Post Season Piston News

Thursday, April 30, 2009
Notebook
Dumars: Trades, free-agent signings possible
Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

Auburn Hills -- Pistons president Joe Dumars on Wednesday called the 2008-09 season a necessary evil, an uncomfortable bridge the franchise had to cross to quickly rebuild itself without completely falling into the water.

"Looking back, it was a season of inevitable change and inevitable pain," he said. "This can never be done without there being some pain. But I could live with the pain because I knew it was going to allow us to move forward."

The 39-43 regular season and getting swept out of the first round of the playoffs by Cleveland provided enough pain. But before that, Dumars knew the team that had gone to six consecutive conference finals had run its course.

"We had two choices," he said. "I could have kept that team together, keep grinding out 50 wins and get to the second or third round of the playoffs. Or, I could take one for the team, so to speak, and say we don't want to do it that way and make the tough decisions it takes to reinvent ourselves."

The Pistons will have $18-$20 million in cap space. To get there, Dumars will have to renounce free agents Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace and Walter Herrmann.

Antonio McDyess is also a free agent, but the Pistons don't own his "Bird clause" rights.

That space will allow Dumars to go after free agents as well as facilitate trades from cash-strapped teams looking to dump high-salaried, elite players.

"Impact on the floor," Dumars said when asked what he type of player he was looking for. "I am not just looking for a couple of complementary players. I am talking about an impact guy."

As for trades, Dumars said he would use every tool he had, including players under contract such as Tayshaun Prince or Richard Hamilton.

"Whatever resource we have, if it can get us to a deal that takes our team to the next level, then we will use it," he said.

Dumars wouldn't completely close the door on re-signing Wallace or McDyess because, as he said, you never know if they might be needed to make a deal (sign-and-trade).

Dumars said he received calls from three teams at the February trade deadline and all indicated they would be in touch this summer. One was Phoenix, which is looking to move Amare Stoudemire or Shaquille O'Neal.

Another team could be New Jersey, which might consider moving Vince Carter.

Free agents available include Utah's Carlos Boozer (he can opt out of his contract), Chicago's Ben Gordon, Houston's Ron Artest and Lamar Odom of the Lakers.

"We don't have to wait until July 1," Dumars said about making deals. "Sitting here with four draft picks (one first round, three second round) and cap space makes you a prime candidate to start your business before July 1."

Slam dunks

Dumars reiterated coach Michael Curry would be back.

... The Pistons exercised their option and will bring guard Will Bynum back for $825,497.

chris.mccosky@detnews.com (313) 222-1489

DREW SHARP
Curry must step up to fix relationship with Hamilton

BY DREW SHARP • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • June 29, 2009

The Pistons' biggest problem isn't a dearth of talent. It's that their head coach and best player barely speak to each other.

Both Michael Curry and Rip Hamilton are to blame, prone to varying degrees of ego and stubbornness. But Curry must understand that it's incumbent upon the coach to fall on the sword, admitting his mistakes for the sake of pacifying the star's delicate disposition.

That's lesson one on the first day at Chuck Daly Coaching School.

Curry must make amends with Hamilton, regardless of the amount of crow swallowed, or he risks compromising his future as Pistons' coach.

"As far as the relationship being strained, it was a difficult season," Curry said.

"Was Rip very upset that he had to come off the bench? He was very, very upset. He was upset that he had to split time with (Allen) Iverson. He was upset that Iverson was here and Chauncey (Billups) wasn't. Rip was upset with a lot of things this year, but I don't put much stock into what that means with our relationship."

But according to several accounts, what irritated Hamilton most was that Curry made his decision to start Iverson and bring Rip off the bench without privately telling Hamilton first. He announced the benching to the entire team prior to a practice. Hamilton took it as an affront to his new role as team leader in Billups' absence. He grew sullen, truly turning into a whiny basketball diva for the first time in his career.

"I'm not going to get into that," Curry said. "However it was done, it wasn't going to be right or good for Rip because, at that time, he didn't want to come off the bench. He wasn't happy about that. I understand that."

But wasn't communication one of Curry's strongest coaching traits when Joe Dumars tapped him as Flip Saunders' successor last summer?

Rebuilding that relationship should be Curry's top off-season priority, but he told me last week that he's not planning on having a sit-down with Hamilton until later this summer. He's waiting until the Pistons' new roster emerges from anticipated trades and free agent acquisitions.

Maybe Hamilton is no longer a Piston upon July's sunset.

The two butted heads all season.

Reporters clearly heard a high-decibel confrontation between Curry and Hamilton during a fourth quarter time-out against Portland at the Palace in the season's first month. Hamilton didn't agree with Curry's substitution patterns and Curry told him that if he didn't like the coach's decision, he could sit for the remainder of the game.

Hamilton dismissed the incident afterward.

There were other in-huddle disputes where Hamilton's attitude teetered at the brink of open mutiny, questioning Curry's coaching expertise on the basis of his limited skills as a player.

A head coach cannot permit that or he risks losing the respect of the players, especially on a team that has lacked the strong locker room presence necessary for maintaining order since Ben Wallace bolted three years ago.

"Are there things I could've done differently? Yes," Curry said. "There were mistakes, but mistakes are correctible. That's how you grow."

Many have already written off Curry's coaching career as hopeless. They might be right, but it still isn't fair. The Pistons cannot draw any definitive conclusions from an obviously transitional season. Curry deserves the opportunity to learn from his rookie missteps and find his footing. But that requires sufficient introspection. Curry must acknowledge his own contributions in making a difficult situation with Hamilton even worse.

If he doesn't learn that, he'll find himself on a very short coaching leash next season.

Contact DREW SHARP: 313-223-4055 or dsharp@freepress.com.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Pistons reach deals with Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva
Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

Auburn Hills -- The Pistons have reached agreements with free agents Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva.

The Pistons offered Gordon, a guard, a five-year deal worth more than $50 million. According to sources on both sides, Gordon accepted the parameters of the deal.

Villanueva agreed to a five-year $35 million deal. No deals can be signed until July 8.

Gordon and Charlie Villanueva showed up at the practice facility Wednesday to meet with president Joe Dumars.

Both players, teammates on the 2003-04 Connecticut team, were the top free-agent targets for the Pistons.

Gordon, 26, averaged 20.7 points for the Bulls last season, and was brilliant in the seven-game playoff series against the Celtics, averaging 24 points.

Villanueva, 24, is 6-foot-11 and coming off the best year of his career, averaging 16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds for the Bucks. Although Cleveland and Toronto have expressed interest, Detroit was expected to be able to offer him more money, perhaps starting between $6.5 million and $7 million.

The Pistons also would like to find a way to re-sign Antonio McDyess, an unrestricted free agent. McDyess' agent said Wednesday the Pistons remain on his short list.

"He's digesting it all right now," Andy Miller said. "The bulk of teams that have called understand the criteria we've outlined. We have our group and now it's up to Antonio to survey the situation and try to put them in some kind of order."

Detroit, Houston, Cleveland, San Antonio and Boston are believed to be among McDyess' suitors. McDyess, 35, is expected to get an offer starting around the mid-level exception ($5.6 million).

When asked if the firing of Michael Curry helped put the Pistons back on McDyess' radar, Miller said, "I think he would have considered them anyway, regardless, but that certainly didn't hurt."

Saturday, July 18, 2009
Report: Pistons sign free-agent forward Chris Wilcox
The Detroit News

Free-agent power forward Chris Wilcox has agreed to a two-year, $6 million deal with the Pistons, ESPN.com is reporting, attributing the information to a source.

Wilcox, 26, has been in the NBA for seven seasons.

Last season, in 62 games combined with the Knicks and Oklahoma City, he averaged 7.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 19.4 minutes. Wilcox (6-foot-10, 235 pounds) was traded from Oklahoma City to the Knicks in midseason.

His career averages with the Clippers, Seattle, Knicks and Oklahoma City are 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds. He was drafted in the first round, eighth overall, out of Maryland by the Clippers in 2002.

Chris Wilcox eager to play for winning franchise

BY VINCE ELLIS • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • July 23, 2009

The knock on Chris Wilcox is that at 26, he already has reached his full potential.

But in a teleconference Wednesday, the newest Piston said he is ready to put seven years of inconsistent play in the past now that he's a part of a winning organization.

"I think this is a great opportunity to show what I got," the 6-foot-10, 235-pounder said. "It's a great opportunity to play and be a part of a winning program.

"It's my first opportunity to be in a program that's been winning all the time."

Wilcox has spent his career with lottery-bound teams like the Clippers, the Seattle/Oklahoma City franchise and, most recently, the Knicks.

At one time, Wilcox was a productive frontcourt option. He started 81 games during the 2006-07 season with the Sonics and averaged career highs in points (13.5) and rebounds (7.7), ranking 16th in the league in field-goal percentage (.529).

But he has tailed off the past two seasons with inconsistent minutes. Last season, he averaged 7.2 points and 4.5 rebounds for the Thunder and the Knicks.

He has battled through injuries, including a season-ending right pinkie sprain in 2008.

That hasn't stopped some from thinking he has reached a plateau. And if he couldn't get consistent minutes with bottom feeders like the Thunder and Knicks, how is it going to happen with the Pistons?

Wilcox said he was squeezed out of the Thunder's plans because of the talented duo of Kevin Durant and Jeff Green.

He was traded to the Knicks last season and was never a part of their plans, so the unrestricted free agent didn't get an offer from them. But Wilcox said he received interest from many teams, including the Wizards, Suns and Mavericks.

But in this economic climate, there wasn't a lot of money around, and Wilcox didn't want to wait.

So he agreed to a two-year, $6-million deal over the weekend with the Pistons. He will compete with Kwame Brown for minutes at center. Primarily a power forward in recent years, Wilcox said center won't be a problem since that's where he spent the majority of his time in Seattle.

"It really doesn't matter where I play at," Wilcox said. "I just want to be on the court and play hard and bring some energy."

ASSISTANT UPDATE: As reported last week, Nets assistant coach Brian Hill is the leading candidate to become Pistons coach John Kuester's lead assistant.

The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger caught up with Hill this week, and he said he was going to meet with Kuester and Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars this week.

"Obviously it's very (appealing)," Hill told the Star-Ledger. "They're one of the top franchises in the league, and I've worked with John in New Jersey and Orlando. So, yeah, I'm pleased to have the opportunity to talk to them."

Hill was head coach in Orlando for two stints, including the franchise first trip to the Finals in 1995. Kuester was on Hill's Magic staff during the 2006-07 season.

If hired, Hill would bring to the Pistons more than 30 years of experience.

Contact VINCE ELLIS: 313-222-6479 or vellis@freepress.com.