Opportunity Knocks

For all the noise generated so far this summer, it’s been concentrated among a relatively small pool of NBA teams. None of that activity has involved the Pistons, which makes fans of a team coming off a 27-win season anxious, angry or discouraged.

But pick through the details and a clear impression emerges: Many teams still have much more work to do in order to field a team that doesn’t have obvious flaws. That goes for teams from all strata – title hopefuls to fringe playoff teams to lottery tenants.

And that goes double for the East, where the Pistons are one of the very few teams who could line up today and not have depth issues or worse at any position. Translation: There is still plenty of time and many possibilities out there for Joe Dumars to find a trade partner who has something intriguing to offer.

Let’s start with the team that’s dominated the NBA summer, Miami. For all the star power they’ve assembled, the Heat will have to get by with Mario Chalmers at point guard and hope for the best in signing a veteran free agent, whether that’s Carlos Arroyo or Jason Williams or somebody else. Any wonder why the Heat made a play for Derek Fisher? It’s going to take a point guard with a strong emotional makeup to be the guy who distributes touches among James, Wade and Bosh. In fact, it might be Wade who is forced to run the offense, which is going to rob him of what he does best.

And that might not even be Miami’s biggest worry. Bosh aside, the frontcourt is manned by no one other than Udonis Haslem who can be relied upon to (a) stay healthy or (b) be effective for the extended minutes that will be necessary for at least one from among a pool of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Joel Anthony, Jamaal Magloire and rookies Dexter Pittman and Jarvis Varnado.

Miami isn’t a very likely trade partner for the Pistons or anyone else, given that almost all of its roster was recently signed as free agents and those players cannot be traded until Dec. 15.

But there are plenty of other teams with holes in their rosters who could look to the Pistons to help plug them. Let’s take a look at some Eastern teams with obvious roster needs and how or if the Pistons might be a fit:

Boston – Paul Pierce and Ray Allen aren’t getting any younger and the player who gave the Celtics their best option behind them, Tony Allen, is gone to Memphis as a free agent. The Celtics have made attempts in the past year to open dialogue about both Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, according to numerous reports, and either one would make sense with Tony Gaffney listed nominally as Pierce’s backup and Nate Robinson – a mercurial scorer who isn’t an option some nights for matchup purposes – the probable No. 2 behind Allen when he isn’t backing up Rajon Rondo at point guard. The Celtics also have rookie No. 1 pick Avery Bradley, but in addition to being really young and raw, Bradley missed Summer League with ankle surgery. The Celtics will have to be careful about how they spend their assets, given their legitimate depth concerns up front. With Rasheed Wallace likely finished and the possibility that Kendrick Perkins could miss all of the season recovering from serious knee surgery, Boston might look instead to bolster its frontcourt. But the Celtics are reportedly dangling Wallace’s contract – which comes off the books when he announces his retirement – and Perkins’ status as a free agent coming off the books after next season to teams looking for cap relief or future flexibility. Potential match for the Pistons here.

Charlotte – The Bobcats lost Raymond Felton to free agency and have only D.J. Augustin, in whom Larry Brown hasn’t exhibited much confidence, backed by little-used Shaun Livingston at point guard. The Pistons probably can’t help them there unless it’s a more complicated trade. But the Bobcats are going to want to do something to bolster their backcourt to sustain the momentum gained with a passive fan base by their first playoff appearance last spring.

Chicago – The free-agent signings of Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer lessened Chicago’s urgency to plug the hole at shooting guard created when Kirk Hinrich was dumped on draft night to give the Bulls a shot at landing Dwyane Wade or LeBron James. If the Bulls could combine Korver’s shooting with Brewer’s defense and athleticism, they’d have something. It’s still possible they’ll look to upgrade at that spot and relegate Korver and Brewer to roles more suited to their talents.

Cleveland – The presence of James masked how undermanned the Cavs really were at the wing positions. Now that he’s gone, they’re looking at Jamario Moon and Danny Green at small forward with Anthony Parker and Delonte West (likely headed out of town) at shooting guard. While that logically makes the Cavs a trade partner for the Pistons, given their depth at those two positions, the question is what Cleveland has to offer in return. Keep in mind the Cavs don’t have a real center on the roster, either, though Anderson Varejao is good enough defensively to hold that spot down.

Indiana – Not a likely trade partner, given that the Pacers’ glaring need is at point guard, where they banished veteran T.J. Ford last season yet have only him and second-year pro A.J. Price, a second-rounder coming off of a summer knee injury.

Milwaukee – Again, the biggest need on an otherwise balanced roster is for depth at point guard behind Brandon Jennings now that Luke Ridnour left as a free agent.

New York – The situation at shooting guard isn’t good. Kelenna Azubuike, coming off a surgically repaired knee, is the nominal starter, backed by second-rounder Andy Rautins. Like Cleveland, the question is what the Knicks have to offer in return, especially since they’ve traded away multiple first-rounders. The Knicks are also critically thin up front with Ronny Turiaf, Russian mystery man Tim Mozgov and second-rounder Jerome Jordan at center – unless Amare Stoudemire plays there, which probably will happen frequently.

Orlando – The Magic are one of the NBA’s deepest teams, but they could use help at small forward where Mickael Pietrus is the starter and backups will have to come from other positions – shooting guard Vince Carter or power forwards Rashard Lewis or Ryan Anderson.

Toronto – Sonny Weems is penciled in – “penciled” the operative word – as the starter at small forward. While Weems showed last season he has a future in the league, he’s not an ideal starter. And nobody else on the roster is really suited to the position, which explains why the Raptors are in the running for free agent Matt Barnes, who is coveted by the Celtics, Lakers, Cavs and Heat as well.

Washington – Another unlikely trade partner. The Wizards are fairly deep on the perimeter, thin up front. Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee, talented but still largely untested as starters or major contributors, are the starters up front with only Yi Jianlian behind them having any record of success.

In the West, here are some teams with needs at shooting guard or small forward who qualify as potential trade partners: Sacramento, which has only three guards on the roster and not a true shooting among them if you consider Francisco Garcia a small forward and Tyreke Evans a point guard; Golden State, where journeyman Dorrell Wright is the starter at small forward; the LA Clippers, where Ryan Gomes and rookie Al-Farouq Aminu are the small forwards; San Antonio, which has no small forward unless it re-signs Richard Jefferson; and Utah, where Andrei Kirilenko will have to give the Jazz minutes at power forward, at least until Mehmet Okur comes back at center, leaving major roles for rookie Gordon Hayward and veteran Raja Bell at the two wing spots.