An NBA veteran, Wilcox will add athleticism at both PF and C
In an effort to maximize every last dollar, the Pistons signed ex-Maryland Terrapin and NBA journeyman Chris Wilcox to a two year, $6 million deal on Saturday. Wilcox was among a handful of free agent big men that Detroit was pursuing heavily over the past few days. Wilcox's athleticism, versatility (he can play both PF and C) and inexpensive contract clearly won over general manager Joe Dumars.
Assuming the Pistons are finished on the trade market, Wilcox is set to become at least the sixth new face that will debut in a Detroit uniform this fall. He is expected to compete with the incumbent Kwame Brown for our wide open starting center position. Place your bets.
It's interesting to note that Wilcox was my favorite free agent big man remaining on the market. After a whirlwind of a summer, this move is a breath of fresh air to me. It represents a low-risk move with the potential to pay huge dividends. Even if it doesn't, who the hell really cares? We pay Kwame Brown $4 million a season, and he's the worst player on the roster. If Wilcox absolutely flops in Detroit, he's still not going to be any worse than Brown is/has been/will be. And seriously, how can you even begin to argue with that?
Another reason I'm excited over this deal is that we finally get the athletic big man we've been craving. You know what I'm talking about here; a guy who can bring fans to their feet multiple times a game. The alley-oop was a wonderful thing back in 2004-2005 with the Wallace brothers. But since? It's started to fizzle out. Tayshaun Prince and his stretchy arms can go up and catch a few every now and then, but I'll be damned if it didn't mean more for the fans when an oversized post player did it. Heck, dunking as a whole has started to disappear from Detroit's offensive repertoire over the past few seasons with exception to Jason Maxiell's epic throwdowns. Wilcox, with his Dwight Howard-lite athleticism, can actually bring these magical two point plays back into the picture on a nightly basis. I will always support something that gets the people in the stands more involved in the game, and that's precisely why Wilcox has the potential to develop a nice cult following among Pistons fans. The moral? Dunking=Fun.
All in all, we needed size, and we paid a fairly small price to acquire it. Wilcox has most of the tools needed to become a legitimate starting center at some point in his career. Whether he instantly morphs into that type of dominant big man or not shouldn't really matter much here. This is a short-term answer and nothing more. Kwame Brown had no business being the only interior presence on our roster. Charlie Villanueva is basically a combo forward who is blessed with ideal size, and Jason Maxiell is a guy who should play exclusively at the four. After that, there's not one player left who can even be considered at the five. So with that in mind, giving Wilcox and Brown 24 minutes apiece seems like a win-win for me. Regardless of how subtle this signing may appear, I think Dumars definitely hit a home run here.
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