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Jon Snow, WSN,
How big of a loss is it for your team to lose Mehmet Okur? Who do you envision taking over the center spot this upcoming season?
Twitter: @TheRealPaulyP
PR Sim League (2006-07 Season)
How will you adjust the focus of your offense with the loss of Okur? Will you still be a perimeter oriented team or work down low with KG and Borchardt?
Emeka Okafor - Joe Smith - Carmelo Anthony - Manu Ginobili - Jason Williams
Al Jefferson - James Posey - Aaron McKie - Shaun Livingston
Clark Kent, Daily Planet:
Describe your negotiations with Mo Pete. Did you feel he was replaceable, or do you think it will hurt a bit?
Originally Posted by Conroy
GM of the Year
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Anytime you lose a player like Mehmet Okur it will hurt your team. But it's going to be our job to minimize his loss. Luckily for us, I feel like we can replace the scoring we lost. We have a lot of guys who can pick up the slack offensively, like Erick Barkley for example.
I think the biggest thing we'll lose though is his rebounding. We all know about his offensive abilities, but people don't talk about how he averaged 11 boards a game in less than 32 minutes a game. When we drafted him that is something we did not envision getting from him.
To answer the second question, right now we plan on getting out and running a little bit more than in years past. We're going to go a little smaller and start Al Harrington at the 4, he's another guy who can stretch the defense, having shot 43% from behind the line last season.
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To put it simply, Morris Peterson was a luxury that we just couldn't afford. Last offseason he somehow slipped through the cracks and got very little interest after averaging 17 points a game for the Pacers. He did a excellent job for us last season, and I can confirm that at one point during free agency we did have a offer on the table. But after hearing from his camp the types of numbers other teams were offering him we decided to go in a different direction. He's a guy that hasn't had much stability in his career, playing for 4 teams in just 5 seasons, but he's till coming off a season where he averaged 15 a game on 45% shooting. We're excited about that addition.
SportsGuy Bill Simmons here, last year everyone felt the Hornets were a lock for winning the title. When you failed to make it out of the Conference Finals did that change the feeling around the franchise at all? It was a shock to all of us, but was that our faults for crowning you before the season even began? What are the expectations heading into this season?
#FREEQUAIL
Will Maukie, Bucks Nation.com. So good to be out of jail... in your division (and conference) who do you view as your toughest challenges?
Also, do you hate Gerald Wallace as much as I do?
Last season, your team had one of the best regular seasons in NBA history. After advancing easily to the ECFs, the Hornets suffered a tough loss to the 76ers. What is the psyche of the organization as a whole top down from the front office to the players? What did the team learn from the playoffs and how do you expect to act on what you learned?
Bill Plaschke: Bill Plaschke here from the L.A. Times. Can you explain a bit on your owners expectations are in regards to the cap situation? It seems like a lot of other teams get a little more leeway with spending over the cap while your team is always under the threshold. Does ownership give you limits on what you can spend to retain or go out and get players?
"I don't know if people know — I dislocated my pinkie finger. And [Tyreke] told me, 'You wanna go home or you wanna be here?' I want to be here. And he said, 'All right, then go tape it up and let's play. Let's go. We not stoppin' at no stores. Straight gas. That's what we do, just keep going.'"
http://thebasketbawlblog.com/
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I would say we were shocked as well. We didn't expect a cake walk at all, but we did expect to be playing for a second straight championship. I'd say the atmosphere in the building is positive, motivated even. We lost some guys but everyone is trying to get better each and every day.
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Our division is incredible. I can go down the list of teams in our division and every team has a franchise type guy. But I would say right now Detroit is the team that has our attention the most. That back court is very good, and they have some very nice pieces down low. We know all about Stephen around here. We have to go to their place on day 24 so that should be a real good test for us.
Contributor
A lot of people forget where this franchise was. The media has big expectations for our program and has for the past several years, but we weren't always one of the best teams in the league. We were average at best for a couple seasons, and I think everyone involved did a great job in not going out and handing out poor contracts. Our scouting department and cap guys deserve a lot of credit, they find guys that we can afford and they don't offer more than they're worth.
Your franchise has been the absolute class of the league for a while now, and the respect that you are showing the Pistons is very well noted. I think like everyone else is saying, we may have jinxed you last year. Do you feel like every team has a certain cyclical up and down period, and if so, are you trending downward because you are due a down year? How do you see yourself finishing this year? We fully expect to see big things from your FA signings.
Can you speak to the atmosphere at owners meetings? Seems like the league is thriving right now, and not just because of better coverage here in Detroit. Seems to be a common opinion here in the media that the league has found it's sweet spot. Where do you see the league going?
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