We all know that the Pistons will have plenty of salary-cap space when Rasheed Wallace and Allen Iverson come off the books after the season.
The assumption is that Pistons will save most of it for the summer of 2010, when all the big free agents (LeBron, Dwyane, Bosh, Stoudemire) hit the market. But will Joe Dumars really take that approach?
Best case scenario would be to resign Rasheed to a one-year deal but would Sheed really do that? And would the Pistons basically concede next season with just the hope of adding one of those big names?
Looking at the free agent class of 2009, that would be the prudent approach. Unless Kobe Bryant shocks everyone by opting out of his deal, Carlos Boozer is the best of the unrestricted free agent class. The positive about Boozer is that he's a guaranteed 20 point-10 rebound guy. The downside is that he's fragile and soft. He's never been considered a top-flight defender, unlike Sheed, and he doesn't play unless he's 100 percent.
The Pistons could certainly use a consistent low-post scorer to play inside-out with Rodney Stuckey. But Bosh and Stoudemire are a couple of notches above Boozer. I know it's not easy to wait and see but why settle for being pretty good when there's a chance to be great?