Pistons painted into corner with Rip Hamilton By Rob Otto | Metro Networks With New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov announcing yesterday that they are no longer pursuing a monster deal that would land them Denver's Carmelo Anthony, the Pistons are left feeling the sting of a deal that never happened. Guard Richard Hamilton was supposed to be part of the three-team trade, getting Detroit out from under the awful contract extension that team President Joe Dumars signed him to in November 2008. Hamilton is getting paid $12.65 million this season and each of the next two, nearly twenty percent of the team's payroll. If Hamilton were a superstar. or one of the top players at his position, or even the perfect player for Detroit's offense, that might be worth it. The problem is that Rip is none of those three things, and we seem to have concrete evidence of that. Hamilton has been a healthy scratch for the last five games. Neither Dumars nor coach John Kuester said much about the reason why, but the assumption has been that the team was holding Rip out of games while they were working on the Nets trade because they did not want him to suffer an injury. In the five game span with Hamilton's stat line reading "Did Not Play - Coach's Decision," the Pistons had their first three-game winning streak of the season, and had a lead over the top team in the East in Boston before faltering down the stretch. In these last five games, the Pistons have averaged 99 points per game. Prior to that, they were averaging 95.1. While that may seem like a slim jump, the truth of the matter is those extra four points per game could make a huge difference. The Pistons have already lost six games this season by four or fewer points, and if you consider that their recent good play has them just two and a half games out of the playoffs in the weak Eastern Conference, a handful of games could mean the difference between hitting the road in the post-season or hitting the links. With the potential trade dead, now the team has lost the built-in excuse for benching Hamilton. Now if he remains out of action, they are going to have to admit the real reason why: because the Pistons are a better team without Rip Hamilton. So what does the team do with him now? It was a gift that the Nets were willing to take that horrible contract off of Detroit's books. I do not expect any other team to be willing to do that, although seeking that trade is exactly what Dumars has to try to do. Good luck with that. You can't play him. The team is better off with him out of the way, and while making the playoffs with a record below .500 is not ideal, it is still important for this team to prove to their dwindling fan base that this new core of players is actually making progress. That leaves buying out his contract and letting Hamilton go. If the trade deadline comes and goes and Hamilton is still in Detroit, then this becomes the last option. I do not believe it would happen this season unless Rip is a huge negative influence in the locker room or is corrupting the younger players with a bad attitude. Besides, since they are paying him anyway, he is still a nice insurance policy in case one of the team's key guards goes down with injury. The moment of truth will be this off-season. Dumars will try again to make a deal to get Hamilton out of town, but barring that, it will be time for the new owner to write a big check and send him away. Whatever the decision, and whenever it happens, Richard Hamilton's days of making a huge impact here in Detroit are done. Get used to seeing him sitting at the end of the bench and not having to take a shower after the game. http://blog.mlive.com/ottoman-empire/2011/01/pistons_painted_into_corner_with_rip_hamilton.html
Yeah, that situation got ugly. Hamilton has totally quit on them after watching Dumars completely hose up the roster and bring in a disaster of a coach.
^ hamilton didn't quit, he just didn't play very well b/c there's no legit PG on the team. his game requires a decent PG to set him up. and yes, keuster is the worst coach in the NBA. how austin daye doesn't get playing time for long stretches after a great pre-season was mind-boggling and how bynum still gets playing time is laughable.
Well, Hamilton quit at least a little bit, or, at least, started to mail it in from time to time, but only after the team detonated---i.e., can't blame him. It was amazing that the same GM who constructed a team that won a title and made the EC Finals every year could turn around and sign Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva (and other players) to those deals. Let alone extend Rip a few years. and then force him to split time at the 2 with Gordon. I'm glad that this is another team's mess.
The Chicago Bulls really need to take advantage of this. It doesnt sound like its going to take a lot to get him out of Detroit Rose Hamilton Deng Boozer Noah that lineup is as good as any in the league..
I thought the Bulls were the obvious choice too and they would probably welcome him with open arms but they have no way of getting him there. They are just barely under the salary cap which means they can't just absorb him and they don't have any expendable contracts who could make up the difference in a trade. The only thing that's somewhat realistic is Deng for Rip but that opens up a whole at the 3 for Chicago and the Pistons only rid themselves of Rip's contract for someone else's bad contract who happens to play the same position as someone they are trying to work into the rotation more(Daye).
i say they should try and trade deng for hamilton, with a good pg, hamilton can be a great player. he is killer at his mid range game, and he has such high basketball iq. plus, when you have bogans playing, you know your lacking in that position.
Talk about a franchise deep in the mud, their down there with the worst franchises in all of professional sports.
...so why not this: Detroit gets Andre Igudala Chicago gets Rip Hamilton Philly gets Luol Deng + Detroit's first rounder this year Detroit is desperate for a star and would jump at the chance to get Iggy - plus he will sell a lot more tickets than Rip. Chicago gets the 2 they have always needed but at the expense of their solid SF. Brewer or Korver could play the 3 although neither are ideal. Philly gets Deng + what figures to be a high lotto pick. It might not be a lot to get for Iggy, but it helps them out quite a bit because they stay relatively young, make room for Evan Turner and get to take likely two lotto picks this year to fill some needs(probably for a playmaker and a big). ...the biggest problem with this deal is would Philly take so little for Iggy? There is a solution though - send Nocioni to Chicago for either Brewer(preferred) or Korver. Chicago would get a floor stretching vet at the 3 who is not afraid to play physical defense and the 76ers get a young player in Brewer who might mesh well with their youth movement. That gives them a 3 man wing rotation of Turner, Deng, and Brewer which isn't bad. Only problem is would the young Bulls really want two 30+ yr old vets to add to the mix? At first I would say no, but if the Bulls think they are good enough to win now(and I think they are), this lineup would give them a good chance with solid vets. It would leave them without a younger guy to guard Lebron though so there is that...
Cleveland is in a black hole of its own as well but at least they can say they have a pristine payroll situation in comparison to the Pistons, who are the closest thing to an Isaiah-led Knicks: horrible long contracts that will go nowhere.
Joe Dumars needs to be fired. The Pistons did well for a while, but 1. Hiring Michael Curry as coach was a complete disaster. 2. Giving Rip the crazy extension was insanity. 3. Trading Billups for AI was a catastrophic disaster of epic proportions. 4. Signing both Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to big contracts was a mistake. 5. Hiring John "Keester" as coach was a huge mistake. How many strikes and you are out? Dumars has completely failed as GM in the last several seasons and doesn't seem to be turning it around. He's a great guy who should either step down or be relieved of his duties.
He also brought the city of Detroit a championship as both a player and a GM. I'm sure that gives you some leeway like Rudy T in Houston. No one wanted to say anything about Rudy T but he kind of sucked as a strategic "coach". ...by the way, you forgot the epic Darko draft blunder.
Rudy T won a bronze medal in the Olympics with Brad Miller and a bunch of CBA scrubs. He was the last coach to win a gold before the drought. He had the same winning % that Phil Jackson wound up having the following year in LA. Don't make the 99ers have to bust a cap.
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I sure hope you're not talking about in their history. Even now they aren't the worst franchise in the NBA.
