Filed under: Pistons, Euroleague

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.

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