Living in the Shadows – A Patrick Ewing Jr. Story

[RMJH4]

Ewings Epilogue: Episode 6.



January 30th 2012

So my contract here is up tomorrow. But if i dont get a new one, i wont be travelling to California with the team tomorrow. I'd be heading back to Portland to meet up with Red Claws again. The terms of my 10 day contract stated that if i am released, i can return to the Red Claws to complete the year i signed up for. If the Hornets choose to sign me, they will fully compensate the Red Claws for my $12k contract. But there is plenty of time to worry about that later. Off to meeting in room 303 first.

Dell Demps: Hi Patrick, come on in.

Ewing Jr: Hey Dell, so how goes it?

Dell Demps: Well Patrick firstly let me say we have been very impressed with your performance so far.

Ewing Jr: Thanks Dell, it’s been a pleasure being back here.

Dell Demps: Well as you know we have a bit of an injury crisis here. What with David, Trevor and Peja being out. They are all due back in less than a fortnight though.

Ewing Jr: Yeah I kno, so you guys are going to be down numbers for another while then.

Dell Demps: Yes and it’s important that we have backup for all positions. We are really chasing a top 4 seed in the West this year. As you know, Chris Paul is opting out to be a free agent this summer. It’s paramount we challenge in the West this year, with a view to becoming championship contenders next year.

Ewing Jr: He loves it in New Orleans though, I can tell from being around him. But I can understand the need to make a run at the West this year.

Dell Demps: Yes, the one problem I have is about the mini slump we have been on lately. 2-4 just ain’t gonna get us where we want to be. So we are in a predicament. I’m never one to make panic changes. But I do go with my gut feelings a lot. Your numbers have been impressive in the 10 days. 13.8ppg, 6.3rpg and 3.2 apg. Your defense is improving all the time. I liked how you rose to the challenge of guarding Kobe. But..

Ewing Jr: But what?

Dell Demps: Well I’m going to be honest and say it Patrick, you’re a good kid and I want to see you succeed. I know last year didn’t end on the best of terms, but in hindsight I think I made a mistake in not resigning you. It would have eliminated this problem a lot easier this year.

Ewing Jr: Yea I thought I had shown enough potential to get a contract for this year.

Dell Demps: Almost. Listen we could quite easily sign you up for a 2nd 10 day contract, but I just don’t think that would be the decent way to resolve this problem. I feel I owe you something, you’ve played your heart out every game here for the Hornets.

Ewing Jr: Thanks, as I said before I really like this ball club, and New Orleans.

Dell Demps: I know, and that is very much appreciated by us all here. Listen every team we have played so far had been impressed by you. On offense and Defense, you’ve shown great potential. With Peja possibly coming back next week, and David and Trevor the week after, I don’t feel a 10 day contract is the right thing to offer you.

Ewing Jr: You mean?

Dell Demps: Well yes but no. We feel you should be signed for the rest of the year, but there is a major condition attached to that. It’s not just by us that the decision will be made by.

Ewing Jr: Well thanks, but what do you mean exactly?

Dell Demps: Well 2 other teams in the league want to sign you up for the rest of the year. We don’t want to let you go for nothing though.

Ewing Jr: Wow really who are they?

Dell Demps: The Bobcats and the Pistons. I’ve been on the phone to both of them, and I think we are getting close to a deal that suits all sides. Questions is, how do you feel about Detroit? Joe Dumars is really shaking things up over there. Putting together a tough side, he thinks you’d really fit in well. Rumor has it they may be looking to make one more big trade for an ex player after this too. Somebody to mentor you. They see some potential in you. The Bobcats are willing to give us two players for you and Quincy Pondexter.

Ewing Jr: Detoit? Motor City sounds good to me! Brandon Knight has a great future. They still have some vets like Hamilton and Wallace I think I could learn from. Will Charlotte be involved in the trade?

Dell Demps: Yes I think so, we have a deal on the table that suits all sides. It means we can give you that chance we feel you deserve. You can be a great pro, it’s just unlucky for you we are pretty strong at your positions. We want to shake things up a bit too.

Ewing Jr: Ok, sounds fair enough. I appreciate what you’ve done for me Dell.

Dell Demps: Great Patrick. If you’ll just sign here, this will confirm you have signed for a 1yr $480k deal.

Ewing Jr: Sweet. Thanks Man. See ya around!

Dell Demps: Pleasure doing business Patrick, keep in touch. Check out NBA.com later on to see the details of the full trade. Should be finalised by tomorrow. Get your bags packed for Detroit, they want to give you a medical there. Good Luck.

Ewing Jr: You too. See you in the NBA Finals!!

[RMJH4]

30th January 2012

Bobcats, Hornets and Pistons make big trade

In what could be heralded as a major risk for the Pistons, they gave away SF Austin Daye. He hadnt lived up to expectations so far, and the Pistons are 3 rd last in the East. But to trade him away for Rafer Alston and Patrick Ewing Jr? I'm not sure. Ok they picked up a Hornets first round pick, and Bobcats 2nd round pick, but i really feel this has to be the first of a few moves for the Pistons. Alston fits the Pistons mould of a tough, hustle guy, and can help Brandon Knight develop. As long as he doesnt want too many minutes. Will Bynum, may yet be traded. With Stuckeys departure to the Clippers, he had a chance to fight it out with Knight for the starting spot. That hasnt gone very well for him.

Ewing Jr. is an interesting prospect. His 2nd run in the NBA after playing well with the Hornets this year and last season. He can play the 3 and the 4, but it seems like it will definetly be the 3 here. Prince fled for Atlanta this year, and Ewing Jr. will wear his number. If he can become anything like the long, athletic, tough, defensive minded hustle guy Prince was, they might just be onto something. Watch this space for more trades though.

For the Bobcats, who are surprisingly in the hunt for a playoff place, this is a great trade. Cunningham was getting overlooked with Tyrus Thomas and rookie Bismack Biyombo grabbing most of the minutes. They signed him to an initial cost saving $1m per year. Well below the market value he would have expected, but after the CBA, nobody wants to give money to anything other than a sure thing. They also give up Dominic McGuire, who is solid but not spectacular. They kept their 1st round pick for next year, which may or may not be a lottery pick, but gave up their 2nd rounder to the Pistons. Fairly meaningless i think.

What they get back is 2 solid Small Forwards with potential, and most importantly expiring deals, if they dont show enough in the last 35 games. In Daye they have a guy who can give Magette some breathers, and maybe shape him into a Turkoglu type at the very best. Pondexter well, big guy, hustles a lot, but there is a reason the Hornets moved him.

For the injury plagued Hornets this make a lot of sense. They gave up Pondexter, Alston and Ewing Jr. They get back a solid 3 in McGuire, who can back up Ariza when he comes back. I presume he will get more back up time than Stojakovic, who really is on the decline. Cunningham intrigues me. You have got to think the Hornets see David West as a liability with all his injuries. After opting in for this season, his contract is up next year. Cunningham can be a bit of a project behind the tough post scorer Carl Landry, who is beginning to shine in West's absence.

It deepens their roster and they will hope some more strong reliable bodies will help them have a run at the West. Or risk losing CP3 next summer.

[RMJH4]

31st January 2012

Pistons, Suns and Kings shuffle some more pieces.

Joe Dumars has had enough of the soft, overpaid Charlie Villanueva. On a one way ticket to the Kings, where he will fight for starters time with Jason Thompson. Finally the Pistons rid theirselves of that makor mistake of giving Villanueva the big contract when they had all that capspace in 2009. They panic bought, along with Ben Gordon in an effort to rebuild a championship team. It couldnt have turned out worse. Hamstrung by the new contracts, and neither player played anywhere near their value.

Dajuan Summers is also moved along with the 2012 Bobcats 2nd rounder. A player with potential, but the Pistons seem to have other ideas. They get a small forward rotation of Grant Hill, Patrick Ewing Jr. and Kyle Singler. Defense is the key here, and the Pistons must be hoping that Grant Hill can help tutor Ewing Jr. and Singler into becoming solid wing men. Hill was delighted at the chance to return to Detroit, for one last run. The vet has 2 years left on his contract. And at age 39, better have some good backup. Detroit say goodbye to Big Ben, and get back the gritty Robin Lopez in exchange. Lopez was unhappy in Phoenix, Detroit must be hoping to make a Ben Wallace type player out of him.

By moving Villanueva, the Pistons give the green light to a rotation at power forward to recently signed Kenyon Martin, rookie Vernon Macklin and Jason Maxiell. Toughness all the way here for Detroit.

The Kings give up 2 of their 5 small forwards Casspi and Greene. It clears the way for rookie Tyler Honeycutt, veteran John Salmons and the tough Francisco Garcia to get more time at the 3. They get back another SF in Summmers, who they may yet move for another piece. They fill a need with Charlie V at power forward. And surely between him and Thompson, they can give DaMarcus Cousins some much needed backup.

The Suns gave up vet Grant Hill and Robin Lopez. They add Casspi and Greene, 2 young prospects to rotate with Jared Dudley. It gives them more balance and a deeper bench. they lose Lopez, who would have commanded a large new contract this summer. They also added Ben Wallace, who can play a few minutes off the bench behind the resurgent Marcin Gortat. And if worst comes to worst, they have the Bobcats 2012 2nd round pick to draft someone.

A trade between 3 bottom feeder teams, there is only so much the teams can expect from this. All 3 teams are looking to blend youth and experience, fill roster needs, and give a deeper bench in the pursuit of a better record. Hard to call who got the better deal here. Might be next year before we can tell.

[RMJH4]

Ewing's Epilogues: Episode 7.



January 31st 2012

"Well just finished up my medical and about to catch a flight to Phoenix. We are playing the Suns tomorrow in what should be a hotly contested match between two teams near the bottom of each conference! But then i looked at NBA.com and seen the 2nd major trade Detroit had completed in 2 days!"

"Very excited at the players we are getting back, Grant Hill and Lopez. Looking forward to working with and learning from Hill. Good to see him back in Detroit, i'm sure he will want to leave the fans here something to remember him by, other than leaving for Orlando. Dell Demps was right in the fact that the Pistons are really shaking things up here. And they have made that trade for the veteran legend of Pistons past. I know it means i probably wont start right now, but i have a great chance to develop going forward. Joe D, who i just met yesterday seems like a nice man."

"He feels under pressure to undo the mistakes of recent years, and wants to start building a new team. Although 3rd from last in the East, Joe wants to put out a strong competitve team every night. He signed K-Mart in the offseason, for rebounding and toughness. They have an intriguing rookie in Vernon Macklin, and a developing big man in Greg Monroe to build around. 1st round draft pick Brandon Knight is a born leader, and he will look to continue his development, with the help of veteran Rafer Alston who came over from the Hornets with me."

"Looking forward to meeting the guys tonight, and seeing how we shape up against the Suns tomorrow!"



Hill is back in the Pistons colours.

[RMJH4]

Roster as of January 31st 2012

Detroit Pistons 2011-12
#	NAME	POS	AGE	HT	WT	SALARY
1	Rafer Alston	PG	35	6'2	175	480K
12	Will Bynum	PG	29	6'0	185	3.25M
22	Patrick Ewing Jr.	SF	27	6'8	235	480K
8	Ben Gordon	SG	28	6'3	200	11.60M
32	Rip Hamilton	SG	33	6'7	193	12.50M
33	Grant Hill	SF	39	6'8	225	1.76M
7	Brandon Knight	PG	20	6'3	177	2.06M
5	Robin Lopez	C	23	7'0	255	2.86M
20	Vernon Macklin	PF	24	6'9	245	480K
6	Kenyon Martin	PF	34	6'9	240	1.98M
54	Jason Maxiell	PF	28	6'7	260	5.00M
10	Greg Monroe	C	21	7'0	243	3.01M
25	Kyle Singler	SF	24	6'9	228	473K
23	Terrico White	SG	22	6'5	194	737K

Detroit Pistons Depth Chart - 2011-12
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
PG	Brandon Knight	Will Bynum	Rafer Alston
SG	Ben Gordon	Rip Hamilton		Terrico White
SF	Grant Hill	Patrick Ewing Jr.	Kyle Singler
PF	Kenyon Martin	Jason Maxiell	Vernon Macklin
C	Greg Monroe	Robin Lopez

[RMJH4]

Game 1 Detroit Pistons 126 - 95 Phoenix Suns



Ewing Jr. done some serious damage in the 4th quarter dropping 15 points.

Feb 2, 2012 - Pistons @ Suns
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Detroit Pistons (16-31)	26	32	36	32	126
Phoenix Suns (16-30)	22	20	26	27	95

Detroit Pistons
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Patrick Ewing Jr.	20	8-11	3-3	3-5	7	6	0	0	0	22

Pistons Starters
W. Bynum
B. Gordon
G. Hill
K. Martin
G. Monroe

Suns Starters
A. Brooks
JR. Smith
J. Dudley
C. Frye
M. Gortat

Game Leaders
Pts - 29 - JR. Smith (Suns)
Rebs - 10 - C. Frye (Suns)
Asts - 11 - R. Alston (Pistons)
Stls - 2 - A. Brooks (Suns)
Blks - 2 - R. Lopez (Hornets)

Ewing’s Epilogue

“What a debut! Man that felt good! Only played 8 minutes in first 3 quarters, then the whole last quarter. Exploded tonight with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. I dont really care that at this stage the Suns were running their bench, because we were too. Still my NBA scoring high!”

"Grant Hill was sensational tonight. First game back for the Pistons, but he just stayed in Phoenix for it! 27 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists! He really is a leader. Brings so much experience and toughness to this team. Great guy to be around. Some superb performances by the whole roster tonight. We have similar records to the Suns, but just blew them out of the water tonight!"

"Rafer Alston shared the point with Will Bynum, but it was when Rafer, Rip, Grant, Kenyon and Greg were on the floor that we clicked. An excellent 2nd quarter from Rip with 13 total, Monroe 14pts and 7 rebounds, K-Mart 8 pts and 7 boards. Rafer had 11 assists and showed his veteran leadership and excellent court vision. Ben Gordon had 14 but shot 5-14 from the field. Not a game he'll be proud of. And to think we still have Brandon Knight to come back from injury next week!"

"The Suns only really had one theat. JR Smith who had 29 points. Aaron Brooks tried to get it goings but could only add 16. Jameer Nelson was a little spark of the bench with 14. Nelson and Brooks are having a great battle over the starting pg position with Nash in Orlando now. But this is a poor team, considering Smith is their only real star."

"Up to California now to play the Warriors! They are currently 5th in the west, just ahead of the Grizzlies by a game. Should be a tough matchup."

[RMJH4]

Game 2 Detroit Pistons 107 - 103 Golden State Warriors



Ewing Jr. made some tough contested shots tonight, but his defense was key.

Feb 3, 2012 - Pistons @ Warriors
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Detroit Pistons (17-31)	28	37	20	22	107
Golden State Warriors (27-20)	27	18	29	29	103

Detroit Pistons
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Patrick Ewing Jr.	18	6-10	1-3	1-2	6	2	0	1	0	14

Pistons Starters
W. Bynum
B. Gordon
G. Hill
K. Martin
G. Monroe

Warriors Starters
S. Curry
M. Ellis
D. Wright
D. Lee
A. Biedrins

Game Leaders
Pts - 45 - M. Ellis (Warriors)
Rebs - 11 - D. Lee (Warriors)
Asts - 14 - W. Bynum (Pistons)
Stls - 3 - R. Alston (Pistons)
Blks - 5 - G. Monroe (Pistons)

Ewing’s Epilogue

“Wow relieved to hang on tonight! We blew a 20 point lead at half time, almost let the Warriors overtake us in the 2nd half. Pure grit and tough defense won out in the end. With guys like Grant, K-Mart and Rafer on the team, we looked like the real warriors out there! The final few minutes of the 4th, Hill was matched up on Ellis, and i was on Dorrell Wright. Rafer took Curry. All 3 of us were excellent, and helped get some vital stops.”

"Greg Monroe (13pts) was dominant under the boards tonight. 5 blocks and 5 boards. But he forced so many shots off. Between himself and K-Mart (10pts 10 rebs) they played stellar D. They forced Lee (11pts 11rebs)and Biedrins (6pts 7 rebs) away from the basket all night. Ellis was left to shoulder all the scoring load with 45! But we had Ben Gordon who had 23 in a much better shooting performance. Rip added 16 off the bench, along with Grants 18. Not to be outdone, in my sporadic minutes i scored 14, mostly off fastbreaks and alley-oops though!"

"Bynum was superb in running the point, dishing 14 dimes! We had a team high in blocks this season with 11. And with 6 steals to boot, our defense really stepped up. Coach Woodson said the grit and fight we showed tonight and last night is what the Pistons have been missing all season. Add some hustle guys, some rebounders,tough defenders and street wise vets, and all of a sudden you have 2 wins in a row!"

"I already like my role here. I bring energy and hustle, and can be brought on to specialise on defense. Watching Grant and K-Mart play, they are such smart defenders, i'm really learning on the job! Cannot wait for my home debut on Monday vs the Bucks. A team just outside the East playoffs. If we can defend at the level we had spurts of tonight, we will have a shot."

[RMJH4]

Game 3 Milwaukee Bucks 99 - 100 Detroit Pistons



Ewing Jr. took it to the rack on several occasions tonight.

Feb 5, 2012 - Bucks @ Pistons
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Milwakee Bucks (23-27)	27	17	31	24	99
Detroit Pistons (18-31)	31	22	23	24	100

Detroit Pistons
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Patrick Ewing Jr.	22	6-11	2-3	1-2	4	4	1	1	1	15

Bucks Starters
B. Jennings
S. Jackson
C. Delfino
D. Gooden
A. Bogut

Pistons Starters
W. Bynum
B. Gordon
G. Hill
K. Martin
G. Monroe

Game Leaders
Pts - 24 - B. Jennings (Bucks)
Rebs - 11 - K. Martin (Pistons)
Asts - 14 - B. Jennings (Bucks)
Stls - 4 - W. Bynum (Pistons)
Blks - 2 - G. Monroe (Pistons)

Ewing’s Epilogue

“Really pulled one out of the fire tonight! Superb win against the playoff chasing Bucks. Our defense wa superb tonight. Really closing out the game well. Greg Monroe had 2 block and 9 rebounds to go with 16 points. K- Mart had 14pts and 11 rebounds. Hill was an excellent defender and all around leader with 15 points and 5 assists. He was assigned the task of keeping Captain Jack quiet, and limited him to 15 points.”

"I was over the moon with my game. 15 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block! My all around game is developing quickly as i learn to play the 3 spot. Grant is excellent to watch and learn from every night. I spent some time defending Jackson too, and he was a tough assignment.I'm really happy that i played 22 minutes tonight in Ben Gordons absence. Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut were the Bucks main threats. Jennings had 24 pts with 14 assists, Bogut, 19 pts and 10 rebounds."

"Monroe and K-Mart were a nightmare for every Buck, dominant on the boards all night long. Brandon Knight was back from injury and played well, scoring 10 points and dishing 8 dimes. We really have a great trio of point guards with Knight, Bynum and Alston!"

"Thats 2 wins in a row, big upturn in our fortunes with all the trades. Philadelphia 76ers at home on Wednesday. With that in mind i think i'll have a look at the lastest standing, see what we will be up against."