Will Hamilton's Trade Value Cost Villanueva his Job with the Pistons?

[Built Ford Tough]

Most likely amnesty cut: Charlie Villanueva

 

How likely to use amnesty this season? Jump ball

 

Other amnesty candidates: Rip Hamilton, Ben Gordon

 

Analysis: It's widely assumed that the Pistons will waive Rip after all of last season's chaos. He's scheduled to earn $12.5 million this season and he has a partially guaranteed contract worth $9 million in 2012-13. Throw in the fact that the 33-year-old was seriously unhappy throughout the short-lived John Kuester era, plus Detroit's longstanding struggles to find a trade taker for him, and amnesty sounds like a natural solution.

 

Yet sources say the Pistons still believe Hamilton has some trade appeal to contending teams, particularly as he moves closer to the end of his contract. Debatable as rival teams might find that stance, word is Villanueva looms as the more probable amnesty option.

 

Villanueva has $24 million left on his contract and averaged a mere 3.9 rebounds per game last season while earning $7.5 million. Gordon, meanwhile, is still owed $37 million and coming off a similarly punchless season for a team overflowing with guards. Which one will it be? Someone will go, but cutting ties with either would be an expensive admission for Joe Dumars that the Pistons' substantial 2009 summer funds were misspent. The latest word is that the Pistons, with new owner Tom Gores still just settling in, have yet to make a firm decision on exactly whom to release.

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7147880/nba-most-likely-amnesty-candidates

 

Outside of the Bobcats, the Pistons are probably the team with the most options of who to use their cut on between Hamilton, Gordon and Villanueva. Hamilton makes the least sense in terms of total dollars saved as his contract is nearing its finish, but his relationship with the Pistons has turned toxic over the past few seasons. I can easily see them using it on him just to rid themselves of the headaches that he has caused as of late.

 

From strictly a cost saving standpoint, cutting Gordon would make the most sense as he is due $37.2M over the next three years and what he brings to the team is clearly not worth the amount of money that he is being paid. However, he is still a solid player capable of bringing some very nice scoring off of the bench.

 

Lastly, Charlie Villanueva is due a lot of money over the next three years and he simply isn't a good player at all. From an overall viewpoint of bang for your buck, Charlie V would be my pick to get the axe in Detroit.

 

I can see the rational behind cutting any of the three, though.