Some people (read: fans of the Detroit Pistons) have regaled their GM Joe Dumars as a genius. The first thing that comes to mind is that SNL Weekend Update bit “Really!?…you think Joe Dumars is a genius…really”. Granted….he’s good. The Pistons have a championship this decade and they make the Eastern Conference finals every year. But, that’s over.

Dumars kept threatening to break up this team over the summer. He said no one was safe. Then he finally made his move. He finally did it in the first week of the season sending Chauncey Billups back to Colorado to play for Denver along with Antonio McDyess (who was later released) for former super star shooting guard Allen “Practice?” Iverson. Dumars wanted to get rid of Billups’s's’s big contract…I get that. Why not trade for another or maybe a bigger wingman (Carmelo Anthony)? Last time I checked, Rip Hamilton plays the same position as A.I. On top of that, Iverson is not really known as a team player or a leader….which is something they lost with the departure of Billups. I was already very skeptical of another Eastern Conference Finals run for the Pistons…now I’m sure they’ll be out in the second round at the latest. Even if Rodney Stuckey is the superstar everyone in Detroit thinks he is going to be.

Allen Iverson is in a contract year which will free up some cap space in the upcoming LeBron sweepstakes. But, do you really think any big time free agents are going want to move to dreary, cold and Matt Milleny Detroit….let alone LeBron James. Yeah…suuuuure, LeBron is going to leave Cleveland for division rival Detroit…not New York…or Miami. I could see James going to Greece before he goes to Detroit. Detroit will end up signing someone old for too much money…I don’t know who…but I just don’t see a young superstar in a Pistons jersey unless it’s out of the draft.

The funniest thing about all of this to all of me is that Detroit could really use a big guy that can slash his way to hoop and still hit the outside shot. Someone big that can create offense….someone like Carmelo Anthony. He would be a perfect fit for this team.

David Stern: “with the second pick in the 2003 NBA Draft the Detroit Pistons select Darko Milicic”

The very next pick? Carmelo Anthony to the Denver Nuggets.

Yeah…Joe Dumars is a genius. He had the second pick in one of the most talent rich drafts in history…and he took a risk on Darko? 4 of the top 5 picks from that draft are All Stars and Olympic Gold medalist. He passed on Carmello Anthony, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh for that pick.

So, yeah, Joe Dumars is good…..but this is not a great trade. And for that matter…he shouldn’t have run Larry Brown out to hire Flip Saunders.

The Pistons are getting older, and slower and the long season will catch up with them. Iverson will be gone at the end of his contract and the Pistons will have little to nothing to show for it.

Meanwhile Denver just got a tried and true real, actual PG and freed up another 1500 shots a year for Anthony and SG J.R. Smith. I think this was a great trade for them that will help them in their playoff push in the tight Western Conference.

Joe Dumars is a good GM…but he’s not the genius that Detroit fans think he is.