The Pistons are loaded at shooting guard this season. But, 26-year old Ben Gordon will be bumping Richard Hamilton to the bench. Gordon played in all 82 games for the Bulls last season and he averaged 36.6 minutes, 20.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. He also is a outstanding shooter as he hit 41% from three point range last season. He should even up his scoring average with the Pistons this season. 31-year old Richard Hamilton will likely be the sixth man for the Pistons this year. He played in 67 games for the Pistons last season and he averaged 34.0 minutes, 18.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. It will be interesting to see if Hamilton will accept his new role or if the Pistons will trade him during the year. 35-year old Chucky Atkins will also be on hand if he makes the team. He played in 32 games for the Nuggets+Thunder last season and he averaged 12.9 minutes, 3.1 points, 0.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

PREDICTED GRADE FOR THE 2009-2010 SEASON FOR THE SHOOTING GUARDS: B+

35-year old PG/SG Chucky Atkins is coming to training camp with the Pistons. He could make the team as he can handle either guard spot. Atkins played in 32 games (0 starts) with the Thunder and Nuggets last season in which he averaged 12.9 minutes, 3.1 points, 0.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He has now played in 655 games (314 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 25.4 minutes, 10.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Atkins has always been a decent player off the bench so he might be able to help the Pistons in limited minutes if he makes the team.

33-year old forward Maceo Baston will try to make the Pistons’ roster in training camp. He played in 27 games (0 starts) with the Pacers last season and he averaged 8.0 minutes, 2.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Baston has now played in 105 games (4 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 7.9 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Baston will have a hard time making the Pistons who have a crowded frontcourt.

The Pistons finally gave the keys to 23-year old point guard Rodney Stuckey after the Chauncey Billups trade. Now he needs to step up his game. Stuckey played in 79 games for the Pistons last season and he averaged 31.9 minutes, 13.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. He’s a shoot first point guard and that has not been the Pistons style the last few years. He will need to start passing the ball a little bit more this year. He has a ton of potential down the road but the Pistons want to see him explode in the near future. 26-year old Will Bynum will backup Stuckey this season. He played in 57 games for the Pistons last year and he averaged 14.1 minutes, 7.2 points, 1.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Bynum will likely do a solid job again for the Pistons this season.

PROJECTED POSITIONAL GRADE FOR THE 2009-2010 NBA SEASON: B-

The Pistons are not in a rebuilding mode but they wanted to get younger and better offensively. Those were the reasons that SG Ben Gordon and PF Charlie Villanueva were brought in as free agents. Both of them are young offensive type players with good upsides. Chris Wilcox and Ben Walllace were brought in as free agents to attempt to replace the toughness and rebounding that left Detroit when Rasheed Wallace (Boston) and Antonio McDyess (San Antonio) left them as free agents. The Pistons let center Fabricio Oberto leave and that won’t hurt them. The Pistons were not pleased with the development of younger players Amir Johnson, Arron Afflalo and Walter Sharpe so they sent them away in trades. Austin Daye (SF), DaJuan Summers (SF) and Jonas Jerebko (PF) were all brought in by the Pistons in the draft. Only Daye will likely get significant minutes as a rookie.

FRONT OFFICE GRADE THIS OFF-SEASON: B-