College teammates to be reunited with Pistons (Freep)

Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars rolled up his sleeves on the first day of NBA free agency and grabbed two young up-and-coming players.

The Free Press learned Wednesday evening that the Pistons made major moves to shore up their three-point shooting and perimeter athleticism by agreeing to deals with coveted free agents Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva.

And while teams can't publicly comment on free agents until July 8 -- the first day players can sign -- the Gordon deal is believed to be worth $55 million over five years and Villanueva's is thought to be worth $35 million over five years.

And just like that, Dumars accomplished his goal of adding two major pieces in a short amount of time to cap a whirlwind day when the former Connecticut standouts flew in to Detroit to meet with Dumars.

As it stands, the Pistons now have 10 players under contract for next season -- not including their three recent draft picks. For argument's sake the Pistons could field a starting lineup of Kwame Brown at center, Villanueva at power forward, Tayshaun Prince at small forward, Rip Hamilton at shooting guard with Rodney Stuckey at point guard. That would leave Gordon to come off the bench in a Vinnie Johnson-type role as he doesn't mind not starting. .

But more than likely Dumars has more work to do since the team is still woefully thin up front. Villanueva can score from anywhere, but he probably doesn't need to spend a lot of time battling in the paint as he is more of a perimeter threat.

And while Brown has value, is he truly a starting center?

So that leaves Hamilton and Prince as potential trade bait for a frontline center (possibly the Hornets' Tyson Chander or the Clippers' Chris Kaman).

But there's plenty of time to speculate on the future. As for now, Dumars targeted two players and brought them aboard quickly.

The Pistons came into the free-agency period with between $18 million and $20 million in salary-cap space. Wednesday's deals average $18 million a season, but it isn't known yet what the salary-cap figure for next season will be for the new deals.

Both contracts are significant raises from last season. Gordon made $6.4 million with the Bulls; Villanueva earned $3.4 million with the Bucks.

Gordon, 26, has been nailing three-pointers and creating his own shot since he came into the league as the third pick of the 2004 draft.

He is scorer who is a great shooter and adept at running the pick-and-roll. He stands 6-feet-3 and carries a career scoring average of 18.5 points. His compact body allows him to get into the paint and finish through contact. The only real knock is that he's too short for shooting guard since he lacks the playmaking skills to play the point. That leads to defensive mismatches when he's paired against taller and more athletic players such as Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade.

Gordon has been on the Pistons' radar for quite some time, and he upped his value after he averaged 24.3 points during a classic seven-game series against the Boston Celtics in this year's playoffs.

Villanueva, 24, is a 6-10 forward with a budding inside-outside game. He's coming off career highs in scoring (16.2) and rebounding (6.7). He is a four-year veteran whose career has been marked by inconsistency, but when Milwaukee declined to tender him a qualifying offer, a possible emerging talent hit the open market.

As for other free agents, reports have the Pistons interested in Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu, but his age (30) and price tag should keep the Pistons from a deal.

Also, the Pistons waived Fabricio Oberto. Oberto was acquired last month from San Antonio in a three-team deal that sent former Piston Amir Johnson to Milwaukee in a salary-cap move. Oberto was under contract for $3.5 million, but only $1.8 million was guaranteed, so the Pistons clear $1.7 million under the salary cap.

Contact VINCE ELLIS: 313-222-6479 or vellis@freepress.com. Check out his Pistons blog at www.freep.com/sports. Michael Rosenberg contributed.

This is such a good move by the Pistons. With Curry gone, and two fellow Uconn Alumni's joining the squad, this might be the motivation Rip needs to get his game back on track. BTW..Ben Gordon has been so u underated this was a steal.

i wouldn't say a steal because the contract is so large but it is definitely a solid pickup

This is a great move by you guys.
People are saying you are overpaying Gordon, but I disagree. He is a baller and one of the better scorers in the game. His defense is also not nearly as bad as some seem to think...I consider him to be a very solid player.

And as for CV...he is a bit of a beast, and a very good big man...hence us wanting him =<

I see this move making you guys contenders again TBH.

What is TBH?

TBH= To be honest

Not bad pickups, but they gotta land a defensive minded big man from somewhere that fill in for the defensive deficiencies of Charlie V, and the slow lateral movement of Brown. Brown is pretty decent playing a guy one on one, but is glued to the floor when he has to move left to right.