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'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#761 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 10:21 am

http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStories.html

A couple of weeks ago, coach Michael Curry said he was thinking about moving Antonio McDyess into the starting lineup for the final stretch of the season. He made that move a reality Monday. "I just think it makes us more stable starting games off," Curry said. "It makes us more solid defensively, especially when we have to help." McDyess will replace Amir Johnson, who had been struggling in the weeks leading up to the All-Star break, beginning tonight against the Bucks. "Our hope is that Amir will play better against the second-line guys," Curry said.

McDyess, who has grown fond of his role coming off the bench, initially balked at moving back into the starting lineup. But Curry said the two talked before the break and McDyess is on board. "It was easy," Curry said of having to convince McDyess. "He wants to win and he wants to do whatever it takes to help us win. We talked basketball and talked about the things that we could do to be better and he realized this (him starting) was one of those things. He welcomes it."

McDyess did not speak to the media Monday. "At this point, we've had so many different lineup changes, it really doesn't matter," Tayshaun Prince said. "We just have to start playing together and try to get some wins. Dyess will help us defensively and rebounding and he will make some shots. But the key to it all now is, who's going to be that big coming off the bench for us? "I think coach made the decision because we have had trouble getting out of the gate and falling behind early in games." Curry said Johnson, Jason Maxiell and Kwame Brown will all be used off the bench depending on matchups.

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#762 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 10:24 am

http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=3474

Pistons to change lineup: Pistons coach Michael Curry is shaking up his starting lineup coming out of the All-Star break. Curry said Antonio McDyess will become a starter again and Amir Johnson will come off the bench. “As I talked about going into the break, I’m going to start him instead of Amir,” Curry said of McDyess. “Hopefully Amir will play better with some second line guys. Hopefully we can be more solid defensively, especially when we have the help with ‘Dyess in there and also to stay consistent.

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#763 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 10:54 am

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/02/15/pist ... index.html

The Detroit Pistons traded Alex Acker to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, creating salary-cap space for moves the next two offseasons.

Detroit dealt the seldom-used guard and its second-round pick in 2011 for a conditional second-round selection in 2013 from the Clippers. Los Angeles also waived center Cheikh Samb. The Pistons will have about $23 million in salary-cap space, giving them a lot of money to retool their team during the next two years after slipping from an Eastern Conference power to a middle-of-the pack team.

The 6-foot-5 Acker played in just seven games for the Pistons this season, averaging 1.3 points. Detroit drafted him 60th overall in 2005 and he played in five games as a rookie, then went overseas before returning as a free agent. Samb was acquired by the Clippers in a Jan. 5 trade with Denver. He played in 10 games, averaging 1.1 points and 1.3 rebounds in 5.4 minutes.

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#764 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 11:11 am

http://www.nba.com/games/20090217/MILDET/preview.html

Allen Iverson and the Detroit Pistons aren't playing nearly as well as expected. The Milwaukee Bucks, though, have yet to figure out what has made their Central Division rivals so vulnerable. Coming off the All-Star break with their worst record in seven years, Iverson and the Pistons look to sweep a season series with the Bucks for the first time in their history Tuesday night. Detroit's acquisition of Iverson from Denver for Chauncey Billups hasn't paid off this season. The Pistons (27-24) have lost three straight, 12 of 17 and are 23-24 since trading for Iverson. After winning the NBA title five years ago during a stretch of six straight trips to the Eastern Conference finals, Detroit has its worst record following the All-Star break since it was 26-21 in 2002. "It's not a good feeling," Iverson said. "The whole thing is to stay positive, stay together, not to point fingers and play the blame game. "You don't win a championship at the All-Star break."

Iverson is averaging a career-low 18.2 points and was limited to two in 15 minutes for the Eastern Conference in Sunday night's All-Star game, which the West won 146-119. But, with Iverson playing somewhat effectively, Detroit has had little trouble versus Milwaukee (26-29), winning all three meetings entering the teams' final one of the season. The Pistons have never swept a season series with the Bucks. Iverson is shooting 39.0 percent and averaging 20.7 points - nearly seven below his career average - against Milwaukee this season, but he has shot 88.2 percent from the free-throw line and is posting 7.3 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals a contest. The veteran guard had 26 points on Wednesday night, but the Pistons lost 99-95 to Atlanta in their last game before the break. Detroit, in seventh place in the East, may decide to deal one of its top players before Thursday's deadline. The Bucks are in eighth place, three games behind the Pistons, but they don't have much flexibility to make any moves.

Star shooting guard Michael Redd (knee) is out for the season, center Andrew Bogut (back) will miss at least seven more weeks and point guard Luke Ridnour (thumb) will be out a minimum of three weeks. The Bucks, though, have managed to compensate by changing their style, going to a quicker pace on offense and scoring at least 120 points in three straight games since losing Ridnour, going 2-1. In its first year under coach Scott Skiles, Milwaukee has already reached last year's win total after a 122-110 win over Indiana last Wednesday. "I don't know what's going to happen for these remaining games. We're asking these guys to do an awful lot. We've lost three key players here," Bucks general manager John Hammond said. "I think everyone would probably understand if we would have stayed healthy, we were on our way to a good, solid year." Richard Jefferson has picked up most of Redd's scoring load. The veteran forward, who was acquired in a trade with New Jersey in the offseason, is averaging 28.5 points in his last two games.Jefferson, however, has averaged 13.0 points in his last two games against Detroit.

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#765 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:03 pm

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wireta ... _d_league/

For the second time this season, the Memphis Grizzlies have assigned center Hamed Haddadi to the NBA Development League’s Dakota Wizards, the club’s D-League affiliate, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today. Haddadi will return to Dakota after posting 6.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.55 blocks in 17.7 minutes in 11 games (seven starts) after being assigned to the Wizards on Nov. 24. Memphis recalled the 7-2, 280-pound center on Dec. 24.

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#766 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:06 pm

http://pistonsnationblog.com/2009/02/17/dyess-to-start/

Dyess to start :He’s at it again folks. When Michael Curry said he might experiment and start Dyess in the last 20 games what he meant to say was that he was desperate and he’ll try anything starting tonight against the Bucks at the Palace.“As I talked about going into the break, I’m going to start him instead of Amir,” Curry said of McDyess. “Hopefully Amir will play better with some second line guys. Hopefully we can be more solid defensively, especially when we have the help with ‘Dyess in there and also to stay consistent.

Look out for that bus you’re being thrown under Amir!

[/quoe]
Despite Antonio’s preference, productivity and the fact that Dyess is playing starter’s minutes already Curry is again flip flopping on lineups. Shocking right?

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#767 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:11 pm

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/d ... index.html

In Detroit, Pistons try to beat an economic full-court press: Up until a couple of weeks ago, the Pistons were riding a sellout streak at the Palace of Auburn Hills that had stretched for more than five years, through five straight trips to the playoffs, two stops in the Finals and one NBA championship. While the lifeline of the city of Detroit -- the automotive industry -- struggled to remain economically relevant, the Motor City's basketball franchise flourished. The Pistons seemed, at times, immune to whatever it was that ailed the rest of this once-proud city. That all ended on Feb. 4 against Miami. The sellout streak, which began in January of 2004, finally and somewhat quietly ended at 259 games (playoffs and regular-season games included). Now, the Pistons are staring down the same sobering financial realities that the rest of the city faces. In many ways, the Pistons' sellout streak probably lasted longer than it should have. The team sold hundreds of tickets at severely discounted rates on several occasions just to keep it going. Given what the city is up against, the fact that the streak lasted more than five years is nothing short of amazing. A recent glance at the front page of the Detroit Free Press says it all. All four of the stories chronicled the city's fiscal woes. The Greektown Casino needs $46 million to stay open. City workers face a 10 percent wage cut to help erase a $300 million deficit. Congress may step in to help the auto industry by offering drivers cash incentives to buy hybrid cars. Finally, the page's lead story, "Hard Times, Hard Liquor," chronicled how Detroit residents are hitting the bottle these days. "On a whole, we've seen our economy go through rough times," said Pistons coach Michael Curry, "but even more so here."Getting fans through the turnstiles is not the only challenge the Pistons face, economically speaking. Getting corporate sponsors to continue to lend their name -- and their dollars -- is proving more difficult, too. Dan Hauser, the Pistons' executive vice president of corporate sales, said that the team has tried to be flexible with its corporate pricing options. Rather than maintain a strict price point and sever a long-standing relationship with a corporation because it can no longer pay the price, the Pistons have in some cases reduced the cost or length of the contract to keep its sponsors onboard. In the past, for example, the only way that a soft drink product would get ad space on the Pistons' scoreboard was with a spot in all 41 of Detroit's home games. Now that soft drink company might buy an ad for 10 games and the Pistons will get a tire company, a bank or another corporation to pick up the rest of the time in 10-game intervals. "That's one of the things we've been forced to do," Hauser said. "I say, 'forced' but I mean, you just have to work with what you got. "The good news is, we're keeping the majority [of the corporate sponsorships]. The bad news is, we feel it just like the next person."

The Pistons aren't the only team feeling the economic crunch. The Sports Business Journal reported that the NBA plans on taking out a $175 million loan on Feb. 26 to split between 15 teams. Those teams requested the money so that they can cover their basic operating costs and other expenses. The Pistons have a monthly one-hour conference call with six other teams to share information of what is working in other cities. Hauser says one idea that has come from the conference call is for Detroit to get a head start on its season-ticket renewal process in the spring, rather than waiting until June or July. Dave Bing enjoyed a Hall of Fame career with the Pistons in the 1960s and '70s. When he was done lacing them up, he stayed in Detroit and made his fortune in the steel industry with The Bing Group.Now Bing is running for mayor of Detroit. The primary is Feb. 24. "There's a tremendous need," Bing said when asked what prompted his decision to enter the political realm. "We have a lot of folks here in this city that are in pain, they are hurting financially. I think we got a lot of people who are basically losing hope because they are losing jobs and they don't see from a leadership standpoint, anybody trying to correct the direction that we're going in." Bing feels that the Pistons and their problems -- or those of the other major pro sports franchises in Detroit, the NFL's Lions, the NHL's Red Wings and MLB's Tigers -- are the last thing that Motown residents should be worried about these days. "If the teams are successful, I think people would rally around that because that's all good news and that helps from a pride standpoint. But in the real world, it doesn't mean that much to these people," Bing said. "They see athletes as being overpaid, spoiled, pampered and the guy that's got to get up and take a lunch to work everyday, he couldn't care less about some of the issues that the athletes are having or even the teams are having at this point because they can't connect. It's hard for them to connect with that today." Maybe that's the reason for the growing patches of empty seats. Pistons season ticket holder Tony Jennings, 26, of Birmingham, Mich., says that he saw those empty sections pop up in the Palace months before the sellout streak officially ended. It certainly hasn't helped that the Pistons have struggled on the court, either. In the 10 games before the streak ended, Detroit was 3-7. The Pistons traded former Finals MVP Chauncey Billups -- who manned the point the last six years as Detroit made the Eastern Conference Finals six times -- to Denver for Allen Iverson in a move that was explained by the Pistons' front office as one intended to jolt an aging team. Day by day, however, the trade seems to have been fueled more by salary cap considerations. Iverson's $22 million deal comes off the books this season. In contrast, Detroit would have owed Billups $25 million over the next two seasons.

The Pistons are 27-24 coming out of the All-Star break and would be the No.7 seed in the East if the playoffs started today. "Our goal here is to build a winning team that competes for championships each year," Detroit president of basketball operations Joe Dumars told NBA.com in an e-mail. "I evaluate every facet of our team and basketball operations to make sure that we are in a position to be a competitive team in the present and in the future." Still, it's obvious that the Pistons have become a much tougher sell in this economic environment. Maybe nobody sees that better than Joe Morgan, 33, owner of Motor City Sports Gallery, a sports memorabilia and custom framing store. Aside from the economy hitting his business hard ("If people can't afford to feed their families," Morgan said, "they're not going to buy this stuff"), Morgan said the Pistons pieces "sell less than anybody -- a lot less." That includes framed jerseys and autographed pictures from the Lions, who became the model of futility with the NFL's first-ever 0-16 season. "For the first time this year I think people are looking at it and saying, 'OK, I've got $80 into these tickets, it's $10 to park, I've got gas, I've got beers, I've got two [hot] dogs at least, that's another $40 ... I don't know.' And they're willing to eat the $80 for a bad game on a Tuesday, in January with the snow falling," said Tom Wilson, president and CEO of the Pistons. The Pistons have tried to ease some of the growing consumer fear by offering "Dollar Nights" where various concessions -- hot dogs, popcorn, nachos and cotton candy -- are priced at only $1. "As we look forward, we're looking at cutting our prices, we're looking at all-inclusive kinds of things where parking may be included, where a food card or something like that may be included so that you pay us once and you pay us less once, but you get a much greater package," Wilson said. "We have to take away the obvious reasons that you can't justify coming." It's no small task, especially in a city that was ranked No. 7 on Forbes' list of America's 10 Most Miserable Cities and No. 2 on Forbes' list of America's Emptiest Cities. "We feel as though that we're peoples' escape," Pistons guard Richard Hamilton said, "where they can come out and enjoy a basketball game, have fun, enjoy it and put their problems to the side for a couple of hours and we're pretty much their entertainment." It's unlikely, given the current economic climate in the city and the Pistons' struggles on the court, that Detroit will begin another legitimate sellout streak anytime soon. But the Pistons, like the city itself, are not about to give up trying. "This is a resilient city," Curry said. "I think that Detroit is made up of fighters and that's why they embrace the team when the team is really fighting. That's what they want."

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#768 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:24 pm

http://dananbaplayoff.blogspot.com/2009 ... score.html

WHO'S GOING TO SCORE? : The biggest concern with the latest Pistons lineup change is bench scoring. Richard Hamilton has settled in nicely to his sixth-man role but with Antonio McDyess moving to the starting lineup - a change Michael Curry announced after the All-Star break - there are no other natural scorers in reserve.

The other main reserves now are Amir Johnson - who lost his starting job - Jason Maxiell and Arron Afflalo. The Pistons are going to need to play more uptempo with that second unit, try to force turnovers and manufacture points. You're not going to run pick and rolls to free up Maxiell or Johnson, so Curry will have to do something to make sure defenses don't overload on Rip.

By the way, McDyess has handled the latest switch like a pro, as always, even though he'd prefer to be a key reserve at this stage of his career. "I know we've been struggling this year and he came to me and asked me, 'Would I start?'" McDyess said of Curry. "I told him, 'Yeah, whatever it takes.' I know it's already been tough this year. I don't want to make it more complicated than it already is, so it was easy for me to tell him yes."

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#769 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:28 pm

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/s ... alk-090217

The Pistons also could become players. Rasheed Wallace and Allen Iverson have big expiring contracts. If Detroit lets them expire, it goes into the summer with $20 million or more in cap space, putting the Pistons in position to make a significant offseason splash.

But if a team can offer the Pistons something now that's better than what's available this summer, they'll have to take a long, hard look.

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#770 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:36 pm

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/02/16/rich ... index.html

Phoenix Suns guard Jason Richardson was arrested in Scottsdale after police said he was driving 55 mph above the limit with his unrestrained 3-year-old son in the car.

A Scottsdale police officer first saw Richardson driving 67 mph in a 40 mph zone Sunday night and followed him, police said Monday. That's when the officer clocked him at 90 mph in a 35 mph zone and pulled him over.

The Suns announced the suspension about two hours later.

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#771 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:41 pm

http://www.detroitbadboys.com/archives/ ... ng-lineup/

Antonio McDyess returns to the starting lineup
Michael Curry hinted that Antonio McDyess might resume starting: “Over our last 20 games and into the playoffs, I am not sure, but we may look at that,” Curry said. “But going through this stretch, we want to see (how the current starting five works).”

Apparently “our last 20 games” = “our last 31 games,” and “going through this stretch” = “the next four games,” because on Monday Curry announced the change would happen starting tonight against the Bucks. “As I talked about going into the break, I’m going to start him instead of Amir,” Curry said of McDyess. “Hopefully Amir will play better with some second line guys. Hopefully we can be more solid defensively, especially when we have the help with ‘Dyess in there and also to stay consistent.“I don’t have to bring Kwame (Brown) into the starting lineup. I can bring him off the bench to play against some of the bigger guys. I can start ‘Sheed and ‘Dyess and just play that way.”

This goes completely against Curry’s stated plans earlier in the year to keep either McDyess or Wallace on the floor at all times, but after winning just five of the last 17 games, I guess it’s only natural for a first-year coach to get desperate. It’s what coaches do under pressure (see: Flip Saunders in the playoffs) — when you feel like you’re being graded on wins and losses today, you put your fate in the hands of trusty veterans instead of mistake-prone youngsters. In other words, you forgo long-term development in favor of immediate gains. And unless it results in a title, it’s a selfish move that does nothing for the organization. Furthermore, to pin this move on Amir Johnson (”hopefully Amir will play better with some second line guys”) is ridiculous, especially when you consider McDyess hasn’t posted a positive plus/minus in the four games since Curry first hinted at the move. In fact, McDyess was absolutely horrendous in at least one of those games — he was minus-24 in the Chicago collapse, looking every bit of his 34 years old while allowing Tyrus Thomas to look like an All-Star. Johnson, incidentally, was +13. Giving McDyess more minutes against better players is not the solution. Terry Porter, a guy who worked closely with Curry last year and whose team came into Detroit last week and wiped the Pistons off the floor, was just fired despite posting a better record than what Curry’s done so far. To think that Curry isn’t feeling panicked is asinine. This is making a move for the sake of making a move. As John Wooden once said, never mistake activity for achievement.

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#772 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:44 pm

http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx? ... v10582.htm

Milwaukee Bucks (26-29) at Detroit Pistons (27-24), 7:30 p.m.
Central Division rivals kick off the second half of the NBA season Tuesday night, as the Detroit Pistons welcome the Milwaukee Bucks to The Palace of Auburn Hills. Detroit entered the All-Star break riding a three-game losing streak and suffered a 99-95 defeat to the Atlanta Hawks last Wednesday in the first of three straight games at home. All-Star Allen Iverson recorded a game-high 28 points and Richard Hamilton added 14 for the Pistons, who are second in the division standings behind Cleveland. Iverson had two points and three assists during the East's 146-119 loss to the West in Sunday night's All-Star Game. Tayshaun Prince had 12 points, eight assists and five rebounds in defeat. Detroit is 14-13 as the host this season and will also welcome the San Antonio Spurs to town on this residency. Pistons center Rasheed Wallace is probable for Tuesday's game with knee tendinitis. In addition, Antonio McDyess is expected to start at power forward for the first time this season for Detroit. "Even though Kwame (Brown) will play, I don't have to bring Kwame into the starting lineup," said Pistons head coach Michael Curry. "I can bring him off the bench to play against some of the bigger guys. I can start (Wallace) and (McDyess) and just play that way."

The Bucks are third in the Central standings and will try to match a season high of three straight wins Tuesday in Detroit. They last won three in a row from December 19-23 and handed the Indiana Pacers a 122-110 loss on Wednesday in the finale of a three-game homestand (2-1) at the Bradley Center. Richard Jefferson tied a season best with 32 points and also added seven rebounds and four assists for Milwaukee, which got 20 points off the bench from Charlie Bell. Charlie Villanueva scored 17 points and Ramon Sessions ended with 15 points, 17 assists and seven rebounds. Milwaukee was plagued by injuries in the first half of the season and has been playing without guard Michael Redd, center Andrew Bogut and point guard Luke Ridnour. Redd is out for the season with a torn ACL and Bogut is out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his lower back. Ridnour will be out for some time after suffering a broken right thumb late last week.

The Bucks, who have scored at least 120 points in three straight games, will try to work on their 10-20 road mark this evening. Detroit is 3-0 against Milwaukee this season and has won four straight and nine of the previous 10 meetings. The Pistons have also won four in a row and 10 of the past 11 as the host in this series.

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#773 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:47 pm

http://www.nba.com/powerrankings/

1: Los Angeles Lakers
2: Cleveland Cavaliers
3: Boston Celtics
4: San Antonio Spurs
5: Orlando Magic
6: Denver Nuggets
7: Dallas Mavericks
8: Portland Trailblazers
9: New Orleans Hornets
10: Houston Rockets
14:Detroit Pistons
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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#774 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:49 pm

http://www.nba.com/powerrankings/

Detroit (16) 27-22 Pace: 86.1 (29), Off: 107.9 (20), Def: 108.2 (11)
With their loss to the Suns, the Pistons are now 1-9 on Sundays (0-6 at home), with the only win coming by one point over the Clippers. They've still got six more Sunday games on the schedule and Amar'e Stoudemire averages 25.3 points on 57 percent shooting on Sundays. Just sayin'.

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#775 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:53 pm

http://slamonline.com/online/nba/2009/0 ... ville-usa/

It’s no dis on AI to say that his acquisition—essentially a straight-up deal for Mr. Big Shot, as Dice bounced himself right back to Detroit in one of the NBA’s sillier salary cap loopholes, the “player buyout”—has totally torpedoed Detroit’s season. Shedding Iverson’s contract indeed will allow for cap freedom in future seasons. But devaluing a team in order to attract stars to play for you is never a solid strategy. It didn’t work then in Chicago for the post-MJ era, when GM Jerry Krause thought Bulls Mach II would be comprised of guys ignoring a razor-thin roster and dazzled by six trophies; the ol’ sign ’em first, listen to frustrated trade demands later strategy. Second City dreams of Duncan and TMac quickly segued to Eddie Jones and finally settled at Ron Mercer and Eddie Robinson. It’s not going to work now for Memphis, or Charlotte, or even the New York Knicks, for glitz and glamour will not supplant the promise of a title, even for a max-contract player.

Dumars acquired Iverson thinking, understandably, that worst-case, the Pistons win 50, lose in the second round, and then circle toys in the Sears catalog with all their salary cap space for years to come, if need be. Even a sub-.500 season won’t take all the luster away from six straight conference titles and a solid young core. Right?

But if you’re Chris Bosh, does De-troit Basket-ball look more alluring than playing in Miami right now? Chicago? Phoenix? Somebody—it’s looking more and more like a lot of somebodies—is going to be gravely disappointed come 2010, when player movement could be frozen for any number of reasons, from wins and losses to new collective bargaining to a dollar all of us hope won’t be downsized into a ruble in the coming months.

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#776 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:55 pm

http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 70401/1127

Pistons' McDyess accepts new role as starter
Antonio McDyess talked to reporters after shoot-around Tuesday for the first since being put back into the starting lineup. "I know we've been struggling this year and (coach Michael Curry) came to me and asked me, 'Would you start?'" McDyess said. "I told him, 'Yeah, whatever it takes.' I know it's already been tough this year. I don't want to make it more complicated than it already is. It was easy for me to tell him yes."

But, in his heart of hearts, McDyess would prefer to stay in his comfort zone, which is coming off the bench. "At this point in my career, I thought I'd just continue to come off the bench and be a role player," he said. "It's still kind of tough to know at this age that I am starting. But it's a good compliment. For me, it's no problem. I just know I've got to do whatever I can, whether I am in there for 10 minutes or 20 minutes."

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#777 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 7:01 pm

http://www.nba.com/pistons/news/dumars_090217.html

Joe Dumars Q&A - Part III
Pistons president Joe Dumars sat down with Pistons.com editor Keith Langlois during the All-Star break to talk about where the Pistons are at, what might be happening at the trade deadline and various other subjects during a wide-ranging interview. Pistons.com will post the interview over three segments. Here’s Part III:
KEITH LANGLOIS: There have been a lot of reports lately that the economy has affected the NBA, and even multimillionaire and billionaire owners have been hurt by this. Have you had any change in your marching orders from Mr. Davidson based on the economy?
JOE DUMARS: I would say this, and I say this with satisfaction, that we have not had to change our business model. The way Mr. D and I talk about running this team puts us in a position where we don’t have to change our business model. Even in the best of economic times, we were always in the top one or two most responsible financial teams. Even the best of times, when it was in vogue to go out and spend tons of money, when it was the in thing to do, to go out and just spend recklessly, we’ve never done that. Consequently, now, when these really tough economic times hit, we can maintain our business model, because it’s in line with what people are having to do in this tough economic time.
KL: And do you get the sense that there is that going around the league?
JD: No question, because some of these deals that are being proposed out there are to save money, to put it plain. They’re simply to save money and they’re more money-oriented than basketball-oriented. It’s very clear that some of these moves are based on the economic times.
KL: The sellout streak recently ended at 259. I know your focus is really on putting a winning product on the floor and a winning product is ultimately the best way to sell tickets. But just talk about what that sellout streak meant to you and your sense of what pro teams and sports in general mean to this community as a guy who’s been here going on 25 years.
JD: Detroit is a heck of a sports city. We’ve sat around and talked about how in the fall, you can get Michigan State with a full stadium, Michigan 100,000, the Lions selling out, people showing up at Comerica Park, coming out to The Palace. I mean, how many cities can claim that, can do that? I tell people from other cities about that and they just shake their head like, man, that’s unbelievable. The sellout streak and people showing up at The Palace all the time, it means something to us. We know this is a big-time sports city. Between the economic times going on right now, we’re a team in transition right now, it’s totally understandable. I’ve had a lot of conversations about this. I feel for the people that want to come but just can’t afford to do it right now. You know they’re still fans. They are still big-time fans, but where we are right now economically, it makes it tough for a lot of people to come out.

KL: Let’s talk a little more about personnel. Some of the role players have had their roles fluctuate this year as a fallout from the trade. Talk a little bit about how some of those guys have performed given the circumstances.
JD: Well, I think maybe for Afflalo, it probably changed more than anybody else. It’s thrust him into a more prominent role. The young bigs, our expectations really haven’t changed a whole lot for them. But for Afflalo it’s changed some and it’s put more on his plate. But we feel like he’s a mature kid and he can handle it. A three-year UCLA guy that came here pretty mature. When we’ve had guys we felt needed time, we’ve set things up to give them that time. Amir came here 18 years old and we knew, kid’s not ready for a lot on his plate. That’s where you see NBDL and two years down there, then last year coming along slowly and now this year a lot more responsibility. It’s just about that individual player and how much he can handle at that time which dictates how much we put on his plate. What we’re asking of Amir and Maxiell and Afflalo right now, we’re asking because, No. 1, we feel they’re mature enough to do it, and, No. 2, they’ve been here long enough to do it. This is Amir and Maxiell’s fourth year. Afflalo, it’s only his second year, but he’s a very mature guy. We only ask guys to do that kind of stuff if we feel they’re mature enough to handle it.
KL: Since Dice came back from the rib injury in early January, he’s played 20 games and he’s averaging 10 rebounds a game. Those are numbers he hasn’t had since pre-knee injury when he was a 20 and 10 guy. Given that, what kind of career would we be talking about if those injuries hadn’t occurred?
JD: Dice was on track, in my opinion, to put up Hall of Fame numbers before he got hurt. He was that kind of dominant, 20 and 10 guy. But let me say something about that with Dice. Dice is one of the few guys who was viewed as one of these supreme athletes, who dominated, had a major injury, and completely changed his game, to a skilled, more heady player, who doesn’t play way above the rim night in and night out. You rarely see that in basketball, where a guy goes from being this supreme athlete to a highly skilled guy that just understands the game and understands his role. I’ve tried to think who I’ve seen do that and I really can’t come up with anybody else. For the people who remember his game when he was young, when his head was over the rim, to the guy you see now.
KL: It’s like a power pitching in baseball blowing out his arm, like Frank Tanana, a strikeout king who came back with the Tigers and was throwing 75 mile-an-hour junk.
JD: And getting you out. That’s what Dice has done. That’s probably the only example I can think of is a baseball guy, like Tanana. You rarely see that. Even in baseball, how many guys can say they’ve done that? It’s rare what we’re seeing with him.

KL: I thought this was interesting – a Mark Cuban blog the other day where he revealed a player evaluation system that the Dallas Mavericks have developed over the years. And on that list, he had Rasheed Wallace listed No. 14 among all NBA players, one spot ahead of Kobe Bryant. I was surprised he would reveal the player rankings publicly, but what does that say when you look at Rasheed’s numbers – he probably wouldn’t be top 14 in the league – about his value beyond his numbers?
JD: I think people around the league value him. I think people in this city would be surprised how much people around the league value this guy and how people around the league look at him in terms of a big that can do some of the things he can do. Rasheed has become a lightning rod around here for anything that goes wrong. What gets lost in that is what he does do very well. My job is to put him in check when I think he’s getting out of line, but my job is also to recognize what he’s doing extremely well for us, too. The way he guards the perimeter, the way he rebounds the ball around the basket at times, the way he stretches the defense, when he makes up his mind to go down and post how he turns around and shoots over 7 foot guys with ease, the way he talks on defense. And what happens is every team around this league recognizes that, they see that and they know it’s rare to have guys like that. That doesn’t mean they don’t see his flaws, but they also know his plusses and what he’s bringing to the court, they outweigh the flaws that get pointed out so easily here.
KL: I’ll ask a question that I realize you can’t answer in much detail. Because of that – because of his ability to adapt to almost any situation you could throw him into on other teams and because of his expiring contract – I have to believe he is a guy who would have immense trade value. When you’re getting that handful of phone calls like you talked about, is he a guy that people are interested in talking about?
JD: When you are a 7-foot guy, you’re multitalented and you have an expiring contract – let’s just say in general – that prompts a lot of phone calls. Anybody in the league that fits that description will prompt a lot of phone calls.
KL: I’ll wrap it up with this. Any coach, especially with a franchise that has had the sustained success you guys have had, who goes through a rough stretch is going to come under some scrutiny, and that probably gets amplified when it’s a first-year head coach. Just talk about you’ve seen from Michael and how he’s handled the challenges that have been presented to him.
JD: He and I have had a lot of conversations. He’s had some rough patches and he’s had some very, very good patches as well. Walking into San Antonio and getting a win and walking in LA and getting a big win. But he’s also had some rough patches and that’s … two things, I would say. It’s expected, going through a transition, and it’s expected of a young, first-year head coach. So my job is to try to help him through some of those rough patches. But like I said to him, when you are a first-time head coach, when you step into a team that has been really successful, and that team has any kind of struggles, there’s going to be some shrapnel. Don’t duck it, don’t put your head down. Stand there, face the music, deal with it and get back and lock into what you need to do to get better. That’s what I’ve been telling him. Listen, when you step into these roles, these high-profile roles, when you sit in that first seat, no matter what first seat it is, there’s a certain amount of responsibility that comes with that and it’s not going to be all pretty days. You’re going to have some lonely, tough, rough days and long nights of trying to sleep. And he’s had that. He’s had some tough days and some long nights, but it’s expected. It’s expected of any first-year head coach and it’s expected of any coach taking over a team going through a transition.

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#778 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 7:05 pm

http://postingup.2dogs.com/member/avvie ... 94&t=b&v=2

Joe Dumars Q&A - Part III

Audio interview part 3 with JD.
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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#779 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 7:06 pm

http://www.dallasbasketball.com/fullColumn.php?id=1338

For Dallas, these talks are very much Plan C. They are steps below a “Plan A’’ (such as taking advantage of the possibility of a financially-driven roster implosion in Phoenix with Shaq and Amare) and a “Plan B’’ (a hard look at “seller’’ teams like Detroit, Washington, New Orleans and Milwaukee). Plans A and B are expensive and complex and worthy of great in-house debate for any team. (We’re told one Eastern team front office is completely split and in deep debate over the idea of acquiring Amare Stoudemire. We’ll have more on this later in the day.)

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Re: 'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 26 

Post#780 » by nasty daddy » Tue Feb 17, 2009 7:07 pm

http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sport ... -expected/

Celtic sources have confirmed that Sam Cassell has been traded to Sacramento for a protected second-round pick.

Cassell, who has yet to play for the Celts this season, is making the veteran minimum — a portion of which is picked up by the league.

In other words, the move doesn’t save the Celtics much money and is clearly designed to free up a roster spot for another move. The NBA traded deadline is Thursday.

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