This is what the lack of strong leadership does to a professional sports team, and this is the out come of not having an owner. The Detroit Pistons are a mess, they need to be rebuilt yet they are still holding onto pieces for some strange reason. Worse than that they are holding onto pieces that would bring back the things that they need, IE cap flexibility and/or draft picks to retool. So far General Manger Joe Dumars would like to trade away Rip Hamilton and the 25 million he is owed, but not Tayshaun Prince who is still somewhat young and has an expiring contract.
This is the final strike for Dumars. He has help to ruin this team by his poor drafting, bad free agent signings, and trading away the wrong pieces for the wrong pieces. As much as anything the Pistons need a new GM. Even in the NBA, a team can be ruined by not drafting well and we are seeing that play out with the Pistons.
Rip Hamilton is owed 25 million dollars over the next two seasons, and to be frank he is not the player he once was. Tayshaun Prince is still only 30 years old and his on an expiring deal. He can still play great defense on the wing and his scoring a career best 14.6 points per game. Many teams could use him and they may be willing to give up prospects, draft picks, or something else to help the Pistons rebuild.
As it stands the Pistons are paying Rip a huge chunk of change to mostly sit on the bench. That isn’t good for anyone and it damn sure isn’t making this team any better.
