Number 2 Seed! So if we have to be the 7th seed I’m rooting for Orlando to be the Number 2!  Where ever you go Orlando… we will follow! LOL

I know we only have a handful of games left but if we can win at least 9 games to close out the season we can still get that Number 5 spot! (But I’ll take any match up against Orlando in the 1st round!)

Let’s start moving forward with this next one against the Wizards!

Peace,

John W. Davis

www.pistonscast.com

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VIA ESPN:

Richard Hamilton is known to have been upset when good buddy Chauncey Billups was dealt to Denver earlier this season, but he still wants to remain in Detroit for the long haul.

“Like I’ve said [before], Detroit was a city that changed my whole career around,” Hamilton told ESPN’s Marc Stein.

“I want to be here. I want to retire here. One day I want to get my name and my jersey put up in the rafters. I couldn’t see myself playing anywhere else. No matter who’s here.”

VIA DET NEWS:

ORLANDO, Fla. — Allen Iverson will not play tonight against Orlando, and he is questionable for the game Sunday in Boston.

Results of an MRI on his ailing back Friday came back negative, but the team has sent him back to Detroit for more tests.

Coach Michael Curry announced Friday that Iverson would be coming off the bench the rest of the season, with Richard Hamilton moving back into the starting lineup.

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What’s Going on World?

John W. Davis here.  The Pistons have finally made the shake-up that they desperately needed.  It’s not just because of his ailing back but Allen “AI” Iverson is going to the bench for good!  That’s right, for the rest of the season.  I can say I saw this coming… AH HA!

Check out an excerpt from yesterday’s post:

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” Stuckey will continue to start. I repeat he will continue to start.  (SIGH…)  Coach Curry says he’s not considering sending Stuckey to the bench.  Rip is obviously not happy coming off the bench and losing.  I know that Iverson is hurt right now with his back injury but could a starting lineup change be on the way?

Are the Pistons finally going take the reins away from Iverson?”

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The Pistons finally made a move.  Something had to give and I’m glad it did!

Peace,

John W. Davis

www.pistonscast.com

Pistons.com Detroit v. New Orleans Quote of the Day:

Rip Hamilton…

On Playing Most of the Game Without Allen Iverson: “The way we’ve have been starting, is the way [head coach Michael Curry] wants. I’ve said I’m happy to come off the bench as long as we’re winning. But we’re losing. We’re now 4-12 with me coming off the bench. Something’s got to give. I’m all for doing whatever it takes for the team, but coming off the bench with us not winning, something’s got to change.”

(Thanks to Matt from the AU for all the great pics and the link.)

*Other Pistons Points to ponder…

 Stuckey will continue to start. I repeat he will continue to start.  (SIGH…)  Coach Curry says he’s not considering sending Stuckey to the bench.  Rip is obviously not happy coming off the bench and losing.  I know that Iverson is hurt right now with his back injury but could a starting lineup change be on the way?

Are the Pistons finally going take the reins away from Iverson?