Detroit Vs. Everybody: The Detroit Pistons (NBA 2k15)

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Day Nine of Free Agency: Finally, An Answer!



The Detroit Pistons finally got their guy.

Draymond Green is headed to Detroit after accepting the 4-year, $48.08 million deal extended to him from the team. After Golden State did not match the offer, Green was on a plane to Detroit.

"I'm happy, blessed, and ultimately ready to win. This is a great situation for me, and I am excited to step in and help lead this team," said the stretch four from Michigan State, "it's Detroit vs. Everybody, now."

Green played well for the Warriors last season, and now looks to take on a larger, more expanded role with his new team. The Pistons plan to play him 34-38 minutes a night at the four and three, but expect him to be able to guard all positions. Green will reprise his number 23 from college and Golden State on the Pistons.

Pero Antic accepted his 2-year, $4.0 million contract earlier in the day. He will wear number 6.

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Detroit Announces Preseason Roster

The new-look Detroit Pistons debuted their preseason roster today.

The 2015-2016 Detroit Pistons
#	NAME	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
0	Andre Drummond (C)	C	21	6'11	270	UCONN
1	Reggie Jackson	G	25	6'3	208	Boston College
3	D'Angelo Russell (R)	G	19	6'5	180	Ohio State
6	Pero Antic	C	32	6'11	260	Fyrom
8	Spencer Dinwiddie	G	22	6'6	205	Colorado
17	PJ Tucker	F/G	30	6'6	224	Texas
22	Tayshaun Prince (C)	F	35	6'9	215	Kentucky
23	Draymond Green	F	25	6'7	230	Michigan St.
25	Greivis Vasquez	G	28	6'6	211	Maryland
27	Zaza Pachulia	C	31	6'11	275	Republic of Georgia
31	Amir Johnson	F/C	28	6'9	210	Westchester HS
33	Jared Dudley	G/F	30	6'7	225	Boston College
35	Cartier Martin	F/G	30	6'7	220	Kansas State
43	Anthony Tolliver	F	30	6'8	243	Creighton
50	Joel Anthony	C	32	6'9	245	UNLV

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Detroit Reveals 2015-2016 Depth Chart

The Detroit Pistons ended Training Camp today and unveiled their Depth Chart for the 2015-2016 season today, ending weeks of speculation about certain positions.

The starters have been tabbed as Reggie Jackson, rookie D'Angelo Russell, newcomer PJ Tucker and Draymond Green, and Andre Drummond.

Tucker and Green were acquired in separate transactions in a very eventful offseason for the Pistons.

The sixth man on the team is Amir Johnson with Greivis Vasquez playing a similar amount of minutes. The bench is rounded out with Tayshaun Prince, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jared Dudley, Tayshaun Prince, and Pero Antic.

Detroit Pistons Depth Chart - 2015
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
PG	Reggie Jackson	Greivis Vasquez	Spencer Dinwiddie	D'Angelo Russell
SG	D'Angelo Russell	Jared Dudley	Spencer Dinwiddie	Cartier Martin
SF	PJ Tucker	Tayshaun Prince	Draymond Green	Jared Dudley
PF	Draymond Green	Amir Johnson	Anthony Tolliver	PJ Tucker
C	Andre Drummond	Zaza Pachulia	Amir Johnson	Pero Antic

[khalifa2789]

NBA Season Preview, Featuring the Detroit Pistons

While we will be covering the NBA as a whole in this season preview, this article is one in 32 which covers the various NBA teams this preseason. You may find the other previews on our various network of websites.

Today, we visit a team which underwhelmed last season, but looks to be making strides in the right direction -- the Detroit Pistons.

Detroit ended the season on an eight-game losing streak, and amidst rumors of a coaching change and complete roster overhaul, they instead kept their staff intact and made key moves which were made with the intent of pushing the team in the right direction.

Gone are Greg Monroe, Jodie Meeks, Brandon Jennings, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Enter hometown darling Draymond Green, Toronto Raptors imports Amir Johnson and Greivis Vasquez, Zaza Pachulia, and a dynamic rookie in D'Angelo Russell.

This is certainly a different team than last season.

A positional breakdown:

Point Guard:
The Pistons rid themselves of Brandon Jennings in a trade with the New York Knicks after offering a 4-year deal worth significant money to Reggie Jackson who ultimately signed with the team to become its starting Point Guard.
Greivis Vasquez is a competent backup who provides starter experience and a knowledge of how to run an offense. Spencer Dinwiddie is also a great, young player who will see some minutes.
Projected Stats, Reggie Jackson: 31 MPG, 14 PPG, 4 RPG, 9 APG

Shooting Guard:
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was tabbed to be the starter, but a Draft Day trade sent him away in the Jared Dudley and picks swap. The Pistons had already tabbed a new potential starting Shooting Guard in February, though; D'Angelo Russell of Ohio State, if available, would be their starter.
Lo and behold, Russell was selected by the Pistons in this past draft. Russell averaged almost 20 PPG in college, and led an offensive attack which featured fellow draftee Shannon Scott. Russell is the immediate starter, and is expected to put up big numbers for the team in his first year.
Jared Dudley and Spencer Dinwiddie form the other two parts of the Shooting Guard machine for the Pistons. Dudley, who is a "three and D" type player, is expected to be the primary backup at the two. Dinwiddie, a scoring Point Guard, is third on the depth chart, in front of forward Cartier Martin.
Projected Stats, D'Angelo Russell: 35 MPG, 18 PPG, 5 RPG, 5 APG

Small Forward:
PJ Tucker was brought in during the Jodie Meeks trade. Meeks, a great bench player for the Pistons, requested a trade due to contract demands. Tucker, who played well in spot minutes last season, became available in trade discussions. Tucker is going to be asked to carry the defensive load for the smaller guys while scoring during open looks to the basket.
Draymond Green backs Tucker up; although he is the starting Power Forward, Green is versatile enough to play Small Forward while the team goes big. Tayshaun Prince and Cartier Martin are nice, veteran options off the bench for the team.
Projected Stats, PJ Tucker: 27 MPG, 12 PPG, 7 RPG, 2 APG, 1.5 SPG

Power Forward:
The big signing of the offseason for the Pistons, the man who wanted to come to this team as badly as others wanted him -- Draymond Green. A restricted Free Agent, Green accepted a 4-year deal for the Pistons. Green is a versatile stretch-4 for the team, and will replace the departed Greg Monroe. Monroe, who is now in Toronto, is bigger and better suited for the paint; however, Green offers the spacing and scoring punch Monroe lacked.
Amir Johnson, who was part of the Monroe trade, is a young option off the bench who shares Sixth Man responsibilities with fellow former Raptor Greivis Vasquez. Johnson has the potential to be an excellent defender in the Pistons' system.
Holdover from last season Anthony Tolliver and PJ Tucker round out the Power Forward position.
Projected Stats, Draymond Green: 36 MPG, 26 PPG, 10 RPG, 3 APG, 2 SPG, 1 BPG

Center:
Big Dre. Andre Drummond. One of the best centers in the League, and also one of the youngest. Drummond hasn't even hit his ceiling yet -- a scary thought when you remember that last season he averaged 20 PPG and 11 RPG. Drummond benefits from the arrival of Draymond Green.
Zaza Pachulia becomes the primary secondary center, and brings a wealth of experience to the position. Amir Johnson, the primary Power Forward off the bench, teams with Pero Antic to round out the Center rotation.

Projected Stats, Andre Drummond: 37 MPG, 22 PPG, 13 RPG, 2 APG, 2 SPG, 2.5 BPG

Bench:
The Pistons boast a deep, well-rounded bench. While they do not possess a reserve unit as deep as, say, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team has a wealth of young talent to go along with well-versed veterans. Amir Johnson and Greivis Vasquez are the primary bench options. Jared Dudley and Zaza Pachulia are great spot minutes players.

--

The NBA Landscape remained relatively untouched; the Cavaliers were able to resign Kevin Love and LeBron James to long term contracts while Dwayne Wade signed a new one year deal with the Heat.

Paul Pierce announced his retirement before the season, ending The Truth's career. However, he has been tabbed as an Assistant Coach for the New York Knicks.

Who are we looking at as new threats in the NBA?

Let's start with the Philadelphia 76ers, who finally netted the Number 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft; upon being on the clock, they quickly selected Stanley Johnson as the #1 pick. Johnson, who was a fantastic player for Sean Miller at Arizona, has immediately slipped in to the starting Small Forward slot for the team. He will pair with Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel to form one of the most exciting young frontcourts in the NBA. We projected a fifteen win turnaround for the team, which would put them at 37-45 for the season; in the weak Eastern Conference, that might be good enough to attain the seventh or eighth seed in the Playoffs.

After falling to seventeen, Justise Winslow was promptly picked up by the Brooklyn Nets. Winslow, who had been diagnosed with a weak left knee during the Draft Combine, scared teams off with his weight gain during the off period. Winslow may end up being the steal of the draft; with the Nets' rotation of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Winslow, there could be a potent scoring punch coming from Brooklyn. A 10 win turnaround, if we're correct, would put them at 51-31 at the end of the year.

The West is a bit more convoluted. Willie Cauley-Stein also dropped into the Grizzlies' laps at 19. Management thought that Marc Gasol was resigning, and would therefore have time to let WCS's diagnosed weak right knee heal for about a year. However, upon Gasol's departure, Cauley-Stein has been asked to step in to the starting role. This is a huge loss for the Grizz, and Cauley-Stein will not be able to fill this void. We project a seven win dropoff, putting them at 38-44, dropping them out of the playoffs.

Who do we predict to win the Championship, or better yet, who will win each Conference?

This may be the easiest year to predict a winner. No team from last year sustained the roster and easily improved over their success than the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs were able to retain Kevin Love and LeBron James, but lost Shawn Marion. Instead of pouting, the Cavs signed a few veterans and young guns, such as Quincy Miller (formerly of the Pistons) and Kevin Seraphim to the team. In addition to these moves, they drafted Caris LeVert, a great shooting guard from Michigan.

Cleveland will win the East, and it won't even be close. We predict a 60 win season from the team.

In the West, though, the Thunder have benefited from others' moves more than anyone else.

The Spurs are getting older and older, but aren't adding any new talent; their draft picks, instead of infusing young athleticism, were spent on highly questionable prospects. Tim Duncan will be Tim Duncan, and Tony Parker will continue to amaze; however, they're going to begin to drop off.

The Warriors lost Draymond Green and will not be competing at as high a level as last season as a result. The Splash Brothers will keep them in games, and they very well may win the West; however, there's the distinct possibility that all their scoring won't make up for lost defense.

The Thunder have Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, Steve Adams, Enes Kanter, and Dion Waiters as their primary players; excellent rotation. Did you know, though, that they added size in the draft? Dakari Johnson and Ilimane Diop were drafted to add size, and both could evolve into competent big men.

Predicted Eastern Conference Champ: Cleveland Cavaliers, 60-22
Predicted Western Conference Champ: Oklahoma City Thunder, 55-37

Award Predictions:
Most Valuable Player: LeBron James, CLE
Rookie of the Year: D'Angelo Russell, DET
Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Davis, NO
Sixth Man of the Year: Isaiah Thomas, BOS
Most Improved Player: Steve Adams, OKC
Coach of the Year: David Blatt, CLE

With the season starting, let's remember why we're here -- the love of basketball. The most exciting, intriguing sport in North America, filled with unique personalities as amazing as the teams and fanbases. As this season unfolds, let us appreciate what we're fortunate enough to witness.

It's the League!

[khalifa2789]

Quote: Originally Posted by michaellowll

i'm using www.imgur.com http://www.lemmetweetthatforyou.com/ http://simitator.com/generator/twitter/tweet

Thanks, homie! You're awesome! Fixed the images on the page, you guys can view the Twitter interaction Windhorst had with the fans, in addition to where King James alluded to where he might be taking his talents to.

Hope you guys are enjoying this so far, let me know if there's anything you'd like to see!