Pistons Mailbag - Monday, April 11, 2011 - Page 2

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Langlois: The Wilcox case in intriguing. At the right price, I’m certain the Pistons would love to have him back. As you mention, Wilcox’s ability to play above the rim is a nice complement to Monroe’s skill set. So what’s the right price? A starting big man with the ability to score and rebound in double figures is valuable. Will anyone be willing to pay Wilcox as a starter, which he’s been for the Pistons over the season’s final quarter? His injury history the past few years is troubling. Because of that, I wonder how many GMs would be willing to give Wilcox more than a one-year deal. To a large extent, that question could be shaped by the details of the next CBA. If that CBA isn’t settled with an appropriate window of time before teams must head to training camp, decisions are going to be compressed into a very small slice of time. That might lead to teams and players choosing the familiar, which would argue for the Pistons and Wilcox continuing their relationship. But it only takes one GM with a hole in his frontcourt to turn the market in a player’s favor. Will Wilcox find that suitor? Only time will tell.

Langlois: While some have suggested there are teams who like Markieff Morris more than twin brother Marcus because Markieff projects as a power forward while Marcus might be a tweener, I don’t think either one is going to raise his stock high enough to push into the top 10, where the Pistons will be picking. While Kansas was frequently on TV this season, I can’t say I studied either player enough to get a gauge on their NBA potential. The guy who consistently caught my eye for Kansas, Thomas Robinson, is headed back to school.

Langlois: I think one of the signs that Daye has answered enough questions about his weight and strength to prove he can play in the NBA is that I don’t recall him being asked about his weight or his strength much, if at all, this season – as opposed to his rookie year, when it was asked routinely. I don’t think he’s added much weight, if any, since the season started. That’s really more for the off-season, when he can spend more time building strength. As for Jerebko, I had a long talk with his father, Chris Jerebko, just the other day – we’ll have a story up this week on Pistons.com – and he said that Jonas has added about 15 pounds of muscle over the course of his rehab and is now up to 240 pounds. Jonas was about 220 when the Pistons drafted him and he said at the end of last season that he had played at about 227 or 228 by the time the season ended. At a shade over 6-foot-10 and a solid 240, Jerebko is now comfortably big enough to shoulder the load at power forward, should that be where the Pistons wind up playing him next season.

Langlois: Vice president Scott Perry and personnel director George David were both in Portsmouth, Jeremy. Perry split his time between Portsmouth and Portland, where the Nike Hoop Summit was held last week. Scouting director Doug Ash also was in Portland. This is a busy time for the front office. Soon individual workouts for the draft will begin, at least for seniors. Underclassmen can’t be brought in for individual workouts until the NBA releases the list of draft-eligible players who declare. That will come about three days after the April 24 deadline for declaring. The NCAA’s May 8 deadline for withdrawing to maintain amateur standing – coupled with its demand that players cannot miss class time without terminating amateur status – means there are very few days available for underclassmen to work out before their NCAA deadline.