Posts from the Pistons Category at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Any way you measure it, Joe Dumars is a successful man. He won two NBA titles as a player, had the league's annual sportsmanship award named after him, won another title as a general manager and has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

And that's the stuff everyone knows about -- what most people don't know is that for 10 years after retiring as a player he served as CEO and president of a successful automotive supply company he founded. And as a father, he raised a son who just earned a scholarship to play Division I ball.

But for all that he's accomplished, there was one thing missing on his resume: he never finished college. This past May, he finally crossed that item off his list. From William Rhoden of the New York Times:

"Not having the degree was a void that I simply had to fill," Dumars wrote in an e-mail message. "My wife has her master's in education, and we've always stressed the importance of education to our two teenage kids. I just felt if I was going to stress the importance of education, I had to show them exactly how important it was."

So he completed the work. And last month his name was called along with more than 700 other graduates at McNeese State University's spring commencement ceremony. He said that earning the degree, a bachelor's in business management, was one of his greatest accomplishments. That's saying a lot.

I find this amazing: if anything, Dumars is proof that you don't need a college degree to be extremely successful in life, but he valued education so much that he put the time and energy into pursuing a diploma simply for the principle of the matter.

There was an interesting piece from A. Sherrod Blakely yesterday which discussed one of the possible reasons that Chris Douglas-Roberts fell all the way out of the first round to become the 40th overall pick in the NBA Draft. Basically, Blakely thinks that the fact that CDR was in the business of turning down workout requests from teams (like the Pistons) who were drafting in the area that he was projected to go in hurt his draft stock, and ultimately meant that Roberts, like a lot of athletes, just didn't get it.

The thing that disturbs me - and I would imagine, most fans - is how a lot of these soon-to-be-millionaires just don't seem to get it.

Playing in the NBA is more than just a job; it's a VIP pass into a lifestyle that few ever understand and even fewer gain admittance into. So to see draft prospects take all this for granted, before they even get to the league, is disturbing.

Blakely is speaking from the Pistons' perspective here, but given how far CDR fell from his projected first round draft spot (most mocks had him in the 20-25-ish range), it's likely that many other teams shared these feelings. Plus, the few teams that CDR did decide to work out for had less than glowing reviews. The biggest knock on him was that he wore down near the end of the workouts, and that he wouldn't be ready to contribute big minutes in his first NBA season. You would think a player would go through as many workouts as he could to dispel those negative perceptions, but obviously CDR (or his people) didn't feel it was necessary.

And as far as Roberts' thoughts on the Pistons? He supposedly made it clear to people on draft night that he had no interest in playing for Detroit, because he didn't feel that he fit with their style. I'm guessing he might have a difference of opinion if asked today, considering being drafted by the Pistons at 29 would have meant guaranteed first round money for the next three seasons.

As Watson noted earlier, Baron Davis has been mentioned in some pretty hefty mega-super-uber deal between the Warriors and the Pistons. The rumor is that an Al Harrington and Boom Dizzle for Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups swap would go down. The problem?

Baron can still opt out of his contract, meaning the deal simply could not happen. But Dizzle, through his agent, appears content to get paid $17.8 million next year and stick with the Warriors.

"It doesn't seem likely," [Todd] Ramasar said. "The market could change anytime, but it's unlikely."

[...]"Baron's adamant about remaining a Warrior, but we've yet to come up with an extension," Ramasar said. "As of right now, there's no guarantee that those talks continue, and from a player's standpoint, it becomes emotional."

Here's the second catch -- Baron can't officially not opt out until next Tuesday. And because such a deal between the Pistons and the Warriors would almost certainly have to include a draft pick (as MW, the 14th pick seems reasonable).

Of course, those timelines don't exactly match up. But it's not like the Warriors can't simply pick who Detroit wants and then make the trade for Big Shot and 'Sheed immediately following Baron's decision.

Now, there's puh-lenty of risk involved with that, namely that Baron doesn't opt out. But you would have to figure that Joe Dumars and Chris Mullin would have the particulars worked out ahead of time. Either that or Dumars just told him to hit up on the swell piece Tuesday if he didn't do anything crazy tomorrow. (Read: this smells like a dead end).

When Joe Dumars put his entire roster on the block, he opened the door for a summer of crazy rumors. First came the Carmelo Anthony rumors, which became so rampant that 'Melo demanded an explanation from Denver's front office. Today's speculation du jour? Baron Davis to Detroit.

Geoff Lepper of the Contra Costa Times got the ball rollling by citing an unnamed source within the Warriors who indicates that the Pistons "are now looking at Davis" and would be willing to offer Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace in return. In order to get the money right, Lepper speculates that Al Harrington, who's already thinking about requesting a trade, would be thrown into the mix.

As Tim Kawakami correctly notes, the Pistons would be getting the short end of the talent stick in a Davis/Harrington for Chauncey/Rasheed swap. Could the Warriors sweeten the pot by throwing in the 14th overall pick? Well, possibly, but this deal can't happen on draft day (read: tomorrow!) since Davis has until July 9 to decide if he's going to opt out of the final year of his contract. So unless the Warriors happen to pick someone the Pistons really like, that's a dead end, too.

In other words, there are simply too many moving parts in this deal to think everything could line up perfectly. Chris McCosky of the Detroit News called this rumor "a total fabrication." I won't go quite that far -- Lepper's source isn't just making things up for fun, right? -- but it's possible Detroit's interest has been exagerrated or distorted, much like their alleged "pursuit" of Anthony.

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

The locals thirst for a roster explosion. At least 26 other fan bases would trade for this roster in a second. The NBA: Where 'The Grass is Greener' Happens!

Picks: #29, #59.

Needs: Depending on the depth of Joe Dumars' detonation, depth requirements could pop up all over. In particular, the land behind Tayshaun Prince is a bit dry.

Best case scenario: Assuming Amir Johnson plays power forwards in days ahead, a smaller forward like Ryan Anderson (who has a touch of 'Sheed, at least on offense), J.J. Hickson, or Jason Thompson would look good in Pistons blue. At the end of the draft, a defensive-minded combo like DeMarcus Nelson could potentially pay dividends.

Carmelo Anthony has heard all the rumors. As interested observers always hoping to see the Earth shake, we love seeing them. As someone whose life might be uprooted at any moment, 'Melo wishes it would all go away. As such, ESPN's Chris Broussard reports Anthony has demanded a meeting with Nuggets brass to assert what, if anything, is going on here. Broussard writes:

[Anthony's] desire is to stay in Denver and he wants assurances from the Nuggets that they will not trade him. Anthony's party expects to get those assurances on Monday, according to the sources. If the Nuggets don't commit to building around Anthony -- and instead demonstrate a willingness to trade him -- he will ask to be moved.

So basically, some crackpot ideas out of New Jersey and a reported offer of Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince from Detroit has knocked 'Melo into this period of personal despair? Broussard reports the Nugs have not been offering 'Melo up in any way.

Pardon the nostalgia, but this reminds me of the time Ron Artest heard a rumor the Pacers wanted to trade him, and then demanded a trade. There was no smoke in Indiana before Artest's wacky demand, and there really doesn't look to be any smoke in Denver now -- especially taking Broussard's account into account, as it's the most assertive dispatch on Detroit's designs on 'Melo to this point.

If all this faux-desperation from Anthony's camp isn't (in part) the result of some madness concerning his unstable representation situation, I'll eat Von Wafer's hat.

Cheer up, Lakers fans: there's always next year. Not even 24 hours after the Celtics completely dismantled the Lakers to win the NBA title, Boston is getting very little respect from the oddsmakers regarding their chances to repeat the feat next season. According to one website, the Celtics aren't favored to win the championship in 2009: the Lakers are. Boston is currently a 4-1 favorite, while the Lakers are just 2-1. Some of the more notable teams' odds are as follows:

Spurs: 8-1

Pistons: 10-1

Jazz, Suns, Hornets, Rockets, Mavericks, and Cavaliers: 15-1

Magic: 30-1

It goes without saying that these types of future wagers are complete sucker bets, because obviously anything can happen over the course of an 82-game season. Like, you know, blockbuster trades that completely change up a team's roster. But if you absolutely have to have this type of action (and if you do, seek help, and seek it now), you want to look for some value in the odds, making it somewhat worth the ridiculous risk.

So which teams above give you the best value? New Orleans at 15-1 looks interesting. With Chris Paul turning into the next "greatest player of all-time," certainly the Hornets could be seen as making that leap next season. What about the Pistons at 10-1? They've been to the Conference Finals each of the last six years, so you're at least guaranteed to get close with them. Orlando at 30-1 looks pretty strong as well. Let's be honest though: the Celtics' performance is fresh in our memories, and they way they play defense, getting 4-1 odds on a repeat might be the best value of all.

Keith Olbermann is now the poster boy for left wing political news commentary, via his Countdown show which airs nightly on MSNBC. But it didn't used to be that way. Olbermann spent over 20 years as a sports broadcaster, including five as an anchor on ESPN's SportsCenter. So it was a little surprising when, as they showed Chauncey Billups at the Gore-Obama rally in Michigan last night, Olbermann went flipping through his notes to try to figure out what team Billups plays for.



Here's a hint, Keith: the rally's in Detroit. It's not like Billups has toiled away in obscurity either, the guy has played in the Eastern Conference Finals for the last six years. I guess Keith is much like the rest of us, in that at times, our real job is all-consuming and leaves us little time to pay attention to sports.

[via Awful Announcing, obviously.]

Soon after the Pistons were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals for the third year in a row, Joe Dumars fired Flip Saunders and announced that he intended to make major changes to his team's core.

At the time, it certainly seemed like Rasheed Wallace was about to receive a ticket out of town. He was painfully inconsistent when the Pistons needed him most and showed a marked lack of focus during the ill-fated playoff run.

But while Dumars is willing to make drastic changes, parting with Wallace may prove to be difficult, especially if he's determined to get equal value in return. As infuriating as Wallace's reluctance to stay in the paint on offense may be, the fact remains that he's one of the best post defenders in the league, and on a team without another legitimate center to take his place there are only a small handful of trades that'd make sense for Detroit.

Despite suffering a tough knee injury yesterday that may have pushed him out of the first round of the NBA Draft, Kansas State's Bill Walker is deciding to stay in the draft.

Kansas State Wildcats redshirt freshman Bill Walker will remain in the NBA draft despite injuring his right knee at a workout over the weekend, his advisor, Chris Rivers said Monday afternoon.

Rivers, the director of basketball at Reebok, said that an MRI taken Monday didn't reveal a tear of the MCL or the ACL, which was feared when Walker heard a pop prior to working out for 21 teams at the Golden State Warriors' practice facility in Oakland.

This is huge news for Kansas State, which will lose both Walker and Michael Beasley to the NBA and most likely end the latest Golden Era in Manhattan.

With this news, it shows that Walker not only believes that he is a first round pick, but that his knee is also healthy. Many feel that the Detroit Pistons (who pick 29th) may have guaranteed Walker they'd take him there (it is a need they have) and may have pushed Walker's decision to stay.