Darko was a spectacular wiff (5 years ago) no doubt, but AI was a pretty obvious salary dump the day it happened. Without that move the Pistons are still an older team without the upside to beat Boston or Cleveland in the short term. Better to recognize reality and get their cap in order to (hopefully) contend again down the line then to kid yourself that the Billups Pistons were going to get over the top. That move also allowed his best young player Stuckey to take the reigns... at #15, he was a pretty decent selection don't you think?" Hell, signing Billups with a MLE wasn't a bad move either.
I think Joe's 8 years as a GM have been pretty solid. 6 Eastern conference finals appearances, 2 finals appearances, 1 championship. It's my opinion he knows what he's talking about when he's talking NBA hoops