Transitioning doesn't mean Pistons are surrendering

Las Vegas -- Saying your franchise is in transition isn't code for not being able to compete.

The Pistons absolutely intend on competing next season. Are they as good as the Celtics, Cavaliers or the Magic right now? Probably not. Are they better than last season? Oh, yes. Are they a certain playoff team? Yep.

So if your bottom line is being a solid playoff team in the first real year of transition, well, that's not so bad.

Saying you are not going to overextend yourself financially on a coach is not code for hiring an incompetent coach.

John Kuester might not have been president Joe Dumars' first or second choice, but given the way the roster has shaken out, plus the sudden drop in average age, he might wind up being the right choice.

Yes, Dumars said he wanted an experienced hand to oversee the transition. Yes, he went after Doug Collins and Avery Johnson. But winding up with Kuester is far from a booby prize.

Kuester's only head coaching experience is at Boston University and George Washington, but he has been on an NBA bench since 1995. This is not a repeat of the Michael Curry hire, who was an assistant for one season.

This guy is smart -- basketball smart and real-life smart. He understands the game, he understands the people who play the game, and he understands the culture of the league. He is low-key enough his ego never will clash with the players'. But he's competitive enough and confident enough in his ability to coach he won't allow the players to walk over him.

Trust me on this: Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince feel a whole lot better about this hire than they did the last one.

Did you watch the Eastern Conference finals last year? Cavaliers coach Mike Brown trusted Kuester with his offense so much he allowed him to draw up plays and run huddles late in games.

Cavaliers beat writers tell me LeBron James and the other veterans had total respect for Kuester, and while happy he's getting this opportunity, they are sad to lose him.

This is far from a throw-in-the-towel hire. This is bringing in a new leader who offers a new vision, a new temperament and a new identity to a team redefining itself on the fly.

Today is not Armageddon for the Pistons. Today is the first day of spring. Today is the day you throw open the windows for the first time after the winter thaw and feel that warm, refreshing, rejuvenating breeze in your face.

Gone is the disaster that was Curry's one year. Gone are the old dramas that seemed to play out year after year toward the end of the last era. Who's mad at the coach today? Who's sulking today? Who's not happy with his role or his minutes?

It's a new day -- and that is not code for falling off the NBA map.

Work still to do

On Wednesday, the Pistons signed two cornerstones of the next era, a 26-year-old blue-chip scorer in Ben Gordon, and a 24-year-old multidimensional forward in Charlie Villanueva, whose talent many scouts believe is about to reach full bloom.

Add them to a youngish core of Hamilton and Prince, Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo and Will Bynum, plus Kwame Brown and Jason Maxiell -- this isn't a lottery team.

Here in Las Vegas, four rookies are cutting their teeth in summer league -- Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers, Deron Washington and Jonas Jerebko. At least two, maybe three, could be in the rotation next season.

No doubt there are holes. Who is the on-court leader? Hamilton? Prince? A combination? Can Stuckey make that leap in his third season?

Those things likely won't get resolved until well into next season.

Where are the big men? Brown is the only true center on the roster. Maxiell is a tough but undersized low-post player. Villanueva is 6 foot 11, but he's more effective playing away from the basket and has never been accused of being a stingy defender.

Dumars isn't done remaking the roster, obviously. They have about $1.7 million left. As much as Antonio McDyess loves Dumars and is comfortable playing here, that's not going to get him back. He reportedly accepted a three-year deal from San Antonio, starting at $5.8 million. So, how is Dumars going to fill that hole in the middle? The $1.7 million won't buy him much.

If he could get a team willing to take Afflalo and Walter Sharpe for draft picks, he would have a little less than $2 million. That might put him in the running for Dallas' Brandon Bass.

Of course, perhaps Dumars revisits Carlos Boozer. The Jazz want to trade him. Dumars has been disinclined thus far to trade either Hamilton or Prince. Perhaps as the summer wears on, or as we get into next season, he changes his tune.

On to the next

That's a lot of ifs, ands or buts -- which is why most pundits are predicting a steep slide for the Pistons. I offer only this as a caution against that: In the summer of 2001, the Pistons hired a rookie coach (Rick Carlisle), who found a way to win 50 games with a mismatched roster featuring one star (Jerry Stackhouse), a young and still unproven Ben Wallace, and a group of aging vets (Cliff Robinson, Jon Barry, Chucky Atkins, Dana Barros, Corliss Williamson, Damon Jones).

Kuester's roster is going to be flawed, but it's younger, more athletic and much more diversely skilled than Carlisle's squad in 2001.

Regardless, the days of six consecutive trips to the conference finals ended when Chauncey Billups was traded last November.

Nothing lasts forever.

It's time to move on.

Embrace the beginning of a new journey. 

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Boston Celtics sign veteran forward Rasheed Wallace to new contract

BOSTON — Rasheed Wallace is joining Boston's Big Three as the Celtics hope the four-time all-star will help them recapture the NBA championship.

Wallace, known for his shooting, rebounding and technical fouls, signed Wednesday, the first day free agents were allowed to do so.

One of the most coveted players available, Wallace joins Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen as the veteran corps of a team that lost to Orlando in seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals one year after winning its 17th NBA title.

Terms of the reported two-year deal were not released. Wallace earned US$13.68 million last season, his last of a five-year contract with Detroit.

The six-foot-11 Wallace can play the low post and has exceptional shooting range. He averaged 12 points for the Pistons last year, the 14th straight season in which he's scored at least 10 per game.

Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said the team was "ecstatic" to add a player with Wallace's talent and championship experience. He won a title with Detroit in 2004.

Wallace, a starter his entire career, figures to back up Garnett at power forward and Kendrick Perkins at centre. Garnett is expected to be at full strength when the season starts after he had postseason knee surgery.

The Celtics also could retain Glen Davis, a restricted free agent who filled in well when Garnett was sidelined for the playoffs. They have the right to match any offer from another team.

Wallace has averaged 15 points and 6.9 rebounds with 1.4 blocks while playing almost 34 minutes per game in his 14 seasons. Now he must adjust to a backup role after starting 943 of his 1,009 regular-season games.

He also must try to keep his temper in check.

His 41 technical fouls in 2000-01 while with Portland still stands as the NBA's single-season record. During the 2008 playoffs, the league fined him US$25,000 for his expletive-laced criticism of officials Mike Callahan and Kenny Mauer after the Celtics won Game 5 of the Eastern Conferences in Boston.

"The cats are flopping all over the floor and they're calling that," Wallace said then. "That ain't basketball out there. It's all entertainment. You all should know that."

The Celtics captured the series by winning the next game then beat the Los Angeles Lakers in six games for the NBA title.

Last season, Wallace was suspended for Detroit's game at New Jersey on April 1 after picking up his 16th technical of the season the previous night. Each foul after the 15th in a season carries an automatic suspension.

But Ainge loves Wallace's rebounding, defence and ability to draw big men from the basket with his 3-point shot.

"We are ecstatic to be able to add a player the calibre of Rasheed Wallace to our team," Ainge said. "It is not everyday that you can add a four-time All-Star and a player with championship experience."

The Celtics put a full-court press on Wallace in their bid to bring him to Boston. Last week, Ainge, coach Doc Rivers, owner Wyc Grousbeck, Garnett, Pierce and Allen visited him at his home in the Detroit area.

His agent, Bill Strickland, said during the weekend that Wallace had decided to join the Celtics.

With all four veterans in their 30s, the Celtics could be entering their last few years of contending for a title.

When the season starts, Wallace will be 35, Allen 34, Garnett 33 and Pierce 32. But Ainge said last week that the Big Three could play with Boston beyond their current contracts.

Allen has one year left on his deal, Pierce has two and Garnett has three.

"If they take good care of themselves, which all three of them do, and they stay healthy I think there's a really good chance," Ainge said. "I think all those guys will be up in my office pretty quick looking for more years on their contracts."

With Wallace signed, Ainge has more time to work on an extension for point guard Rajon Rondo, who can become a free agent after the coming season.

Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved

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Rockets get injury exception for Yao

As one player moved in, the Rockets offered the strongest indication yet that center Yao Ming will be out.

While Yao considers his treatment options, the NBA formally agreed with the Rockets that Yao is likely to miss all of the 2009-10 season. By granting the Rockets the disabled player exception, worth $5.854 million for the upcoming season, the NBA ruled the hairline fracture of the tarsal navicular bone in Yao’s left foot and the surgery he likely will undergo to treat it will keep him out all season.

The Rockets used the salary-cap exception Wednesday to sign free-agent guard/forward Trevor Ariza, saving the mid-level exception (worth the same amount) they had offered him for future moves.

Granting the injury exception indicates the NBA agrees with the Rockets’ contention that Yao’s injury will require season-ending surgery, rather than the more conservative option of immobilizing the injury again in the hope that his hairline fracture would heal without surgery.

Yao has been given several surgical options, including one that would use small plates, rather than the pins used last season, a bone graft and an alteration of the operation of his foot in an effort to treat the injury and avoid another recurrence. There have been discussions about a more experimental procedure that would increase blood flow to the area, though that seems a less likely option.

Center still optimistic

Yao’s agent, John Huizinga, said Wednesday that Yao has not come to a decision about the recommendations made by the specialists he has seen and has not ruled out trying a nonsurgical treatment.

“The Rockets have kept me informed of what they are doing and why,” Yao said in a statement. “I support them in their efforts to make our team as good as possible. My focus is on selecting the best treatment option for my injured foot and committing myself to do what I can to ensure a complete recovery.

“I am optimistic about the future, and I will return to playing basketball when my foot has fully healed.”

If Yao were to choose a surgery and recover quickly enough to play next season, it would not effect the disabled player exception the Rockets have received.

But at the very least, it looms as Yao’s fifth consecutive season to be interrupted, ended or missed because of a bone injury.

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey would not comment about the likelihood Yao will opt for surgery and miss the season.

“I don’t want to put a timetable on Yao,” he said. “I don’t want to comment on it. I want to be respectful of Yao. I want to be very careful in any of our Yao Ming announcements.”

Yao, 28, had pins placed in the same bone in February 2008. Yao recovered in time to resume workouts in less than five months and was able to play in the Olympics and in 77 regular-season games without problems.

The bone cracked again, however, on May 8 in Game 3 of the Rockets’ Western Conference semifinals series against the Los Angeles Lakers. Yao and the Rockets were shocked when a CT scan showed June 24 that it had not healed and had instead gotten worse.

Yao has two seasons remaining on his contract. Though he was expected to exercise his right to opt out after next season, missing all of the season likely would lead him to remain under his current Rockets contract through the 2010-11 season.

A string of injuries

Yao’s injury could end his injury-plagued, on-court partnership with Tracy McGrady, who is rehabilitating after season-ending microfracture surgery and is entering the final season of his contract.

A seven-time All-Star, Yao has averaged 19.1 points on 52.5 percent shooting in his career, adding 9.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots per game. In the playoffs, he has averaged 19.8 points and 9.3 rebounds in 28 games, advancing past the first round for the first time in four playoff appearances with this past season’s victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Yao missed the previous postseason, also with a hairline fracture of his tarsal navicular bone in his left foot.

In the 2006-07 season, he suffered a hairline fracture on his right anterior medial tibial plateau (leg) in December 2006, missing 32 games before returning late in the season. He played in that season’s seven-game playoff series against the Utah Jazz, though he was not at full strength after coming back from the injury.

Yao missed the final four games of the 2005-06 season when he fractured the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot.

The four consecutive seasons with injuries followed three seasons to begin his career in which he missed just two games. 

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NBA grants injury exception for Yao

Houston » Even if the Rockets are worried about Yao Ming's return from a broken left foot, the All-Star center is trying to put everyone at ease.

"I am optimistic about the future and I will return to playing basketball when my foot has fully healed," Yao said in a statement released by his agent Wednesday. "My focus is on selecting the best treatment option for my injured foot and committing myself to do what I can to ensure a complete recovery."

Yao is still consulting with doctors about the hairline fracture and will announce within a week what kind of treatment he's chosen. How long that treatment might sideline him is the biggest question facing the Rockets in the offseason, though they've already cashed in on his injury in a sense.

The Rockets applied for a disabled player exception from the NBA a few weeks ago, betting that their center will miss next season as he recovers. The NBA agreed that Yao's return is unlikely and approved the request, freeing up about $5.7 million that the Rockets used to sign free agent Trevor Ariza from the Lakers.

General manager Daryl Morey said the league's approval for the injury exception does not rule out Yao's return this season.

Yao broke his foot in a second-round playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers on May 8. He was fitted for a boot that immobilized his foot and the team initially said he would miss 8-12 weeks.

The Rockets said less than two months later that tests showed Yao's foot had not healed and he was out indefinitely. The team doctor said later that the injury could potentially end his career.

The Rockets are also awaiting the return of Tracy McGrady, who underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee in February and could be out until the middle of next season. Morey said he could've applied the disabled player exception to McGrady, but thought the league would be more willing to grant the request in Yao's case.

"We chose the one we thought had the best likelihood of succeeding," Morey said.

Since the league granted the injury exception, Morey and the Rockets retained their midlevel exception (also equal to about $5.7 million) to offer to another free agent. The injury exception can only be used on one player, but the midlevel exception money can be divided and used on multiple players.

When free agent Ron Artest signing with the Los Angeles Lakers, Morey moved quickly to sign Ariza, a versatile forward who will fill Artest's spot in the starting lineup.

The Rockets are still looking for an experienced center -- their projected starting lineup as of today would have no player taller than 6-foot-9 Luis Scola. Morey made an aggressive pitch to Orlando center Marcin Gortat, but Morey said the Rockets were unable to offer enough money.

Morey said he is pursuing another free agent, and hoped to announce another signing "in the next week or two." But he said the Rockets would mostly likely acquire a center to replace Yao through a trade this summer.

"The Rockets have kept me informed of what they are doing and why. I support them in their efforts to make our team as good as possible," Yao said in a statement released through his agent, John Huizinga.

Morey also has to make a decision on free agent guard Von Wafer, who made $797,581 last season. Wafer may be the odd man out after the additions of Ariza and draft-night acquisition Jermaine Taylor.

But the main concern remains Yao, whom Morey called the "cornerstone" of the franchise last month.

Yao played in 77 regular-season games in 2008-09, his most durable year since 2004-05, when he played in 80. In between, Yao missed chunks of three seasons with leg and foot injuries.

Yao is due to make over $16 million next season with a player option for 2010-11 that would pay him over $17 million. 

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Pistons officially sign Gordon and Villanueva

Team still targeting McDyess

Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has signed free agent guard Ben Gordon and free agent forward Charlie Villanueva to multi-year contracts.  Per team policy, terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

AUBURN HILLS -- “We are excited to add two talented players in Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva,” said Dumars.  “Ben is a big-time scorer who will play a prominent role for our team as we move forward.  Charlie is a versatile big man who can play in the post and score from the perimeter as well.  We feel both these players will be key pieces to our roster next season.”

Gordon, 26, has appeared in 398 career NBA games (204 starts) averaging 18.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 31.4 minutes per game.  Since joining the league as Chicago’s third overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, he has scored 20-plus points in 78 games coming off the bench, by far the most by any player during the five-year span.  Gordon was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year during the 2004-05 campaign, becoming the first rookie in league history to claim the award.  He has averaged 20-plus points in a season twice, including a team-high 20.7 points per game last season in which he shot a career-high 45.5% from the field and 41.0% from three-point range.  Gordon averaged 24.3 points and 3.0 assists per game during the seven-game game series vs. Boston in the first round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs.  Playing in all 82 games for the third time in his career a season ago, the London, England native ranked sixth in the league with 173 three-point field goals made and 11^th in total points (1,699).  He also ranked 17^th in the league in scoring average (20.7 ppg), 24^th in free throw percentage (.864), 25^th in three-point field goal percentage (.410) and 31^st in minutes (36.6 mpg).  A member of the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team in 2005, Gordon has been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week four times in his five-year career.

        Villanueva, 24, is coming off a career year for the Milwaukee Bucks in which he averaged career-highs in points (16.2 ppg), rebounds (6.7 rpg), assists (1.8 apg), three-point field goal percentage (.345) and free throw percentage (.838).  He scored 30-plus points on four occasions, including a season-high 36 points vs. Denver (2/22), 20-plus points 27 times and tallied 14 double-doubles.  The 6-foot-11 forward led the Bucks in scoring 19 times, rebounding a team-best 27 times and blocks a team-high 32 times.  Drafted seventh overall by the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the 2005 NBA Draft, Villanueva has career NBA averages of 13.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 26.5 minutes per game.  As a rookie, he scored 48 points at Milwaukee (3/26/06), the most since 1997 [Allen Iverson, 50 at Cleveland (4/12/97)] and tied for the third-highest total since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976-77 (Michael Jordan).  The Queens, NY native averaged 13.0 points per game during his rookie campaign with Toronto which earned him NBA All-Rookie First Team honors in 2006.  As a collegiate player at Connecticut, Villanueva was a member of the Huskies’ 2004 NCAA Championship team with fellow UConn teammate – Ben Gordon.

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Lakers, Artest make it official

From the moment Ron Artest sat down today, after holding up his Lakers jersey No. 37 and after mugging for the cameras during his introductory news conference, he was funny, engaging, honest and open.

Artest admitted that he had always wanted to be a Laker and now he had been given that opportunity after signing a five-year guaranteed contract for $33.95 million -- he has a player option for the fifth season. Artest sat next to Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak at the Lakers training facility in El Segundo, smiled and offered up his first joke.

 

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"Where is TMZ?" asked Artest, smiling, referring to the celebrity website. "They're not here. That's good news."

During a 10-year NBA career, Artest played for Chicago, Indiana, Sacramento and Houston. He was on the Rockets team that lost to the Lakers in seven games in the Western Conference semifinals this spring.

But Artest is best known for being suspended by the league for 73 games for his role in a brawl during a game between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons in 2004.

He said he has grown up since then.

"If you take that brawl away, I've changed, anyway," said Artest, knowing that the brawl he ignited will live forever. "I've always wanted to try to become a better person, if you take the brawl away. If you put the brawl back in that situation, that was something that was out of my control. I'm happy it's over."

During the NBA Finals this spring, Artest sat courtside at Staples Center watching the Lakers play Orlando.

"It sure was a long time coming," Artest said. "I always wanted to be a Laker -- not coming out of college; I wanted to be a Knick. As I started to compete against the Lakers and against Kobe [Bryant], just really out of respect for him I always wanted to be a teammate of his."

Artests is a 6-foot-7, 260-pound small forward who was the 2004 NBA defensive player of the year.

This month the Lakers chose to sign Artest as a free agent rather than Trevor Ariza, who later reached a deal to join the Rockets, Artest's old team.

On July 1, NBA teams were able to contact free agents. Because the Lakers are on the West Coast, they were able to make contact with free agents at 9:01 p.m. PDT, which was 12:01 a.m. July 2 on East Coast time.

"When the Lakers called at 12:01, I was surprised," Artest admitted.

Artest said he was informed by his agent that Kupchak had called. "I said, 'For what?' " Artest said. "He said, 'He wants to help you get a ring.' And I was just totally shocked and surprised."

Last Thursday, Artest agreed to play for the Lakers.

After he announced that he was going to play for the Lakers, Artest said he called Bryant.

"We've had this conversation before, about trying to team up, so it was nothing new," Artest said. "It's been ongoing. It was kind of a no-brainer for me to be a Laker. You throw [Lakers coach] Phil Jackson in the mix, who would pass on an opportunity to play under Phil?"

Artest averaged 17.1 points and 5.2 rebounds last season for the Rockets.

He said he doesn't mind taking a diminished role with the Lakers, as long as the team wins.

Artest said he speaks often with Lamar Odom and is hopeful that Odom, who is a free agent, will return to the Lakers. The Lakers are negotiating with Odom.

Artest and Odom have been teammates since they played in New York as kids.

Artest made $7.4 million last season and was hoping for a raise, but he accepted less from the Lakers with the hope that he can win a championship.

"As you can see, once again, I'm probably underpaid," Artest joked while putting his arm around Kupchak. "But it's OK. At the end of the day, if you can't live on $33 million, then you can't live."

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Celtics sign forward Rasheed Wallace

BOSTON — Rasheed Wallace is joining Boston's Big Three as the Celtics try to recapture the NBA championship they won in 2008.
The four-time All-Star known for his shooting, rebounding and technical fouls signed Wednesday, the first day free agents were allowed to do so.
One of the most coveted players available, Wallace joins Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen as the veteran corps of a team that lost to Orlando in seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals one year after winning its 17th NBA title.
Terms of the deal were not released. Wallace earned $13.68 million last season as he completed a five-year contract with Detroit.
Wallace can play the low post and has exceptional shooting range. He averaged 12 points per game for the Pistons last year, the 14th straight season in which he's scored at least 10 points per game.
Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said the team was "ecstatic" to add a player with Wallace's talent and championship experience. He won a title with Detroit in 2004.
With Boston, the 6-foot-11 Wallace figures to back up Garnett at power forward and Kendrick Perkins at center. The Celtics also could retain Glen Davis, a restricted free agent who filled in well when Garnett missed the playoffs with a knee injury. Garnett had surgery and is expected back for training camp.
Wallace has averaged 15 points and 6.9 rebounds with 1.3 blocks while playing almost 34 minutes per game in his 14 seasons. Now he must adjust to a backup role after starting 943 of his 1,009 regular season games.
He also must try to keep his temper in check. He was suspended for Detroit's game at New Jersey on April 1 for picking up his 16th technical of the season the previous night.
But Ainge loves Wallace's productivity and his ability to draw big men away from the basket with his 3-point shot.
"We are ecstatic to be able to add a player the caliber of Rasheed Wallace to our team," Ainge said. "It is not every day that you can add a four-time All-Star and a player with championship experience."
The Celtics put a full-court press on Wallace in their bid to bring him to Boston. Last week, Ainge, coach Doc Rivers, owner Wyc Grousbeck, Garnett, Pierce and Allen visited him at his home in the Detroit area. His agent, Bill Strickland, said during the weekend that Wallace had decided to join the Celtics.

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