Afflalo Deal Expands Joe D’s Big-Man Shopping List

Posted Monday, July 13, 2009
Afflalo deal expands Joe D’s big-man shopping list

LAS VEGAS - On its face, the deal that ships Arron Afflalo and Walter Sharpe to Denver for a future No. 2 pick doesn’t appear to do much for the Pistons. But the book isn’t closed on that trade, no matter how it will be officially recorded in each team’s annals. Here’s what the deal is really all about: the extra $1.8 million it gives the Pistons to go shopping for another quality veteran big man.

Before the deal, they had about $1.7 million in shopping money. Now they have about $3.5 million. And that means the list they can now shop from just got a lot longer – and a lot more attractive. At $1.7 million, they had less to offer than teams over the cap that had either all or part of their mid-level exception to use and all of their biannual exception, which is worth about $1.9 million. That meant the Pistons would have been at or near the end of the list.

The agents for quality big men like Brandon Bass and Glen Davis have let it be known Detroit was on the short list for their clients over the past week despite no apparent bargaining power belonging to Joe Dumars. Now he has it. Bass is off the market already. Too bad. The $3.5 million starting figure would have been fairly competitive with Orlando’s $18 milllion offer over four years, especially if the Pistons would have offered him a fifth year.

Davis is still on it. The problem with Davis is he’s a restricted free agent, meaning Boston can match any offer. Even though the Celtics have added Rasheed Wallace, they don’t want to lose Davis, especially with Leon Powe recuperating from ACL surgery and not extended a qualifying offer. It’ll be close, though. Boston is already a tax-paying team, meaning a first-year salary of $3.5 million for Davis will cost the Celtics $7 million next season. That’s a lot for a No. 4 big man, even for a team going for a title. Danny Ainge will have to stop and think if he can find a reasonable substitute for a fraction of the cost.

It won’t be easy for the Pistons to part with Afflalo. They’ve loved him since making him the 27th pick in the 2007 draft and still believe he has the potential to be a starter in the right situation, or at least an ideal role player. But the addition of Ben Gordon and the availability of Deron Washington – last year’s No. 2 pick, who, like Afflalo, can be a plus-defender at all three perimeter positions – makes Afflalo a little redundant at this point, especially for a team with obvious frontcourt needs.

Afflalo’s going to get a shot to start in Denver, too – alongside Chauncey Billups, as a matter of fact – because the Nuggets just lost a player to free agency, Dahntay Jones, who plays exactly the role Afflalo can fill. Jones didn’t really play starter’s minutes – J.R. Smith did at shooting guard – but they’ll ask Afflalo to play hard, responsible team defense for as long as he’s in there and hit the open shot. He can do that.

I suspect Denver, a tax-paying team that still was able to take on salary without sending any back because the Nuggets had a trade exception stemming from last summer’s Marcus Camby giveaway to the Clippers, wasn’t much interested in Walter Sharpe, but had to take him as the price for getting Afflalo for a second-rounder.

Sharpe’s future with the Pistons was shaky even before June 25, when the Pistons drafted three players – Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers and Jonas Jerebko – who all are capable of duplicating his skill set. His physical gifts aside, Sharpe proved a less than reliable teammate over the course of the season and had difficulty absorbing the playbook. If the light bulb ever turns on, he’s got a chance to play in the NBA. But the same can be said for dozens of others who never got the chance Sharpe did.

And through the first week in Las Vegas, including two Summer League games, the Pistons are more sure than ever that Sharpe would have gone to training camp behind all three rookies – never mind Tayshaun Prince, Charlie Villanueva and Jason Maxiell at the forward spots.

So remember: When you see the trade particulars under transactions in your Tuesday morning newspaper – Detroit sends Arron Afflalo and Walter Sharpe to Denver for a future second-round pick – the trade’s not really complete yet. It will be in the weeks ahead, when Joe Dumars signs a big man, capable of giving him 25 minutes a night, whose agent never would have taken his call 24 hours ago.

Piston Boris wrote:How badly do the Celts want to keep Davis?

If in the "worse" case scenario, the Pistons don't get a big man now, options will present themselves down the road.

Piston Boris wrote:Time will tell.

If the Celts do match an offer for Big Baby, they will be paying a heavy luxury tax, which has to give Ainge major pause.

But if he wants title 18 now, he'll keep Big Baby and worry about next year later when the Celts deteriorate from old age.

d.James wrote:I think it's smart to match a 3.7 million offer because the market price, adding the luxury tax, is about what Big Baby would make if they re-signed him. Dumars may leverage simply a better deal for Ainge and keep Big Baby a steal for the Celtics. As they shed those large contracts, Big Baby will have job security. That's all that means.

Piston Boris wrote:

d.James wrote:I think it's smart to match a 3.7 million offer because the market price, adding the luxury tax, is about what Big Baby would make if they re-signed him. Dumars may leverage simply a better deal for Ainge and keep Big Baby a steal for the Celtics. As they shed those large contracts, Big Baby will have job security. That's all that means.

True.

I'm curious to see what happens with Portland and Utah, too, since they're in the hunt for Big Baby. This free agency year has been a bit unpredictable.

d.James wrote:It has been unpredictable. Rest assured whoever the Pistons can find at 4 million dollars, they will have some warts (age, health, past, and/or unproven talent).