By John McMullen, NBA Editor
(Sports Network) - Two months ago Chuck Daly was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Today, the Hall of Fame coach is gone.
The "Good Guy" of the "Bad Boys" passed away at the age of 78 at his home in Jupiter. Fla. on Saturday morning.
Daly is best known for leading the Detroit Pistons to a pair of NBA Championships and guiding the original "Dream Team," perhaps the greatest collection of basketball talent ever assembled, to an Olympic Gold Medal in 1992.
Daly also excelled at the college level. In his six seasons (1971-77) as the head coach of the University of Pennsylvania, he compiled a 125-38 record and won four Ivy League titles. Daly led Penn to more NCAA berths and Big Five titles than any previous head coach in school history.
The headlines are always impressive when you talk about a Hall of Fame coach.
That said, Daly's real gift was his ability to get through to his players, no matter the stakes or level.
Whether it was high schoolers in Punxsutawney, Penn., Ivy Leaguers at Penn, Dream Teamers or the ultimate test for any coach, Dennis Rodman, Daly figured out how to get it done.
Not as easy as it looks -- just ask Rick Pitino, John Calipari or Tim Floyd.
"I think Chuck understood people as well as basketball," Pistons president of basketball operations and Hall of Fame guard Joe Dumars said. "It's a people business."
Dubbed by John Salley as "Daddy Rich," for his dapper wardrobe and impeccably coiffed hairstyle, Daly understood the NBA is about talent, while the game's lower levels were more about micro-managing.
"It's a players' league," the coach once said of the NBA. "They allow you to coach them or they don't, Once they stop allowing you to coach, you're on your way out."
Most observers say Daly's greatest coaching achievement was the '92 Olympics, managing the egos assembled in Barcelona.
Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Charles Barley headlined the greatest team of all-time and Daly used a different lineup in every contest during the games, stroking all of his superstars as the "Dream Team" steam- rolled the competition.
"Chuck did a good job of keeping us together," Bird said. "It wasn't about who scored the most points, it was about one thing: winning the gold medal."
It was a few weeks earlier, however, where Daly earned the respect of the "Dream Team" when he piloted a group of college kids to victory in a controlled scrimmage before the Olympics.
That's right, Chuck Daly beat the greatest team of all-time with a bunch of college kids.
In fact, as we look back on Daddy Rich's life, the only thing the classy coach couldn't beat was cancer.
Showing posts with label Pistons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pistons. Show all posts
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Daly dead at 78
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The Detroit Pistons and Palace Sports and Entertainment mourn the passing of Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Daly. The 78-year-old, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February, passed away this morning in Jupiter, Florida on May 9 with his family by his side. Funeral arrangements are pending, but services will take place next week in Jupiter/Tequesta, Florida.
“The Daly family and the entire Detroit Pistons and Palace Sports and Entertainment family is mourning the loss of Chuck Daly,” family spokesman and Pistons Vice President of Public Relations Matt Dobek said. “Chuck left a lasting impression with everyone he met both personally and professionally and his spirit will live with all of us forever.”
Daly, who coached the Detroit Pistons to NBA Championships in 1989 and 1990, was dubbed by his Pistons' players as “Daddy Rich,” for his dapper wardrobe. Daly also served as head coach of the Dream Team, the 1992 Gold-Medal winning USA Basketball Olympic Team, which has been acknowledged by many as the greatest basketball team ever assembled. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994 and the number 2 (for those 2 NBA Championships) was retired in his honor by the Detroit Pistons in 1997.
The Kane, Pennsylvania native coached the Pistons for nine seasons and is the winningest coach in franchise history with a record of 467-271 (.633). He also coached Detroit to a franchise record 71 playoff wins during his tenure (71-42, .628). Named head coach on May 17, 1983, Daly finished his first year with a 49-33 mark and a postseason appearance. The Pistons reached the NBA Playoffs in each of his nine seasons, advancing to the Conference Finals five times with two Eastern Conference Championships (1989, 1990).
In 1990, the Pistons set the top two winning streaks in franchise history. During the months of January, February and March, the club won 13 games and then 12 in a row with only one loss in between. The 25-1 streak was the third-best streak in the history of the NBA during that time.
In addition to his Pistons coaching career, Daly also made NBA head coaching stops with the Cleveland Cavaliers, New Jersey Nets and Orlando Magic.
His 30-plus years of coaching success at all levels carried over into his Pistons position. Prior to joining Detroit, Daly spent four-plus seasons as an assistant to Billy Cunningham and the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers went 236-104 in the regular-season during those four-plus years, winning two division titles and finishing second twice.
In his six seasons (1971-77) as the head coach of the University of Pennsylvania, he compiled a 125-38 (.744) record and won four Ivy League titles. Daly led Penn to more NCAA berths and Big Five titles than any previous head coach in school history. He was the head coach at Boston College for two seasons (1969-71) and served as an assistant coach at Duke University for seven years (1963-69).
A graduate of Bloomsburg University, after starting his collegiate career at St. Bonaventure, Daly earned a Master’s Degree at Penn State and began his coaching career at Punxsutawney High School.
Daly is survived by his wife, Terry, his daughter, Cydney, and grandchildren Sebrina and Connor.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
A.I.'s tarnished legacy
By John McMullen, NBA Editor
[The Sixth Man]
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The act has finally worn thin.
As far as I'm concerned, Allen Iverson is a Broadway play that should close after 886 performances.
After all, who would want a 33-year-old undersized guard that struggles on the defensive end, ignores his own teammates and loathes practice?
I didn't always think that way. In fact, I used to be an Iverson apologist, enamored with his enormous talent and gritty play.
But, I handed in those keys back in December of 2006 when the Philadelphia 76ers finally shipped Iverson out to the Rocky Mountains.
After spending a decade enabling his behavior, Iverson's blowup in Philly actually made me feel kind of foolish.
[Allen Iverson]
Allen Iverson's selfish attitude
has worn thin in Detroit.
The storm clouds gathered a few days before the deal when the New York Post's Peter Vecsey reported that Iverson went to then-Sixers general manager Billy King and demanded to be traded.
Despite the usual denials, smoke quickly tuned into fire and it became quite clear that Vecsey was on the money when Iverson was summarily dismissed from the team before actually being shipped west.
In fact, Iverson was such a detriment to the Sixers by that point that he was sent home from his beloved practice and told not to show up at the Wachovia Center any longer.
King tried a cover story at first -- intimating that Iverson would be out thanks to phantom "back spasms" but that story quickly evaporated and the Sixers fessed up to what can only be described as a "suspension," without using that terminology.
Iverson struck back with a meaningless release that was typical A.I. -- blame everyone but the guy you look at in the mirror.
"In my entire career, even the doctors haven't been able to tell me not to play," Iverson harangued. "I've played through injury and illness. I think everyone knows how much I love being out on the court, competing and winning. That's why it was so disheartening to be told that I couldn't play, knowing that I was ready. It hurt even more to be told not to come at all.
"I have continued to give 100 percent night in and night out. Apparently, it hasn't been enough to help our team win. As hard as it is to admit, a change may be the best thing for everyone. I hate admitting that because I love the guys on the team and the city of Philadelphia. I truly wanted to retire a 76er. I appreciate that in my 11 years in Philadelphia, the fans have always stood by me, supported me, and gone to bat for me."
Wow, what a guy!
It's a shame his own actions contradicted everything that spewed from his mouth.
For instance, does leaving practice after an argument with then-coach Maurice Cheeks, and skipping a team bowling function for season-ticket holders sound like a guy who 'continued to give 100 percent night in and night out?'
Does missing fan appreciation night to gamble at the Borgata in Atlantic City sound like a guy who 'appreciates the fans who have always stood by and supported him?'
And does any of that seem vaguely familiar?
After all, history just repeated itself in the Motor City.
The Pistons find themselves fighting for their playoff lives but president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, who made the disastrous trade for Iverson that sent Chauncey Billups to Denver earlier this season, had no problem pulling the plug on the disgruntled one, citing "back problems."
"After talking with Allen and our medical staff, we feel that resting Allen for the remainder of the season is the best course of action at this time," Dumars said in a statement on Friday. "While he has played in our last three games, he is still feeling some discomfort and getting him physically ready to compete at the level he is accustomed to playing this late in the season does not seem possible at this point."
Translation -- Dumars, like King a few years ago, didn't want Iverson around anymore.
A.I. had just returned to the court against the Sixers on March 29 after a 16-game absence with those pesky back issues. He scored eight points in a little over 21 minutes off the bench and helped Detroit to a big win, 101-97.
But, being a role player wasn't going to cut it for Iverson. Since returning to the lineup, the 13-year veteran has averaged only 7.7 points, 2.7 assists and 1.3 rebounds in about 20 minutes a game. He quickly expressed frustration with his limited playing time and Dumars saw the writing on the wall.
I've seen Iverson hit the floor too much over the last 13 years to totally dismiss his back issues but if that 20 minutes a night turned into 40 and 20- plus shots, I can't help feeling A.I. would find a way to stay on the floor.
But, Dumars is more concerned with the playoffs than stroking the ego of a player that hasn't accomplished much in Detroit.
Perhaps, it was apropos that the Pistons' first game since exiling Iverson was in Philadelphia, the city where he built his legacy and then destroyed it.
The curtain has finally come down on "The A.I. Show" and I for one am not going to remember the All-Star appearances or the MVP trophy.
The now legendary selfishness and his reputation as a coach killer has trumped all that.
If Iverson was a hunter, he would already have the pelts of Johnny Davis, Randy Ayers, Chris Ford, Jim O'Brien and Cheeks hanging in his trophy room. Some even argue Larry Brown lost his mojo thanks to his daily struggles babysitting the world's oldest infant.
Don't worry A.I., your legacy is secure.
[The Sixth Man]
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The act has finally worn thin.
As far as I'm concerned, Allen Iverson is a Broadway play that should close after 886 performances.
After all, who would want a 33-year-old undersized guard that struggles on the defensive end, ignores his own teammates and loathes practice?
I didn't always think that way. In fact, I used to be an Iverson apologist, enamored with his enormous talent and gritty play.
But, I handed in those keys back in December of 2006 when the Philadelphia 76ers finally shipped Iverson out to the Rocky Mountains.
After spending a decade enabling his behavior, Iverson's blowup in Philly actually made me feel kind of foolish.
[Allen Iverson]
Allen Iverson's selfish attitude
has worn thin in Detroit.
The storm clouds gathered a few days before the deal when the New York Post's Peter Vecsey reported that Iverson went to then-Sixers general manager Billy King and demanded to be traded.
Despite the usual denials, smoke quickly tuned into fire and it became quite clear that Vecsey was on the money when Iverson was summarily dismissed from the team before actually being shipped west.
In fact, Iverson was such a detriment to the Sixers by that point that he was sent home from his beloved practice and told not to show up at the Wachovia Center any longer.
King tried a cover story at first -- intimating that Iverson would be out thanks to phantom "back spasms" but that story quickly evaporated and the Sixers fessed up to what can only be described as a "suspension," without using that terminology.
Iverson struck back with a meaningless release that was typical A.I. -- blame everyone but the guy you look at in the mirror.
"In my entire career, even the doctors haven't been able to tell me not to play," Iverson harangued. "I've played through injury and illness. I think everyone knows how much I love being out on the court, competing and winning. That's why it was so disheartening to be told that I couldn't play, knowing that I was ready. It hurt even more to be told not to come at all.
"I have continued to give 100 percent night in and night out. Apparently, it hasn't been enough to help our team win. As hard as it is to admit, a change may be the best thing for everyone. I hate admitting that because I love the guys on the team and the city of Philadelphia. I truly wanted to retire a 76er. I appreciate that in my 11 years in Philadelphia, the fans have always stood by me, supported me, and gone to bat for me."
Wow, what a guy!
It's a shame his own actions contradicted everything that spewed from his mouth.
For instance, does leaving practice after an argument with then-coach Maurice Cheeks, and skipping a team bowling function for season-ticket holders sound like a guy who 'continued to give 100 percent night in and night out?'
Does missing fan appreciation night to gamble at the Borgata in Atlantic City sound like a guy who 'appreciates the fans who have always stood by and supported him?'
And does any of that seem vaguely familiar?
After all, history just repeated itself in the Motor City.
The Pistons find themselves fighting for their playoff lives but president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, who made the disastrous trade for Iverson that sent Chauncey Billups to Denver earlier this season, had no problem pulling the plug on the disgruntled one, citing "back problems."
"After talking with Allen and our medical staff, we feel that resting Allen for the remainder of the season is the best course of action at this time," Dumars said in a statement on Friday. "While he has played in our last three games, he is still feeling some discomfort and getting him physically ready to compete at the level he is accustomed to playing this late in the season does not seem possible at this point."
Translation -- Dumars, like King a few years ago, didn't want Iverson around anymore.
A.I. had just returned to the court against the Sixers on March 29 after a 16-game absence with those pesky back issues. He scored eight points in a little over 21 minutes off the bench and helped Detroit to a big win, 101-97.
But, being a role player wasn't going to cut it for Iverson. Since returning to the lineup, the 13-year veteran has averaged only 7.7 points, 2.7 assists and 1.3 rebounds in about 20 minutes a game. He quickly expressed frustration with his limited playing time and Dumars saw the writing on the wall.
I've seen Iverson hit the floor too much over the last 13 years to totally dismiss his back issues but if that 20 minutes a night turned into 40 and 20- plus shots, I can't help feeling A.I. would find a way to stay on the floor.
But, Dumars is more concerned with the playoffs than stroking the ego of a player that hasn't accomplished much in Detroit.
Perhaps, it was apropos that the Pistons' first game since exiling Iverson was in Philadelphia, the city where he built his legacy and then destroyed it.
The curtain has finally come down on "The A.I. Show" and I for one am not going to remember the All-Star appearances or the MVP trophy.
The now legendary selfishness and his reputation as a coach killer has trumped all that.
If Iverson was a hunter, he would already have the pelts of Johnny Davis, Randy Ayers, Chris Ford, Jim O'Brien and Cheeks hanging in his trophy room. Some even argue Larry Brown lost his mojo thanks to his daily struggles babysitting the world's oldest infant.
Don't worry A.I., your legacy is secure.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Pistons Mourn The Passing Of Owner William Davidson
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The Detroit Pistons and Palace Sports and Entertainment mourn the passing of pioneer owner William Davidson. The 86-year-old passed away at home on March 13, 2009 with his family by his side.
“The entire Palace family is mourning the loss of Mr. Davidson,” said Tom Wilson, President of Palace Sports and Entertainment and the Pistons. “He was truly a pioneer in so many ways. His legacy will live forever.”
Mr. Davidson owned the Pistons since 1974 and won three NBA Championships (1989, 1990, 2004), three WNBA Championships (2004, 2006, 2008) and one NHL Championship (2004). He became the first owner in sports history to win championships in three different professional sports leagues during the 2003-04 calendar year (NBA – Detroit Pistons, NHL – Tampa Bay Lightning and WNBA – Detroit Shock). In September 2008, Davidson’s contributions to the game of basketball were honored when he was officially enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
In 1988-89, the Pistons began play in The Palace of Auburn Hills, a state-of-the-art arena built with Davidson's financial support: a privately-financed facility, which when combined with the Pistons, formed the foundation of his entertainment business. The company also added management of the DTE Energy Music Theatre in 1990 and Meadow Brook Music Festival in the summer of 1994, further developing the entertainment division of Palace Sports and Entertainment.
Davidson’s world champion Pistons were the first professional sports team to own their own plane, Roundball One. Roundball Two, a newer, larger, multimillion-dollar aircraft was purchased and refurbished in the summer of 1998 for the organization. He continued to keep the team at the league's forefront with such amenities as a state-of-the-art practice facility, solely designed for the Pistons. Updated with new offices and enlarged locker room space in 2008, it was used for the team's training camp for the 14th straight year, alleviating the need to go off-site for the preseason.
The Pistons have played in the postseason in 19 of the past 25 years, including 11 of the past 13 seasons. Davidson acquired the Detroit Pistons in 1974 from the late Fred Zollner, the man who founded the team in Fort Wayne, Indiana in the 1940s. With a franchise-record seven straight seasons of recording 50 or more wins, the Pistons have won 384 regular season games (.669 wining percentage) since 2001, including a franchise-record 63 wins in 2005-06. The club has compiled 73 playoff wins in that same span and made six consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history. Detroit has won six Central Division titles in the last seven seasons and nine overall since 1987-88. Only the San Antonio Spurs have won more division titles in the same 20-year span.
The Detroit Shock joined the Washington Mystics as the first two expansion teams in the WNBA in 1998 and the team was an immediate success in the upstart league. The Shock have won three championships since their inception (2004, 2006, 2008) and set a WNBA attendance record (22,076) in Game 3 of the 2004 WNBA Finals while also becoming the first team since 1890 to go from the worst team in a professional sports league to the best team.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Iverson to Pistons is official
Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has acquired guard Allen Iverson from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for guard Chauncey Billups, forward Antonio McDyess and center Cheikh Samb.
“We are pleased to welcome Allen Iverson to the Pistons organization,” said Dumars. “Allen has proven he is one of the elite players in the league and we like what he adds to our roster at the guard position. We appreciate everything that Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb brought to the organization during their time here in Detroit and we certainly wish them all the best.”
Iverson, the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2001, ranks 20th among NBA all-time scoring leaders with 23,031 points. His long list of NBA achievements include NBA Rookie of the Year (1997), All-NBA First Team (1999, 2001, 2005), All-NBA Second Team (2000, 2002, 2003), All-NBA Third Team (2006), NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (2001, 2005) and NBA Rookie Game Most Valuable Player (1997). Iverson has been named an NBA All-Star nine times (2000-08), Player of the Week 23 times during his career and Player of the Month three times. He shares the NBA record for most seasons leading the league in steals per game (2000-03) and ranks 13th among all-time NBA leaders in steals (1,902).
Iverson spent his first 11 ½ seasons in Philadelphia where he helped the 76ers to the Eastern Conference Championship and an NBA Finals berth in 2001. He spent the last one-and-a-half seasons in Denver where he averaged 25.8 points, 7.2 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game and helped the Nuggets reach the playoffs each season. The 6-0, 165-pound guard holds the second-highest career playoff-scoring average in history (29.7 ppg), trailing only Michael Jordan (33.4 ppg). In 831 career NBA games, the former Georgetown product has compiled averages of 22.7 points, 6.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. Iverson has posted 132 career double-doubles, 12 games scoring 40-plus points and dishing 10-plus assists, 79 career 40-plus scoring efforts (fourth most in NBA history) and 11 career 50-plus scoring efforts. He has led the NBA in scoring four times (1998-99, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2004-05).
Billups six-year career in Detroit is highlighted by back-to-back Eastern Conference Championships and two NBA Finals appearances in 2004 and 2005. He was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player during the Pistons NBA Championship season in 2003-04 when he averaged 21.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists in five games vs. the Los Angeles Lakers. The Denver, CO native was named an NBA All-Star three times with Detroit, All-NBA Second Team (2006), All-NBA Third Team (2007) and All-NBA Defensive Second Team (2005, 2006). In 760 career NBA games, Billups has averaged 14.8 points, 5.5 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 31.8 minutes per game. He ranks 18th among NBA all-time leaders in three-point field goals made (1,272 - 10th among active players).
McDyess helped lead the Pistons to the Eastern Conference Championship and an NBA Finals appearance in 2005. In four seasons with Detroit, he averaged 8.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in 321 games. McDyess has career averages of 13.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 805 NBA games, compiling three 40-plus scoring efforts, seven 20-plus rebound games and four 20-point/20-rebound efforts. He has scored in double figures in 526 of his 805 career games. McDyess was named an NBA All-Star in 2001, All-NBA Third Team (1999), NBA All-Rookie First Team (1996) and was a member of the gold medal winning Team USA squad at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Samb was acquired by Detroit during a draft night trade on June 28, 2006 from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Maurice Evans. Drafted 51st overall by the Lakers, Samb played in four games last season for the Pistons, averaging 1.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per game. The 7-foot-1 center made two assignments to the NBA Development League last season and averaged 10.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and a league-leading 4.0 blocks in 19 games for the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants.
Dumars rolls the dice with Iverson
For some reason Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars has been intent on breaking up his team since his club succumbed to the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics in six games during the Eastern Conference Finals last year.
And I don't understand why.
I mean, the Pistons did win 59 games under Flip Saunders and still had a championship-tested nucleus led by "Mr. Big Shot" himself, Chauncey Billups.
In fact, considering the way Boston dominated the Los Angeles Lakers on the boards and abused them with the pick-and-roll on the offensive end in the NBA Finals, it wasn't all that hard to argue that Detroit was the second-best team in the NBA last season.
Dumars wasn't the one making that argument, however.
First, the Louisiana native jettisoned Saunders and went with the unproven Michael Curry as head coach, and then he put virtually all his key pieces on the trade market.
Rumors dogged Billups, enigmatic big men Rasheed Wallace and the unselfish Tayshaun Prince all summer.
Dumars was unable to pull the trigger on anything significant until Monday when he agreed to ship Billups, veteran power forward Antonio McDyess and center Cheikh Samb to the Rocky Mountains for mercurial scoring machine Allen Iverson.
A former league MVP with Philadelphia in 2000-01 and nine-time All-Star, Iverson is without peer as an offensive player but off-the-court problems and maturity issues have plagued the diminutive one since he arrived in the City of Brotherly Love from Georgetown in 1996.
For a while, Larry Brown was able to rein in Iverson and take advantage of his incredible talents by moving him from the point to the off guard, and surrounding him with defensive-minded role players like Eric Snow, Aaron McKie, George Lynch and Tyrone Hill.
The result was a trip to the NBA Finals in 2001, before injuries - along with Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant - ended a spectacular run.
Iverson, who will become a free agent in the offseason, will arrive in the Motor City with plenty of defensive-minded players. In fact, Prince and Wallace can be torturous at that end of the floor. But, unlike Snow, Lynch and Hill, the Pistons' big time defenders aren't offensively challenged. Prince and Wallace, especially, need their touches.
Meanwhile, the Pistons already have Richard Hamilton, the game's best player at moving without the ball, at the two spot, meaning Iverson will be forced to take over Billups' role as the quarterback of the team.
A shoot-first guy, Iverson isn't likely to care about getting the ball to his new teammates in spots where they can succeed, something Billups excelled at.
Clearly, Dumars was itching for change, and now he finally has it.
No one deserves a longer rope. Dumars was a two-time NBA champion as a player in Detroit. He was the NBA's executive of the year for the 2002-03 season, the architect of the 2004 NBA Championship club and the pilot of a team that has been to the Eastern Conference Finals six straight years.
So it's not hard to understand why William Davidson, the Pistons' owner, defers to Dumars and gave him the rope.
That said, change for the sake of change rarely works, and Dumars is about to find that out the hard way.
And I don't understand why.
I mean, the Pistons did win 59 games under Flip Saunders and still had a championship-tested nucleus led by "Mr. Big Shot" himself, Chauncey Billups.
In fact, considering the way Boston dominated the Los Angeles Lakers on the boards and abused them with the pick-and-roll on the offensive end in the NBA Finals, it wasn't all that hard to argue that Detroit was the second-best team in the NBA last season.
Dumars wasn't the one making that argument, however.
First, the Louisiana native jettisoned Saunders and went with the unproven Michael Curry as head coach, and then he put virtually all his key pieces on the trade market.
Rumors dogged Billups, enigmatic big men Rasheed Wallace and the unselfish Tayshaun Prince all summer.
Dumars was unable to pull the trigger on anything significant until Monday when he agreed to ship Billups, veteran power forward Antonio McDyess and center Cheikh Samb to the Rocky Mountains for mercurial scoring machine Allen Iverson.
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For a while, Larry Brown was able to rein in Iverson and take advantage of his incredible talents by moving him from the point to the off guard, and surrounding him with defensive-minded role players like Eric Snow, Aaron McKie, George Lynch and Tyrone Hill.
The result was a trip to the NBA Finals in 2001, before injuries - along with Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant - ended a spectacular run.
Iverson, who will become a free agent in the offseason, will arrive in the Motor City with plenty of defensive-minded players. In fact, Prince and Wallace can be torturous at that end of the floor. But, unlike Snow, Lynch and Hill, the Pistons' big time defenders aren't offensively challenged. Prince and Wallace, especially, need their touches.
Meanwhile, the Pistons already have Richard Hamilton, the game's best player at moving without the ball, at the two spot, meaning Iverson will be forced to take over Billups' role as the quarterback of the team.
A shoot-first guy, Iverson isn't likely to care about getting the ball to his new teammates in spots where they can succeed, something Billups excelled at.
Clearly, Dumars was itching for change, and now he finally has it.
No one deserves a longer rope. Dumars was a two-time NBA champion as a player in Detroit. He was the NBA's executive of the year for the 2002-03 season, the architect of the 2004 NBA Championship club and the pilot of a team that has been to the Eastern Conference Finals six straight years.
So it's not hard to understand why William Davidson, the Pistons' owner, defers to Dumars and gave him the rope.
That said, change for the sake of change rarely works, and Dumars is about to find that out the hard way.
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