Walter SharpeThe big news last week did not come out of The Palace of Auburn Hills, and I’m kind of glad about it.
Stand pat for now, I say. Stand pat, Joe Dumars.
Dumars, the Pistons’ president of basketball operations, held serve in the 2008 NBA Draft last week, and for the time being, he is biding his time.
The big move everyone expects Dumars to make this summer still hasn’t happened.
However, the Pistons’ opponents made some noise as they attempt to catch up to and unseat the Central Division champions.
The Indiana Pacers traded All-Star center Jermaine O’Neal to Toronto in exchange for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and the No. 17 pick in the NBA Draft, which happened to be Georgetown center Roy Hibbert.
The Pistons’ other division foe, the Milwaukee Bucks, snatched star forward Richard Jefferson from the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Yi Jianlin and Bobby Simmons.
Invariably, at every NBA draft, trades happen. So, I wondered what moves Dumars would make as speculation ran rampant. All the countless mock drafts and rumors drove me crazy because none of the so-called trade options made sense.
Dumars ignored the rumors.
His only move was drafting Indiana University power forward D.J. White with the No. 29 pick in the first round, and promptly trading White to Seattle for its two picks in the second round, Nos. 32 and 46, to go with Detroit’s own pick (59th).
When the dust cleared, the Pistons found themselves with three second-round picks: Walter Sharpe (No. 32) from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Trent Plaisted (No. 46) from Brigham Young University, and Deron Washington (No. 59) from Virginia Tech.
Many are calling for Dumars to make some moves, trade somebody and break-up the team because, at this point, they seem like they can not win the big one.
In case all have forgotten, Detroit won the NBA title in 2004.
Sure, it seems like a long time ago, especially with today’s what-have-you-done-for-me-lately attitude and culture. But in understanding the complexities of sports, it should be known that the Pistons’ core has accomplished a lot – winning the big one in 2004, taking San Antonio to Game 7 of the NBA Finals in 2005, and moving to within one series from returning to the Finals the last three years.
The hardest thing in the world to have is patience, especially when one is being scrutinized at the level sports teams and players are today.
The problem I have with Dumars’ 2008 draft is that he passed on Detroit native Chris Douglas-Roberts of Memphis. Kansas State’s Bill Walker also was still on the board, as was Texas A&M’s DeAndre Jordan, at one time projected as a lottery pick.
With Tayshaun Prince obviously wearing down in grueling playoff series, an electric talent like Roberts would appear to fit nicely in the Pistons’ plans.
The only way I can justify not selecting Roberts is that Dumars believes Jarvis Hayes can get the job done. If that is Dumars’ thought process, then it’s back to ex-coach Flip Saunders not understanding how to integrate his bench players into the mix at playoff time.
The weird part about it all is that the “Zoo Crew’ performed all year for Saunders. But at playoff time, they were relegated to the garbage heap.
Hayes, Amir Johnson, Jason Maxiell, Arron Afflalo and Rodney Stuckey were not allowed to work together as they had all season and it affected the team’s overall chemistry.
I truly believe the window for this team has not closed just yet. It’s getting close, but they still have four NBA All-Stars and a 2008 Olympian (Prince).
The Pistons lost to the NBA champion Boston Celtics and that is no reason to destroy a team that only needs a little tweaking here and there.
The reality is Sharpe likely will make the team and he may be a contributor, but Plaisted and Washington have no chance of making the Pistons’ roster.
Still, looking at Sharpe’s resume, it is indeed a checkered past.
He was dismissed from the Mississippi State basketball team in the middle of his sophomore season, suffered from a bullet wound to the stomach in 2006, and was most recently diagnosed with narcolepsy, which may explain the laundry list of unfortunate events plaguing his career.
After he transferred to UAB, the 6-foot-9, 241-pounder only played in 12 games last season. I guess Dumars feels that now that Sharpe’s medical condition has been properly diagnosed, his ability and bulk will give the team a presence it so desperately needs.
“He’s good; very good,” Dumars said. “He’s a 6-9 kid who can handle the ball like a guard. I would have taken him with the 29th pick.”
In Dumars, I trust!
Leland Stein can be heard on WGPR radio (107.5) every Sunday from 11 p.m. to midnight. He can be reached at lelstein3@aol.com.
