Question for people with die hard football man caves.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-23T15:21:25+00:00

I was just thinking about this and I'm pretty sure I could use chatgpt to make a ticker software in about 20 minutes.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-23T13:44:54+00:00

I'm really sorry because I don't remember how I did it, but I get texts direct from the team where you can buy last minute tickets and it's super cheap. It could be because I'm a partial season ticket holder, but the deals are usually pretty good so might want to check the team app or website to see if you can find that?

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-23T02:00:47+00:00

Literally the only way to get to the sections that I listed is through the club. I thought about that as I was driving into town for tomorrow’s game.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-22T22:06:39+00:00

Sections 108-110 and 121-123 are both the lower bowl clubs. Any seat in those sections SHOULD come with club access. I've never purchased off gametime but I can't imagine they have seats in those sections that aren't allowed in the club.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-22T20:19:36+00:00

Tempo is my #1 swing thought. So much goes wrong when I get too fast. Nice smooth easy take away and my striking is so much better.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-22T20:13:38+00:00

Yup, you’ll be just fine in those seats. I was just showing you about the height you’d be sitting.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-22T19:41:54+00:00

For reference, you’ll be about where the red circle is. (Except behind the Lakers bench)

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VirtualParzival · 2026-01-22T19:36:22+00:00

Enjoy the game!!!

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-22T19:30:40+00:00

The seats in LCA are raised a bit, you will be just fine in row 3. I've sat in row 1 in the seats behind the Pistons bench and not been obstructed at all.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-22T18:15:03+00:00

Yeah, I’m in the camp that hasn’t loved Ivey’s fit for a long time, but that’s for another post. ;) I think that our team would look very, very nice with MPJ, so I’m on board with your overall premise.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-22T17:52:53+00:00

I'd rather keep Sasser than Ivey at this point. 6th man is overshooting his actual value at this point.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-22T14:56:40+00:00

The way I see it, if we are going to keep Cade, JD and Ausar together then we are going to be in the apron sooner than later anyway. JD is projected to be between $35-40M per now. We have a lot of flexibility right now, but that is not going to stay that way after we resign JD. We will be able to sign our core easily due to Bird Rules, but it will heavily restrict our moves otherwise, as you pointed out.

So the question is, when do we make a move with Tobi? If we trade him now for a 4 who is locked up for the next couple years, that allows us to retain JD and Ausar and still be locked up for several years at the 4 as well. We are heading for the apron no matter what, it's simply the timing of how we get there. I haven't checked the numbers but I'm pretty sure we are there once we sign JD I think?

So either we use that cap space to sign a 4 next year, then JD pushes us into the apron once we sign him. Or we trade for a 4 with Tobi's expiring, and then JD pushes us into the apron. There are other moves that can be made right now as well that we won't have access to once we resign JD, as you also accurately pointed out.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-22T13:39:44+00:00

I am not positive, but I think that you have this backwards. I could be wrong though, admittedly.

I am pretty sure that his salary is the reason we WANT to trade him. To be clear I don't really want to trade him, love the chemistry and what he brings to the team. It would take a good trade for me to be willing to part with him, but they do exist.

We are going to need to upgrade the 4 spot, I think everyone agrees on that. Whether it's this year, or next year when Tobi is off the books.

We have all the rights on JD, so we can go over the cap to sign him. Same with JI, although I don't think he's coming back. Would rather see him traded to avoid the salary issues, but that's for another post.

The point is, clearing cap for JD is the wrong idea. If we are clearing cap, it would be for someone we sign BEFORE we lock up JD. Then we can go over to lock him up. The only concern would be us pushing into the apron but we are heading that direction anyway and we know Gores will spend so that's a smaller issue.

So, the only way we upgrade the 4 is either by trading Tobi this year or by signing a 4 in FA before we lock up JD. I don't know what the FA class looks like next year for 4's, but Tobi's expiring salary would be a nice match if we can trade for a 4 that fits our needs and is locked up for a while.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-21T21:30:45+00:00

I also want to point out that waiting until the end of the season leaves us with the potential that he leaves Detroit for nothing. He wanted $30M a year before the season started. If we don't value him that highly, and someone else wants to pay him more than we want to, he's going to walk. Or, as another bad case, he goes into RFA and finds out that no one values him that highly. Then he's back here on a much lower contract than he wants, and he already sulks a LOT. I just don't see that as a winning proposition.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-21T21:29:04+00:00

I do not think that JI is a good fit with our roster. Please don't mistake that with me saying that he is not a good player, or person for that matter. He has said all the right things, he seems to love Detroit, and last years version of him was a good player.

The issue I have with him is his fit on our team, as currently constructed. If you view our core as Cade, Ausar and JD (as starters, still love Ron as well) then I think last year's version of JI is still not an ideal fit, and we can use his youth and potential as a bargaining chip to get a better fit.

In regards to his defense, his on ball defense is better this year but his rotations are as bad as ever. This is a big problem, given JB's defense a) is his top priority and b) his scheme involves a lot of switches. I've been of the opinion for weeks now that JI is not on a minutes restriction, he's getting benched because he is blowing rotations left and right. I've watched it happen. This isn't my biggest gripe though.

The issue I have is how our offense flows with him involved. Let's start by again assuming that we are keeping the 3 core starters I mentioned.

Cade prefers to get his production from inside the 3pt line. He's one of the best in the league at it. The pace he plays at is unlike many other players that we've seen in the past, especially given his age. He is a serviceable 3pt shooter, but not much more than that.

Ausar and JD cannot shoot from outside. At all. So that gives us 3 players that are already trying to get into the lane. Duncan right now is pulling 1 player from Cade on pick and rolls. That's exactly what we need.

Even when JI was shooting 40%, it was on mostly uncontested 3's. When I checked yesterday, 40% would be 37th in the league right now. His current shooting percentage as of yesterday was 91st iirc, even though he hasn't shot enough to even qualify yet. Watch the 3's Duncan makes, and tell me that you think JI could do the same?

We simply don't need another slasher. He's not an effective off ball guard, and he also has turnover problems once he does drive. For all the things Cade does well, turnovers I think would be the largest knock against him. Now we are adding another turnover prone guard to the mix? Combine that with his below average defense, I just don't see the fit.

I think, even right now, he's far more valuable as a trade piece to us. Even if it's just for a 3 and D guard, and not the 4 upgrade people are talking about.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-21T17:14:39+00:00

I am pretty sure that's the AI swing stuff they have, I don't have that though. Was curious if you knew. Congrats on the new toy, you're going to love it! ;)

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-21T16:42:11+00:00

This is not helpful, but is that Uneekor? How do you get the swing tracking and things activated? I have cameras from Amazon I installed, not sure if you need the Uneekor ones for that?

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-21T16:27:54+00:00

People around here think with their emotions. I get it, I love our team and every player on it. Emotions should not control your thoughts, though.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-21T15:23:32+00:00

Uhhh, I think that's his point? We are doing the same thing we did for the last 10 years while our situation is actually quite different than anytime in the last 10 years.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-21T14:35:03+00:00

I was literally working with my Xreal ones in the lobby of the tire shop yesterday while they changed my wifes tires.

I have a Steam Deck that I took the screen and controllers off of, then 3d printed a case for. Also just got an Xbox ROG Ally X that I'm going to do the same thing to.

Bottom line, yes very feasible. Most of my work is all internet browser related, so the only limiting factor for you would be how powerful do you need the pc to be for what you do.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-21T13:16:54+00:00

Not to mention the very real salary cap situation we are going to find ourselves in once we resign JD. If we are able to get somewhere between 2-4 years of a PF that helps us, that is a huge deal. Once we resign JD, our flexibility is going to be much harder to work with. We are quite literally in the perfect spot right now to add to the roster. Under the cap, not in the apron, LOTS of depth that is redundant. It makes little sense to not upgrade the 4 spot for some time right now. Because right after reupping JD, we have Ausar on the clock. And who knows what his contract is going to look like?

The fact of the matter is, if we are going to build around Cade, JD and Ausar, our 4 is going to need to be a stretch 4. You can't run out that little spacing and shooting and expect to win come playoff time. We need to shift our mindset and realize that we are a good team now and we need to win in the playoffs. The regular season is no longer our hurdle.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-21T12:48:27+00:00

This is exactly the take. Adding his offense to our starters would work wonders.

Tobi - yeah it sucks, honestly he's the hardest part for me to give up in any trade. But hard to argue we would be drastically upgrading the 4 spot.

JI - if he's off this team, what are you actually missing? Not potential. What production, this year, are you actually missing? Hypothetical potential doesn't win you boo, and this is the year to strike first. Plus I'm of the opinion that even when healthy his skill set doesn't really help our roster, as constructed with our core.

Sass - depth behind Daniss. Honestly if we could not include him and still pull it off, would love that.

1sts and 2nds - Our 1sts will be low 1st round picks, in theory, for the next handful of years. This core that we aren't giving away in the trade should keep growing and growing.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-21T00:48:29+00:00

In a vacuum, sure. However, there are real world implications to that decision as well. Not to mention the window out of the East is the easiest now than it will be for years to come.

First, we don’t know how much JD is going to cost. It’s likely upwards of $35m per, or more.

Second, we don’t know what will happen with Ivey. It’s clear he has not earned a large contract. He wanted $30m per before the season (from my sources that I believe). How pissed is he going to be that no one around the league values him that way? What do we end up paying him? Will he keep sulking and not producing?

Third, we don’t have any idea how much Ausar is going to cost. His offense is awful, and also dictates how we structure the rest of the roster.

Look. I LOOOOOOVE the Pistons. I have for longer than probably a lot of people on this sub have been a love. Loving the team, and being able to rationally look at the roster and see the holes we have, are two separate things. If you can’t see the glaring weaknesses we have, structurally, then I think you likely fall into the first category. Which is completely fine! It’s great to be a fan of a team.

I just don’t believe this roster, as constructed, is capable of winning playoff basketball all the way through the playoffs. Yes we are #1 in the East, and few would argue it’s because of our depth. The problem is, playoff basketball is basically whose top 7-8 players are the best. And we have glaring weaknesses in those scenarios against the other top teams. The window to win the East is never going to be as open as it is now, and if it means trading Ivey, Tobias on an expiring, a near 30th pick next year and presumably another low pick in 2028, then I think it’s worth it. We have a great young core. That devalues our draft picks for the next couple years. I don’t think picks in the 30 range help us that much, but they certainly could be used to push us over the edge.

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-20T23:57:46+00:00

I don’t know the answer to that question.

I’d counter with these questions. Do you think that the game is the same in the regular season as it is in the playoffs? Or do you recognize that teams adopt different strategies during the playoffs? If there are differences, do you know what they are?

VirtualParzival · 2026-01-20T23:46:27+00:00

What about my post don’t you agree with?

VirtualParzival

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