Detroit Pistons want to sign ‘winning players’ with cap space
By Bryan Rose
The Detroit Pistons will enter the 2014 NBA Draft without a first round pick and it’s not believed that they will give much of an effort to obtain such a selection. Given that, the Pistons will be able to save a little money on their limited cap space, something newly minted head coach Stan Van Gundy is more than okay with.
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With multiple large contracts coming off the books, the Pistons will finally remove themselves from the salary cap hell placed upon them by Joe Dumars, though with Greg Monroe’s restricted free agent status likely to secure him a near-max contract, the Pistons (assuming they keep him) aren’t going to have a ton of money to spend. However, Van Gundy notes that signing a prized free agent isn’t of priority but the need for ‘winning players’ is.
“I’ve had the good fortune to be around a lot of them, and they’re not winning players because they’re the most talented guys,” Van Gundy said. “I had Udonis Haslem in Miami and he’s still helping teams win championships. He’s a good player but he’s not the most talented guy in the world.”
“I had a lot of those guys in Orlando — Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson, J.J. Redick — who help you win a lot of games, and they’re very good, but they’re not the most talented guys. But they’re winning guys.”
Of course, Van Gundy fails to mention that the vast majority of those guys did have some rather large deals so it’s not like they came cheaply. Still, his point remains – bring in players with a winning attitude and your locker room culture changes.