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Deals with the Detroit Pistons: Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva Agree

Shady Botros
Jul 1, 2009

With the Pistons having the most money to work with this off season, it was no surprise Joe Dumars let it beย known that next yearโ€™s team would have a new look.

The Pistons had 39 wins last season, and that just wonโ€™t do it.ย 

This morning, sources said that Benย Gordon and Charlieย Villanueva were both being shown around the Pistons facilities.ย 

Gordon, at 26 years old, was the Bulls' leading scorer last season, averaging about 21 points per game. Many said that Gordon would return to Chicago if he wasย given enough money,ย but he rejectedย the Bulls'ย offer to re-sign him.

Gordonย was actually looking for a reason to leave Chicago, since he was not happy with how the team handled his contract, butย didย work withย Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng.

Gordon would bring a scoring punch that the Pistons thought they were getting with Allen Iverson. Many of us will never forget the epic overtime games of the Bulls-Celtics series this postseason in which Gordon averaged nearly 25 points per game, was virtually impossible to guard, and was hitting every clutch bucket the Bulls needed.

A few days ago, the Milwaukee Bucksย showed that they were willing to let Charlie Villanueva move on.

The 24-year-old has a great inside-outside game which creates many match-up problems. He has a smooth jump shot from the outside, and heย can go in and score down low.

Villanuevaย is coming off his best season, in which he averaged 16 points andย eightย rebounds per game.

However, like Gordon, Villanuevaโ€™s commitment to defense is questionable. But he is extremely talented and provides the Pistons with a younger replacement for Rasheed Wallace.

Next yearโ€™s Pistons will certainly have a new look, new players, and a new coach. TNT analyst Doug Collins is the current front-runner for the Detroit job, although Avery Johnson and other candidates have emerged.

The Pistons will now shift their priorities to signing Antonio McDyess, although teams like the Spurs, Celtics, and Cavaliers are rumored to be interested.