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Sign up for E-newsQ&A with Joe Dumars - Part II
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KL: When you hired John Kuester, you said that he told you during the interview process, or maybe it was right after you hired him, that if we’re going to win we have to defend people. The book on this team after the roster makeover was that it would be a pretty good offensive team, defensively big question marks. When you’re healthy, what have you seen from the way John has coached them and the willingess to buy in? What do you think you’re going to have defensively and offensively?
JD: I think what he has that’s really good is a system of how he wants guys to play defensively and I like his defensive philosophy. I like his defensive system. We spend a lot of time in practice every day, just trying to help defensively. Trying to get guys to know every night we step on the floor, we’re not going to be a lock-down, shutdown team, but we have to be a team that’s able to get stops when it’s necessary. For the most part we’ve done that this year. We’re not walking out there and giving up 110 points a game, 100 points a game. It would help – that’s where probably we’ve missed Tayshaun and Rip the most. Veteran guys, know how to defend, know how to help each other. We’ve been able to score points. Defensively, there are times that it would have really benefited us to have Tay or Rip or have both of them out there.
KL: How big a factor has Ben Wallace been, anchoring everything, especially the defense, in their absences?
JD: He’s been huge. He’s been huge. Not only has he anchored everything, but I think what he’s done for the second stint here in Detroit is to give the other four guys on the floor with him a sense of comfort that he has them, he’s back there, he’s their protector. He did that early in his career here and he’s doing it again now. He’s giving those guys the same comfort that those guys had here some years back.
KL: If you would have written down on a cocktail napkin what you reasonably expected him to contribute this year, how far has he exceeded your expectations?
JD: I said this last night to Scott (Perry, Pistons vice president) during the game. I said the first time we signed Ben, he outplayed his contract. I said the second time we signed Ben, he’s outplaying his contract. It’s not often you see a guy do that twice. Let’s just say he’s surpassed anything that we were expecting in terms of how much he has given us. It’s not like we didn’t think he could play at all anymore. But just how much he’s given us is above and beyond what I think he thought, Q thought, I thought, any of us thought. He’s been huge for us so far this year.
KL: I couldn’t help but notice as I walked in here today that Rip and Tay are at least working out. Q said last night he can see some light at the end of the tunnel. Do you expect to have them back soon?
JD: I have no idea. Whenever they say they’re ready to go, that’s when they’re going to go. Whenever they say they’re ready, we’ll roll. I still say it’s been good for the young guys, though, this 15-, 20-game stretch has been good for our young guys. We still have a huge, three-fourths of the season left, so we still have a lot of time for those guys to get back on the court and do what they do well. To script it for the first quarter of the season for the young guys, I’ll take that, too. You’re always looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. That’s the light I’ve been looking at – OK, the young guys have gotten a chance.
KL: Let’s talk about Will Bynum for a second. If you look back at last year, he was the one really bright spot, the unexpected positive. And he’s more than picked up – I know he’s struggling a little with his ankle right now, but talk about the progress you’ve seen from Will and the contributions he’s making and how even after the addition of Ben Gordon, there still appears to be a significant role for him.
JD: I think what Will has done is solidify himself here as a one of our core guys going forward. He has cemented himself as one of the core members here. That’s how we look at him. We look at him as a long-term guy who’s going to grow with this team. Will was given an opportunity last year, when we signed him and brought him aboard, and he’s one of those kids that got the opportunity and he just grabbed it and took it and never let it go. He’s the poster child of when you get that opportunity, don’t let it slip. And he hasn’t. He hasn’t let it slip.
KL: He’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of the year and the market for restricted free agents has been really tight for the last several years. Do you expect, with the economy the way it is and the prospects for the cap coming down, that Will will attract some offers or do you think the odds are pretty good he’ll be back?
JD: I think there will be people interested in Will. I think there will be people interested in Will despite what the economics may be. I look at him as a game-changer and whenever you have a player like that, people are going to be interested. But let me be clear, sitting here right now, we have no notion of letting Will walk out of the door. We’ll re-sign him and he’ll be one of the core members here for a long time.
KL: You mentioned both of your big free agents, Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, and them producing. Talk about what you’ve learned about those guys now that you have them here.
JD: Their talent, their ability to score, are big-time scorers. I think that’s what jumps out at people. What people can’t see on a day-to-day basis is extremely professional. I mean, ultra professional guys. The way they handle their business, the way they go about dealing with things. I’ve seen Q get after both of them, big time, practices and different things like that, and those guys just nod their head, never utter a word, never an attitude. They just pick it up and they keep rolling. On the court, I think people realize these guys are two big-time scores. Off the court, what people may not realize is two of the most professional guys I’ve seen.
KL: Conceivable that when you get everybody back healthy, you could have all three guys we’ve just talked about – Will Bynum, Charlie and Ben – all coming off the bench. Do you like that concept?
JD: Well, I mean, that would be one potent bench. Yeah, I like that prospect. Once we get healthy, that’s not some stretch, especially for Will and Ben. It’s just a matter of what Q wants to do with Charlie. But if he brings him off the bench, first of all, Charlie doesn’t have a problem with it. I certainly don’t have a problem with it. And I also think it would give us a real, real potent bench at that point.
