Pistons’ Draft Picks May Solidify Prince’s Departure
Arguably, Tayshaun Prince remains the Pistons’ most valuable trade asset. His length, defense, and ability to play almost every position have made him a reasonable prospect for almost any style of basketball.
However, there is a problem with Tayshaun Prince. His progression is completely stagnant.
Prince was 24 when the Pistons won the 2004 championship. He was on top of the world, and the only place he could go was up. The following year, his averages improved considerably. Since then, his stats have done nothing but hover.
Now that the Pistons have morphed into a sub-.500 team, which is in grave danger of missing the 2010 playoffs, they need a small forward who can elevate his game to compete with some of the league’s standouts. Joe Dumars probably doesn’t expect the next Kobe, but someone who could give Andre Igoudala, Rudy Gay, or Josh Howard a run for their money would be ideal.
When the Pistons used all three of their picks to draft forwards, Tayshaun Prince’s fate may have been sealed.
With their first pick, the Pistons selected Austin Daye, a Gonzaga University sophomore whose playing style and body type resemble Prince’s. At nearly seven feet, he doesn’t even crack 200 pounds.
He can shift to power forward or center, but his weight would present a problem in both positions. He has already been deemed a weight-gaining project and it is unlikely that he will find the rotation this season. His NBA career in the near future will likely mimic Walter Sharpe’s, who scored all of eight points last season.
The selection of Daye makes little sense. Joe Dumars has always been an executive that prides himself on molding a gritty team that makes up on defense what it lacks offensively. He picked Tayshaun Prince in 2002 because, despite his slenderness, his length and quickness allowed him to be a defensive stud. Rip Hamilton doesn’t exactly tip the scales, but he can get under a defender’s skin like no other. Austin Daye gets knocked around like a rag doll when he’s defending. Blocks aside, he is entirely offensive-minded. Under Joe Dumars, that type of player will never succeed. He conducted the Allen Iverson experiment, and it failed miserably.
The second pick landed DaJuan Summers, a powerful but versatile Georgetown University forward. At number 35 overall, Summers was a steal. His impact will be more immediate, possibly backing up Prince or whoever is starting at small forward when the season starts. He has strength comparable to that of Jason Maxiell, except Summers can post up and shoot the ball, as opposed to Maxiell’s “bull in a china shop” mantra.
The Pistons drafted Jonas Jerebko with the 39th pick. Jerebko has two years with Italian ball club Angelico Biella, but he has little other professional experience. His game is also similar to Prince’s and he may also be entering the rotation, although it’s more likely that he spends a year or two overseas first. His solid build, along with Summers’, also fits Dumars’ preference of tough physical play.
This was not a poor draft for Detroit. Austin Daye has a good amount of potential, but remains the type of player that can easily be a bust. The Pistons are not expected to bring Walter Herrmann back, which will leave a noticeable void at the small forward position.
It is crucial that Detroit bring in somebody to fill that void, unless they want to end up giving Walter Sharpe and DaJuan Summers gigantic promotions that they may not yet be ready for.
The Celtics’ Rajon Rondo/Ray Allen offer may have been a little too much for Joe Dumars to swallow, but the summer is still young. Trading Chauncey Billups and letting Rasheed Wallace roam in free agency is only the start. The work in the Pistons’ front office is far from being done.
The 2009-2010 Detroit Pistons will likely look very different from the team that everybody is used to seeing. Familiar “glory days” faces will be gone, replaced by new, youthful ones. Salary dumps are rampant and all draft picks are used on forwards. The Palace Prince’s reign in Auburn Hills appears to be coming to a close.
Article can also be found at The Western Herald.
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I had been a Detriot Pistons fans since 2000, even when they were not that good. I have gone to alot of their games; but when Joe D traded mr.bigshot for a trade that messed up the team chemistry this year. my faith as a pistons fan began to fate and now you talking of possibility of trading Prince? He has been nothing but an excellent player. if it wasnt for him, you the pistons would never have won that championship back in 2004. when very body gave up on the play but it was him that tracked reggie miller and blocked that shot.and do you honestly think that austin is better Tay? c’mon. if you trade prince, i promise you that you are going to lose alot of fans.
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joe d is starting to make some not so smart choices
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i have been a fan ever since the bad boy days and have been a fan through good and bad,I was hurt when we lost Billup and new our team was going down but if you even think of getting rid of prince or mighty maxs not only would you lose fans you are going to lose a lot of games
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besides the block of 2004…what has prince done? nothing. hes not aggressive enough,he does not look to score and he has been getting walked on defense by guys like lebron, wade, paul pierce over the past 4 seasons. He did a great job in 2003 when he d’d up mcgrady then iverson in the second round. But ever since 2004 Tayshauns performance has just plateau’d. There is no reason why a guy with that much talent should be scoring 7 points a game in the playoffs. Theres a reason every year that all the other starters were allstars over the past few years and Tayshaun wasn’t, he never got to the next level. Tayshaun never got to the next level and always will be a great skill player with little game impact. Get rid of him, he doesn’t have a bad boy mentality anyways
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I don’t know what you all been smoking…. give me some cuz its got’a be good….
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[...] Pistons' Draft Picks May Solidify Prince's Departure | The Piston Post By The Piston Post With their first pick, the Pistons selected Austin Daye, a Gonzaga University sophomore whose playing style and body type resemble Prince's. At nearly seven feet, he doesn't even crack 200 pounds. He can shift to power forward or center … The Piston Post – http://pistonpost.com/ [...]
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Well said austin…he really never got to “the next level.” We’re all waiting around for him to get better, but it just isn’t happening. Simple as that.
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Tayshaun has done 2 things with the pistons….block reggie miller (loved it) and shoot every jumper SHORT (HATE IT) its time to move him like the rest of the team….times have chnaged, and i would rather give up a year or two then come up a bit short every year….I TRUST YOU JOE D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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first off you are a fair weather fan….you jumped on in 2000 when they started to get better and jumping off now when they are rebuilding……just root for the lakers you will fit in with their shitty fans better….no one misses a short term fan…..BE GONE!!!!
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I thought Tayshaun would be great when we got him, it turns out he is just less than average, he is the worst ball handler in the league by far, he is only capable of putting up about 13 pts a night and about 4 REBs. When is the last time you saw him block a shot also, because of FOX Sports Det and other local stations I can literally watch every Piston game and I do, Tayshaun is 29 now he isnt going to get any better we need an upgrade at SF I know everyone loves him but oh well, did I mention he only averaged 3 pts a game in the playoffs last year!
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i was a Detroit Piston fan since i came to America.
please trade Tay. Prince. This is the only way to win another championship ring with Austin dye. he is like kobe mix with KG type player; also 3 point shooting like Reggi Miller.
I think we are going to win 09-10 champion.
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I hate to sound harsh, but I don’t think Tayshaun even qualifies as a starter in this league anymore. When you look at the level of basketball other small forwards are playing, Tayshaun could be their backups, at best.
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pistons need a new GM, methinks.
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I will be very sad if Tay is traded he was the only consistant player we had last year I think Joe has made some pretty bad decisions and they look like they are going to continue . I am a huge fan sat up late many a night to watch them play and loose on the west coast so sad. I wish Isiah was back and Billy that is when men played for the game and with heart not just for the DOLLARS !!!!
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Relax!
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