By: David Kay
’09-’10 Season in Review:
When Joe Dumars made the first splash in free agency last summer by throwing $90 million at Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, I called it a massive mistake. And well, I was right. The revamped Pistons finished with their worst record since the 1993-94 season and failed to make the post-season for the first time in nine years. They completely lost the once proud identity of their team as a physical, hard-nosed, defense-oriented squad. In the process Dumars made himself out to be an even dumber general manager than the times he drafted Darko second overall and traded Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson.
Gordon was a flop in his first season in the Motor City (possibly because of bone spurs in his left ankle), averaging a career-low in points thanks in part to an abysmal 32% three-point percentage when his career average is 40.4% from downtown. Villanueva never found his groove even being benched at one point by first year head coach John Kuester. Injuries to veterans Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince certainly did not help the cause as the Pistons finished second to last in the league in scoring. Detroit also lacked any sort of an inside presence as they relied on a washed up Ben Wallace, under-sized Jason Maxiell, and typically worthless Kwame Brown to patrol the paint.
One of the few bright spots was the emergence of second round pick Jonas Jerebko who appears to be one of the true steals of the second round. His hustle and energy resembled the old school Pistons style and he will be a valuable piece for their future. However, with all the money Dumars spent last off-season, the future is not especially bright. Deeeee-troit will be in a holding pattern this off-season due to limited cap space unless they can pull off a possible trade, maybe dangling Prince’s expiring contract as bait.
Check out the rest of the Pistons off-season needs page.
Other team needs pages:
New Jersey Nets
Minnesota Timberwolves
Sacramento Kings
Golden State Warriors
Washington Wizards
Chicago Bulls