The Pistons signed Tracy McGrady to a one-year league-min deal. The problem there is that there isn't a lot of playing time for him at the wing right now with Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince at the 2 and 3 and Ben Gordon spelling both; the Pistons often play some small-ball sets with Gordon at the 2 and Rip and the 3 in the middle of a half.
Add to that the emergence of Austin Daye as a Tayshaun Maxi-Me (Daye's two inches taller, so he can't be a Mini-Me) and there isn't a lot of playing time for McGrady. So, we either have McGrady as an overqualified 10-min-a-game performer getting Daye's minutes and maybe cutting back on the small-ball set with Rip at the 3...
...or we get a trade of one of the incumbents. Here are some possibilities
Tayshaun to Cleveland for a future first-rounder. He fills the void at small forward left from that chalk-tossing guy from Akron. Since the Cavs did a sign-and-trade with Miami, they have a 14.5M trade exemption for LeBron, and would be able to eat the 11.1M contract of Prince and still have 3.4M left for a mid-level type player in the middle to fill in for Shaq and Z. Detroit could get a draft pick back, possibly one the ones the Heat sent north.
Tayshaun to Toronto for Joey Dorsey and a first rounder. The Raptors don't have anyone compelling at the small forward and they have a 14.5m trade exemption from that other Superfriend to use as well. Joey Dorsey and a Heat first rounder might be a good deal. I liked Dorsey as one of Coach Cal's guys at Memphis when he looked like a young Ben Wallace; having the original there to tutor him would be interesting.
Tayshaun to Minnesota for Kevin Love. They have 9 M of cap room, so Detroit would need to take at least 2M back in contracts. Love would look nice in a Detroit uniform, and with Michael Beasley coming to town, he might be tradeable since they now have a logjam at the 4. Laugh if you want, but Darko would look good as a back-up big man, but he can't be traded right after reupping as a free agent; that might be a feasible trade come the trade deadline if Dumars can take the ribbing for bringing His Big Goof back (it was Tayshaun's emergence as the SF of the future in the previous year that made Darko look better than SF Carmello Anthony at the time as a fit for Detroit).
Tayshaun to Portland for Marcus Camby. If Portland is willing to assume that Greg Oden is going to be healthy for once and not be the second coming of Sam Bowie, the are a good big man too rich and could use a good small forward like Prince.
What about locales for Rip?
Rip to the Knicks for Eddie Curry. The Pistons would be rolling the dice here. If they got the mid 00s Curry back, it would be good, but it would be problematic if he were the toxic presence he's been in the last two years. If the Knicks throw in a draft pick to get Curry's contract off the books, I'd consider it, especially if they did a bit of due diligence and saw that Curry wouldn't be a locker-room cancer. Antonio McDyess was in a similar spot in his career when the Pistons got him and he regained his productivity.
I'd have a heart-to-heart with McGrady and see what he though of Curry while he was with the Knicks late last year.
Rip and Jason Maxiell to Denver for Kenyon Martin- Martin would give some offensive low post presence they don't presently have. I don't like giving Maxiell up, but he seems to be the odd man out going forward with Greg Monroe's arrival and Jonas Jerebko's emergence as a quality 3-4 tweener; plus, Martin has a bigger contract that needs a second player for a cap match. Martin has one year left on his deal, so if Monroe winds up making Martin a super-sup, his contract goes bye-bye and Detroit has a cap slot to use. It also brings the Palace Guards back together in Denver.
Rip to Utah for Mehmet Okur. With Al Jefferson arriving in Denver, Okur might become a bench player in the new regime. The trade doesn't quite match on salary, but Utah has some trade exemptions they could use.
Any one of these trades looks feasible. We shall see.
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