Hat tip to Ryan for pointing out the trade in the comments section
Denver's New Stopper: Arron Afflalo
Yahoo Sports reports
Detroit traded Arron Afflalo and Walter Sharpe to Denver for a future second-round pick, a move that creates another $1.8 million in salary cap space for the Pistons, a league source said Monday.
Afflalo averaged 4.9 points and 16.4 minutes in 74 games for the Pistons last season. Sharpe appeared in only eight games as a rookie last season.
As I wrote in reply to Ryan in the comments, I think the media reports are incorrect about Detroit clearing $1.8 million because they’re not accounting for the cap hold on open roster spots. I think the Pistons have only cleared about half that amount.
The Pistons move Afflalo ($1.09 million) and Sharpe and ($825k), which removes $1.915 million. But at that point the Pistons will only have 9 players, leaving a cap hold for three empty roster spots. Prior to the trade, the Pistons were already on the hook for one roster spot cap hold, so only two extra charges of $475k each. That extra cap hold would cost $950k … so it would be $1.915 million minus $950k, equaling $965k.
I think the Pistons have freed up an extra $965k, which when added $3.52 million (by my math), gives Detroit around $4.485 million to spend on another free agent.
That would allow the Pistons to offer a contract similar to the one the Raptors are giving to Jarrett Jack, a four year $20 million type of deal. Or a five year deal worth $26 million.
Denver Nuggets
I think this is a brilliant trade for the Denver Nuggets. Arron Afflalo is a very good man-to-man defender at the two guard position, and he has excellent defensive potential. I think he’s both a superior defender, and a better all-round player, than Dahntay Jones is. So, he’s a nice upgrade for the Nuggets as their starting shooting guard.
Picking up Walter Sharpe is a nice bonus, since he’s a young player and a decent prospect, but it’s still too early to get a clear idea of what he’s capable of. He’s unlikely to play much next season, instead being deep insurance in case any rotation player picks up an injury.
Detroit Pistons
Incomplete — this trade can’t be judged accurately until we see how Joe Dumars uses the extra cap space he has created.
That said, I think this looks dodgy for the Pistons. I’m skeptical about how much talent they’ll be able to acquire for the money they’re offering, and skeptical about how much of an upgrade that player is over Afflalo, especially when it’s judged against their relative costs.
I would have been more optimistic about this trade if it were done on draft day, and if the Pistons had of put this extra money to better use earlier in the free agency process.
But like I said, it’s too early to say anything definitive about this move for Detroit until they actually use their cap space.
Conclusions
Brilliant trade for the Denver Nuggets.
Too early to say for the Detroit Pistons, but it looks dodgy.
Possible Pistons free agent targets — Nate Robinson, Ramon Sessions, Josh Childress, Linas Kleiza, Hakim Warrick, Boki Nachbar, Drew Gooden, Glen Davis — Nachbar and Gooden being the only unrestricted free agents on that list.
Is there anyone else that folks think the Pistons may target in free agency? Here’s a list of free agents.
With Rodney Stuckey, Ben Gordon and Rip Hamilton on the books, it looks unlikely that the Pistons will be adding another guard. They need a big man but I don’t think either Gooden or Davis is worth that type of money. The Pistons best option may be to go for someone may be to try and sign Linas Kleiza.
I think Detroit needs to be careful about spending this money. Good chance of Detroit making a decision that they’ll regret.
Edit: Good article by Keith Langois on True Blue Pistons discussing the trade. Talks briefly about Brandon Bass, also Glen Davis, and the two departing Pistons. He also has different figures for the Pistons cap space ($1.7 million prior to the trade, $3.5 million now).
Interesting quote on Sharpe
Jonas Jerebko has looked impressive in summer league, as have Austin Daye and DaJuan Summers. They all look like useful players for the Pistons.
Dave,
IMO, you might want to add the names Deron Washington and Trent Plaisted to that list by the time pre-season finishes for the Pistons this coming season.
Last year at this time there was someone on some web site … I don’t really remember which one it was; actually, it might even have been on my own blog … who challenged my opinion that both of these two players just might have what it takes to become serviceable players in the NBA in the not-too-distant future.
Well … with the trades the Pistons made today, who knows, that day just might be a lot sooner than this person …
now that I think of it, his name might well have been Marc [RR] …
ever thought was possible.
Just a tip to keep under your hat, for a rainy day.
Hey Khandor,
Yes, Deron Washington has impressed me too. I think he belongs on that list alongside the recent draft picks. Scrappy wing who can rebound and shoot, and play some defense. Nice package.
Trent Plaisted? Not so much. I don’t think he’s ready … but down the road I can see him playing in the NBA. I think he needs to spend some more time in Europe first, he needs to learn to make better use of the skills he has + improve in some other areas.
Dave,
From what I understand, the Pistons may already have inked Deron Washington to a guaranteed contract for this coming season, as a hoped-to-be replacement for the recently departed Aaron Afflalo.
If he can step into a limited defensive role for this team this season, it makes the loss of Afflalo easily palatable.
PS. IYO, any possiblity that Ben Wallace now resigns with the Pistons?
Khandor,
Big Ben + Detroit = Interesting article on mlive.com about that very subject. It gives a nice summary of the situation, on Big Ben, Glen Davis, the Pistons wanting younger players. That sort of stuff.
I think there’s a chance Big Ben returns to Detroit, but I’m guessing that he’d rather join a contender. I think minutes will be the most important variable for Wallace, he’s a guy who likes to play, he’ll want to be brought in to fill a role in the regular rotation.
Update: Chris McCosky reports that Ben Wallace is interested in rejoining the Pistons, but isn’t sure whether Joe Dumars is. McCosky thinks Wallace will sign for the minimum, leaving the Pistons to use their cap space on a younger piece. He also likes Wallace’s leadership on the increasingly young Pistons.
Definitely a solid pickup for Denver. Wouldn’t surprise me if Billups had a little to do with it, you know, put in a good word or three.
Arron is a class guy who will stay out of trouble and hit the practice court hard every day. Upgrade over Jones by a mile just because of the fact that Afflalo is a decent shooter.
The Wallace scenario is puzzling. Ben is beat. Done. Over. He’s a shell of his old self. Better to sign a young player with potential than sign a guy who will not really factor into anything important anyway.
Davis is a long shot IMO, can’t understand why Celtics wouldn’t match any offer given to him. He’s a beast that will only improve!
khandor is correct about Mr. Washington.
The timing of Dumars signing Washington was interesting considering it was done before summer league play even began.
I’ve said a few times over at my ragtag blog that Washington reminds me of James Singleton. Only difference is the hair.
Detroit Free Press reports that the Pistons aren’t actively looking at Ben Wallace
The article goes on to mention Glen Davis, who continues to appear to be the Pistons #1 target with the remainder of their cap space. A perplexing target … why sign Big Baby when you have Jason Maxiell?
Ryan,
You are a fan of the Pistons going after Glen Davis? Why the interest in Davis?
You don’t feel like he’s fairly redundant with Jason Maxiell already on the roster?
Davis was a good fit in Boston … beside Garnett, Perkins, Pollard [originally], Scalabrine, Powe, Brown [eventually] and Moore [this past season]. However, IMO, he would be a waste of money in Detroit. He’s a complementary player, not a star. At this point, I’d say the Pistons need:
1. A Big Minutes pivot-man like Carlos Boozer;
and,
2. A Low Minutes veteran [i.e Minimum Contract] like Ben Wallace.
Dave,
Big Baby is twice as talented as Jason Maxiell. And has way more potential. Maxiell is solid don’t get me wrong, but he has major weaknesses, one of them being a lack of offensive skill for the most part.
Ryan,
I’m not as high on Glen Davis. I thought his time as a starter in Boston was fairly damning.
True, his scoring and jump shooting improved and he was impressive offensively … but his defense dropped off in a huge way when he started playing against power forwards instead of centers — team defense, struggled more with defensive rotations when playing against more perimeter orientated players. Struggled with more one-on-one matchups. Also, his pick and roll defense fell down — going from an above average defender to a mediocre or slightly below average defender.
Then you add his lack of rebounding on top of the declining defense, and you have a player who isn’t doing your team much good out there on the floor. Oh, and while his scoring was fairly good offensively (16ppg), Davis wasn’t that efficient. He relied heavily on long two pointers which great big men jump shooters hit at 43-45%, didn’t get enough points in the paint, didn’t get enough FTs, and didn’t have three point range. So his overall scoring efficiency fell the more jump shots he took, and was mediocre to slightly below average as a starter.
Weight and Potential
I think the two are tied together for Davis …
I have a lot of faith in Glen Davis’ potential if he loses the weight. I want to see him copy David West, because at a smaller weight, I think BBD can do everything that West does and more (better defensive potential, better passer, better screens).
Glen Davis has that wonderful floor sense, like David West, that understanding of everything that is happening around him. Davis also has great quickness, balance and agility for a man his size, attributes which would become great strengths at a lower weight. Even at a lower weight, Davis could keep a lot of his strength, like Udonis Haslem did.
But without losing that weight? I think Glen Davis is fairly close to his peak. He’s not quite there yet, but he’s in the ball park.
And, Davis has shown no intention of losing that type of weight. He’s trying to get fitter, and lose some weight, but not the type of weight loss I’d like to see. Currently, his weight is a big part of his effectiveness. Losing the weight would put him on a long term plan to radically change his game and it’s going to be tough for him to go through that, and at the moment, he has no inclination to do so.
Best Position
I think Glen Davis’ best position is at center. He’s an above average defender there, and an excellent post defender. You slide him alongside an athletic shot blocking power forward and you have yourself a lovely combination.
I think Big Baby’s defense drops off in a huge way when he’s at the power forward slot. There’s no real difference to his offense or rebounding, position wise, so that lack of a contribution isn’t balancing itself out in another area.
Davis’ rebounding did drop off at power forward, but I think that’s a temporary change. He became overly focused on his scoring the longer he stayed in the starting lineup, which he has admitted, and it hurt the rest of his game. I think the more minutes he plays, then the more comfortable he’ll get with contributing in other areas, and up goes the rebounding, back to his usual levels while playing at center.
Update — Rumours of Wallace returning to Detroit continue to grow