The Drubbing

Oh how far the mighty have fallen. Are the Pistons not the saddest team in the NBA right now? I know they’re not the worst at 11-22. All the teams with worse records like New Jersey, Minnesota and Philadelphia have been wrecked by injuries. And even the Pistons have had their own fair share of health problems, with Rip Hamilton only playing in six games so far this season.

But consider this. In 2004 the Pistons were NBA Champions. And in 2005 they were runners up to San Antonio. And they still won division titles in 2005-2008. That wasn’t that long ago. That was then, this is now (I feel like I’m channelling Denny Green).

Sheed isn't the only former Piston that jumped ship before it started sinking

But look at their roster. Chauncey Billups was replaced by Rodney Stuckey. Rip Hamilton is still around. Ben Wallace is back, albeit a shell of his former self. And Tayshaun Prince is still around, but here is where it gets interesting. Rasheed Wallace has been replaced by Charlie Villanueva. Mehmet Okur has been replaced by Jonas Jerebko. Darko Milicic has been replaced by Chris Wilcox. Lindsey Hunter has been replaced by Will Bynum. And Mike James has been replaced by Ben Gordon, the one place on this roster that might have been upgraded. Oh and Chucky Atkins has been replaced by Chucky Atkins.

This team is a shining example of what happens when management falls asleep at the wheel. Or maybe just decides to clear cap room like crazy and hope you can land LeBron, D-Wade or Chris Bosh. And what happens when you don’t get any big stars in the off-season? Well, I guess you can still be bad enough to get a good draft pick. We know John Wall looks good in blue.