--F Antonio McDyess was not given any notice by the coaching staff that he was losing his starting job. McDyess found out that Michael Curry planned to move him from the lineup back to his old sixth-man role by reading newspapers.
McDyess isn't miffed, though, by the move. "I'm willing to play anywhere," he said.
Curry wants to take better advantage of McDyess' scoring prowess. As a starter last season, McDyess averaged .26 shots per minute. The previous three years as the team's sixth man, McDyess averaged .32 shots per minute.
"I'm not the coach, but if he feels that would benefit us, I'm willing to do whatever it takes," McDyess said.
--G Alex Acker, a second-round pick in 2005, played in five games with the Pistons as a rookie. He then went overseas at the urging of the club to develop his game. He played two seasons in the Euroleague for Olympiacos (Greece) and FC Barcelona (Spain).
All of the 15 Pistons in camp have contracts.
"I was counting down the roster spots they had," Acker said. "They drafted Walter Sharpe and (third-string point guard) Will Bynum came in right after him. I figured that last spot had to be something special. He was holding off on that last spot, and I just came in and took it."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "He's hard-nosed, he's tough and we're going to play Detroit-style basketball. We're going to play hard, we're going to defend and we're going to play together." -- PG Chauncey Billups, on the coaching switch to Michael Curry.
