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August 28, 2005: The Detroit Pistons won the NBA championship in 2003-04, and reached NBA Finals Game 7 in 2004-05, losing to the San Antonio Spurs. But Larry Brown's health and loyalty issues resulted in the team parting ways with him. Brown quickly got hired by the New York Knicks. He's replaced on Detroit by Flip Saunders, the former coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Coach Saunders isn't expected to change the team much. Obviously, what Brown was doing worked well. Don't fix what isn't broken. The Pistons were quiet this summer. The main addition was Dale Davis, who will back-up Ben and Rasheed Wallace at the power forward and center spots. Look for another season of success in Detroit. Check back soon for a longer InsideHoops.com report on the squad. STARTERS KEY BENCH PG Chauncey Billups SG Richard Hamilton SF Tayshaun Prince PF Rasheed Wallace C Ben Wallace AUBURN HILLS -- On the surface, it would seem the NBA's new minor-league system would be a huge plus for the Pistons. After all, they have two second-round draft picks, 19-year-old forward Amir Johnson and guard Alex Acker, whom they are extremely high on, although neither is expected to see much playing time this season. But it's no slam dunk that the Pistons will use their minor-league affiliate, the Fayetteville Patriots of the National Basketball Development League, an affiliation they share with the New York Knicks and Charlotte Bobcats. "It's sort of a work in progress right now," said Scott Perry, the Pistons' director of player personnel. "We have to really take a look and see what the environment will be down there, and see what the team will be like, before we start sending our players down there." The ultimate goal for the NBDL is to have 30 teams, with each NBA team having its own affiliation. That way, the NBA team can impose its own coaches and system and regulate playing time for its players. Most NBDL teams now have four NBA teams contributing to their roster. Fayetteville is one of two that is affiliated with just three. "I think this gives us another great opportunity, if we choose to use it," said John Hammond, vice president of basketball operations for the Pistons. "As far as us having a definite set plan to send guys down right now, we don't have one." Hammond said one of the concerns was playing time. He pointed out that with two other teams feeding players to Fayetteville, plus the team having its own players, there could be no guarantees that Johnson or Acker would play 25-30 minutes a game. "Watching those guys on our own floor every day, working with our guys, that's as good as it gets," Hammond said. "There is something to be said for accountability, for actually seeing guys every day." Perry agreed. "There are still a lot of unanswered questions," he said. "You want these young kids to play, but you don't know what system the coach is going to run."
Fayetteville is coached by former NBA player Mike Brown.
Still, Hammond said there is no rush to send players down. He said Johnson and Acker will be with the Pistons through the entire training camp, which begins Oct. 3. Pistons third-year forward Darko Milicic, by the way, is not eligible to be sent down. Only players with no years or one year of NBA service can be assigned. Other rules of assignment are: No players can be given more than three assignments during a season. There is no minimum or maximum length of a D-League assignment. During the 2005-06 season, no NBA team can have more than two players on assignment at the same time. Players on assignment remain on the NBA team's 15-player roster, listed as inactive.
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