"maybe Boozer would be wise to take his option and play another year for $12.6 mil"

Posted by Chris McCosky (The Detroit News) on Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 3:17 PM
Trade and Free Agent Chatter

Honestly, I wish I could tell you exactly what Joe Dumars plans are for this summer. I bet he wishes they were so cut and dry that he could simply call a press conference and lay them out. But it's not like that. Too many variables. Too many unknown factors at this point.
Here's what I am pretty sure about: The speculation that Rip Hamilton and Ben Gordon can't coexist in the same backcourt is false. The Pistons won two championships with three great guards -- Joe Dumars, Vinnie Johnson and Isiah Thomas. So if Gordon is indeed a free agent target of the Pistons, and I believe he is, that does not mean the Pistons have to trade Hamilton.
If the Pistons were to trade Hamilton, it would be because it allowed them to get another player, say an established frontcourt player that they couldn't get through free agency or any other means. They wouldn't trade him just to make room for Gordon. It's not an either-or type of thing.
I've also read where the Pistons might want to move Hamilton because he didn't get along with coach Michael Curry last season. Listen, Dumars would have to empty the roster if he started trading guys who didn't see eye to eye with MC last year. I think the onus is going to be on Curry this year to mend some fences and establish some consistency and order. Dumars isn't going to start weeding out all-star players to appease a coach who may or may not last beyond next season.
Here's something else I think I know: The Pistons will walk away from Carlos Boozer if he starts demanding $14 million, $15 million per year. You can't put that many eggs in such a fragile basket. And I am sure Dumars has let Boozer's people know that. Thus, maybe Boozer would be wise to take his option and play another year for $12.6 million. Because if the Pistons can't afford him this summer, nobody can.
So what happens if Boozer is out of the mix? No telling right now. I haven't gotten the sense that the Pistons are in love with David Lee or any of the second-tier front court guys available. I think they might go a little stronger at trying to convince Antonio McDyess to stay. I think maybe they would look into somebody like a Marcus Camby or hope that if Boozer goes back to Utah, they could make a play for Paul Millsap. But, again, too many vagaries right now to know for sure.
I am going to miss Dave Cowens. If you missed it, he's been reassigned and will do some scouting and consulting for the Pistons. He was a very under-appreciated and under-used resource for the Pistons last year. Curry never really allowed Cowens to do much, which is both surprising and shameful. This is a hall-of-fame player, one of the 50 best players of all-time, a guy who was a player-coach for the Celtics and a successful head coach in Charlotte before enduring a couple of rough years in Golden State. To not tap into his knowlege, to not give him a voice, to me, was one of the biggest mistakes Curry made last season.