Should we have kept Josh Smith and...

[embersyc]

Should we have kept Josh Smith and waived Greg Monroe?

In retrospect, we never gave Smith an opportunity to start at his preferred position.

Not saying it would have worked perfectly or at all, but it was clear Greg was gone from the moment he signed the qualifying offer anyways, so why not?

Smith's contract would have been more tradeable this offseason with the cap bump, and even more so next offseason.

I think we did the right thing, if Jennnings hadn't gotten injured, who knows how last season might have turned out.

Still I can't help but wonder.

[Aussie Dunker]

By memory, SVG in late Nov / Early Dec shuffled the lineup and moved Smith to PF, and got Singler to start SF and Moose to the bench as a 6th man (Moose didn't start for 12 games in late Nov / early Dec for Det)

In those 12 games, Smith put up roughly 12/7/3.5 with 1.5 spg and 1.5 bpg. These are not terrible stats at all, but he put up 39% FG, 22% 3pt and 52% FT. Rubbish.

Even though it is a small snapshot, I think SVG saw enough in those 12 games with him starting at PF to realize he just hadnt developed into the player we all hoped for. He just didn't appear to have the right mentality - always seemed like he had a sense of entitlement, which I guess being our highest paid player at the time is somewhat palatable, but still...

But no, I don't think Smith would have ever worked out with or without Monroe. He takes terrible shots, and is a selfish player - and he is not a good fit for SVG's system, too...

[ZMonkey11]

SVG needs a stretch 4 and the only stretching JSmooth did well was pregame.

We still thought we were in contention of keeping Monroe. I would have taken the chances of keeping a young Monroe over trading an aging Smith. We did the right move, just didn't work out.

[dd24]

The Pistons never did well with Smith when he did start at PF. This team just wasn't a good fit for him. I don't think SVG ever had any intention of keeping him or Monroe.

[ZMonkey11]

The Pistons never did well with Smith when he did start at PF. This team just wasn't a good fit for him. I don't think SVG ever had any intention of keeping him or Monroe.

I believe SVG had all intentions of keeping Monroe, but slotting him into a sixth man role so the game could flow through him when the spelling the starters. He would still get starter minutes and probably finish the game in place of Drummond.

[dd24]

I believe SVG had all intentions of keeping Monroe, but slotting him into a sixth man role so the game could flow through him when the spelling the starters. He would still get starter minutes and probably finish the game in place of Drummond.

They never made him an offer. That pretty much tells me they said one thing but meant another. Even Monroe came out and specifically said he wouldn't stay where he wasn't wanted.

[Aussie Dunker]

I think when SVG first took over the team, he wanted to keep Monroe and see if it would work, after his first season I think he might hae changed his outlook - he didn't exactly chase Monroe's signature hard this off-season....

[dd24]

Ironically with the signing of Monroe, ESPN just ranked the Bucks as the #1 young core in the NBA. Detroit was 10 on that list I think.

[Aussie Dunker]

I think a lot of people have forgotten that Jabari was outplaying Wiggins as a rookie before he got hurt. This guy has potential to be a franchise level player - a potential top 5 player in the league (ceiling) - but that is why GM's were neck and neck on draft night deciding between he and Wiggins, and why a lot of people believe he could be a hybrid of Melo / Pierce some day... We shall see,

Giannis I don't think will ever be a franchise level player, but I think he could be a great Robin... I expect he will grow into the ultimate glue guy, be all defensive first team, and perhaps become one of the premier point forwards in the NBA with his size and handle. But I would be surprised if he ever scored more than say, 18ppg in his prime -

MCW is still too young and raw to get a reading on, my gut feel is that he could become an elite distributor but have many holes in his game offensively - but also appears a lock to become a great defender with his length at the position.

Middleton is a meat n potatos kind of guy, we know what he brings - not sizzle to his game but plenty of substance, the ULTIMATE role player.

And Moose - who knows what he can be on this Bucks squad - I expect him to go close to 20ppg...

Big future...... I would rank them #1 also, their core has an average age of like 22...

[dd24]

Yeah, Jabari is going to be a beast in our conference. Hopefully Johnson can turn into something so we have a guy his age that can defend him. Once the Cavs and Bulls fall off in the division, the Bucks will probably be right up there.

[Aussie Dunker]

Yeah, Jabari is going to be a beast in our conference. Hopefully Johnson can turn into something so we have a guy his age that can defend him. Once the Cavs and Bulls fall off in the division, the Bucks will probably be right up there.

I was just thinking - The Bulls and the Cavs arn't exactly "old",

Rose and Butler will carry that Bulls squad around for a long time I would think, they are both young...

Kyrie is 23 and Love 26 - and we all know Lebron is going to be a force for his entire career, so they are here for the long term,

Pacers will depend on Turner reaching his potential, and if he does, then George and Turner will be a dangerous 1-2 punch for a long time.

in 3 years time we could be the new southwest division.

And we NEED Stanley to become more than a role players as the opposing players to him in our division will be Lebron / George / Butler / Jabari

[dd24]

That's exactly why I've been saying the Pistons could really be stuck in mediocrity for quite a while. Everybody seems content with it. I question the boring moves they make and everyone else is super excited. I look at the teams in our division and see good rosters all with a star player.

[Aussie Dunker]

None of them have the type of C Drummond could potentially become - I guess that would be our advantage,

We have a long way to go, but I also believe we have the best head coach in the division...

If one of Reggie / KCP / Stanley exceeds expectations and rises to star level, we are going to be in a very good position. It's a big if, but there are far less likely players that have become stars in this league, Jimmy Butler for example...

[nuraman00]

The Pistons never did well with Smith when he did start at PF. This team just wasn't a good fit for him. I don't think SVG ever had any intention of keeping him or Monroe.

Maybe Smith needed more time at PF with the starters, to fit in.

[Aussie Dunker]

Maybe.... Or maybe he is just too selfish to be able to form any positive chemistry amongst a young team - or maybe he just had a real hard time believing that he needed to be a cog of the machine and wasn't going to be "the man" on this team...

He clearly did not fit in with our personnel or system,