Doomsday in D-Town

I was a Pistons fan for about three weeks this season, when Iverson was first traded to D-Town and I thought the team might have a legitimate chance to compete for a title (I also felt the same optimism about the pairing of A.I. and Melo when The Answer was first shipped to Denver). However, I quickly realized one thing in my short time as a member of the Piston fan base: This is a terrible time to be a Piston fan. They are about to be stuck at the bottom half of the inevitable cycle that is professional sports. The cycle in which a team enjoys prolonged success with a core group of players, but realize that the dream will eventually dismantle. The current Piston team is a living example of the phrase, “all good things must come to an end.” For longer than I would like to remember I have been jealous of my Piston-fan friends, who have enjoyed consistency and success, while my Sixers have stumbled around in prolonged mediocrity. But after a promising campaign by the Sixers which landed them two seeds above the Pistons in the playoffs, the tables have finally turned.

I compare the Pistons current situation to that of a college program in which the batch of veteran players which led the school to success is graduating and moving on, while the new class of up-and-comers, although talented, is not yet ready to lead the team back to the prestigious pedestal it had become accustomed to.

For the Pistons, the regular season played out much like a bad movie; one which had potential to be good, but the characters struggled with their roles throughout the duration. Movies like this can often be saved by the ending, but after watching the soon-to-be MVP and the Cavaliers dominate the usually pride-proned Pistons in the first two games of the series, it is safe to say that the ending will be just as disappointing. This season will end the Pistons impressive streak of six straight trips to the Conference Finals, granting them a much longer summer vacation than they have become accustomed to. Maybe this extra time will be beneficial, because the front office sure has some work to do, figuring out to return the franchise to its position as the envy of the East. They have a core group of talented young players (Stuckey, Bynum, Maxiell, Afflalo) who should be, and more than likely will be, retained. Outside of the potential generated through these promising young players, they have another factor that will help them in the short and long term: cap space. The expiring contract of the (incorrect) Answer, will free up an enormous amount of room to allow them to sign up-coming free agents. Assuming they don’t resign Rasheed Wallace (which I don’t see why anyone in their right mind would, considering he averaged a head-scratching 12 ppg this season –placing him at 113th in the League, behind such notorious scoring threats as Ryan Gomes and Luis Scola) they will have even more room to spend on the flurry of free agents that will be flying free in 2010. They should hold on to Tayshaun Prince, as he is still relatively young and serves as a (difficult to find) multi-facetted utility man. What to do with Rip Hamilton, who has served as the team’s offensive anchor for the past half decade, is one of the biggest questions facing Detroit. His production has slowed with the loss of his running-mate, Chauncey Billups, and when his contract is up age will be a factor. Also, with the development of the young backcourt players, he may see his production and playing time drop even further, leaving one to question his overall worth to the team’s future. Changes will certainly be made to Detroit’s roster, which had served as a model of consistency through six trips to the conference finals and an NBA title. The direction of the team is yet to be determined, but as of right now one thing is definite: I’m glad I’m not a Pistons fan.