The Kings' deals last week weren't just about landing players. They also sought to create salary cap space for the offseason.
But as many of my friends say while playing dominoes, not all money is good money.
It seems a lot of teams that have cap space can't wait to use it up, even if there aren't the elite players worth spending that money on available.
The Detroit Pistons doled out big contracts to guard Ben Gordon (five years, $55 million) and forward Charlie Villanueva (five years, $35 million).
Villanueva has been inconsistent and backs up rookie Jonas Jerebko - a second round draft pick.
Gordon has played in only 36 games this season and his scoring (15.1 points) is the lowest it's been since his rookie season.
Of course, there's plenty of time for things to get better. And I never fault a player for being injured.
But might the Pistons have been better off saving some of that cash in what was obviously going to be a rebuilding year?
The Pistons are seven games out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They've dealt with a lot of injuries, but even at full strength, this version of the Pistons probably would miss the playoffs.
Neither Gordon nor Villanueva is the franchise-changing player.
Gordon is a good player in the right situation. But the Pistons are paying a lot of money for Villanueva, especially if Jerebko proves to be a better player in the long run.
So as the Kings prepare to scour free agents this summer there might be a lot of clamoring for the team to spend money.
If the Kings don't spend wisely they could find themselves in a bad spot. Not trading to improve, but trading to unload a contract.
--Jason Jones
From The Bee
Sporadic playing time wearing on some Kings By Sam Amick
From The Detroit Free Press
Gordon, Hamilton start to look good together By Vince Ellis
Gameplan
Detroit (20-35) at Kings (18-38)
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Arco Arena.
TV: CSNCA.
Radio: KHTK (1140 AM); KAHI (950 AM).
Kings update: The first two games of the Carl Landry era came under less-than-ideal circumstances, as he had only two shootaround sessions to familiarize himself with the Kings' system while playing two games in the process (losses at the Clippers and Suns). But improvement should start soon. The newest Kings had a full-length workout in the team's practice facility Monday and will play their next three games at home in a manageable span of six days.
Pistons update: They aren't exactly the Pistons of old, but Detroit has been better than its subpar self recently. The Pistons have won five of their past nine games, with shooting guard Richard Hamilton averaging 30.6 points the past three outings. Yet only one victory in that stretch came against a winning team, as the Pistons downed San Antonio 109-101 in overtime at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Sunday.
Probable starters
PISTONS
No. Player Pos.
3 Rodney Stuckey PG
32 Richard Hamilton SG
22 Tayshaun Prince SF
33 Jonas Jerebko PF
6 Ben Wallace C
KINGS
No. Player Pos.
13 Tyreke Evans PG
18 Omri Casspi SG
20 Donté Greene SF
24 Carl Landry PF
34 Jason Thompson C
- Sam Amick
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