Despite getting their first win last night against Charlotte the Pistons are a ship that’s clearly taking on water. We’ve heard all the rumors and rumblings that the team has been trying to unload veterans Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton for a couple years now. We’ve seen them make coaching changes and have heard a fair number of fans that have called for the head of team president Joe Dumars. However a player that has seemingly seemed untouchable, especially after taking the spot of Chauncey Billups is Rodney Stuckey.
Stuckey is in his third year with the Pistons and has shown some ability on the court.
The problem with Stuckey is there seems to be a growing attitude in him and it’s the type of attitude that can end up killing a team on the court and in the locker room and it all seemed to be coming out the other night in the Pistons loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Here is an excerpt from the Detroit Free Press’ Vince Ellis…
Kuester immediately summoned DaJuan Summers from the bench and replaced Stuckey at the 9:04 mark of the quarter. Stuckey was done for the night after playing only 13 minutes. He finished with five points and three assists on 2-for-6 shooting.
The media didn’t get a chance to ask Kuester about his decision as he cut the interview time short.
All Stuckey would say in the Philips Arena locker room afterward is: “It is what it is.”
This all comes after previous tension that Stuckey has had with head coach John Keuster.
Tension between players and coaches is nothing new in any of the four major sports and is something that seems to run more rampant in the NBA. This is aspect of the NBA I’ve never liked however seems easier to swallow when it is players like Kobe Bryant, Dewayne Wade or Steve Nash shaking off a coach to run their own play. The problem in this case is Rodney Stuckey is no Dewayne Wade, he is not Steve Nash and he certainly isn’t no Kobe Bryant. Rodney Stuckey is a third year point guard who shoots too much, doesn’t pass the ball enough, has a clear attitude problem and has never really accomplished anything in the NBA yet.
Tracy McGrady was inserted into the starting lineup in place of Stuckey during last nights 97-90 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats. Now even though McGrady didn’t play like a traditional point guard he ran the floor well and filled that leadership role that Keuster was wanting.
“I was really impressed with the way he was communicating with his teammates, taking ownership of things and saying things in a positive manner that was making our team better, Kuester said. “I knew he had a high basketball IQ and I knew he was a very good passer.”
McGrady isn’t the long term answer at the point for the Pistons, however the Pistons need to ask themselves is Stuckey the long term solution at that position?
Stuckey has shown the ability to shoot and get points on the floor but he hasn’t shown the ability to mold himself into a true leader on the floor and to be quite honest he hasn’t shown any indication that he’s going to truly take on that role. This team already has enough shooting guards and doesn’t have room for another one.
With all that said Joe Dumars should be making some serious consideration in unloading Stuckey to prevent any further tension on the floor and in the locker room. Stuckey would more then likely benefit from a change of scenery and could sweeten any package deal that might include Tayshaun or Rip two players that haven’t generated too much bite on the trading block. In addition this deal could also show John Keuster that Joe D supports his coach and will not tolerate any kind of insubordination himself.
Sources: Detroit Free Press, Mlive.com
