Even before the Pistons traded Will Bynum for Joel Anthony, I was openly speculating they could waive Bynum to meet the regular-season roster limit.
It was no leap of faith on my part.
The Pistons have Brandon Jennings, D.J. Augustin and Spencer Dinwiddie at point guard. Jennings is a legitimate NBA starter. Augustin and Dinwiddie were chosen by the new Stan Van Gundy regime.
Bynum could say neither.
Bynum couldn’t even claim to be significantly healthier than Dinwiddie, who’s nearing a return to action.
I like Bynum and wish conditions were favorable for him to stick in Detroit. But the writing was on the wall. He no longer fit, and I would have been fine with the Pistons waiving him.
Meanwhile at center…
Andre Drummond has locked up a starting spot. Greg Monroe can play the position, but he’ll get minutes at power forward next to Drummond, too.
And that’s it for reasonable options.
Aaron Gray is dealing with a heart condition. Detroit signed Hasheem Thabeet, but upon closer inspection, he’s still Hasheem Thabeet.
The Pistons have been working up close with Thabeet for more than a couple weeks now, and they were still inspired to trade for Anthony and take the real-dollar cost that comes with the deal. That should tell you something about where Thabeet stands.
Van Gundy knows what he has in Bynum, Dinwiddie, Thabeet and Gray. A seven-year veteran, Anthony is pretty well-established, too.
Sure, Jodie Meeks is out eight weeks, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is hobbled himself. But keeping a fourth point guard wasn’t going to do wonders for the backcourt –especially not when temporarily moving Kyle Singler, Caron Butler, Cartier Martin or Luigi Datome to shooting guard is just as viable an option as using two point guards simultaneously.
There are no ideal solutions. At least this one helps at center.
Having adequate depth at center is important, because big men – who’ve often outgrown a comfortable size for a human being – tend to be more injury prone than guards. There’s just more wear and tear for a player constantly banging in the paint.
Within games, centers are more likely than point guards to get into foul trouble. If Drummond and/or Monroe get into foul trouble, would you rather turn to Anthony or an undersized Josh Smith at the five – especially when the opposing five just got Detroit’s top players into foul trouble. That’s just setting up Smith to fail (though not quite as much as putting him at small forward. Darn you, Maurice Cheeks.).
So while Tim makes the opposite case – compellingly, I might add – I’m fine with the trade. The Pistons needed another center. They had an extra point guard. So, they dealt one marginal player for another.
Everything just fits a little better now.