2009-2010 NBA Discussion

Pistons discover a Swede surprise in Jonas Jerebko
Vincent Goodwill / The Detroit News

Auburn Hills -- Pistons rookie Jonas Jerebko was a wide-eyed 16-year-old when an NBA general manager came to his hometown for a tournament.

Jerebko made sure the foreigner had every stat sheet available, and even gave him popcorn. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that GM would draft him six years later.

The GM was Pistons president Joe Dumars.

"I just wanted to be there," Jerebko said of the 2003 Eurobasket Tournament, which featured current NBA stars Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Mehmet Okur. "One game, I got off and bought a ticket and I happened to be next to Joe."

"I didn't know who he was at first but I heard it was Joe.
"I was watching him more than the game."

Dumars remembers a young man running errands for him, but didn't draw the correlation until after draft night.

"Jonas asked me, did I remember the kid that ran errands for me when I was in Sweden," Dumars said. "And I told him, 'Yes I did,' and then I said, 'You can't be the kid?'"

Jerebko, now 22, had a big smile and told him yes...
Continued at
Swede Surprise

Live by the crossover, die by the crossover..or How the mighty have fallen

Pistons' Will Bynum made himself into NBA player

BY JO-ANN BARNAS
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

He braces for the pain by gripping the sides of a barrel-sized cooler. Will Bynum knows the drill: His sore ankles and feet wrapped in tape, Bynum must climb into the icy tub for treatment to begin.

“Freeeziiing!” Bynum says, wincing and smiling at the same time.

Bynum, a backup point guard, is back in the Pistons’ lineup after missing three games because of the right ankle he rolled in Philadelphia on Dec. 9.

That the injury came three weeks after he tweaked his left ankle during a West Coast trip wasn’t surprising: Bynum knowingly put his right ankle at risk by overcompensating for the injured one. That also speaks of his driven personality:

“Everybody’s been playing hurt,” Bynum says with a shrug. “So it means doing extra on my part.”

There’s much we are just learning about Bynum, the former Georgia Tech star from Chicago’s South Side whose career finally has taken flight four years after working out for every NBA team — including the Knicks twice, he said — before being bypassed by each one in the 2005 NBA draft.

Now in his second year with the Pistons, Bynum, who turns 27 on Jan. 4, said he embraces each day by trying to live up to the words of Joe Dumars, who gave him his first big break by offering a two-year deal after the 2008 summer league.

“I think it’s your time,” the Pistons’ president told him. “You can show the world who you really are.”
Pistons' Bynum has overcome challenges in life and basketball

Any old phone book would do, as long as it was thick, and the binding was strong. And then the toe raises would commence -- up, down, up, down -- until Will Bynum reached 1,000.

For much of his childhood, Bynum was shorter than most kids his age. Although he knew he could nothing about his heredity, Bynum, even as a young teen, was determined to be in control of his basketball fate..

Continued at:

Will Power

what's with you being a fan of teams that suck? lol

I know, sometimes I wish I could be a bandwagon fan. I just don't have it in me.

Darko named one of top flops of decade.
Darko Top Flop

Given the Pistons' current anemic record, the fact that we chose Darko with the #2 pick in a draft that featured Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Kaman,and Josh Howard is REALLY annoying.
This was a mistake of historic proportions.

i am happy that you picked darko...if you didn't then the bulls would had to deal with any of those players more often. but, yea i was pissed off when the heat took wade.

yes that is sickening. the Pistons would be in the midst of a dynasty today if they just had picked the great Dwyane Wade.

thank god that didn't happend...the only thing piston fans should be happy with right now is that they have a coach while the bulls have...a...cheerleader as a coach.

I don't know about a dynasty but I do think the Pistons missed an opportunity for another championship in the past 5 years. Some of that was beyond Dumars' control (Larry Brown getting restless AGAIN) but some of it wasn't.

Detroit did have a good run avoiding major injuries until very recently so it's just one of those things. Everybody has some down years. I'd like to see what we look like if and when we get everyone -or most people- fully healthy. I think Detroit has too many tweener type players.

Did anyone see the Cleveland-LA game?
Derek Fisher is a punk. LOL.
I don't care overmuch for either team but LA must have set some sort of record for whining..

lilo watch the celtics...that team is full of punks.

The Bulls have decided to fire head coach Vinny Del Negro, but they are still looking for a replacement, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard.

The sources say that Chicago's lack of a decision on a replacement is the main thing that is keeping Del Negro employed.

There were internal discussions about John Paxson, the team's executive vice president of basketball operations, coaching the team, but he decided against it.

Chicago also reportedly contacted Doug Collins, who turned down the job as well.

After blowing a 35 point second half lead in a game where you used only 7 players, I would think the coach's head would be on a chopping block. The Bulls aren't in the same league as Boston, LA or Cleveland, but they should be playing better than they are.

yea i can't wait till he gets fired. i still don't know why chicago hired somebody who never coached in his life.

Detroit lost to NY last night. We made David Lee look like an all-star.
Who knows, maybe he is? But I didn't think he was THAT good. It's going to be a long season.

does detroit and chicago play tonight?

Detroit plays Chicago tomorrow at 3 PM.

When was the last season that McGrady wasn't hurt? I wouldn't take a chance on him for his injury record alone. And then the money, too? No way.

Rockets trying to trade Tracy McGrady
Associated Press

Houston -- The Houston Rockets acknowledge they are trying to trade Tracy McGrady, after the two-time scoring champion's representatives asked the team to deal him.

General manager Daryl Morey says the two sides have had "multiple conversations" and that the Rockets "have agreed to look into trade opportunities and have granted him an indefinite leave from team activities."

McGrady was unhappy with his playing time in six games since returning from offseason knee surgery and left the team before two road games over the weekend.

The seven-time All-Star is due to make about $23 million this season in the last year of his contract.

i would take him since this is his last year in a contract...i would trade salmones, hinrich, and tyrus thomas for him.

I don't know. Sometimes those 1 yr deals work but sometimes not. I can't judge another man's pain threshold or work ethic from afar but McGrady just seems like he's been hurt more often than not over the past five years. I wouldn't want Detroit to take a chance on him but it's not like Detroit has many players in demand anyway.

The Nets beat the Knicks for their 3rd win -- did I hear that right???

well that makes me feel better

Detroit is down 15 to Chicago with about 9 minutes left in the game.

man detroit is really terrible...when did they get rid of flip saunders?

Flip's been gone since 2008. After Flip was fired Joe D hired Michael Curry as coach. Curry was not ready for prime time and Dumars fired him over the summer. So now we have Kuester.

Dumars has a lot of goodwill from his playing days and the 2004 championship.
It's also too early to judge Kuester-especially since he hasn't had a full team yet because of injuries.

But that 2004 draft really hurt us. Also Dumars has stocked the team with a lot of guys who may be versatile but don't do any one thing particularly well. Detroit is overloaded with shooting guards/combo guards (Stuckey, Rip, Gordon, Bynum, Atkins) and lacks any muscle up front. We're undersized and overpaid in the front court. We have too many guys that might be good complementary players on the right squad but aren't "go-to" type players.

But no one stays on top -or even near the top-forever and this is just our time to be in the doldrums evidently. Perhaps Joe D. can pull a trade by finding someone extra special stupid to deal with before the deadline...

Report: Wizards Teammates Pull Gun On Each Other
Washington's Gilbert Arenas And Javaris Crittenton Said To Be Arguing Over Gambling Debt On Christmas Eve
NEW YORK (AP)

Washington Wizards teammates Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton drew guns on each other during a Christmas Eve locker room argument over a gambling debt, according to The New York Post.

Citing an anonymous source, the newspaper reports in Friday's edition that the standoff was sparked when Crittenton became angry at Arenas for refusing to make good on a gambling debt. That prompted Arenas to draw on Crittenton, who then also grabbed for a gun, league security sources tell the Post.

Asked by the Post about the confrontation, Arenas denied pulling a gun on Crittenton.

"This is unprecedented in the history of sports," Billy Hunter, executive director of the Player's Association, tells the Post. "I've never heard of players pulling guns on each other in a locker room."

The Wizards said on the night of Dec. 24 that Arenas had stored unloaded firearms in a container in his locker at the arena and that the NBA was looking into the situation. On Tuesday, Washington, D.C. police said they were investigating a report that weapons were found inside a locker room at the Verizon Center.

Now, the federal government is also involved. Ben Friedman, a spokesman for the US Attorney's Office in DC, tells the Post "we're working with the Metropolitan Police Department on the investigation.

Saunders calls out Wizards after losing, 110-98, to Oklahoma City

By Michael Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 30, 2009; D01

After Coach Flip Saunders watched Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant split the Washington Wizards' defense as if he were driving through cones for an impressive layup on Tuesday, he considered the possibility of putting on a pair of gym shorts. As the night played out, and Russell Westbrook soared for highlight dunks, and Jeff Green and Thabo Sefolosha knocked down uncontested three-pointers, Saunders thought about rounding up people off the street to go against his porous defense.

Saunders tried everything he could to get the Wizards to slow down Oklahoma City -- switching from a zone defense to man-to-man -- and after his team lost its third consecutive game, 110-98, he came to a conclusion: His players cannot stop anyone.

"This team needs a mind-set change," Saunders said. "This team, for the last five years has been known as one of the worst defensive teams in the league. We could take five guys in this room out here and we could have a chance. I think I can go out there on the floor and take anybody on the team, one-on-one at [54] years old, and drive right around them. They can't guard anybody..."

Flip Saunders says team stinks

After a two-day cooling period, Saunders didn't back away from his words, and even applied more pressure to his three captains -- Butler, Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison -- after Arenas said that the team had adopted a "losing mentality" in recent years.

"Gil can say that, but when you have the money that those three guys are making, you never talk about loser mentality," Saunders said about Arenas, Jamison and Butler, who will earn $16.2 million, $11.6 million and $9.8 million this season, respectively. "You're making $20 million; you're getting paid to win. Bottom line. Don't blame it on the guy that's making $300,000. This is a league where you get paid on your production and what your expectations are. It's up to them to change that mentality. They have to carry us."

Butler agreed. "When it all goes back, it's going to fall back on us," he said. "We're the captains, the leaders. . . . We got guys back healthy. We got to lead our ball club to wins.

"We've got to get it done."

why pull a gun on your own teammate, and not shaq?

Arenas says that the story about Shaq and his fiancee is untrue.

Former Pistons forward Antonio McDyess slams last year's trade
BY VINCE ELLIS
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

DALLAS -- It looks like things have worked out for Antonio McDyess.

The former Pistons crowd favorite who left this past off-season to join the Spurs as a free agent has found a role on a team that looks poised to at least give the Lakers some competition for Western Conference supremacy.

But the veteran power forward is still thinking about the events that led him to leave the Pistons last summer.

In comments to the San Antonio media Tuesday, McDyess openly questioned last season's infamous trade of Chauncey Billups (McDyess' best friend) to the Nuggets for Allen Iverson, which effectively ended the Pistons' era of Eastern Conference dominance. He also didn't express much sympathy for the organization that took a nine-game losing streak into Tuesday night's game against the Mavericks.

"I think ever since they traded Chauncey away, everything just kind of went downhill from there," said McDyess, who will face the Pistons tonight. "It's like they broke up all chemistry, and I really didn't understand the whole logic of that trade.

"I guess they really were in a rebuilding stage, and it's showing now."

Pistons president Joe Dumars made the deal for cap space and felt the run was over. But McDyess saw a team that still could have contended if it hadn't been completely dismantled.

The team's direction was a major reason he ended a five-year stint with the Pistons by signing a three-year, $15-million deal with the Spurs.

"Detroit was my home and I felt comfortable there, but after I seen all the things down spiraling and I felt it was going to be no good this year, it was pretty easy to me after that," McDyess said.

He even thought aloud about what would have happened if the trade hadn't happened.

"I thought we would still be pretty good if you kind of think about it," McDyess said. "Ever since (Billups) left, then Rasheed (Wallace) ... everything was all messed up. It was pretty much a no-brainer after that."

But he did express some sympathy for his former teammates.

"It's sad to see those guys go through that because nobody wants to be on that end of losing nine games in a row," McDyess said. "Even when you get out on the court it just seems like everything is meaningless -- like you ain't even got no effort to play for anything because you so far behind. Once you got nine losses under your belt, it's kind of like, 'Hey, man, what I'm going to step out on this court for?' You kind of lose confidence."

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

I bet Arenas gets suspended for the season. He doesn't get the seriousness of the gun incident and has been acting like a moron.

You may have called it. The Commissioner has suspended him indefinitely without pay pending completion of investigation.

"Although it is clear that the actions of Mr. Arenas will ultimately result in a substantial suspension, and perhaps worse, his ongoing conduct has led me to conclude that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game," commissioner David Stern said in a statement Wednesday. "Accordingly, I am suspending Mr. Arenas indefinitely, without pay, effective immediately pending the completion of the investigation by the NBA."

What's bad about this is Arenas isn't really a bad guy. He just likes to be funny and entertain people. Yes he made a mistake, but the worst part about it is that the NBA has really turned things around in this area, so the casual observer will point to this and say "AH HA! The NBA still has problems, that's why I don't watch anymore", even though the thug attitude and selfish individual play has diminished. The level of team play has improved and players seem to really want to win now instead of just pad their personal stats and street image.

but, you still have those refs that make some shady calls and david stern really needs to leave...other wise the league is getting better...unless the team you root for sucks.

This columnist is calling for a lifetime ban for Arenas as well as a NBA ban on players owning weapons. I think that both stances are reactionary. Arenas is a goofball to be sure and he did something stupid and illegal. But I think the NBA should let whatever legal proceedings occur play themselves out before it considers a lifetime ban.

I'm not at all sure that such a thing would be upheld because it would surely go to arbitration-just as the Sprewell situation did. But even though I might disagree with a lifetime ban I would accept the NBA's right to impose it because it's about something that happened in the workplace. If Arenas is stupid enough to play with guns I would shed no tears for him losing his job.

I would not accept the NBA's right to prevent its players from owning guns. Gun ownership is legal and as long as players who own guns obey the law in whatever state or municipality they happen to be in, it's not the NBA's business. Not only are some players hunters (e.g former player Karl Malone) but many have a real concern about personal protection for themselves and their families. (e.g the incidents with Eddy Curry, Antoine Walker, Sean Taylor, Jerome McDougall, etc)
Lifetime Ban and Gun Ban

I think I may have mentioned it before but independent of the Arenas situation , which so far I think Stern has handled about right, I would like to see a different person as NBA commissioner. Stern has been in that job since 1984 and that's more than long enough. I would like to see commisioners elected to five or six year terms and have a limit of fifteen to eighteen years in the job. No one is indispensable.

According to this the other fellow is just as responsible.
Either way people should know not to bring guns to work.

Crittenton Chambered a Round??

I agree with you, Lilo, that a lifetime ban would be hasty and an overly passionate response. The indefinite suspension is better than a year long suspension because it compels Arenas to take some positive initiative to return to the league. He can't just hang out in a beach house and cross off dates on a calendar.

I thought the most telling phrase of Stern's statement was that Arenas was "not fit" to take the court in an NBA game. The NBA has done a remarkable job in elevating its image with outstanding personalities and incredible athletes. Probably more than any other major team sport, they conduct themselves admirably away from the sport.

I have mixed emotions about Arenas. While I think what he did was patently stupid, I really believe that he is just not a smart human being. By no means should that be an excuse for his inexcusable choice of bringing guns to the locker room and "fooling" around with his teammate with the guns. I just believe that he is almost completely devoid of any common sense. Why he made light of the incident, posted on Twitter, and posed with his hands like guns before a game is beyond me.



At the same time, he has not appeared to be a thug, like say a Ron Artest. I think the initial reaction by David Stern was correct and Arenas should have a long time away from the NBA to contemplate his lack of intelligence. My suggestion is to suspend him for one year: the rest of this season until January 1, 2011.

Detroit has lost 11 in a row. If the playoffs started now we wouldn't be in them. That's just as well. The problem is that I don't see how Dumars changes this team around anytime soon. I certainly hope there is some trade for a functional big man before the deadline. That probably means giving up Rip and (hopefully) Maxiell or Stuckey. But since Rip and Maxiell both recently signed contract extensions, who would want to give value for them?

is there even anybody rumored of being traded besides anybody on the bulls, anybody on the knicks, boozer, t-mac, and etc.

TJ Ford isn't happy in Indiana. Mo Peterson might be available from New Orleans. Brock Lopez and Yi Jianlian don't seem to be meshing too well.

I vaguely remember this player in Detroit from the late seventies but I mostly remember stories told about him. Anyway, when Bad News Barnes says you've gone too far, things are getting very weird.

Bad News Barnes: Arenas went too far

Darko Milicic says Pistons wasted their pick on him
The Detroit News

Every NBA observer would say that Darko Milicic was a wasted draft pick by the Pistons in 2003.

Milicic agrees.

The Pistons took Milicic second overall in 2003 -- after LeBron James -- and missed the opportunity to take Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh or Dwyane Wade, who went 3-4-5 to the Nuggets, Raptors and Heat, respectively. Anthony, Bosh and Wade are bona fide NBA stars, while Milicic has become a seldom-used NBA journeyman.

Milicic was asked by SLAM magazine if he gets upset when it is suggested the Pistons wasted their No. 2 pick on him.

"They did," Milicic told the magazine. "They did waste a pick. Why did they take me? Who knows if I really had a chance to play like these players that play like Dwyane Wade or Carmelo. Those guys are incredible players."

Milicic languished on the bench in Detroit for three seasons before Joe Dumars gave up on his failed pick and traded Milicic to Orlando. Milicic also has been with Memphis and the Knicks, and recently said this season would be his last in the NBA.

"For me, being a second pick, I don't get why they didn't play me at all," Milicic told SLAM. "Why did they take me? You should take someone that they really think was gonna play right away because just taking someone to sit on the bench, you waste a pick and you waste the guy's time.

"You wasted my time for three years not playing so you (mess) up a player and you (mess) up yourself, and I just didn't get it. I guess they thought they were gonna be champions forever."

wow thats sad...lol

Evidently Orlando, Memphis and New York all wasted his time too. Per NYdailynews the Knicks might be trying to buy him out.

not surprised...kwame brown seems to be on a team every season lol

By Marc Stein ESPN

We’ve reached that point in the season where chatter on the NBA grapevine inevitably spawns more chatter. Not that I imagine you’ll protest.
The following are a few more tidbits picked up from various executives, coaches, scouts and league insiders in follow-up discussions generated by this week’s Weekend Dime:

Denver’s desire to acquire an extra big man to throw at the defending champs from L.A. is no secret. What I didn’t realize until the weekend is the need to start describing the Nuggets’ affection for Pacer lifer Jeff Foster in stronger terms.

Love is the word used by two sources close to the situation.

The obstacles to a Foster-to-Denver deal, though, are considerable.

Obstacle No. 1: Foster has one more season left on his contract after this season at nearly $6.7 million and has a 15-percent trade kicker in his contract. As much as the Nuggets would be thrilled to have Foster – giving them one more mobile counter to all of the Lakers’ feared size – that’s a lot to take on for a team that’s already looking at a luxury-tax payment in July of more than $5 million.

Obstacle No. 2: My man Chad Ford noted in his latest chat that the Nuggets would almost certainly need to find a third team to facilitate a deal for Foster unless they were willing to surrender rookie guard Ty Lawson. And you obviously presume Denver won't be surrendering the speedy Lawson, who Chad says Indy nearly chose ahead Tyler Hansbrough and looks like an absolute steal as last June's No. 18 pick.

****
An assumption in circulation all season held that Detroit would try to move Rip Hamilton before any other Piston because there isn't enough room in one rotation for Rip, Ben Gordon and Rodney Stuckey.

The reality is that Tayshaun Prince would appear to be the most likely of Detroit's championship holdovers to be dealt first, since Prince possesses the more cap-friendly contract.

Only one season remains on Prince's deal after this season at $11.1 million. The Pistons, furthermore, also have a few young guys they like (Austin Daye, Jonas Jerebko and DaJuan Summers) who can play some 3.

Matters are complicated by the fact that injuries have limited both Piston mainstays to nine games each this season. But it's clear that the Pistons have to make a move for a true point guard or a dependable big man ... not necessarily to bust out of this 12-game losing streak but for their long-term future.

"I know there are a lot of conversations going on," one source said. "I'm sure Tay's in play."

How many people have seen the movie "American Me"? Remember the scene between Santana and J.D. in which J.D. expresses doubt about Santana's heart? With a 13 game losing streak in Detroit I wouldn't be surprised if the latest meeting between Dumars and Kuester went something like this..

Joe Dumars: I hear Tayshaun's name is on a piece of paper, ese.
John Kuester: I want you to cosign it.
Joe Dumars: I'm taking it off, ese.
John Kuester: That punk missed 20 games, set us all back. Now he’s running around talking loud s*** about how he wants out of Detroit. His number’s up, homes.
Joe Dumars: I said I’m taking it off, ese.
John Kuester: What’s gonna happen is gonna happen. Don’t try to stop it. You understand me? I’m asking you, carnal.
Joe Dumars: Is that where it's gotten to, ese?
John Kuester: Fans are talking about you.
Joe Dumars: What are they saying, ese?
John Kuester: They’re saying that you’re not showing them anything.

Pistons, Palace may be for sale
Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

Detroit -- The ownership of Detroit's pro sports teams -- for so long the stable domain of the Fords, Ilitches and Davidsons -- appears to be headed for a shake-up, one that would alter the sports landscape in the next few years.

Karen Davidson, who has inherited ownership of the Pistons and Palace Sports and Entertainment (the overseers of The Palace of Auburn Hills) from her late husband, William Davidson, is seriously considering selling both properties.

Sources close to the negotiations have told The Detroit News she has had a conversation with NBA Commissioner David Stern on the process and protocol for attracting potential buyers.

On top of that, the Red Wings have yet to renew their lease with Joe Louis Arena. Although Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland told reporters Sunday he fully expects the team to play at the arena next season, the Ilitch family has been seeking other options.

One of those options is The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Neither Davidson nor members of the Ilitch family could be reached for comment Sunday. The Wings and Palace Sports and Entertainment have been working on a lease agreement for more than a year.

What does that mean? Where is Auburn Hills? Sometimes I think the business end of sports is what ruins it. I'm sorry to bring up baseball in the NBA thread, but it's along the same line. The San Diego Padres owner has been going through a rough divorce which has resulted in a team on the rise to be completely decimated. The Los Angeles Dodgers seem to be going through the same exact thing this year. As much as I hate the Dodgers, I don't want to see them fail because of the owners failed marriage. I wish teams could be owned by the city itself, the tax payers, so that personal issues in ownership couldn't effect the fans.

Money can ruin sports.

It means that maybe Dumars might need to update his resume..

Seriously though, I don't know. Once there is actually a sale in the works perhaps Dumars will be told to dump salary?

The Detroit Pistons do not play in the City of Detroit proper but in Auburn Hills, a smaller city about 35 miles north of downtown Detroit. The Red Wings do play in the City of Detroit but their arena needs a lot of work done which ownership may not want to pay for and the City may not be able to afford. So the ownership hasn't resigned the lease as yet and is looking for other venues.

It's all about the money.

Estate fight for Piston's ownership

Eddie Johnson's top ten disappointing NBA players.
The Top Ten

Now that we are officially past the halfway point in the regular season, I will be interested to see if Mike Brown starts getting Shaq more involved in the offense. To date, he's only averaging 10, 6 and 1 block per game. In Tuesday's win against Toronto, the Diesel had 16 points. He might ratchet it up again tonight vs. the Lakers.

For Cleveland to be a force in the East, Shaq will have to be more involved offensively. That would give them 3 legitimate scoring threats: LBJ, Mo Williams and Shaq.

All of the contenders in the Eastern Conference have some issues, either with injuries or not yet jelling. It will be interesting to see if there are any major moves made by the trading deadline and if whether said moves have a significant impact.

I haven't been following Cleveland closely but is Shaq still capable of getting more involved consistently?

Not as much as he once was, but I think he can be more involved. I believe that the Cavs have been saving Shaq for the 2nd half of the season and the playoffs. If you saw the Christmas Day game against L.A., Shaq's mere presence in the middle gave a dynamic to the Cavs that has not been there. I think Shaq was brought here to give matchup problems for the Celtics, Magic, and Lakers. He will not be able to give 38 minutes, but his presence along with Hickson and Varaejo give Cleveland a much better interior defense.

Jerry West says the NBA should consider contraction.

It’s well known that many teams in the NBA are struggling financially. Ticket sales are down 1.2 percent compared to last year, according to SportsBusiness Journal, and only eight teams had full-season-ticket sales of at least 10,000, compared to 11 the year before.

Former Lakers and Grizzlies general manager Jerry West has one solution, which would also help increase the competition level around the league: contraction.

“The biggest difference (between the NBA today and when West played) ... was how competitive the league was,” West told ESPN.com. “Today you have so many players who are part of teams that probably could not have made a bunch of teams (then). I've always felt that contraction would be good for the NBA. I know commissioner (David) Stern probably doesn't like it, but some of these small market teams just can't compete financially.”

Rosen calls the Lakers soft and puts most of the blame on Bynum
Cavs overpower Lakers

All three of the major sports should contract by 2-4 teams. Too much mediocrity in all three of the leagues. But it's a shame - ownership holds these cities hostage for new stadiums/arenas and then they cannot fill the seats. The city gets stuck with the bill and nothing to show for it.

Even putting the economics aside, the leagues should contract because the talent is too watered down. There is no way I'll be convinced that the 32 best QBs are currently playing in the NFL. Most are to be sure, but when teams start trotting guys out like Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, and Bruce Gradkowski, then there is a problem. The NBA should consider going back down to 12 man rosters if they do not want to contract the number of teams.

I agree. I like the idea of contraction both in terms of quality and money but until the NBA starts losing money en masse I don't think we'll see it. The union would likely fight to keep the larger rosters.

What a travesty that Iverson is an All-Star, even worse that he was voted a starter. A perfect example why the fans should not have all the voting power.

They should have some kind of performance limits on who can be voted in. Iverson is clearly a fan favorite but to say he's an allstar with his numbers is insane. And isn't T-Mac an allstar this year as well?

i wonder who is going to get the shaft since AI is starting...any word if gilber arenas could be voted in?

By the same token, Garnett's numbers don't warrant an All-Star start - 14.9 PPG, a little over 7 RPG. I know defensive presence is not a statistic, but really, there were other PFs in the East that could have started.

Congratulations to the NY Knicks for losing by 50 last night.

Column by Captain Obvious...


Maybe a trade can solve Pistons' problems

TED KULFAN

With every game -- this season it's been more than usual in every loss -- it's becoming increasingly apparent. This Pistons roster, as currently configured, just isn't going to get the job done.

The chemistry just isn't right. There are too many of the same kind of players (perimeter oriented) who don't seem to complement each other as was hoped at the start of the season.

For some reason, the effort doesn't always come out of this group collectively. Losses to Indiana and Portland the last two nights essentially put the exclamation mark on that belief.

With that mind, and I wasn't particularly keen on this belief early in the season, but it might be time to shop Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton at the trade deadline.

Ben Wallace isn't going to get traded, nor should he. Wallace has a veteran presence this team needs.

But Hamilton and Prince, like Wallace last links to the championship run, would bring more of a return with a trade. They'd create salary-cap space and alleviate some of the logjam in the shooting guard/small forward positions.

Something has to be done. Plus, you wonder how their mental approach will be if the losing continues. Witness Prince's blow up with coach John Kuester in Friday's loss to the Pacers. That was frustration more than anything, and you get the sense there will be more frustration with this team.

Hamilton and Prince are two players who've experienced extraordinarily good times with the Pistons. For a long period of time, too. Going through a rebuilding process, as this one looks to be right now, might not be what these two veterans want at this point in their careers. Of the two, Prince is more likely to be moved.

With one year left on his contract after this season (Hamilton has four), Prince could be a fine fit for a team either at a championship level or close to it.

Austin Daye and Jonas Jerebko can hold down Prince's small forward spot. The chemistry could be better with a younger cast. Something has to be done, because it's just not working right now.

ted.kulfan@detnews.com
(313) 223-4606

If Darko had played....they would have lost by 70.

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."

NYDAILYNEWS

The NBA has suspended Wizards star Gilbert Arenas for the remainder of this season for breaking its gun rules and pleading guilty to a felony gun charge in Washington, D.C.

Arenas met with NBA commissioner David Stern for one hour in Manhattan Wednesday, after which the league announced that Arenas would serve what would amount to a 50-game ban.

The other Wizard involved in the Dec. 21 incident, Javaris Crittenton, also was suspended for the rest of the season. Crittenton has been out for most of the season with a foot injury.

Arenas and Crittenton each had guns in the Wizards locker room during a heated confrontation that was a result of a gambling dispute.

"There is no justification for their conduct," Stern said.

Arenas last played a game on Jan. 5 and reportedly recommended to Stern that he be banished for the rest of the season. Arenas appealed to the Players Association not to appeal the penalty and the NBAPA has honored his wishes.

According to sources, Stern did not consider imposing a lifetime ban on Arenas, a three-time All-Star and the face of the Wizards' troubled franchise.

The suspension may be the least of Arenas' troubles. He faces up to six months in jail after pleading guilty to carrying a pistol in Washington, D.C., without a license. Sentencing is March 26.

The Wizards could try to void Arenas' contract if he goes to jail. He was making $16 million this season and has four seasons left at $80 million.

Crittenton was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation and community service after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge.

Miami Heat 92, Detroit Pistons 65: Pistons just miss record embarrassment
Terry Foster / The Detroit News

Auburn Hills -- A comedy act headlined The Palace Friday night, starring Tayshaun Prince, Richard Hamilton and the rest of the Pistons.

The Pistons were so bad during a 92-65 loss to the Heat that fans didn't have the heart to boo the poor Pistons. They laughed at them instead.

Bronx cheers at a basketball game? You bet.

It happened twice when Prince finally made a bucket in the fourth quarter and it happened again when Kwame Brown made a free throw after bricking his first four.

Some wise guy screamed: "Bring back (former coach) Michael Curry."

The only thing missed was a laugh track. And the only saving grace is the Pistons somehow avoided setting another franchise low for points scored when Charlie Villanueva hit a free throw with 25 seconds remaining in the game.

Most of the body parts were back when Ben Gordon played after missing the last nine games with a groin strain. He finished with 10 points, but that wasn't nearly enough to help the Pistons avoid a four-game losing streak.

They still can't shoot or score and the chemistry seems out of kilter. The Pistons did not compete beyond the first quarter. The Heat ran past and through the Pistons and led by as many as 29 points.

"You get hit in the mouth, you get right back up and get hit again," Pistons coach John Kuester said. "That is what you do, keep working hard and good things will happen."

The Pistons did not work hard and hardly anything good happened to them. They got clubbed on the boards, 52-25, by the Heat and shot just 39.4 percent from the floor.

Things got so easy for the Heat that Dwyane Wade played only 24 minutes and finished with 22 points. Miami shot better from 3-point range (66.7 percent) than the Pistons from the free throw line (63.2 percent).

Those are not funny numbers and they tend to lead to a team that is lacking chemistry and cohesion.

"Everybody thinks it is easy and guys are just going to fit in," Pistons center Ben Wallace said. "It is tough to build chemistry with the number of injuries that we've had. They are going out and playing hard but we've got to get them up to speed and get them on the right page. That takes being out on the floor. When you are off the floor, it is tough to come back and do what you've been doing."

The Heat broke open the game with a 12-0 second-quarter run to go up 47-31. The jokes from the crowd began during a 20-6 third-quarter spurt.

That is when much of the crowd left.

Hamilton did not shoot well, missing 10 of 14 shots and finishing with eight points. Charlie Villanueva led the Pistons with 15 points and Prince chipped in 10.

"I don't think there is a lack of confidence," Hamilton said. "But I just think guys are still learning."

Lebron has a snit

David Stern's bottom line

Clippers/Portland Trade

one thing i hate about being a bulls fan right now is the trade rumors, and then nothing gets done...

You're out Tom. You're not a wartime CEO and things could get rough with the move Mrs. Davidson is trying to make.
Tom Wilson resigns

Terry Foster / The Detroit News

Early in the first quarter Monday, Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince lay in the middle of the floor in pain after smashing his back into Jason Maxiell's knee. At that point the Pistons should have boarded Roundball One and began the trip back to Detroit.

Actually, you can't convince me they didn't. Their 119-93 loss to the Celtics at Boston Garden was one of the most embarrassing ever.

The Pistons showed no heart, no pride and no desire in allowing the Celtics to pound them into submission. You know things are bad when a half-court team like the Celtics ran the Pistons off the floor with crowd-pleasing fast breaks and dunks.

The Celtics have four of the oldest players in the league, so what they did to the Pistons was like Jed Clampett beating one of the Jonas Brothers in a track meet. ESPN announcers were begging for the Pistons to show life.

Sadly, they didn't.

The lasting memory of this game was Nate Robinson hanging from the rim during a dunk with less than a minute remaining. The Celtics were criticized for showboating.

I criticize the Pistons for allowing it to happen.

The network couldn't switch to the Lakers-Warriors game fast enough.

I didn't want to watch, but part of my job is to let you know how pathetic this team has become. The Pistons essentially played without Ben Wallace, Rodney Stuckey and Prince. What was left resembled a D-League team overdosed on sleeping pills.

The Celtics shot 62 percent from the floor, passed out 34 assists and placed seven players in double figures.

Will Bynum led the Pistons with 16.

If the Pistons play that way tonight, LeBron James might as well stay in Cleveland. The Cavaliers won't need him.

New York-based Citigroup has been retained to assess the value of the Pistons, the Free Press has learned.

A source with personal knowledge of the situation said this morning that the financial firm is going over the books; the next step could be the Pistons being placed for sale.

The source, who requested anonymity because the league office requests that team officials not speak publicly about the process, stressed that the team is not yet for sale.

Karen Davidson, the Pistons’ owner for a little over a year, said earlier this year that she was thinking about selling the franchise that won three NBA championships for her late husband.

“You always want a real engaged, enthusiastic owner,” she said at halftime of the Pistons-Celtics game at the Palace on Jan. 20. “I think that’s just the primary concern. We’re looking into the possibility of inquiring about selling it, but there’s nothing definite.

i really hate the refs, and i really hope there is a strike for the 2011-2012 season because thats the only way david stern will be out as commissioner.

Pretty much. Stern will be there until he passes.

Expert predicts Pistons will draft North Carolina center

DETROIT NEWS STAFF

In his mock draft, ESPN.com's Chad Ford predicts that the Pistons will use the No. 7 pick to select North Carolina center Ed Davis.

The 6-10 Davis declared for the draft after his sophomore season.

Ford wrote: "The Pistons are high on Al-Farouq Aminu (a small forward from Wake Forest), but the last thing they need is another tweener after adding Austin Daye and Charlie Villanueva last summer. Davis didn't dominate as a sophomore, but he's an athletic big man who's active on the boards. The Pistons desperately need a player like that."

The Pistons currently have the No. 7 pick, but could move up or down depending on the May 18 draft lottery.

Ford believes the Nets will pick Kentucky guard John Wall with the first pick. His other top picks: Ohio State's Evan Turner (Minnesota), Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors (Sacramento), Kentucky's DeMarcus Cousins (Golden State), Syracuse's Wesley Johnson (Washington) and Kansas' Cole Aldrich (Philadelphia).

GREAT article on Lebron James' piss poor attitude towards the playoffs.

LeBron’s moment of truth awaits

By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
May 12, 4:05 am EDT

CLEVELAND – This isn’t important enough to LeBron James(notes). That’s the uncompromising, unconquerable truth. Everything has come too easy to him, and he still doesn’t believe that winning championships takes a consuming, obsessive desire that borders on the maniacal. He is chasing high school and college kids on recruiting trips for his fledgling marketing company, medicating his insecurities with unending and unfolding free-agent dramas.

James is chasing Warren Buffett and Jay-Z the way he should be chasing Russell and Jordan and Bryant. He wants CEOs to bow before him, engage him as though he is a contemporary on the frontlines of industry. Only, the truth of the matter is, he’s a singular talent who’s going to watch his playoff failures start to chip away at the thing that seems to matter most to him: his marketability and magnetism.

Most of all, James is forever selling something of himself – an ideal, an image, a possibility. Something nebulous, something promised. He’s chasing a global platform, the bright, blinking billion-dollar fortune, and he’s largely gotten the natural order of things backward.

Stop strutting, stop preening, stop stomping away as an ungracious winner, a sore loser, and win something, LeBron.

Win something now.

No more excuses. Not now, not after this biblical bottoming out that pushes the Cleveland Cavaliers to the brink of an unthinkable collapse. And yet, after Tuesday’s ferocious failure of his professional career, the encompassing embarrassment of a 120-88 Game 5 loss to the Boston Celtics, James dismissed his unthinkably poor performance with this colossal cop-out: “I spoil a lot of people with my play. When you have three bad games in seven years, it’s easy to point them out.”

Who is he to be indignant after he gave a playoff game away? What’s he ever won to be so smug to the masses? That’s what drives the Celtics crazy about James. Eventually, he will understand his greatness isn’t measured on the hit-and-runs through NBA cities across a long season. It’s measured now, in the teeth of the battle, when a tiny guard, Rajon Rondo(notes), has stolen his stage and nearly a series.

Somewhere, the whispers of the game’s greatest talents became a murmur louder and louder: James still doesn’t understand part of the price of greatness is inviting the burden on yourself and sparing those around you. He missed 11 of 14 shots. James didn’t score a basket until the third quarter. He was terrible, just terrible, and yet James couldn’t bring himself to say the worst home playoff loss in franchise history began and ended with him.

For all of James’ unselfishness on the floor, he can still be so selfish off it. They could’ve lined up the greatest players in the game’s history Tuesday night in the primes of their championship lives, and there isn’t one of them who would’ve deflected and deferred like the self-proclaimed King James. They would’ve been livid and they would’ve put it on themselves. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant(notes). Tim Duncan(notes) and, yes, Shaquille O’Neal(notes).

They had titles, and they would’ve mutilated themselves for public consumption. James is too cool, too stubborn and maybe too self-unaware. This is on me, they would’ve told you, and, I’ll get us out of this. They would’ve made sure teammates and opponents, fans and enemies understood. They would’ve made sure the whole world understood: This isn’t how an MVP plays in the playoffs. This isn’t how he lets a legacy linger in limbo. What you heard out of James was self-righteous: “I put a lot of pressure on myself to go out and be great and the best player on the court. When I don’t, I feel bad for myself.”

This wasn’t the night to feel bad for himself. There’s been enough pity for him in this series. As much as anything these past two years, the Cavaliers have taken on James’ persona: Entitled, arrogant and expectant that the sheer divine right of his greatness will win them a ring. Only, the Celtics are proud, old champions arisen out of the rubble and on the brink of closing out the Cavaliers on Thursday night at the Boston Garden. No one saw this coming on Tuesday night, the surgical removal of the Cavaliers’ hearts surrounded with a stunned silence that devolved into the debris of boos.

James lorded over one of the most agonizing, humiliating losses a championship contender ever endured. So much comes with this collapse, bookended with decades of a city’s championship sports futility set against the free agency for the son it spawned in neighboring Akron.

This collapse will cost people jobs. This will change the course of the franchise. Where’s James going? And as job security goes, the CEO of British Petroleum has more going for him than Mike Brown right now. Forty feet away Tuesday night, Kentucky’s John Calipari was sitting under the basket with Leon Rose, the agent Cal shares with his buddy, LeBron.

James invites these storylines into the gymnasium, this drama, and leaves everyone else to live with the consequences. Owner Dan Gilbert has fostered a culture of permissiveness with James that hasn’t served him or the franchise.

The Cavs live in fear of him, his moods, his whims, and it’s the reason no one ever tells him the truth: Hey ’Bron, you looked childish for refusing to shake the Orlando Magic’s hands last season. You sounded small grumbling about criticism for your wildly up-and-down play in this series. James walked out of the Q on Tuesday night and there’s no guarantee he’ll ever return as a Cavalier here.


Yet make no mistake: James has enough around him. This team isn’t perfect, isn’t assured of beating the Los Angeles Lakers, but it has no business losing in the conference semifinals – never mind failing to even compete. And, yes, as much as ever, this is on James.

He invited all this drama about walking out on his hometown team this summer, and now free agency hung over the Q like an anvil. Here’s a city that’s waited 46 years for a championship, a town that reacts viciously to the sheer suggestion that James could leave for New York this summer. These fans have been much better to James than he’s been to them. It hasn’t been the media that’s built his role in the summer of 2010 to a crescendo, but James himself. He constantly manipulated it with suggestions and hints and wink-winks to New York.

James proclaimed July 1, 2010, as the biggest day in the history of basketball, ramping up suspense of his ultimate decision: Do I stay or do I go? What it has done is throw more palpable pressure in the air, more desperation, and it’s come back to haunt him now.

James says the Cavaliers know all about what it takes, but he knows about winning in the regular season. This is a different time, a different game. Three bad games in seven years? He’s kidding himself. Now, he has a championship cast around him. Now, he’ll be judged. No one gives a damn what he did in the regular season.

Perhaps sooner than later, he’s going to get his coach fired for losing this series. Or the next to Orlando. He’s mocked Brown for acting too angry with the Game 2 thrashing, but the coach understood what James refused to acknowledge until Tuesday night: The Cavs have been wildly inconsistent in these playoffs and they’re nowhere near playing championship ball.

Across the regular season, James can play hard, let his talent take over and embark on all the side gigs that gobble his time.

This isn’t a part-time thing. Winning everything takes a single-minded, obsessive devotion. Michael Jordan had it. Kobe Bryant does, too. They didn’t want to win championships, they had to win them. They needed them for validation and identity and, later, they became moguls. LeBron James is running around recruiting college kids to his marketing company. He picks up the phone, tells them, “This is the King,” and makes his pitch to be represented in his stable. Think Kobe would ever bother with this? Or Michael? Not a chance when they were on the climb, not when they still had a fist free of rings.

LeBron James is on the clock now, and Game 6 in Boston could be for his legacy in Cleveland. He has been prancing around the edges for too long now, angling for a transcendent existence he believed his brand could bring him. Only, it’s all a mirage. It’s all vapor until he does the heavy lifting that comes now, that comes in the shadows of Magic and Larry, Michael and Kobe. This isn’t about selling an image to Madison Avenue, about pushing product through all those dazzling plays across the winter months. This is an MVP’s time, his calling, and there was LeBron James standing in the middle of the Cavaliers’ locker room at 11:25 p.m., staring in a long mirror, fixing his shirt before the long walk down the corridor to the interview room.

James stood there for five seconds and 10 and maybe now 20, just staring into the mirror, just taking a long, long look at himself. For the first time in his career, the first time when it’s all truly on him, maybe the sport stood and stared with him. All hell breaking loose, all on the line now. Forget everything in his life, all the make-believe nonsense, Game 6 and maybe Game 7 will promise to serve as the most honest hours of his basketball life.

We will see tonight if Lebron's pride has been sufficiently attacked to cause him to have a monster game. Garnett said he thought Lebron will come out blazing because he would have watched the game tape.

Let the 2010 Summer of Free Agency begin. My guess is that LeBron stays in Cleveland. Chicago appears to be the leading non-Cleveland destination, but frankly, I believe LeBron cares about his legacy and wants to be known as the greatest ever to play the game. That will not happen in Chicago, because he might not even end up as the greatest ever for the team because of all the comparisons to MJ.

Best case non-LeBron scenario for the Bulls - Wade and Bosh. I'll take that.

lebron to chicago, and i would love to take wade as well...but, i am to worried about who the bulls will hire as there head coach.

Rumor was that Calipari is angling to be Lebron's next coach.

No lottery luck, but Pistons should get decent big guy

BOB WOJNOWSKI

There's no easy remedy for the Pistons, and no quick fix. Sorry, there was no magic in the NBA draft lottery, which means team president Joe Dumars will have to rebuild the old-fashioned way, the way he did once before.

The Pistons could have used some luck Tuesday night, that's for sure. Their ownership is in flux and their roster is still going through a rocky transformation. But at least the draft looks deep in an area of severe need -- size. To get better, it would help if the Pistons got bigger, and they should.

Their chance for a quicker turnaround with Kentucky star point guard John Wall evaporated, not that anyone expected to cash in 5.3-percent lottery odds. The Pistons took their appointed draft slot at No. 7, and that officially sets up a key summer for the franchise.

Going big

Dumars needs to find help with that high pick, and should get a shot at one of the touted big men -- North Carolina's 6-foot-10 Ed Davis, Georgetown's 6-11 Greg Monroe or Baylor's 6-10 Ekpe Udoh (the Michigan transfer).

"We're looking at getting someone that can come in and help us right away," Dumars said. "This is a good draft if you're looking for big men."
Detroit News Sports Column

I've had it with Calipari. I used to be a fan, but he really turned out to be a one way piece of crap. I've been a Kentucky fan for years and he's ready to bail already. In case anyone didn't notice, he SUCKED as an NBA head coach. The lovefest between him and Lebron will end real fast if he becomes his coach. As coach of the Nets, he alienated every single starter on the team with his giant ego. Screw him.

Mike Brown fired.
You're out Mike. You're not a playoff coach. Things could get rough..

I've never been a Boston fan but I really don't like Dwight Howard either.
His accidentally on purpose elbows should get him suspended. He has a history of such cheap shots.