By Deven Khrucell aka Pimp Scwalla

From the beginning of his tenure as president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons, Joe Dumars has been pretty hard to read when it comes to his prospective draft picks. No matter how many names are thrown in the mix for potential selections, I never come close to what Dumars is thinking. For example, in 2008 He made Walter Sharpe Detroit’s top pick when most people barely even knew who he was. But after watching the 2009 NBA draft I might have a clue into the thinking process behind Dumars’s selections.

Since his first draft in 2000 when he decided to select Michigan State point guard Mateen Cleaves (passing on Hedo turkoglu and Michael redd), whenever Joe Dumars is in a bind and needs to reach into his bag of tricks, he usually comes out with a forward. When I took a count of each player that Dumars selected since becoming the Piston’s president, I found that out of a total of 23 picks, 14 of them were fowards and of those 14 forwards selected, 9 of them were small forwards, which is equal to the total number of picks at the other three positions combined. It’s apparent that Joe has a lot of love for the forwards—but why?

In an interview after selecting the Piston’s first round draft pick Austin Daye in the 2009 NBA draft, Joe Dumars told everyone that when drafting a player, he looks for someone that can play more than one position. But after taking a closer look at his draft track record, I think it’s a little more than that. I think a certain body type and ability gets his attention as well. For example, not only is Tayshaun Prince able to play more than just the small forward position, his long lean frame and level of athleticism makes him one of the most versatile players in the Pistons line-up with the ability to play four positions. As a rookie, how nice was it to see Tayshaun at 6 ‘9′ slow down Allen Iverson in the 2003 playoffs and follow that performance up with locking up a very hot Tracey McGrady enabling Detroit to defeat Orlando. His length also enabled him to disrupt an otherwise unstoppable Kobe Bryant in the 2004 NBA finals, which earned him the name “Kobe Stopper” by fans. He was as important as any other Piston during their championship run in 2004. Maybe that explains why Dumars, knowing how good Carmelo Anthony was at 6 ‘9′, couldn’t resist taking Darko Milicic who had the potential to play the same position at 7 feet tall. Taking Darko with the third pick turned out to be Dumars’s worst decision to date–all other top five selections are, simply put, the franchise of their teams. In retrospect I’m sure he would have taking Anthony instead.

Carmelo Anthony wasn’t Joe Dumars’s only missed opportunity. In the 2001 draft that followed a season where the Pistons were just 32-50. Dumars was very high on a freshman forward from UNC Charlotte by the name of Rodney White. He saw enough in his game to pass up the likes of Joe Johnson, Richard Jefferson, Tony parker and Gilbert Arenas. This was at a time when Detroit had just lost superstar player Grant Hill and the best the Pistons had at point guard was a very limited, Chucky Atkins. But disappointment didn’t stop Dumars from continuing to pursue his type of players. In 2008 he took as he described it, a “long look” at UAB forward, Water Sharpe, who at the time, no one really even knew and then he drafted four more forwards the very next year in the 2009 NBA draft.

This goes to show that Joe Dumars just likes what he likes. He looks at players from a different perspective than other people do. That’s why he’s able to strike gold with Tayshaun Prince when many others passed him by and also fail miserably with Darko Milicic when others were wondering…”what the hell!” One thing’s for sure, when it goes good it really goes good and when it goes bad, he’s been able to weather the storm pretty nicely.

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?

Whats Going On World?

John W. Davis here.  I thought since the regular season is winding down that it would be cool to look at the Most Important Pistons since the February All-Star break.

I’m going to just count it down for you 13 to 1.  Well honestly we only have 12 guys now but we will go 13 to 1 just to be correct.

13. Allen Iverson- He has to be last right now.  The guy is done as a Piston.  Thank God his contract comes of the books this year…

12. Walter Sharpe(Check out the exclusive Pistonscast interview)- The kid hasn’t played much but when he does, he takes it to the hoop STRONG! Look for him to contribute next year.

11. Amir Johnson- I honestly wish I could rank him higher but I can’t.  We are talking Most Important and right now he is hardly in the mix.  I thought this was going to be your year Amir!

10. Kwame Brown-  With this guy, “It Is What It Is“.  Nothing more, nothing less. At least he is 6′11, 270…

9. Walter Herrmann- If his 3 point shot isn’t clicking, whats the point?

8. Jason Maxiell(I MISS THIS VERSION OF MAX)- Another victim of the Coach Michael Curry PLAYING TIME BUG aka DNP-CD Disease…

7…  The Rest of the Most Important Pistons: Post All-Star Break will be published later this week.

Who are your Most Important Post All-Star Break Pistons…  Leave your list in the comment section!

Peace,

John W. Davis

www.twitter.com/johnwdavis

The Detroit Pistons today announced the assignment of Alex Acker and Walter Sharpe to their NBA Development League affiliate the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

Acker and Sharpe are the 16th and 17th NBA players assigned to their NBA D-League affiliate this season.

Check out Need4Sheed for this story and more:

What’s Going on World?

John W. Davis here in full effect. So our boy Walter Sharpe, the Number 10 Most Important Piston has publicly received some great news. Coach Curry says he won’t be going to the NBDL and will be with the team here in Detroit for his rookie season.

This makes me feel like he has a shot at the backup small forward role as previously discussed here on Pistonscast.com.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Pistons’ Sharpe not likely to play in D-League

Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

Pistons coach Michael Curry says this will be a developmental year for second-round draft pick Walter Sharpe, but it is unlikely that will include a stint in the NBA’s Development League.

“He needs a year here under our watch,” Curry said. “He needs structure and stability every day. A guy like (center) Cheikh Samb needs basketball hours — he’s a guy that would benefit more from the D-League. Walter will benefit more from being in this structure every day.”

Sharpe is a 6-foot-9 forward from Alabama-Birmingham.

I think they are keeping him around because once he gets on the court with the other Bench Babies or occasionally with the Big 4, Sharpe will be very very productive. I think we will all be amazed by his versatility.

Peace,

John W. Davis

www.pistonscast.com

Backup or NBDL?

What’s Going On World?

John W. Davis here. When ranking the most important Detroit Pistons for the 2008-2009 season, I try to seek a balance between two things. One, the player ranking today on the Pistons roster in terms of their current impact and productive. Two, just as important, their talent level and how that translates into their future with the Pistons.

See if you dont know, I’m a long term kind of guy. Always analyzing and thinking about the future. So say I do it too much. Yes, Yes, I recognize the fact that you must live in the moment and do your best in the present but you also must always be cognizant of the future. Always tweaking so when the future is the present you are prepared to live in the moment. I know I just went philosophical on you but life is a never ending journey of preparation.

Will he be in the Rotation by the end of the Season?

I see Walter Sharpe as the 10th Most Important Piston because he is on a journey right now. A journey to prove that he belongs. See Arron Afflalo knows he belongs in the NBA. He went to UCLA, he was an All-American and from his pedigree he deserves to be where he is today. Even a guy like Rodney Stuckey, who went to Eastern Washington after he didn’t qualify academically to play major conference Division 1 at the University of Washington deserves to be in the NBA. A guy like Stuckey has proven time and time again that he can play on this level and succeed. He proved it twice in the NBA Summer League, proved it before that in countless pre-draft camps, proved it playing on the Olympic select team that scrimmaged the 2008 Beijing Olympic team and most importantly proved in on the court, game after game, especially in the playoffs when we needed Rodney Stuckey to step up.

The thing about Walter Sharpe is, he feels and most Detroit Pistons fans feel the same way, that he has to prove himself to all the doubters. In Episode 60, Walt Sharpe talked about how he believes in himself but its time to (as my friend Suai says) show and prove to outsiders that he can play on this level and deserves respect. I’m passionate about this number 10 most important Piston because when we spoke to him he was passionate about proving he could play the three. He knows he has the tools, Joe D and Mike Curry know it as well, but now its about letting everyone else know it too.

I fully expect Walter Sharpe to play more consistent backup minutes at Small Forward than Walter Herrmann does by the end of the season. I also expect him to be apart of the Detroit Pistons future. He has the size you covet with a SF. He has the skills you covet. The only question is does he have the passion we covet as Detroit Piston fans? (I say YES!) But only time will tell.

Peace,

John W. Davis

AS ALWAYS, ENJOY THE YOU TUBE!

What’s going on World?

I want the other Walter. Big Walt Sharpe. Not just because we recently interview him on Episode 60, but because we need to develop youth. Herrmann is 29. He is too old to qualify as a Bench Baby. The backup will only get 12-15 mins I think we can manage that without Mr. Herrmann. He is definitely trade bait with Kwame Brown because of their expiring contracts along another big name, high salary Piston. I see Herrmann, Brown and one of the Big 4 turning into a big name player around the trade deadline come February 2009.

Joe D is plotting…

Peace,

John W. Davis

Walter Sharpe interview

Pistonscast.com interviewed rookie Walter Sharpe earlier this week on their podcast — Sharpe appears on the air around eight and a half minutes in through the 17-minute mark. Also, Sharpe shows off his uniform

Peace,

John W. Davis

Walter Sharpe interviewed on Pistonscast.com

Posted by Dave Dial July 29, 2008 17:01PM