Pistonscast Fan Column: Don’t Sleep on the D

Last weekend, the Detroit Pistons exited the NBA Playoffs before reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the 2001-02 season. After getting swept by King James and Co., it’s likely that the series officially marked the end of a remarkable era in Pistons’ basketball.

Since Joe Dumars brought Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton to Motown in the 2002-03 season, the Pistons won at least 50 games a year, made it to six-straight Eastern Conference Finals, appeared in the NBA Finals in back-to-back seasons (including a championship in 2004) and led the league in attendance five times, selling out every regular-season home game from the 2004-05 season through the 2007-08 season.

For years, the Pistons would pride themselves on playing great team basketball. Without a true superstar on the roster, Detroit remained an elite team year after year by playing gritty defense and attacking teams with a multitude of scorers on a nightly basis, with Billups as their even-tempered leader at the point. He earned the nickname “Mr. Big Shot” for his ability to come through in the clutch for the team, including a 2004 NBA Finals MVP award after the Pistons dismantled the heavily favored, star-studded Lakers in five games.

All of that changed this season, in large part due to the trade Dumars made in November when he dealt Billups to the Denver Nuggets for perennial scorer Allen Iverson, one of the best individual talents to ever grace the hardwood. The key word here is individual.

Trying to fit Iverson into the Pistons’ lineup is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. It just doesn’t work. Detroit never regrouped after their captain was traded, stumbling to a 39-43 regular-season record, their first losing season since 2000, when none of the current Pistons were even on the roster.

That record was good enough for Detroit to make the playoffs as the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference; however, they were stopped dead in their tracks by the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. The Pistons entered the postseason without Iverson, who had been suffering from back problems since late February and saw limited minutes once he returned to the court in late March. The lack of playing time and sixth-man duties prompted Iverson to declare he would “rather retire” before coming off the bench again.

Despite the disappointment this past season has brought to Detroit, the future is bright for the Pistons. Although many have condemned the trade for Iverson, it was actually a win-win situation for both parties. Denver got their hometown hero to provide leadership on a young and talented roster. Detroit received one of the best scorers in the history of the game to possibly help lead them back to the Finals. If Iverson didn’t gel with the team, which he hasn’t, they can let him and his expiring contract walk at the end of the season.

According to USA Today, Iverson made almost $21 million this year. Rasheed Wallace, who came to the Pistons in a trade that helped them win the 2004 title, will also be a free agent this summer. Wallace, the second-highest paid Piston this season, had an annual salary of almost $13.7 million Past his prime and in decline at the age of 34, Dumars will likely let him go as well.

With over $34.5 million coming off the books from those two players alone, you can bet that Dumars will continue to tweak his roster this summer, either through trades or free agency to help get Detroit back to elite status throughout the NBA. Even though Detroit fans miss Billups, the bottom-line is that Mr. Big Shot has three years remaining on a five-year, $60 million contract that he signed with the Pistons back in 2007, including a guaranteed $46 million over four years with a team option for the fifth year, when Billups will be 35 years old.

Trading Billups while he was in his prime allowed the Pistons the flexibility they needed to grow in the future. With the emergence of guard Rodney Stuckey last season, just imagine where the Pistons would be two or three years from now with a budding star and an aging veteran in Billups playing at the same position. Putting him on the bench would only cause problems in the locker room, as it did this season.

Instead, Dumars pulled the trigger and traded Billups back to his hometown, in his prime. Now, Detroit has the money to go after the likes of Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh and several other big names that would love to play in a city with dedicated fans on a team that is one or two pieces away from a championship. Trust me. In the next few years, you don’t want to sleep on the D.

— Mike Bauman is the Assistant Sports Editor of The Independent Collegian and a junior at University of Toledo majoring in communication.

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