Detroit Pistons: NBA Mid-Season Grades for Tracy McGrady and Co.
This season hasn't exactly been what Detroit Pistons fans are used to seeing from their team.
To be fair, expectations were not exactly sky high to begin with. This is a team in transition in more ways than one. They are trying to transition from the championship core of the last decade and move towards a younger group of players. They also have the looming sale of the team hanging above their heads, effectively handcuffing management with a roster that is not built to succeed.
Add to that some controversy, a log jam, and some key injuries and you have a team that, on most nights, is struggling to compete.
However, things haven't been all bad and over the past month, this team has exhibited a pulse that makes the future seem a lot less bleak.
That being said, here are the Pistons' mid-season grades.
Tayshaun Prince
1 of 14
Tayshaun Prince had a lot riding on this season. He has an expiring contract and is coming off his first injury-plagued season of his solid career. He is playing for his next paycheck and it likely will not come from Detroit.
All Prince has done is start every game of the season. He's leading the team in minutes and is averaging a career best 14.7 points per game.
Prince has had some dust ups with coach John Kuester (as has nearly everyone) and he is known as more of a quiet leader, but his consistency, shooting, and solid defense have kept this team from losing many more games.
Prince still has it and could be a nice addition to a championship contending team. It may happen this year or next, but look for Prince to find himself playing for a title very soon.
B
Rodney Stuckey
2 of 14
Our long standing nightmare is over. The Rodney Stuckey at point guard experiment is officially done. And, like most people have been saying for years, he is not a point guard.
Grading Stuckey is tough in the sense that if you are grading him based on being the starting point guard, he would be in desperate need of study hall. But since he was switched to the off guard, he seems relaxed and focused.
Over the past few weeks, Stuckey has settled nicely into his new role. Although his numbers are still only solid and his jumper needs work, he definitely has shown that he can be a shooting guard in this league.
The problem with Stuckey is that he really only does one thing well (drive to the hoop). That means you have to pair him with a good perimeter shooting point guard and the Pistons don't have that player right now.
Personally, I think Stuckey is a very easily replaceable player and if Detroit is offered something decent, they should pull the trigger in a heartbeat.
C
Richard Hamilton
3 of 14
Oh Rip...poor, poor Rip.
The Rip Hamilton situation has been a disaster. It was a disaster to sign him to an extension after the Chauncey Billups deal. It was a mistake to bring in Ben Gordon while Rip was still the starting guard. And it has been a train wreck since Kuester decided to bench the former star.
But the saddest thing about this whole situation is the fact that Hamilton has struggled mightily this year. His defense, while never amazing, has been atrocious this year. His shooting is down, his scoring is down and predictably his numbers are down.
I still believe he has a lot to offer, but just not a lot to offer to this team. He needs to go yesterday and the longer he remains a Piston, the longer this team will suffer.
F
Tracy McGrady
4 of 14
Okay, full disclosure time. I was an adamant critic of the signing of T-Mac. I thought it was a transparently desperate move, designed to put butts in the seats of the Palace. I thought McGrady had nothing left and the signing was beneath the Pistons.
Was I wrong about this? Somewhat. McGrady has been a steady hand on a tumultuous team. Since he became the starting point guard, the team has been actually playing some decent ball. He definitely has more in the tank than I thought.
However, what does he really bring to this team moving forward? He is likely a one-year rental that is playing for his next paycheck and his next potential team. He would be a nice addition to a contending team. But with Detroit shifting towards a youth movement, where does he fit? Would he really be willing to re-sign with this team? And if he is, how much is he worth? He has looked good at times this year, but do you really want to go into next year with him as your starting point guard?
That being said, he has been a lot better than I expected, even if he is averaging less than 10 points per game.
B
Ben Gordon
5 of 14
A disappointment. That really is the only way to describe the free agent signing of Ben Gordon.
Many questioned the signing, (myself included) given the fact that Detroit already had a shooting guard or two on the roster, but Gordon's history of clutch shooting made some optimistic.
The problem with Gordon is that he is a tweener. He is too small to be a regular shooting guard and not good enough of a distributor and ball handler to play the point. His defense has always been suspect, leaving the rest of the team to try to compensate on that side of the ball when he is on the court.
The hope for Detroit was that Gordon's scoring would make up for all of his weaknesses.
Well, after a year and a half, the results are in and the Pistons are no closer to finding a way to utilize Gordon.
This year, Gordon is averaging a career low 11.8 points per game. Some had hoped that with Hamilton's benching, Gordon would benefit. But he is no better off now than he was last year.
It's time to call this signing what it really is—a colossal mistake.
D
Charlie Villanueva
6 of 14
Easily the biggest scapegoat for Pistons fans last year, Charlie Villanueva vowed during the off-season that he would work hard and become the player that the Pistons hoped he would be when he signed as a free agent before last year.
After a half season, it is safe to say that Villanueva definitely is trying harder than last year. But it also is safe to say that he probably is what he is at this point. He is a good perimeter shooter, a soft defender and a terrible rebounder.
If the Pistons had sunk a ridiculous amount of money into Villanueva, this would be disappointing. But Villanueva is actually reasonably priced and given his ability to stretch the defense, he could yet prove useful for the Pistons.
C+
Austin Daye
7 of 14
Heading into this year, I was hopeful that Austin Daye would become a steady performer and begin to show some of his immense talent.
So far, it has been an up and down ride that has had more downs than ups. Daye was initially penciled in at the wrong position (power forward), and his slight frame was spotlighted by much larger opponents. What followed was a couple of months in which his playing time rarely rivaled his jersey number.
So what do we know about Daye? He has gotten stronger, but he still isn't strong enough to play the four. He has decent quickness and tremendous range, but as of now he seems to fit better as either a small forward or a shooting guard.
Regardless, he is still probably a few years away from fully showing his promise.
C-
Greg Monroe
8 of 14
First the good. Greg Monroe has tremendously quick hands. When he shows on the pick and roll, guards are putty in his hands. He can pick their pockets and he has quick enough feet to jump back into position. His footwork is much better than most expected, his passing ability is as good as advertised and he is showing much more toughness on the boards.
Now the bad. He still struggles to remain consistent. While he is a double-double threat every time he laces up his sneakers, he vanishes for long stretches of time on the offensive end and is prone to lapses of concentration. Also, despite a big frame and tremendous height, he is not a shot blocking threat and he is a fairly slow jumper.
Overall, Monroe has shown glimpses of the potential that made him a lottery pick. Furthermore, he is still incredibly young and should stand to get even better. The most promising thing about the rookie is his willingness to learn and a much more aggressive nature than was first thought. He should grow into a true center on this team for the next decade.
C
Ben Wallace
9 of 14
Last year, Ben Wallace proved to be the surprise of the season, effectively rediscovering the fountain of youth in Detroit.
This year, Wallace has been a bit closer to what people thought he would be last year. Father Time has finally caught up to Wallace, robbing him of his burst and quick-jumping ability.
His rebounding numbers, blocks, and just about everything else are down and his offense, while never superb, is now nonexistent. Injuries have kept him out of a handful of games and ineffectiveness has kept him on the shelf the rest of the time.
Personally, I would be shocked if Wallace comes back next season.
D
Will Bynum
10 of 14
It may be time to call it like we see it with Will Bynum—a career backup capable of getting to the hoop, but not much more.
Sadly, there is not a long shelf life for undersized shooting guards with limited range.
Bynum will always have a place in the league as long as he can get to the rack. But Pistons fans that had harbored delusions that Bynum could be a starting point guard in this league may have to face the facts.
That being said, he could be an effective spark plug for a contending team. But Detroit needs a true point guard and should focus on the draft in the hopes of getting that position filled. That likely will make Bynum expendable.
C-
Chris Wilcox
11 of 14
Chris Wilcox was viewed as an extra big man when the season began and he pretty much continues to be viewed as such.
He provides athleticism, strength and garbage points in spot duty. When Wallace went down recently, Wilcox found himself in the starting lineup and responded with solid numbers. He can rebound in traffic and affords Greg Monroe the luxury of playing off of the best low-post scorers on defense.
Moving forward, Wilcox will likely continue as the extra big man, seeing minutes only on nights when Jason Maxiell doesn't fit John Kuester's schizophrenic shuffling lineup.
C-
Jason Maxiell
12 of 14
What a long, strange trip it has been for Jason Maxiell. He went from the late first round draft pick that was overlooked by many teams due to his lack of size, to a spark plug on a contending team, to an also-ran on a bad team.
Maxiell seems to have lost some of his quick burst, the one thing that allowed him to compensate for his lack of prototypical power forward height. Now, he is forced to out-muscle smaller opponents, leaving him out of the lineup against bigger opponents.
Many hoped that Maxiell would be the power forward of the future for Detroit. That possibility seems unlikely now, with a spot on the end of the bench the most likely destination for Maxiell.
D
DaJuan Summers
13 of 14
Its sad that DaJuan Summers has had trouble getting off the bench. Given that Detroit likely will be parting ways with both Tracy McGrady and Tayshaun Prince, it is possible that Summers could find some minutes next year.
He has a tremendous shooting touch from long range, a solid NBA body and the athleticism necessary to play small forward in spot duty.
Personally, Summers reminds me of long-time Pacer George McCloud, or a poor man's Chuck Person. As long as he can shoot, he will have a place in this league. Sadly, so far it hasn't been Detroit.
Incomplete
John Kuester
14 of 14
I'll admit, I was cautiously optimistic about John Kuester when he was named head coach of Detroit. He was a protege of Larry Brown, one of the best coaches ever to hold a clipboard for Detroit. He had a reputation as a teacher and he was supposed to bring a steady hand to the Pistons.
However, his reign has been an unqualified disaster. He has feuded with his players, blamed everyone under the sun for the team's poor play and his lineups have been inconsistent at best and psychotic at worst.
Furthermore, his handling of Rip Hamilton has been ugly and if all of the stories coming out of Motown are true, he does not deserve to coach this once proud franchise.
Detroit needs to make a change, but sadly they cannot until the ownership situation is cleared up.
F
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