While many people in their economically-ravaged home state counted their pennies over the summer, the Detroit Pistons decided this was not the time to be frugal. Desperately trying to avoid the dreaded 'R' word -- rebuilding -- the Pistons spent lavishly to reshape and replenish an aging roster whose championship window had shut tight.
Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars felt it would be riskier to save the salary-cap space he obtained in the Allen Iverson-Chauncey Billups trade for the superstar-laden free agent class of 2010, rather than skimming the cream of the modest 2009 free-agent crop. The additions of shooting guard Ben Gordon, Chicago's leading scorer the past four seasons, and power forward Charlie Villanueva, who averaged 16.2 points for Milwaukee last season, should extend the Pistons' streak of eight consecutive playoff appearances. There's still work to be done, as in the acquisition of another frontcourt impact player, to make the Pistons serious contenders again.
"Any time you change and you've got a whole new group of guys, people are going to underestimate you, which is a good thing," said shooting guard Richard Hamilton, one of the few holdovers from the Pistons' run of six consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearances. "We're a young team and we feel we can make some noise."
The Pistons aren't quite as young or inexperienced as Hamilton suggests, but they shed some aging bones by allowing two frontcourt starters, Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess, to leave as free agents.
In a way, the Pistons haven't changed that much. They still have a handful of very good players, borderline All-Stars, flanked by role players. Lacking a true superstar like the Eastern Conference's current elite clubs (Orlando, Boston and Cleveland) possess, the Pistons will rely on versatility and depth.
"I know you don't consider a number of our players superstars but by the same token we've got a lot of guys that I consider stars," first-year head coach John Kuester said. "As a head coach, you envision end-of-game situations and there are a number of guys I can go to. When you have that flexibility and you have that confidence in your players, you might not have a LeBron (James) or another superstar, but I really like the group collectively."
The strength of the team lies in the backcourt. Hamilton and Gordon are the best 1-2 punch at their position in the league and Kuester will try to get them both on the floor as much as possible, sacrificing some defense in the process. The development of point guard Rodney Stuckey is crucial to the club's success. He struggled mightily as Billups' replacement but has the ability to be an elite performer.
Steady Tayshaun Prince remains the small forward and Villanueva could be a better offensive threat than Wallace, who fell in love with the three-point line in recent seasons. Another new face, Chris Wilcox, is battling Kwame Brown and Ben Wallace -- who returns to Detroit in the twilight of his career -- for minutes in the middle.
"I don't look at it as a rebuilding year because we want to win, we want to win now," Hamilton said. "I don't think Ben Wallace came back for rebuilding time. He feels as though we have an opportunity to do something special. We have a great group of guys but we've also got to learn and we've also got to teach. We've got to teach them how to win. I think we'll be pretty good."
Pretty good isn't what the Pistons expected in recent years but it's better than the 'R' word.
COACHING STAFF: Head Coach -- John Kuester, 1st year overall, 1st with Pistons. Assistants -- Brian Hill, Darrell Walker, Pat Sullivan, Bill Pope.
LAST SEASON, REMEMBERED: 39-43 (3rd in Central), lost to Cleveland in opening round of Eastern Conference playoffs, 3-0.
THIS SEASON, PREDICTED: 43-39 (3rd in Central), lose in opening round of Eastern Conference playoffs.
POSSIBLE CHANGES, PREDICTED: A midseason trade involving Richard Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince is possible if the Pistons struggle in the first half of the season and a quality big man is available on the trade market. Charlie Villanueva could see less playing time than expected if his defense does not improve.
