Alaska Aces (formerly-Pistons) Post-Draft Presser

Open for questions regarding the Aces' team outlook going into Free Agency.

Are you legitimately changing your names to the Aces?

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Originally Posted by coltsguy510

Are you legitimately changing your names to the Aces?

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Don't think we have the wherewithal to battle through the paperwork with the league. This'll be a one day tribute to our new Philippines Basketball Association star, "something" Balkman.

Obviously, we were excited about this draft.

There have been rumors that Balkman was not happy when he was not allowed to have the jersey number he wanted. Can you explain those marks on your neck?

How hard will it be to recruit FAs to Alaska, especially when there is no Taco Bell over there?

Also, is it intimidating for some of the players to actually be able to see Russia with their own eyes?

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Originally Posted by DarthVegito

There have been rumors that Balkman was not happy when he was not allowed to have the jersey number he wanted. Can you explain those marks on your neck?

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No comment. On a related note, Balkman will be starting the year on IR.

Is your starting lineup set?

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Originally Posted by Pelicans78

How hard will it be to recruit FAs to Alaska, especially when there is no Taco Bell over there?

Also, is it intimidating for some of the players to actually be able to see Russia with their own eyes?

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Not just no Taco Bell. There's nothing.......nothing.

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Originally Posted by Pelicans78

How hard will it be to recruit FAs to Alaska, especially when there is no Taco Bell over there?

Also, is it intimidating for some of the players to actually be able to see Russia with their own eyes?

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No Taco Bell and a Palin-burn??? Guys pack up the trucks. We're heading back.

Money is the ultimate equalizer and we have the same MLE and LLE as everyone else. Some guys probably gonna get one-year pay raises to help fill out some depth her in Detroit.

As for the starting five, we liked the formula at the end of the season. Steve Nash will start at PG, Kevin Martin at SG, Gerald Wallace at SF, Ersan Ilyasova at PF, and Yao Ming at Center. Early analysis shows Ilyasova, Yao, and Martin being the scoring options this year. We are praying for a little bit of improvement from Martin this season. We really stunted his growth during the SJax-Wallace experiment and weren't able to figure out the right gameplan for him before the end of the season. Although, we would like to see growth as an offensive threat, we will be sending Kevin to a defensive training camp this year.

As far as our other training camps go, Yao, Nash, Ilyasova, and Jose Calderon will all be continuing that push for better overall defense.

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Originally Posted by Pelicans78

Is your starting lineup set?

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See related post above. Yes, starting lineup will be same as it was at end of season last year.

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Originally Posted by TrayWithAnA

No Taco Bell and a Palin-burn??? Guys pack up the trucks. We're heading back.

Money is the ultimate equalizer and we have the same MLE and LLE as everyone else. Some guys probably gonna get one-year pay raises to help fill out some depth her in Detroit.

As for the starting five, we liked the formula at the end of the season. Steve Nash will start at PG, Kevin Martin at SG, Gerald Wallace at SF, Ersan Ilyasova at PF, and Yao Ming at Center. Early analysis shows Ilyasova, Yao, and Martin being the scoring options this year. We are praying for a little bit of improvement from Martin this season. We really stunted his growth during the SJax-Wallace experiment and weren't able to figure out the right gameplan for him before the end of the season. Although, we would like to see growth as an offensive threat, we will be sending Kevin to a defensive training camp this year.

As far as our other training camps go, Yao, Nash, Ilyasova, and Jose Calderon will all be continuing that push for better overall defense.

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All the non African American players need to work on their "defense" ; racist and honestly I think you're projecting.

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Originally Posted by BallSoHard

All the non African American players need to work on their "defense" ; racist and honestly I think you're projecting.

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Yes. This is race driven. When Wallace took on these guys in a 4 on 1 in the offseason, needless to say, we saw the common area that needed improvement. Wait...Martin isn't non-African American.

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Originally Posted by TrayWithAnA

Yes. This is race driven. When Wallace took on these guys in a 4 on 1 in the offseason, needless to say, we saw the common area that needed improvement. Wait...Martin isn't non-African American.

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Maybe you should work on your defense; IN COURT! You've been served.

http://www.nypost.com/rw/nypost/2011...y--300x300.jpg

Has anyone heard from Will Maukie?

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Originally Posted by BallSoHard

Maybe you should work on your defense; IN COURT! You've been served.

http://www.nypost.com/rw/nypost/2011...y--300x300.jpg

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http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h1...orsrespect.jpg

Will Maukie: Hi there, Will Maukie, Bucks Nation dot Com. After months of community service and anger management classes, I come back a reformed man. How are you feeling about your inter-divisional matchups? Who do you see as your biggest roadblocks or threats? Also, tell Gerald Wallace that I baked him a pie. Humble pie. Best served cold.

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Originally Posted by IamQuailman

Will Maukie: Hi there, Will Maukie, Bucks Nation dot Com. After months of community service and anger management classes, I come back a reformed man. How are you feeling about your inter-divisional matchups? Who do you see as your biggest roadblocks or threats? Also, tell Gerald Wallace that I baked him a pie. Humble pie. Best served cold.

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Honestly don't know who else is in my division outside of Milwaukee and Toronto. Let me look again.

Honestly a really tough division top to bottom. Hopefully I can start out running this year instead of shooting myself in the foot in the first month. Rosters aren't set just yet, but I do like my team as it stands and think they could compete with almost anybody. The goal is the playoffs as an 8 seed. I'll adjust my expectations as the year moves along.

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Originally Posted by IamQuailman

Will Maukie: Hi there, Will Maukie, Bucks Nation dot Com. After months of community service and anger management classes, I come back a reformed man. How are you feeling about your inter-divisional matchups? Who do you see as your biggest roadblocks or threats? Also, tell Gerald Wallace that I baked him a pie. Humble pie. Best served cold.

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Gerald Wallace doesn't need anymore humblings. Second-team all-defense was a tough blow to his confidence and he is driven to crack that starting lineup.

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Originally Posted by TrayWithAnA

Honestly don't know who else is in my division outside of Milwaukee and Toronto. Let me look again.

Honestly a really tough division top to bottom. Hopefully I can start out running this year instead of shooting myself in the foot in the first month. Rosters aren't set just yet, but I do like my team as it stands and think they could compete with almost anybody. The goal is the playoffs as an 8 seed. I'll adjust my expectations as the year moves along.

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http://freethoughtblogs.com/rockbeyo...rute-False.jpg

Fact: The Bucks are your only roadblock, and THOU SHALL NOT PASS.

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Originally Posted by IamQuailman

http://freethoughtblogs.com/rockbeyo...rute-False.jpg

Fact: The Bucks are your only roadblock, and THOU SHALL NOT PASS.

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For what it is worth, this is how I pictured Will Maukie.

How hard will it be for you to make your team relevant in the tough central division?

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Originally Posted by Pelicans78

How hard will it be for you to make your team relevant in the tough central division?

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I don't think it'll be that hard to be relevant, 38 wins last year gives me hope that this young team will only be improving.

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Originally Posted by TrayWithAnA

I don't think it'll be that hard to be relevant, 38 wins last year gives me hope that this young team will only be improving.

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SportsGuy here, in a division were 6 out of the 8 teams made the playoffs are you underestimating how difficult it will be to be relevant? You've got the Hornets and Bucks at the top, the Bulls who added a lot of talent, the Raptors, Pacers, and Cavs are all also pretty young and improving.

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Originally Posted by Conroy

SportsGuy here, in a division were 6 out of the 8 teams made the playoffs are you underestimating how difficult it will be to be relevant? You've got the Hornets and Bucks at the top, the Bulls who added a lot of talent, the Raptors, Pacers, and Cavs are all also pretty young and improving.

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By the way, I'm a huge fan of yours Mr. Sports Guy and I appreciate the question.

Listen, the competition speaks for itself. It is a very daunting task ahead of us. That being said, I don't know how else to be except confident considering we can't change divisions or the strength of each team in our division. We have some targets in free agency that should make us a more rounded team and we think at some point, we will get the credit for having as good of a roster as some of the teams mentioned. Obviously not all. Trying not to be cliche but the Pistons will tie up their shoes up every night and give 110%, damn the outcome. At some point people will notice the strength and potential of our squad and we can promise that you won't see an 8-17 start this season. Coaching is prepared this year for what should be a fun season.

Bill Plashcke: Good morning, you made waves by predicting that you thought that you'd make the playoffs last year. Your team was brought to Earth early last year, but closed out the year really strong. Are the playoffs a realistic goal this season with so much competition toward the middle of the pack in the Eastern conference and with the weaker teams even getting stronger?

Dan Le Batard: How do you plan on utilizing Gerald Wallace more effectively than last year?

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Originally Posted by BallSoHard

Bill Plashcke: Good morning, you made waves by predicting that you thought that you'd make the playoffs last year. Your team was brought to Earth early last year, but closed out the year really strong. Are the playoffs a realistic goal this season with so much competition toward the middle of the pack in the Eastern conference and with the weaker teams even getting stronger?

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I think had I played a gameplan that favored my team (Inside instead of Balanced) like I did by week 7 of the season, I'd be one of the teams protecting my playoff spot this year. I also think Yao made me considerably better all around as did giving Ilyasova a bigger role. My team will be a better defensive team this year too and without that awkward discovery period for our gameplan, teams will have to beat us at our best right away from game 1. I open the possibility that our team is not a top 8 team in the ridiculous East, but we were two games out last year, and we have only gotten better.

The playoffs are a realistic goal and it will be up to those stronger teams to dictate to us where we end up in the playoffs. We like our chances.

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Originally Posted by The JNR

Dan Le Batard: How do you plan on utilizing Gerald Wallace more effectively than last year?

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This is an interesting question, because outside of his PPG being down 0.6 points and SPG being down 0.3 steals, he had an even better year last year considering his offensive role on my team as at best the fourth option. He shot 47.2% from the field which means he was a very good option for Steve once he exhausted the other three on the floor. What was most impressive to me is the difficulty SFs had against my team when Wallace played. I couldn't be happier with his production and don't think many other could use him more efficiently than that. 13.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 47.2% FG% in all cases and purposes was a strong season for a signing that was predominately driven by his defense.

Last year the Hornets, Bucks, Wizards, Bulls, Raptors, Cavs, Sixers, and Pacers all made the playoffs. Which team can you surpass to get the playoff nod?

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Originally Posted by Pelicans78

Last year the Hornets, Bucks, Wizards, Bulls, Raptors, Cavs, Sixers, and Pacers all made the playoffs. Which team can you surpass to get the playoff nod?

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I'll have to say the Pacers only because they were the team I was closest to at the end of the year. I think the Bucks will be down this year having hurt their chemistry a bit, but not enough to surpass them. I have a deep respect for the other teams listed here, and still absolutely love the Cavs. I could see us getting into the middle of that pack, but it will take the perfect storm to do that. In general, we need to win half of our games in the division and then dominate the rest of our schedule. Obviously there are teams outside of the division that are tough, but there are some bad teams there too. Some teams that contributed to the strength of our division that are ripe for the picking. That is where we are gonna make our playoff push. Grind it out in the division, and win more than we lose in the other 54 games on the schedule.