https://youtu.be/wEAhZp9HYj8
OFFICIAL DTB CONFESSION: I was maybe a little bit wrong in my initial assessment of the contracts that the Pistons handed out in the off-season to Mason Plumlee and Jerami Grant. Not entirely wrong, but a little bit wrong.
Plumlee is getting eight million dollars this year and the next two years. That seems like a lot for a backup-caliber center, but keep in mind, Plumlee is like a budget Jokic. And if you want a budget Jokic, you have to be ready to pay big bucks for the privilege. So Plumlee isn’t like a dollar store Jokic, he’s not even a Walmart Jokic, he’s like a Macy’s Jokic. The fact that he can get triple doubles just like the big pudgy Serbian he used to play with means that he is worth his contract. Whether or not it was wise for the Pistons to acquire a player like Plumlee when their short-range plan is to tank, well, that’s a different story.
Meanwhile, Grant has just been a scoring beast of a caliber that I didn’t expect at all. When he got twenty million per year, I scoffed at the directionless and bumbling Pistons front office, but who’s scoffing now? It’s still me, scoffing at my own stupidity.
Interesting statistical sidenote: Plumlee had a neato 8/10/12 statline while playing for the Blazers four years ago. Twelve assists! Plumlee screwed up his chance a a trippy-dubby by missing his two free throws. He also attempted a three-pointer that game. Heh. I would pay money to watch him shoot three-pointers one-handed like he does his free throws.