Ever since Joe Dumars stated publicly last week that
he's willing to deal anyone not named Rodney Stuckey,
the rumors have been flying.
The one that has taken on the biggest life has the
Pistons bidding for Carmelo Anthony. A short Denver
Post article, which stated that the Pistons might be
interested in Anthony, created the feeding frenzy.
This struck me as either pure speculation or someone
within the Nuggets organization floating a balloon to
see how much they could get for their
pseudo-superstar.
Anthony is a prolific scorer, the type of player the
Pistons have lacked during their long run among the
Eastern Conference elite. But on every other level,
Anthony is the type of player and person Dumars
doesn't want.
He's soft. He doesn't play defense. He hasn't shown
any leadership qualities since coming to the pros. His
team has consistently gotten bounced out of the first
round without much of a fight. And most of all, he's
not the tough-minded warrior (a la Kevin Garnett) you
want as the face of your team. Remember, this was a
guy who got pulled over for DUI on the eve of this
year's playoffs.
I do believe Joe D. will eventually pull the trigger
but he'll have to get a quality insider scorer in
return - Amare Stoudemire, Elton Brand, Emeka Okafor,
etc. - or another penetrating wing player to
complement Stuckey. Otherwise, the offense really
isn't going to improve.
These blockbuster deals don't usually happen until
draft day or mid-summer. So the Anthony rumor is just
the start of a lot of idle chit-chat.