[NBA.com]

RICK KAMLA: Living Las Vegas
.... If you’re anything like me, you were watching the second round of the 2006 NBA Draft wondering what the Pistons were doing when they traded Maurice Evans to the Lakers for the draft rights to center Cheikh Samb (pronounced Check). Well, I’m here to say that Joe Dumars and his staff may have unearthed a legitimate player from the Senegal with the 51st overall pick.

Samb goes 7-1, 195, which is a good news-bad news scenario, but the 21-year-old with exactly one year of professional experience can play the game on both ends. Samb closed the VSL with his best game of the tourney, dropping 10 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks on the Celtics.

All five of Samb’s field goals came on baseline jumpers, including a pretty 15-foot fadeaway and a clutch J late in the fourth quarter. Samb finished the VSL with averages of 7.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks, and he opened a lot of eyes in the process.

Yes, he needs to live in an Italian restaurant for the next two years, eating nothing but pasta drenched in cream sauce, and yes, the Pistons could probably save on air fare by faxing him back to Detroit, but I saw the birth of a future shot-blocking freak at the 2006 Toshiba Vegas Summer League.

Maxiell, Acker make progress for Pistons
Maxiell dropped 15 pounds before camp opened by cutting junk food, bread and other carbs out of his diet. He did so without any specific orders from the Pistons; he simply wanted to better his game, get quicker, jump higher and prove he might help fill the void that Ben Wallace left when he split for Chicago.

Hammond said Maxiell, like the other young players, still has more work to do before he can be assured playing time. One big key for him in particular will be free-throw shooting. He struggled last season when he did get playing time, and he wasn't any better in Vegas, averaging 44.4%.

But he took a small step toward improvement in the final game, Friday's loss to Boston, when he shot 9-for-12 from the line.

"I shot 20 more free throws at practice the day before," he said. "I need to keep working on that this summer, and I plan on doing that."

Acker isn't even assured a roster spot, much less playing time, but he made a strong case for himself in Vegas. He averaged 18.4 points (but shot 36.4%) and played his natural position of shooting guard after a year of trying to play point guard.

"We needed to replace a point guard last year, and we put him into an unfair position," Hammond said. "But we needed that, and he fulfilled the role. But he's much more comfortable at the two."

That move alone seemed to liberate Acker, who has received a qualifying offer from the Pistons and is a restricted free agent. But after agreeing to a two-year deal with free agent guard Ronald (Flip) Murray, the Pistons might not have room for him on their roster, no matter how much the team likes him.