Will Rip opt out next summer? Should Sheed be re-signed or traded?

[Glenn]

Note: this discussion orginated in the Pistons/Magic playoff thread, but has been split off into a seperate thread to keep the playoff thread on track and so it doesn't get buried in there.


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Well, here's what I think.

I think that Rip may just get traded this summer, because if he doesn't, he's going to opt out of his contract next year and Joe could lose him and get nothing at all in return.

Billups isn't going anywhere, so if Stuckey is going to get into the starting lineup, it's going to be at SG.

Do you think Stuckey's going to come off the bench forever?

[Black Dynamite]

Well, here's what I think.

I think that Rip may just get traded this summer, because if he doesn't, he's going to opt out of his contract next year and Joe could lose him and get nothing at all in return.

Billups isn't going anywhere, so if Stuckey is going to get into the starting lineup, it's going to be at SG.

Do you think Stuckey's going to come off the bench forever?

No, do you think Billups is going to start forever? lol.. Figuring out what to do when stuckey is ready is no issue to me at all. Its alot better than any other issue we had before. As far as Rip goes, you've never even gave credence to the notion of him staying in detroit or being extended, which is again PREMATURE. Stuckey will get his minutes, which I personally think will be enough. He's here to fill a void imo as a legit back up to a guy we overplayed the past couple seasons. The void he fills has plenty of minutes available to him and he's still got alot of work ahead of him before he can be called a starter on this team at any position. Playing SG in certain situations against smaller SG's? Yea i'm cool with that. Playing SG full time as a starter? No thanks. in 2-3 years the team will probably belong to Tay and Him with Billups contract being near its end. Not that big a wait when you're almost being guaranteed by design to get 20+ to maybe 25+ minutes a game in the coming couple seasons imo rotating as a partial SG PG.

But I could be wrong, neither one of us has a crystal ball. Just saying that imho he's better suited to help us as billups back up.

[Wilfredo Ledezma]

Well, here's what I think.

I think that Rip may just get traded this summer, because if he doesn't, he's going to opt out of his contract next year and Joe could lose him and get nothing at all in return.

Billups isn't going anywhere, so if Stuckey is going to get into the starting lineup, it's going to be at SG.

Do you think Stuckey's going to come off the bench forever?

You know, before this season started, I thought Rip was expendable, but now I don't know. Rip is an above-average defender given the position he plays and he's really our only pure scorer (in the sense that while Sheed & Chauncey can score 22 one night and 8 the next, Rip is always consistently around 16-22 ppg). Not to mention, his offensive numbers took a hit this year, which would suggest that if he were to opt out, he may not find a deal worth more than 11.3 per year, which he would earn his final yere here.

Plus, I don't even think Rip has a player option for 09/10...am I wrong?

[Glenn]

As far as Rip goes, you've never even gave credence to the notion of him staying in detroit or being extended, which is again PREMATURE.

I'd say it's almost a lock that he won't sign a extension with the Pistons without testing the market. This is his big score, the contract that will be the most lucrative of his career.

Will Joe want to tie up that much $ in his backcourt?

As far as this discussion being premature, I couldn't disagree more.

[Black Dynamite]

then agree to disagree at game 4 of the second round with no options even close to playing out yet not being premature. And its a lame topic, i woulda preferred to be left out of it.

[Glenn]

You are certainly welcome to leave the discussion if you aren't interested.

FWIW, Hamilton's player option next summer is for $11,625,000.

That's a lot of cash, but if he can lock in 4 or 5 years at a similar amount, he'd probably be wise to do so from a personal business standpoint.

Anybody want to take a guess on what kind of deal he'll end up with?

[Big Swami]

I'd say at that point, blow up the team, acquire a bunch of Euros, and build the team around Valter.

[Hermy]

You are certainly welcome to leave the discussion if you aren't interested.

FWIW, Hamilton's player option next summer is for $11,625,000.

That's a lot of cash, but if he can lock in 4 or 5 years at a similar amount, he'd probably be wise to do so from a personal business standpoint.

Anybody want to take a guess on what kind of deal he'll end up with?

5 year 65 mil would be the rate we'd be looking at....He might get 70 on the market, but not much more. Obviously a very good player, but not the age that a young team would be thinking to build around.

[Glenn]

If we re-sign Rip, that's a very good, but very expensive, backcourt.

And most likely, Stuckey would be coming off the bench until 2011/12, at the earliest.

But will Joe take a chance on Rip leaving or will he let someone else take that chance?

I'm not sure how many teams will have that kind of cap room, but if a team like the Sixers threw a bunch of money/years at him, would he bite?

[WTFchris]

I don't think you can really replace RIP. That's the problem. Any SG you bring in from FA is going to be a guy the caliber of a Mo Pete. Maybe a good outside shooter, but highly unlikely that he's a decent mid range scorer (or we couldn't afford him). Probably very flawed defensively as well. As was mentioned above, RIP has rounded out into a pretty decent defender now. The last thing we need with no post players (face it, Sheed will never play there enough) is another 3 point shooter. RIP adds things that nobody else on our team does right now. We need him back.