PistonsPage: Reviewing the Nazr Trade
by Oneflydude
If you haven't heard, Detroit Pistons GM Joe Dumars managed to make a trade with the Charlotte Bobcats. In the trade, the Pistons gave up C Nazr Mohammed for Primoz Brezec and Walter Herrmann. This trade was completed on Friday, and it helps the Pistons tremendously. If you're wondering how, well it helps because Nazr Mohammed isn't a Piston anymore. They also waived Ronald Dupree, who hasn't seen any playing time at all this year. It frees up cap space for Detroit, giving them the opportunity to pick up a pretty good free agent next year. What this means is that if the Pistons need a decent player to fill in a position that they lack depth in, they can spend around 9 to 10 million to bring in another good player.
Nazr is a veteran in the league, but he doesn't have the ability to play with a young, fast championship bound team. He doesn't play well in the paint, offensively or defensively. For as long as he's been in the
NBA, it's the little things that he can't do. You would think that a guy who has won a championship in 2005 with the
San Antonio Spurs, he can't accomplish some things that rookies can do. It’s just little mistakes that he does that can piss somebody off. Mohammed is a very tall guy, but he doesn't use that to his advantage. He lets players take the ball to the hole on him, and his offense is nothing to be amazed at. Nazr only averages 3.3 PPG in 21 games this year. Last year, he averaged 5.6 PPG. Mohammed could possibly help the young Charlotte team with his veteran presence. He will possibly get more playing time as a Bobcat and it could very well be his home. Detroit isn't.
On the other side, the Pistons get Primoz Brezec and Walter Herrmann. From what has been said and heard, these two are decent shooters. Brezec is a 7'2 C/F who can reach out to at least 20 feet and knock down the jumper. His best year came in the 04-05 season when he averaged 13 points and 7.4 RPG. He hasn't done much since then, especially since his back injury and his illness came last year. He has only started in 18 of 20 games this year and averaged 2 PPG and 2.2 RPG. He usually would start, but then he'd get benched quickly. He only averaged 13.4 minutes a game. The Pistons will get added depth to their frontcourt with a player who has shown the ability to shoot well from the outside. This is his seventh NBA season.
Walter Herrmann is 28, in his second NBA season. He has spent most of his career in the Spanish pro leagues.
Herrman emerged in the last 17 games last season as he had 17.6 PPG. This season, not so much as he only has 4 PPG. He was able to get a lot of playing time last season but with the Bobcats new coach,
Sam Vincent; he doesn’t allow Herrmann to play much for whatever reason. But Herrmann has potential. He can hit the three and he also knows how to take the ball to the paint. He isn’t scared to draw the foul and get his points from the free throw line, which is what the Pistons need. Pistons SF Jarvis Hayes may see his playing time cut short due to this transaction. This is sort of a win-win trade for both clubs. Both teams will get help in some way.
Other Piston Notes: On Thursday night, Cheik Samb made his debut in the NBA Development League. He had 12 points along with 11 rebounds.
