Rockets/Pistons/Sixers trade to be voided

oogie boogie · Mar 5, 2016

With the 8th pick in exchange of Dmo we could have landed Justise Winslow who would have been a great fit for James. Damn. I hope Dmo makes a full recovery though. He seems on pace.

The Cat · Mar 5, 2016

J.R. said: ↑

[rQUOTEr]Voided trade leaves Detroit Pistons with PF need

SAN ANTONIO – There were no answers for LaMarcus Aldridge. The Spurs power forward dropped an assortment of moves in the Pistons’ 97-81 loss Wednesday night at AT&T Center.

They saw the jump hook in the paint. The midrange game was deadly with Aldridge rising up for easy points. And if defenders tried to crowd Aldridge, he used a deceptively quick first step to get to the basket.

He put up an efficient 23 points on 10-for-16 shooting.

Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis put on a similar display — only on a grander scale — when he strangled the Pistons with 59 points on 24-for-34 shooting in a 111-106 loss on Feb. 21.

Davis (6-10) and Aldridge (6-11) are both big, rangy power forwards capable of making jumpers and putting the ball on the floor to create scoring opportunities.

If only the Pistons had a rangy 7-footer to check those rare types.

Oh, wait, they had the guy.

The Pistons looked at the acquisition of Donatas Motiejunas as the move that would hasten their trajectory toward the top of the Eastern Conference. But the now-rescinded trade deadline deal because of worries about his back has put the Pistons back to square one. They still have to address the roster spot in the upcoming off-season.

So for Motiejunas to insinuate that the Pistons were looking for a way to back out of the trade with the Rockets just doesn’t make sense.

Sour grapes

In a report published in his native language, Motiejunas charges the Pistons had second thoughts and the back was a convenient excuse.

“I just got ‘screwed,’ ” Motiejunas said, according an interview with a Lithuanian reporter translated on Reddit. “The injury was a pretense to call off the trade. They changed their minds. Now I will be talking to my agent and lawyers to clarify what to do next. ... The medical examination I ‘failed’ was a joke.”

You understand his thought process. Motiejunas is a restricted free agent. He will be seeking a payday in the off-season with one team already leery of back issues.

The problems for Motiejunas started toward the end of the 2014-15 season when he had back surgery. Back pain has sidelined him for most of the season, although he returned to the Rockets lineup shortly after the rescinded trade. So there was a red flag.

The Pistons had two sets of doctors examine Motiejunas’ back — their own team doctors and specialists in New York. They even asked for a 24-hour extension from the normal 72-hour period to clear trades.

But consider the risk. The Pistons gave up a likely first-rounder in the deal so they were committed to re-signing the restricted free agent. With the salary cap rising with the influx of TV money, conservative estimates say the Pistons were looking at a deal of $10 million per season to retain Motiejunas.

So let’s say the Pistons OK the deal. If Motiejunas’ back issue flares up, you have lost a first-round pick. The Pistons would also be over the cap, so they would be left with trying to sign league-minimum type of guys to fill out the roster.

Let’s talk what-ifs. If Motiejunas were still in the middle of his rookie deal, more than likely the Pistons go through with the deal.

Perfect fit

Motiejunas, 25, would have fit right in with the Pistons’ young nucleus.

Besides the defensive versatility of being able to play power forward and center, the promising player can score around the basket and is a very good three-point shooter.

He has been on the Pistons’ radar in the past. They considered a 2015 NBA draft night deal that would have landed Motiejunas in June. The Rockets would have moved up to the No. 8 pick and the Pistons would have moved down to 18th. But they passed at the time, and they passed eight months later.

The Pistons will have the draft and about $14 million in cap space to address the position. Backup point guard is also a team need.

The Pistons would have preferred back-up point guard being the only glaring need on the shopping list.

“He was a guy we had liked for a long time, and we got an opportunity to do it, and it didn’t work out,” Pistons president-coach Stan Van Gundy said this week. “It’s unfortunate for us and, I understand him being upset.

“The idea that we didn’t want to do the deal anymore is simply not true.”

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In other words, the Pistons knew Motiejunas' comments were dangerous for them, and they used a local reporter to do them a solid in response.

dmoneybangbang · Mar 5, 2016

oogie boogie said: ↑

With the 8th pick in exchange of Dmo we could have landed Justise Winslow who would have been a great fit for James. Damn. I hope Dmo makes a full recovery though. He seems on pace.
Click to expand...

Or traded Winslow to the Celtics for like 4 picks.

If true, it seems Morey didn't think there were long term issues with his back going back to draft day and valued DMo more than the 8th pick. No can kicking there.

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