Empty the Bench

Roster management in the NBA is a funny thing. Most fans don’t care about what their team accomplished last season or the season before it, and they’re generally indifferent about plans to “rebuild the franchise” and lay a foundation for success next season… sometimes longer. Winning now–this game, this division, this conference–is what breeds dedicated fandoms in professional sports. Consistent success fills the seats, empties out memorabilia stands, sells season ticket packages.

Patchwork groups of aging veterans with a low ceiling for accomplishment (Lakers, Heat, Kings)? Gaggles of young, inconsistent players incapable of stringing together much more than 30 wins a season (Hawks, pre-KG Celtics, Grizzlies)? Those teams tend to breed apathy more than inspire piety.

So what, then, is a solid approach to pleasing fans (and making the money that comes with that) by fielding a roster that’s built to compete now, while always keeping an eye on what changes will eventually need to be made to keep the team competitive in the future?

After a second-straight “disappointing” finish to his team’s season, Detroit Pistons GM Joe Dumars found himself faced with calls to break up his core, to rebuild, to go in a new direction before it was too late. He may never admit it, but he must have been tempted to dangle a Rip Hamilton or a Rasheed Wallace as trade bait to see who would bite with what. Maybe he did. In the end, however, Dumars appears to have decided on a less-traveled route to rebuilding a roster that’s showing signs of wear: embracing a youth movement before it becomes a necessity.

The core players who’ve helped drive the Pistons to five straight Conference Finals aren’t ready to drift into obscurity or check into a retirement home just yet. But before the Big Four Core of Billups, Hamilton, Wallace, and Tayshaun Prince are in any danger of being dragged underwater by 25-pound ankle weights of age, Dumars is planning for the future now. For the 2007 season, the Pistons bench will include four rookies, a promising third-year prospect who’s still only 20-years-old himself, and another third-year player who only started coming into his own during the second half of last season.

A ballsy move that could backfire? Without question. It’s an interesting gamble, however, that could pay big dividends sooner than some might think.

Last year’s Pistons team, despite again reaching the Conference Finals, vastly underachieved in the end. And Pistons Nation was none too pleased with another postseason collapse to a team of overall lesser talent; as newly resigned Chauncey Billups recently said, his squad “straight spoils people.” They were outhustled and downright outplayed by young, unproven guys named Boobie and Anderson. Kudos to the Cavs, but it probably shouldn’t have happened.

Dumars was paying attention; sometimes, youth can be served on the game’s biggest stage. Understanding that while his Big Four Core is still running strong, Dumars knows they need to be pushed by young, hungry guys who haven’t tasted a title yet… and that it’s probably time to plan for when his horses do slow down. What better time to do it than while it’s still somewhat of a luxury?

With plenty of on-the-job training and such inexperience on the bench, it’ll probably cost this team some regular-season wins. In the end, though, would the Pistons be any better off riding into the postseason with veteran starters largely supplanted by aging vets with limited athleticism? (See Chris Webber.)

Or is it worth rolling the dice and instead going with hungry, fresh-legged players who’ve had all season to make (and correct) rookie mistakes while practicing against and learning from a group of championship All-Stars? We’ll find out, but either way, the group of green Pistons, below, will ultimately benefit from being eased into more prominent roles, instead of being thrown into the fire like so many other prospects with no one to fall back on.

The six youngsters who’ll factor into the Pistons’ plans this season and beyond:

Jason Maxiell, PF: Last seen spurring his team to one of their two Eastern Conference Finals victories against Cleveland, the undersized power forward could be given a chance to win the starting PF job if Wallace moves over to center. This summer, Maxiell volunteered to skip out on vacation time and instead run with the Pistons’ summer league team… and showed up weighing some 20 - 30 pounds lighter.

Consider the competition, but the third-year forward was dominating at times, averaging 15 points, 5 boards, 1.5 blocks, and 53% FG. Maxiell’s electrifying dunks bring people out of their seats, but he’s also developing a soft jumper and a good repertoire of post moves. There are few players who go to the basket with such unflinching force when they get the ball down low–he wants to score, and he wants to do it in his opponents’ face. This is the year when Dumars expects the 26th overall pick in the 2005 draft to bring it all together and give the team consistent minutes.

Rodney Stuckey, G: In their NBA Summer League wrap-up of the winners and losers (by unnamed authors, presumably from beyond the grave), the 15th-overall selection of the June draft was one of two Pistons to be singled out (Maxiell being the other):

Stuckey was terrific and should really help the Pistons as a rookie. He is very strong, enabling him to either post up or drive, and he has a good feel for the game. He’s also very unselfish. Stuckey averaged a team-best 19 points a game, but his numbers this season will not be great because he’ll play behind Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups. Still, down the road, he should end up being one of the top five players in the 2007 draft.

Maurice Brooks for NBA.com said that when Stuckey has the ball, he’s reminiscent of “some running backs that run though an opponent rather than try to make them miss.” And Brian Windhorst wrote for ESPN.com the rookie from Eastern Washington “spent time at the point and turned quite a few heads in doing so, running the offense effectively. He also showed off a good jumper at times and the ability to guard quicker players.”

There’s a lot of hype surrounding Stuckey, and while we’re not fully ready to devour the cornbread, we’re looking forward to seeing this kid develop and show what he’s got. He probably won’t see big minutes this season, but by the time the postseason rolls around, expect to see him serve as one of the team’s top reserves. His ability to handle crunch-time minutes will be key.

Amir Johnson, F: Inked to a three-year, $12 million contract this summer as a restricted free agent (despite logging less than 200 minutes in the NBA thus far), the former Mr. Basketball of California has all kinds of raw talent. A good number of scouts have guessed that if Johnson had gone to college instead of entering the NBA straight out of high school two years ago, he could have been a top-five pick in last June’s draft.

Of course, it’s all speculation, and the jury is still very much out on Johnson’s potential for success. Okay, enough–confession time. I think this kid is going to develop into a special player in this league. He’s got the talent, the work ethic, and the luxury of being eased into the league unter the tutelage of some pretty good big-man peers. Anyway, you already know how we feel about the former second-round pick.

Arron Afflalo, G: Afflalo was a bit of a surprise as the Pistons’ second first-round pick in June, but he had one advantage on players the team may have rated similarly on their draft board: a history with two of the team’s starting players. Full Court Press pointed to this story on Pistons.com:

“Chauncey Billups has been telling me for two years how big-time a competitor this kid is,” [Pistons scouting director] George David said after the Pistons made Afflalo the 27th pick in the draft. “One of the things Chauncey said when he would call in the summer is that this kid doesn’t back down.”

In those pickup games in the men’s gym on UCLA’s campus, which for years have drawn top-drawer NBA and college talent, Billups and teammate Tayshaun Prince – like Afflalo, Prince grew up in nearby Compton – kept noticing that Afflalo was the only collegian who kept taking it to players like Baron Davis and Billups.

“They said he was tough,” David said, “and when you get that kind of feedback from a guy like Chauncey, that helps you make a decision.”

The rook will be competing for backup minutes this season behind Hamilton and, at times, Prince, and should see minutes on a nightly basis; how many remains to be seen.

Sammy Mejia, G/F: We didn’t peg the 57th-overall selection of June’s draft as a guy with much of a chance to make the team’s roster this season. The four-year Depaul Blue Demon played well enough in the Summer League, however, to earn a partially-guaranteed one-year contract. Keith Langlois for Pistons.com:

Because the Pistons played Stuckey and Afflalo in the backcourt most of the time, the majority of Mejia’s Vegas minutes were devoted to playing small forward where he often guarded big, athletic players ranging from 2006 lottery pick Rudy Gay to 2007 lottery pick Thaddeus Young to Wizards 2007 second-round find Dominic McGuire, who went 10 picks ahead of Mejia. Mejia generally acquitted himself well in all of those matchups.

“Watching him play in Vegas, you see a guy who knows how to play,” Hammond said of Mejia, who grew up in the Bronx. “When you describe a guy as knowing how to play, to me that’s one of the best compliments you can give. You can put them on the floor and they don’t hurt you. They find a way. Sammy had a very good, solid week. We were impressed.”

He’s on the team for now, but Mejia still has a lot of work to do if he wants to stick around on the roster and see anything more than garbage time. It’ll be interesting to see where he falls in the pecking order for the backup job to Prince after training camp.

Cheick Samb, C: The 7-1 Senegalese center is still officially listed at just 195 pounds. That’s right, before bulking up some over the past season in Europe and this summer with the Pistons, Samb was a seven-footer weighing less than 200 pounds. Obviously, the former second-round pick will be introduced to The Great American All-You-Can-Eat Buffet now that he’s been brought stateside–he needs to put on some weight.

Samb won’t be counted on to contribute much, if at all, this year; he could very well be the last guy on the bench (yes, behind even Ronald Dupree) when he’s not suiting up for the team’s D-League team. Henry Abbott for True Hoop had this to say about Samb:

Cheikh Samb is like an even longer Rasheed Wallace, only without the quickness, the array of moves, the stellar shooting touch, and the coordination to play on the perimeter. In short: he’s a guy who will have to earn his money in the paint, and I just don’t think he likes being there. On offense and defense he gets shoved around mercilessly, and not only is he not strong enough to get where he needs to go, but even worse, to my eye he doesn’t seem to be using all of the strength that he does have.

I know, he’s young and getting stronger. But I don’t think he’ll ever get strong enough to earn anything more than mop-up duty in the head-banging world of the NBA.

Other scouts and observers have offered rosier outlooks for Samb. Either way, at this point, Samb should focus on practicing hard, leaning on Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Nazr Mohammed, and even Jason Maxiell for advice, and, of course, gorging himself.