Pistons' Saunders sees how a season turns bad
by Martin McNeal

The buzz is that Saunders lost a great deal of respect in the locker room when he talked about Wallace's decision and then told the team it was not going to win the championship because of incidents such as that one.

That did not go over well with the Pistons, and Saunders was told in direct terms by one veteran not to say anything like that again to the team.

If telling the truth offends them, they need to hear a lot more of it.

We are officially in the "nothing left to write about the Pistons" portion of the year, aka A. Sherrod Blakely and Chris McCoskey's vacation time.




Re-signing Wallace is a must if Pistons want another title
by Rob Parker

Ben Wallace is worth it.

If the Pistons offer Wallace, their unrestricted free-agent center, what he deserves, there should be no reason a deal can't be reached.

Wallace, who will be 32 next season, should command a contract between $10 million and $12 million a year for four years.

If another team decides to be fiscally irresponsible -- by offering Wallace a max contract in excess of $15 million a season -- all bets are off. The Pistons, one of the best-run franchises in the NBA, have never simply thrown money around, so you can't expect a major bidding war.




It's not rocket science, Joe: Sign Wallace
by John Harris

Ben Wallace is worth the money.

The most important goal for the Detroit Pistons in the offseason is to re-sign Wallace, the face of the franchise.

That's the only recourse for president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, who told reporters he wants to bring back Detroit's top six players.

Wallace's value exceeds the basketball court. The Pistons need Wallace's winning credibility, blue-collar work ethic, and no-nonsense approach.

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Recent History of the NBA Finals - Part 1

The Detroit Pistons championship teams of 1989 and 1990 under Chuck Daly were, in my opinion, the first teams to win the title using physical defensive that has become more and more common ever since. Even with the high-flying offenses of both Dallas and Miami this year, the only reason that those two teams are playing for the title is because they are playing defense at an elite level. Miami, in fact, has the lowest field-goal shooting percentage allowed of any playoff team, quite the turnaround from their defensive intensity during the regular season.




NBA greats investing in riverfront's future
by JOHN GALLAGHER

If nothing else, investors in one of the planned east riverfront condominium projects would make a pretty good pick-up basketball team.

Dave Bing, a Detroit industrialist and former Detroit Pistons great, said Wednesday he has confirmed investment commitments for his riverfront residential project from several former Detroit Pistons and University of Michigan greats: Joe Dumars, Isiah Thomas, Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, and Derrick Coleman.

Mavs' Stackhouse has plenty in reserve
by Greg Boeck

DALLAS — The irony isn't lost on Jerry Stackhouse. In the NBA, it's not about starts as an individual. It's about finishes as a team.

"I still feel the same," the two-time all-star-turned-prime-time role player said.

Only now he's playing on a stage he has pursued for 11 seasons — the NBA Finals.



CBA's Dakota Wizards now affiliated with NBA's Bulls, Wizards

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The Dakota Wizards will be affiliated with the NBA's Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards for the 2006-2007 season, the NBA Development League announced Thursday.

The Wizards were one of four Continental Basketball Association teams awarded positions in the NBA Development League in April. The other CBA teams that jumped to the NBA farm-team system were the Idaho Stampede, Colorado 14ers and Sioux Falls Skyforce.

The Skyforce will be a feeder team to the Detroit Pistons and the Minnesota Timberwolves, the D-League said.


D-League Skyforce - Who names these teams?

NBA Announces D-League Affiliates For 2006-07 Season

NEW YORK, June 8 – The National Basketball Association announced today its affiliation system for the 2006-07 NBA Development League season. Each of the 12 D-League teams will be affiliated with one-to-three NBA teams, and the NBA teams may assign players in their first two seasons to play in the D-League.

"We're thrilled to announce our 2006-07 affiliation lineup in advance of this year's NBA Draft," D-League President Phil Evans said. "Now fans can tune in and actually see some of the NBA players who could be spending time playing for their D-League team this season."




2006 “A Wasted Season?” Hardly!
by Eli Zaret

One of the first great athletes I befriended in Detroit was Hall of Fame Lion cornerback Lem Barney. On his first series as a rookie in the NFL, Lem intercepted a Bart Starr pass on the Green Bay 20 and raced into the end zone for a touchdown, something many players don’t do in an entire career.

As Barney flipped the ball to the referee he thought to himself, “Man, this is gonna be easy!” It didn’t take him much longer to realize the truth about life in pro sports: It’s never easy for long, and as soon as it seems easy and you let your guard down, you’re done. It’s exactly that absence of certainty in pro sports that makes them so immensely popular.

The Future Of The Pistons





Flip Saunders speaks

The Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune tracked down Flip Saunders for his NBA Finals prediction, in what I believe are his first public comments since the Pistons lost Game 6 last Friday:

"In games that Miami has lost, Shaq has gotten in foul trouble," the former Timberwolves coach said. "If Shaq can stay out of foul trouble and [...]




Lowe: Diploma Coming, NCAA Test Next

N.C. State basketball coach Sidney Lowe expects confirmation of his college graduation next week and will take the NCAA-mandated rules test as soon as he's ready for it, NCSU athletic director Lee Fowler said Thursday.

"We're waiting for the (graduation) documentation now," Fowler said. "We expect to have it in our hands next week."

Lowe, 46, played for the Wolfpack from 1979-80 to 1982-83, but he was far short of earning a degree when he exhausted his college eligibility. That remained the case through 2002, when Lowe resigned from his job as the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies after an 0-8 start. Lowe previously played four seasons, worked as an assistant coach and as a head coach (Minnesota Timberwolves) in the NBA.




Who needs the Pistons?
by David Mayo

We come bearing truth, so spare the e-mails: The National Basketball Association is better off with the Pistons and the Spurs watching this championship series on their huge plasmas, an infusion that has nothing to do with the most-common rants against Detroit and San Antonio.

We've heard it all about both teams: Tim Duncan is too boring, Tony Parker too French, Flip Saunders too unknown, Rasheed Wallace too grating, both teams too ... teamish.

God I hope both the Spurs and Piston make the Finals next season.

Terry Porter: potential NBA owner or assistant coach?

Rob Parker indicates in his column today that former Bucks head coach Terry Porter is not only being considered for an assistant coaching job with the Pistons, but that an official announcement is expected soon. As a former player who spent 17 years in the league, including the first 10 with the Portland Trailblazers, Porter [...]




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Go on out and support N4S. Most importantly, because these shirts might disappear at any time.




Sunny forecast: Phoenix will be team to beat with Stoudemire back
by IRA WINDERMAN

NO EXCUSES

Heat assistant Ron Rothstein, a former Detroit coach, attempted to commiserate with Pistons President Joe Dumars after the Eastern Conference finals.

Dumars would have none of it when Rothstein noted the ankle injury that limited Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace in the six-game series.


Pistons' assistant from Serbia-Montenegro could make history
by PATRICK DORSEY

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Igor Kokoskov has a knack for making history.

At age 24, he became Yugoslavian basketball's youngest-ever head coach. Four years later, in 1999, he became college basketball's first foreign-born assistant. In 2000, he made NBA history, joining the Clippers' staff to become the league's first non-American assistant coach.

Now, in his third year with the Detroit Pistons, the Serbia-Montenegro native is trying to prove himself worthy of becoming the NBA's first foreign-born head coach.

But that wasn't the plan.




Rob Parker: Clubhouse Confidential

Look for Porter to join Pistons

My moles are telling me Terry Porter will replace Sidney Lowe on the Pistons' bench next season.

Lowe, Flip Saunders' top assistant, has taken his dream job as coach of North Carolina State, where he played in college.

Porter was coach of the Bucks for two seasons before being fired in June 2005. Players, moles say, loved Porter because he knows what it takes to be an NBA player.