Even if the team were completely healthy I didn't think that the Pistons were going to make a run at anything this year. The players on the floor haven't stepped up to the challenge. It's true that a GM can't panic but I just don't like the team Joe put together (no point guard, no center). So I hope that this 'no trade' talk is just misdirection. Cause we need help.


Joe Dumars doesn't want a trade -- yet
Terry Foster / The Detroit News

Auburn Hills -- Joe Dumars holds two fingers in the air during a quiet workout at the Pistons practice facility. There's significance to that number. It's the number of games the Pistons have played with a healthy roster. And that's why Dumars, president of the Pistons, isn't in the trade market right now.

So you can forget rumors of bringing in Carlos Boozer (Jazz), Chris Kaman (Clippers) or Amare Stoudemire (Suns).

Dumars says the rumors aren't true. He's more interested in evaluating his team than adding to it.

The problem is, he can't study his product until it's whole again.

"It's hard to say what you have when you've had your team for just two games," Dumars said. "You don't know about your team. It's not like we've had our full complement of players and we have the record (15-28) we have.

"You don't know if you are a playoff team or not. So you don't talk about making trades."

The last time the Pistons played the Grizzlies, tonight's opponent, they were healthy and won 96-74. Since then, the Pistons have resembled a M*A*S*H* unit.

• Ben Gordon has missed 18 games -- he's expected to miss No. 19 tonight -- after missing only 12 games his first five seasons with the Bulls. His 17.2 scoring average is the second lowest of his career, and he's shooting a career-low .321 from 3-point range.

• Richard Hamilton missed 29 games his first five seasons with the Pistons, but has missed 27 this year. Although Hamilton is averaging 19.2 points, he has career lows in shooting percentage (.395) and 3-point shooting (.240).

• Tayshaun Prince has played 11 games this season, and his scoring average (8.5) and rebounds (3.9) are the lowest since his rookie year. Before this season, Prince had not missed a game in six years. He also has career lows in free-throw shooting (.619) and shooting percentage (.398).

"You have to play with each other for a full stretch before you can get a feel for exactly how your team plays," Dumars said. "That's what I am trying to say. I think it would be premature to do something right now."

"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives."
Winter is Coming

Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky; And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.
As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back; For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.