Return To Form: What Joe Dumars' Comments Mean for Detroit Pistons

Last week, Detroit Pistons team president, Joe Dumars, spoke to the media and offered what many Pistons' fans had been lamenting over the past two years.

“We had some slippage in terms of the toughness and grit that we’ve had for the last 10 years,” he said. “We drifted some from what we were when we were successful...You learn from losing as well. And what we’ve learned is that we’re more committed now than ever before to maintain our core values and not get away from that and not have the type of slippage that you saw this year.”

To most Pistons' fans, this was a lot like what Alcoholics Anonymous preaches in regards to taking the first step—admitting you have a problem. The Pistons have a serious identity problem, and Dumars is now admitting it. What he will do about it (or whether or not he is up to the task) is a different story altogether.

Everyone agrees that changes must be made to the roster besides adding a couple draft picks, and most fans agree that Dumars deserves a shot at taking a stab at this job (although their patience is running exceptionally thin).

Basically, there are three ways to re-invigorate this roster-free agency, the draft and trades.

Free Agency

This is the most difficult aspect of the plan for the Pistons due to three issues.

First, the Pistons have a very thin wallet, even more so given the fact that ownership is trying to sell the team. The Pistons will only have the mid-level exception of about $5 million plus another million or so. In past years, Dumars might have been able to talk ownership into exceeding the luxury tax threshold, but with a sale looming this seems like an unlikely possibility.

Second, the free agent pool, while deep with expensive impact players, is fairly thin at the positions the Pistons most need, namely point guard, power forward and center.

At point guard, the only real upgrades for Detroit would be Raymond Felton, T.J. Ford, Sergio Rodriguez, Carlos Arroyo and maybe Mike James. Of these, only Felton and James seem to fit the mold of the toughness that Dumars wants.

At power forward, obviously Chris Bosh, Ama're Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer would be huge upgrades for Detroit. But they are each way out of Detroit's price range, as is David Lee. Of the players available that might be able to be signed for all or some of the MLE, not many would be considered upgrades for Detroit with the exception perhaps being Udonis Haslem, Tyrus Thomas and Al Harrington.

At Center, Brendan Haywood would be a nice addition as well as restricted free agent Luis Scola (although he likely will remain in Houston) and Tyson Chandler (although he would be insane to opt out of his contract given that he has nearly $13 million reasons to stay in Charlotte).

Lastly, the Pistons are no longer a title contender, and therefore are no longer a very attractive place for potential free agents. It is tough for most Pistons' fans to hear, but there will be a lot of teams angling for free agents, and Detroit just doesn't have the same allure as most of the other cities.

The Draft

Detroit will have a few options at No.7, and I have documented these ad nauseum. Given Dumars recent comments regarding toughness and grit, I think a few of the names previously mentioned may no longer be considered.

First, the DeMarcus Cousins rumors have got to stop now. If Dumars is serious about what he said, Cousins seems like too much of a risk to eat himself out of the league.

I know, I know, just because he was out of shape before the Chicago workouts doesn't mean he will necessarily be a bust. But it shows that he probably has some bad habits, and do you think it makes sense that a player will all of a sudden adopt good habits now that the only thing that has changed is that he is now rich? Seems like a smart bet to stay away from.

Obviously he could blow Dumars away at his interview, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Second, Greg Monroe seems to no longer be a viable option for Detroit. Take a look at a couple scouting reports on Monroe:

Lacks explosive athleticism Doesn't always play with great intensity Isn't a gritty rebounder Needs to add strength Lacks toughness

(Courtesy of ESPN.com)

"Greg Monroe is passive to a fault. He tends to allow the game to move away from him ...needs to demonstrate more aggressiveness in the paint because he allows himself to get a little lackadaisical thus leading to him being pushed around for stretches of the game." (Courtesy of MYNBADRAFT.com)

Not exactly ringing endorsements of his toughness.

It appears more and more likely that Detroit will probably take their pick of one of three talented, active, and tough big men: Ed Davis, Ekpe Udoh and Hassan Whiteside.

Of these three, Davis probably has the most upside and probably makes the most sense. He is coming from a big time program where he played against top notch talent, he has the size and athleticism to contribute right away, and he has a strong relationship with Ben Wallace, who likely will return to Detroit next year to help mentor the young players.

A very interesting development is the injury Kevin Seraphin just sustained. Projected as a late first rounder, a recent leg injury likely will knock him out of pre-draft workouts and probably out of the first round. If he is available when Detroit drafts in the second round, look for Dumars to pull the trigger on the foreign-born big man.

Bottom line, Detroit's options are flawed at No. 7, and I think Dumars would be wise to keep his phone lines open just in case someone wants this pick. Perhaps a drop back to the middle of the first round would still yield a tough big plus a nice veteran big man.

Trades

This seems to be the most likely course of action for Detroit to re-shape and revamp their roster.

Dumars has plenty of trade bait, including Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton, Charlie Villanueva and Rodney Stuckey to go along with the No. 7 pick.

Obviously Prince and Hamilton embody the toughness that Dumars now requires. However, Prince has an expiring contract and will be an attractive piece for teams looking for a veteran (Atlanta, Oklahoma City and Charlotte).

Hamilton is slightly tougher to move given his contract (three years remaining) and age (32). He would, however, be a nice addition to a team looking to shore up their back court (Utah, New York).

Villanueva is trade bait because he lacks toughness, but he will be a tough piece to move given how unproductive he was last year. His salary is not too bad, but he would need to massively improve to justify it.

Stuckey finds himself on this list not because of a lack of productivity or toughness, but because his stock is high and his salary is low. Dumars has said in the past that Stuckey has garnered a lot of attention from other teams but that he was not available.

I have a feeling that Dumars is a lot more likely to deal the young guard this year than he was in the past. Stuckey struggled as a point guard last year, casting major doubts on whether or not he should be given another shot at the position. Likely, his most natural position will be shooting guard, where Ben Gordon and his huge salary are firmly entrenched.

Also, Dumars' job is a lot less secure these days than it was in the past, and if dealing Stuckey and a combination of other players and/or draft picks brings back a star (Carlos Boozer or perhaps even Chris Paul), he likely would deal his guard in a heartbeat.

Bottom line, this team needs an identity and while Dumars' options are fairly limited, his position is far from untenable. With the right combination of draft picks, free agent deals and trades, Detroit could find their recent foray into losing a short trip indeed.