Pistons Mailbag - Monday, December 12, 2011 - Page 3

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Langlois: That’s up to the New Orleans Hornets now, Nathan. The Pistons didn’t pick up the guarantee on White’s contract. He was invited to Hornets camp. No word yet on whether he was given any guaranteed money, but it doesn’t seem likely he was. Also in camp with New Orleans is ex-Piston DaJuan Summers.

Langlois: You only heard that from general speculation about candidates for the amnesty waiver when media pundits were scanning all rosters. There has been nothing to indicate Pistons management is considering such a move, Maurice. The Pistons need size and length, and even if Charlie V doesn’t fit the profile of a physical interior force, he is a big body who can stretch a defense from the 3-point line and score inside. My guess is Lawrence Frank is going to want to see for himself what he can get from Villanueva as a defender and rebounder. He’s a talented player. Surrounded by the right mix of players around him, my view is he provides enough with his versatile scoring ability to justify his contract if he holds his own defensively.

Langlois: I don’t know definitively, Andy, but I am reasonably sure that the new CBA will state that any player waived under the amnesty provision will not be allowed to play for the team that exercises the amnesty for whatever the term of his contract was at the time the amnesty was exercised. So for Billups, for instance, my guess is he would not be allowed to play for the Knicks again this season, since this was the final year of his contract. But Gilbert Arenas, who had three years remaining on his deal, would not be allowed to play for Orlando again – even via trade – until the 2014-15 season. That was the way the rule worked in the 2005 CBA, at least.

Langlois: Depends on what they would have taken back, Nick. Yeah, you’d always prefer to trade dollar for dollar and get back a better fit. That would have been tough to do for Hamilton, given the size of his contract and the damage done to his market value by the deterioration of his play last season. If the buyout was for a significantly reduced portion of the guaranteed money he had coming, then it can only help the Pistons’ roster flexibility, especially going into next season.

Langlois: Retiring numbers isn’t quite like gauging Hall of Fame induction, Praneeth, and Hall of Fame induction is less than a scientific process. The decision to retire a player’s number is influenced by any number of things. Individual performance and team achievement are big ones – just as they are in Hall of Fame consideration – but another huge component is the emotional connection between player and fan base. The last few seasons didn’t help Hamilton in that last category, but the passage of time could alter the perspective in either direction. It’s a close call at this point. From the 2004 champions, my best guess is that Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace are the likeliest candidates but Hamilton certainly has a strong case, as well, and Tayshaun Prince will be as likely as any of them if he closes his career by helping the Pistons push back toward the top.