Respect to Detroit

[alldaboston]

Overall, I think the biggest winner of the deadline has to be the Pistons. They, along with Charlotte and Washington, all made quality moves, but Detroit's moves were top notch.

[Greenback]

The problem is, Harris wouldn't or shouldn't have been the third option.  He could have been the starting SF - on a team of role players.

Watch what he does on Detroit and see if you still think Crowder is a long term solution.

Flexibility is useless if you can't draft well and can't afford roster upgrades.

[Surferdad]

Detroit did well, no doubt. Jennings replaced by Thorton is sort of a wash. They lose Ilyasova who has plateaued out but picking up Tobias gives them a great young core.

Question for me is: does Tobias give them a lift right away? I think it's more likely he weighs them down a bit at first. He's a volume guy with a reputation for tunnel vision -- could take him a while to get settled with his teammates.

Like the long term move, and that's what i think it was about -- not necessarily the short term.

I've always liked Thornton (and players like him). Just so valuable to have a fearless chucker who can impact a game in 15 minutes on small money. I'd bet he resigns there this summer.

I thought the Montiejunas portion was a reach, but I understand why SVG took a shot.

Well Tobias is going to get his shot now ( there was a bit of a logjam down in Orlando). I agree it may not help them right away. Losing two vets like Ilyasova and Jennings will make the ship unstable, at first. But long-term, a core of Tobias, Jackson and S.Johnson will grow together.

Stanley Johnson has some serious potential. That was actually the strangest part of the deal for me. Harris could block alot of the minutes and shots that would go to Johnson, they must either think that the two can coexist or Johnson too far away to worry about that right now.

Tobias is probably going to play the bulk of his minutes at the 4 but eventually Van Gundy is probably going to want to get a more traditional 4 like Ryan Anderson to run his system. Which of Johnson or Harris is going to go to the bench? The move could really backfire but then how can you argue against Tobias Harris for Jennings and Illyasova.

I would play Johnson at SF and Harris at PF. I think Harris works there as a stretch 4 next to Drummond who is strictly low-post.

[Big333223]

I really like what Detroit is doing as well. They've got this core of Jackson (25), KCP (22), Johnson (19), Harris (23), and Drummond (22). I think that's a starting lineup that can play well together and grow together. They've got a bright future.

[greece66]

I have been a Stan Van Gundy fan for a long time.

He did some great moves in this trade season.

But I am not so sure of the immediate impact of the trades - it might take them some time to figure out their rotations, esp. when it comes to Tobias Harris.