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Sign up for E-newsPistons Mailbag - Monday, December 19, 2011 - Page 2
Pistons.com editor Keith Langlois answers your questions about the Pistons and NBA. Click here to submit your questions - please include your name, email address and city/state on the form. Return to the Mailbag homepage.
We reserve the right to edit your question for the sake of brevity or clarity.
Ryan (Grand Rapids, Mich.): Where do the Pistons stand with cap space? Any chance they could get Dalembert or Humprhies for a bargain?
Langlois: As a team that is now over the salary cap with the re-signing of Rodney Stuckey, the Pistons have the mid-level exception to use at their discretion. That might get them Humphries if they were inclined to spend it. If Dalembert is going to settle for a mid-level deal – and he’s indicated he wants more than that – my guess is he winds up in Miami.
Roilito (Dipolog, Philippines): Is Terrico White still on the team? If we reach the playoffs and Kyle Singler’s season ends in Spain, could he join the team?
Langlois: White went to training camp with New Orleans when the Pistons did not choose to guarantee his second-year contract. Singler won’t be here this season. Real Madrid’s regular season won’t end until May 6. Then their Spanish league playoffs start. And we can pretty much guess Real Madrid will make the Euroleague postseason, as well.
Nikola (Belgrade, Serbia): Is there a deadline when free agents must decide whether to sign? Has anybody talked to him to see his view of the situation about a new contract?
Langlois: No deadline for free agents. They can sign at any point, now or after the trade deadline. You can assume that whatever they agree to sign for will be prorated to reflect the number of games missed.
Kumar (Bombay, India): Monroe seems big enough and skilled enough to play both center and power forward. Jerebko, in his first year, showed he could play power forward very comfortably. Why are we so worried about pairing the two up front? Wouldn’t the combination of their size and skill be enough to make them a solid frontcourt?
Langlois: I’m uncertain what you’ve seen or heard that leads you to conclude the Pistons are leery of pairing Monroe and Jerebko, Kumar. Lawrence Frank hasn’t expressed that sentiment. Neither player is yet a consistent post scoring threat, so one legitimate concern about a Monroe-Jerebko frontcourt would be finding enough scoring throughout the lineup, perhaps, but I think Monroe is going to make noticeable strides in that department this season. But it might well prove to be Detroit’s best defensive frontcourt, pending what role Ben Wallace is fitted for this season, and that could be enough to convince Frank it’s the right starting combination. That probably won’t be determined until we’re a few weeks or more into the regular season.
Douglas (Macomb Twp., Mich.): What do you think of Kyle Singler’s decision to play in Spain this year?
Langlois: While Tayshaun Prince remained a free agent, I thought Singler’s decision to stay in Spain – after he became one of the genuine surprises of the crop of American players who signed to play internationally – was a little curious, because if Prince had left Singler could have competed with Austin Daye and, perhaps, Jonas Jerebko for playing time. But with Prince back in the fold, and Singler now playing for a Real Madrid team that not only competes in the league widely considered the world’s second best (Spanish ACB) but also in the Euroleague, he’s going to be getting plenty of valuable playing experience. As I wrote last week, it might cost the Pistons a little more money to lure him back to the NBA. But if they’re confident they’ll be getting a player good enough to step into rotation minutes, they’ll still be getting him on the cheap.
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