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Are Pistons' glory days nearly over?
Dumars says he's prepared for when core players fall away
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Rip Hamilton, 29, left, and Tayshaun Prince, 27, are the only Piston starters under 30. See full image
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AUBURN HILLS -- There is a popular theory among some in the media that this is the Pistons' last legitimate shot at a championship.
Don't believe it. Certainly nobody in the vicinity of Five Championship Drive believes it. In fact, the notion flat-out angers president Joe Dumars.
"People have to find something to criticize," Dumars said before the playoffs began. "I will put it to you this way -- I like our present and I am very excited about our future. That's the absolute truth."
The reason some think the window is closing on this group is because the frontcourt is aging. Rasheed Wallace, who has two years left on his contract after this season, will be 33 next season. Chris Webber is 34 and might retire. Antonio McDyess will be 33. Dale Davis is 38 and will probably not be here next season.
Others believe that Chauncey Billups (who will be 31) has played his best basketball, and that leaves only two young players still in the prime of their careers -- Richard Hamilton (29) and Tayshaun Prince (27).
Dumars will tell you that Wallace and McDyess still have at least two more good years left. He will tell you that Billups is still in the early stages of his prime years, and that Hamilton and Prince still have their best basketball in front of them.
Dumars will also tell you that he has long been preparing for the day that some of the core players from this group fall away.
"You don't wait until that two- or three-year period gets here," he said. "You start incorporating some new blood into the mix, knowing that in three years down the road we may have a completely different team.
"But you don't just wake up one day and do it."
Making an impact
Already, some of the new blood is making an impact. Carlos Delfino (24) and Jason Maxiell (23) have cracked the rotation this season and are regular contributors. Flip Murray (27) has played his way perhaps into the future mix.
Ronald Dupree (26) continues to add new layers to his game and could fight his way into the regular rotation next season.
Amir Johnson (20) probably will be at the back end of the rotation next season with the hope that he will be a regular contributor in 2008-09.
Alex Acker (24), the Pistons' second-round pick in 2005, had a productive year in Europe. He could be in the backcourt rotation next season, as well.
The Pistons also have two first-round draft picks and a second-round pick, all of whom they expect to make the 15-man roster, if not the regular active roster, next season.
And further down the road, 7-0 center Cheick Samb has been developing faster than even the Pistons thought he might, and they are still hopeful that Will Blalock will develop into a capable backup point guard.
Now compare that to what the Miami Heat have to rebuild with. It's bare-bones in comparison.
The point is, the Pistons have been steadily infusing young talent into this established, championship-caliber team to avoid a sudden freefall down the road.
"We're very conscious of the fact that we've had a very competitive team for the last six years," said Pistons vice president of basketball John Hammond. "We still do today and we are very proud of that. But we are also conscious of our goal to stay at this level, and to do that, you have to infuse young talent. We have that in-house, to a certain extent, and we're still building.
"Can we say for sure that some of these guys are going to be the answer to replacing some of these pieces? Time will tell, but we like them. We feel confident they can be."
Answers up front
Other than re-signing Billups, extending McDyess' contract and re-signing Johnson, the Pistons' biggest challenge in the off-season will be up front. Even if Webber decides to play another year or two, Dumars still will have to decide what to do about Nazr Mohammed.
Mohammed, who will be 30 next season, has four years and about $25 million left on his contract. He is a capable starting center and would have significant trade value, if the Pistons have decided -- and it appears they have -- that he doesn't fit with their style of play.
With Johnson still a year away from being a consistent presence in the rotation, the Pistons probably will look to bring in at least one other front-court player -- either by trade, free agency or the draft.
A perfect scenario for the Pistons would be to have enough frontcourt depth that Wallace's minutes could be greatly reduced in the regular season, to preserve him for the playoff run.
"We aren't looking to ever have a huge changeover in personnel," Hammond said. "Joe always says, you have to continue to challenge your veteran players and have them ready. If there is a young player behind you that's ready to take your minutes, that keeps those older guys motivated."
There is a chance the Pistons could also add another veteran to the mix -- Grant Hill. If Hill decides to return for another season or two, he would likely chose between the Pistons, Suns and Magic.
And if Hill does return, he would likely take the roster spot of Acker, Murray, Dupree or some combination of those players. But that is highly speculative at this point. Hill said he wanted to take a couple of months to ponder his future.
Bottom line
The term "window of opportunity" does not exist in Dumars' lexicon. Every year provides an opportunity for success. Every year is an open window.
"You are talking about a man (Dumars) who played with a group that some said stayed together too long," Hammond said. "People said some of those pieces with the Bad Boys group should have been moved at a more appropriate time. Joe had to live through those tough, tough years after that team was broken up. He's not about to go through that again."
