That fair-faced German-Argentinian striker, Walter Herrmann, apparently will snub the Old World and return to the NBA -- the Pistons, more specifically -- based on a report on an Argentine news site translated by Detroit Bad Boys, and since confirmed by the Detroit Free Press.
Herrmann had an unimpactful 2007-08, getting buried by Sam Vincent in Charlotte before getting buried by good players in Detroit. So why would the guy return to the Pistons, with guys like Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton and even Amir Johnson and Arron Afflalo competing for minutes in the swing positions? Well, that shake-up Joe Dumars promised is still queued up, and Prince remains at the head of the exit list as one of the more desirable players for outsiders.
Herrmann will likely not start at any point in his NBA career. That's a bit too bad -- he could be a 20-point scorer on the right team (like a pre-Caron Butler Washington, or as the small forward in Sacramento). Herrmann has an absolutely outrageous jumpshot, he's smart with the ball, and (at the two) he's a good rebounder. As Watson notes at DBB, he also has enormous hands, which helps all of the above.
If nothing else, like Kwame Brown, he provides either capable minutes as a back-up, or an extra trade chip to make salaries work. He'd be more secure in Russia or Greece, but it's hard to fault a guy who is most certainly an NBA-caliber player for staying in the league.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-02-2008 @ 10:58AM
Mike said...
Mr. Ziller you comment on the reason for the signing of Herrmann by the Pistons show a complete lack of understanding of what is happening in the Pistons organization.
1. Prince will not get traded - You can bet your HDTV on that
2. The Pistons are done making off season moves except for possibly signing Lindsey Hunter later this summer.
3. Herrmann was given a 1 year contract to bridge the gap until Walter Sharpe is ready to come and take the backup roles behind Prince which will happen either later this year or in 2009-10
Now you have learned something today.
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8-02-2008 @ 10:59AM
Mike said...
This is the situation around the Herrmann signing.
1. The Pistons will not trade Prince this year
2. The Pistons now have 14 players under contract
3. The Pistons are done making player moves this year except for the signing of Hunter probably late in the summer
4. Herrmann was given a one year contract in order to bridge the time until Walter Sharpe is ready to become Prince's backup which will happen either sometime this coming year or in 2009-10.
5. Sharpe will eventually replace Prince as the Pistons starter at the #3
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8-02-2008 @ 12:09PM
Ryne Nelson said...
This is another iffy move of the Pistons. They have a confluence of 6'8'' and 6'9'' players who have either underachieved for a great proportion of their careers or are very young and raw.
This is not a good way to build for the future.
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8-02-2008 @ 3:40PM
Chad said...
"Unimpactful?" Even German-Argentinian Walter Hermann weeps at this abuse of English.
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8-03-2008 @ 12:46AM
houchens said...
I enjoyed watching Walter Hermann play for the Pistons last season. He brought energy, smart playmaking, and tenacious defense with him to the court.
Hopefully he will get a chance to play more minutes this year and show what he could do, given a chance. I think Walter is potentially better than a couple other players who Flip seemed to dote on.
Maybe with another coach in there, the Pistons can finally get back to the finals. Saunders had a history of losing in the playoffs before he came to the Pistons and he kept that record intact while he was here.
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