detroitdave

Your #2 pick wouldn't play for us either.

Billups excelled in Rick Carlisle's system, then he excelled in Brown's system. He's also going to excel in Saunders' system, which is the very same one that he used to earn his FA deal with Detroit. So prepare another rationalization. Overrated. That's good. There are maybe a half-dozen points out there worthy of running a championship club, and the one who makes the least money without a single All-Star appearance is overrated. Right.

If Billups was any LESS overrated, he'd be playing under an alias. Back to the larger point, I don't put a lot of stock in pre-season speculations. Until we see that Cleveland lineup play together, it's just fantasy league. Chemistry is more elusive than people think.

It would have been so easy for Larry to take the high road. He could have said that he wasn't able to guarantee his health to the satisfaction of the Pistons (which is what he'd been saying for months with that whole Mayo Clinic routine), so he understood their decision and appreciated the opportunity. But instead Larry let everybody else handle his disinformation campaign ... his wife, his shyster agent, his pet sportswriters. Pistons fans knew it was a one-night stand when they hired him, but we didn't expect him to be friggin' Glenn Close.

Bill Walton was predicting that Detroit would win it all this morning, just a few days after reaming them out. I honestly don't know if he swings back and forth so crazily just to make fun of the whole media thing, but it makes you wonder. Do these guys forget what they said earlier ... or do they simply have that little respect for the public's memory and intellect? BTW, no way do I think the outcome is a given. All the Spurs have to do is win Game 5, and they leave Detroit with exactly what they came for.

Geoff Petrie's one of the smartest front office guys out there. He was also a co-Rookie of the Year back in the 1970s, putting up 24 a game. And Rod Thorn was a lottery pick who had a decent career in the early 1960s.

I love the idea that an Atlanta Hawks fan is bad-mouthing the Pistons. No offense to the rest of you good folks, but respecting his opinion would be like asking the time of day from a guy with a broken watch.

Well, it's more than others have done. But any player who wants to do something for the living could easily do so, while getting some great PR. Here's how: 1) Get in touch with the Association of Pro Basketball Researchers (www.apbr.org) or Bill Tosheff of the pre-1965 players association. 2) Tell their accountant to set aside the equivalent of a few game checks. Maybe get a few other players to do the same. 3) Create "the Mikan Foundation" to administer funds, maybe with a clever tagline like "It takes a big man to give something back." Have a charity game that will be televised on ESPN Classic. 4) Bask in applause and praise.

Thoughts from a Pistons fan: * I don't particularly mind if Brown is on the way out. Neither does the team. He was joyless and fearful all season, holding back the progress of anyone who wasn't a veteran and pissing off the guys with all the rumors. So two years and at least one title works out just fine. But is it too much to ask that he wait until the season is over? That kind of selfishness bugs me. * Clearly Larry is brilliant -- and pathological. Why burn your bridges for CLEVELAND? If he was being offered the moon to coach the Lakers, he'd be returning to his wife's home state and a house in Malibu. That makes sense. But he's reputedly going to live in Philadelphia and commute, which will do nothing good for his health or family life. Meanwhile there's no guarantee the Cavs will ever be as good or as easy to work for as the Pistons. His flaws will be exposed as a GM without Dumars to counterbalance his worst traits. And he'll work for a complete jerk. * We knew what we were getting with Brown. (Don't tell me that Joe Dumars didn't have a compensation plan in mind when he locked Larry up with that 5-year deal.) But this Dan Gilbert jackass is the most infuriating aspect of all, dangling money in front of a serial quitter like a drug dealer tempting a crack whore. Who is he to tamper with a GOOD organization, all the while acting as if making money during a housing boom qualifies him to run a basketball team? Somebody needs to step on this jerk hard. If David Stern wants to throw his weight around, Gilbert is the perfect target. He needs to be disciplined, or he'll always be a loose cannon.

Quote: The fact of the matter is, it should be all about what WE want because WE put all that money in their pockets. We could make them pay for being so damn audacious, hardheaded, and greedy - but nobody fears the fan. Nice. That's it in a nutshell.

Add D'Antoni as the 32nd "Flavor of the Month" at Howard Johnson's. Remember when this used to be the Mavs' contribution to civilization? In truth the Suns are a consequence of something much more far-reaching: the changing of the old "illegal defense" rules a couple of years ago, which is effectively killing the old style of isolation basketball. Whether it's the "fun" Suns of 2005 or the "right way" Pistons of 2004 (you know where MY sympathies lay), what's becoming clear is that the old "two superstar" model is waning while true teams are thriving. And that's a good thing.

I think the real question is if anyone disagrees. You know you're a slacker when your "career year" lasts less than two weeks.

They need a center. BADLY.

I apologize in advance, but putting guys like Walker, McGrady and Rahim on an "All-NBA heart team" is an obvious example of using a vague term to justify your personal favorites. You're telling me that these guys stand above 300 or so other NBA players, when ... * McGrady quit on his team for long stretches last year, and had already forced his way off of one team because he wanted to be the only star. * Walker refuses to use his talents in a way that actually helps his team, racking up personal numbers while making the Hawks 17 points a game worse just by being out there. (See the current Kelly Dwyer article at sportsillustrated.com.) * Rahim has never actually had his heart fully tested with a big playoff run. The guy is supposedly a great person, but if you're putting him above so many others he'd better be more than Miss Congeniality. Iverson's got great heart. So does Ben Wallace, a reject who busts his ass in a league where literally every night's matchup presents a guy who's bigger than he is. Reggie Miller has great heart, sticking with one team for 19 years despite so many disappointments. That's what heart means to me, not just wearing emotions on your sleeve or being a star.

...because the N in "ESPN" doesn't stand for news. Never did. Accuracy and objectivity are not priorities in Bristol. They want bellowing fools with extreme opinions and lots of catchphrases. Many of us liked Aldridge, but I'm sure the network's ideal demographic prefers something shrill. ESPN should make their Vince McMahon metamorphosis complete, by changing to Sports Entertainment Programming Network.

To take a risk, I need to know the reward. This guy doesn't seem to be a good shooter, passer, rebounder or defender, so why bother? Go get Jeff Trepagnier if you want someone to run and jump. At least he doesn't get in trouble.

The thing you have to like about Chicago is, they possess all the pieces that are hard to get: a true point guard, skilled big men, and explosive bench scorers who seem to accept their role. Even if they overpay for Curry and Chandler, it's quite possible for them to fill in the missing pieces while other teams scramble to get 1s and 5s.

That's it? He gave a flirty answer to a flirty question while he had a kid in his arms, and that's supposed to be construed as hitting on Kobe's wife? Maybe I'm missing all the arched eyebrows and leering expressions that went with it, but Kobe and his child bride seem perfectly matched for spoiled immaturity. Bryant reminds me of that old "Twilight Zone" episode where a monstrous child terrifies an entire town with his psychokinetic power...and anyone who displeases him ends up dead in the cornfield. We may need a silver bullet for this guy before he's done.

Talk of punishments being "fair," "justified," and so on misses the point entirely. The wiser question is, is the Artest ruling necessary for the league's well-being? Because the league must, absolutely must, prevent this from happening again if it is to remain viable. The answer, I say, is Yes. Fines have proven ineffective in controlling these child millionaires. Short-term suspensions don't have enough negative consequences to force teams--not just management, but the other players--into disciplining knuckleheads. When reasonable measures fail, a 2 x 4 is necessary. Players will publicly protest about Stern being unfair. But think about what's going on behind locker room doors. Any player who might cost his teammates a lost season like Indiana's is going to get leaned on--hard. And that's a change for the better. BTW, anyone who thinks Ron Artest just needs a little counseling should read up on the guy's history. He was singled out for anger management therapy as a kid--long before the rest of us had ever heard the phrase. So don't expect any miraculous cures.

This article is a prime example of why ESPN The Magazine is the worst subscription I've ever had. The writers try so hard to kiss up to the kid demographics and be the opposite of "player haters," but they simply don't have the narrative or reasoning skills to even slant a story convincingly. Randolph's home town isn't persecuting him, it's treating him like a perp...which he is. As a Michigan State alum I heard that he's a really likable kid who tried hard to fit in at college, but the fact remains that he makes really poor choices. And that's on him, not some demonized oppressor.

Brought to you by the same people who criticize NBA players for not valuing fundamental skills. Hey, why limit ourselves to the number of dunks? The league should install sensors on the baskets so players can be ranked by sheer destructive force. Shaq's only serious competition will come from his midrange jumper.

...to the coddling of one's prized lottery pick was demonstrated in today's Detroit News. Thought I'd share it with you: President Joe Dumars was asked if he felt sorry for Milicic because of his bad luck with injuries. "No, I don't feel sorry for him," Dumars said. "We are behind him 100 percent. The young kid has come a long way. He's gotten a whole lot better and he has to keep getting better. "He'll be fine. This is a grown man's league. He's nicked right now but he'll bounce back. There's no milk and cookies here, buddy."

The best place to be a developmental coach is right where he's at, teaching young kids before the AAU system spoils them.

I only care about dunks that occur in games against real competition. The most memorable for me was during the Knicks-Bulls playoff series in 1993, when John Starks dunked over Jordan and half of Chicago's lineup during the climax of Game 2. It was the turning point of the game, and the Knicks won in no small part because of it. Now THAT was a great dunk: memorable, stunning, an emphatic statement of the will to win. Without all those qualities, very few dunks are better than what the trampoline guys do during halftime.

Yeah, you'd think his hustle and physicality might have helped. The few minutes he did play looked pretty bad, however. It'll be interesting to see how his rookie year goes.