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Off-Season at a Glance: Detroit Pistons

By SheedsWeed, Rashod. / Bballcentral.com Writing Staff
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Detroit Pistons

After the Pistons loss in the Eastern Conference Championship, after all the hard work and games they won during the regular season, the feeling seemed a bit mixed with sadness and disbelief when the Pistons knew there playoff run was over. Once the off-season started, Joe Dumars made it clear that the number one priority for the Pistons was to re-sign Ben Wallace. Joe Dumars was preparing for the re-signing of Wallace when Dumars traded away Carlos Arroyo, and Darko Milicic after coaches Larry Brown, and Flip Saunders couldn't find any time to play him. It seemed like Joe Dumars had Ben Wallace signed, but after a reported contract of $52 million was turned down by Wallace, Wallace bolted to Chicago, where he got a deal worth $60 million. Not only did that signing backfire, the earlier trade in which Darko was traded backfired. Now the Pistons can't develop the young prospect the drafted years ago in the draft class that included LeBron, Melo and Wade.

Things weren't totally awry. Shortly after Wallace was gone, the Pistons signed Nazr Mohammed, the former San Antonio Spur. Then, after Mohammed was signed, the Pistons reached a contract with shooting guard Flip Murray. But does two good signings make up for one great player leaving? Only time will tell. After that, a somewhat bizarre trade went down with Los Angeles, with Pistons sending Mo Evans, who actually signed with the Pistons last year, for the draft rights to Cheick Sambs. And this off-season, the Pistons only have three free agents. Kelvin Kato, Tony Delk, and restricted free agent Alex Acker. So, with the loss of Ben Wallace, are the Pistons still the championship contenders they were the past few years? Or are they just playoff contenders now?

Players Added
Draft - Chieck Samb (draft pick number fifty-one), Will Blalock (draft pick number sixty)
Free Agency - Flip Murray (from Cleveland, via free agency), Nazr Mohammed (from San Antonio, via free agency)
Trades - Traded Maurice Evans for draft rights to Chieck Samb.
Free Agents - Alex Acker (restricted), Kelvin Kato, Tony Delk
Players Lost - Ben Wallace (to Chicago, via free agency), Maurice Evans (to Los Angeles via trade)

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