http://info.detnews.com/redesign/blogs/ ... logid=1568Spending a couple of days with assistant coaches Dave Cowens and Darrell Walker, plus talking at length to head coach Michael Curry, it is clear the Pistons are loving what they've seen thus far from Kwame Brown. "I've been studying big men in this league since 1970 and I am going to tell you this, Kwame Brown, at his size, moves faster and with more control than any other guy that size that I can remember," Cowens said. Curry said the same thing. Brown's athleticism and size provide a legitimate post presence defensively. Offensively, he's still a work in progress. But overall, the Pistons are excited to see how Brown progresses in his new, more nurturing and less pressurized environment. "He's been really good," Curry said. "If the kid was not the first pick in the draft, I wonder what everybody would say about him? I have a list of guys who make $6 million, $7 million a year who haven't done nearly as much as he's done in this league and we got this kid for $4 million." One of those players surely on Curry's list is Dallas center DeSagana Diop, who the Mavericks signed to the full mid-level exception. "Kwame has had his ups and downs, but when he's had his ups, he's done things a lot of guys in this league have never been able to do," Curry said.
At the start of camp, it appears that Amir Johnson is going to get the first look at winning the fifth starting spot and play alonside Rasheed Wallace in the front court. But, if Amir can't secure the spot, Brown could likely slide up. He is the team's lone big-bodied, true post player and he would free Wallace to be a full-fledged power forward, as opposed to playing a hybrid-type frontcourt role. I was really struck, watching Arron Afflalo and Rodney Stuckey interact with thousands of fans over those two days on the bus trip, by how different these two guys are. Just watch them walking into the room and you see the difference. Afflalo is buttoned-down, shirt tucked in, clean and serious. Stuckey is loose, shirt tail out, walking with a big smile and a swagger. When they addressed crowds, Afflalo's talks were poignant, serious and directly to the point. Stuckey cracked jokes, worked the room, made bold statements. Both, in their own way, charmed the crowds. Both are confident young players and both have a passion to compete and win. But Afflalo's competitiveness is completely off the charts -- and I mean that in a good way. In Travese City, they had a free throw shooting contest with a kid from the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The kid beat both players, which was sort of pre-arranged, I think. Stuckey completely played his Washington Generals role. He had one last shot to win the contest, but he moved several feet back and rimmed it out. Afflalo couldn't get himself to throw the match. He was actually upset -- good-naturedly so -- that he missed his last shot because one of the organizers of the thing had jumped at him and disrupted his final shot. They had another free throw shooting contest at Midland Dow High School on Thursday. A player from the school's varsity team was selected to shoot against Stuckey and another from the girls team went against Afflalo. Stuckey again backed up on his last shot and missed, making the kid the hero of the day. Afflalo couldn't do it. He crushed the girl on his final shot. He did it in a playful way and both kids were thrilled with the experience, but Afflalo wasn't losing two days in a row. Love it.
One last thing -- don't look for Lindsey Hunter to be around any time soon. He, as you know, is involved in an FBI investigation regarding an apparently bogus real estate deal. That investigation is expected to go well into the season. If Hunter makes it back at all, it most likely won't be until after the All-Star break.
