Sportsfrog.com

The Pistons have struck first in the market, coming to agreements with Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, both reportedly for five years. So, is Rodney Stuckey not the Dwyane Wade-lite we’ve heard he might be? I ask because Gordon is reportedly going to make an average of $11 million per year on his deal, Rip Hamilton is in front of him at the two-guard spot, and Stuckey is still in dire need of developing his three-point range. There is a report that Gordon agreed to the deal while knowing that he would come off the bench. Maybe the Pistons can see themselves going with a four-player rotation for the perimeter spots with Hamilton sliding to the three when Tayshaun Prince needs a rest.

I don’t understand the Villanueva signing at all. He seems like the second coming of Tim Thomas, in that he combines power forward size, a perimeter player’s offensive mentality, and disinterest in defense. I was shocked to see that Villanueva ranked so high in rebounding rate (35th in the league), but that may be a function of playing for a Bucks team last year that didn’t have a lot of options in the frontcourt once Andrew Bogut went down.

The speculation that Avery Johnson is in the lead to be hired as the new Pistons coach, further clouds these two signings. Neither Gordon nor Villanueva plays enough defense to satisfy Johnson, who turned the Mavericks from a Nellie-ball offensive machine to a grind-it-out defensive team that reached the NBA finals.

The Clippers have done what many who follow the NBA deemed the impossible, finding someone to take the albatross of Zach Randolph’s personality (and the remaining two years left on his contract). The lucky recipient of the NBA’s Mo Vaughn (oversized, offensively productive, and strong financial supporter of the Canadian ballet) is… the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies will send Quentin Richardson back to the Clippers, so there will be a return of the headbumps after making three-point shots if Richardson’s back is ever healthy enough for him to play.

I’m just shocked anyone would take Randolph’s contract. He has two years and over $33 million left on his deal. Randolph will walk into the starter’s role in Memphis and provide them with production in the low post to fill out their lineup with Marc Gasol, Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo, and Mike Conley. It’s not a bad starting five and Randolph’s low-post presence will provide them with a new facet to help open things for the young perimeter players. That said, there isn’t a ton of defense on this squad and maybe this generates a few more wins for the Grizzlies based on outscoring their opponents.

The fact that the Clippers are bringing Richardson back is essentially meaningless. Getting out from under Randolph’s contract and getting a shorter, cheaper contract back in return (Richardson has a player option for close to $9.5 million for the upcoming season) make this a big win for the Clippers. Not only do they clear up their frontcourt situation after drafting Blake Griffin, they got rid of the contract and player that was the hardest to get rid of. Marcus Camby has one year left on his deal and Chris Kaman has three, so the Clips can break in their rookie power forward however they see fit, especially with Camby able to play either post position. DeAndre Jordan, who posted very positive per-minute rates in rebounding and blocked shots as a rookie project last season, offers injury protection for Kaman and Camby and an energetic shot-blocker off the bench. I guess they weren’t crazy for turning down the Randoph-for-Darko deal last week.