If you have been keeping track of anything to do with the Detroit Pistons this season, then you would probably know that things are a mess over there in Auburn Hills. This was a team that was considered to be one of the best in the Eastern Conference just a few years ago, and many actually considered them to be somewhat of a dynasty. 

The pinnacle of the Pistons’ success in the decade came in 2004 when they matched up with the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, and subsequently captured the upset in a 4-1 series victory. They also made a strong bid for a repeat in 2005, but came up short in game 7 to the San Antonio Spurs. 

If you’re not catching my drift, what I’m trying to say here is that the Pistons used to be one heck of a good team. Year after year, they were making a strong case for the NBA Title, and they were at the very least putting out some very good basketball. With a starting lineup of Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace, it was very hard to go wrong. 

It was hard to go wrong, and we all knew it had to end eventually. I don’t think anybody saw this train wreck coming though. 

Larry Brown left as the head coach after his second year with Detroit, and that’s when I believe things started to derail. Flip Saunders came in to fill his shoes, and I gotta give the man some credit, he did a great job. Unfortunately, the standards had already been raised high for the Detroit Pistons, and it proved much higher than Flip knew how to handle. 

Saunders led the Pistons to two more Eastern Conference Finals appearances in ’06 and ’07, but both times Detroit was knocked out by their opponents in impressive fashion. The series loss to the Heat was somewhat bearable considering that Dwayne Wade had jumped on the back of Shaq, and rode him all the way to the top. The way that the Pistons lost to the Cavaliers in 2007 proved to be incredibly shocking though, and the threads within a once strong Pistons team started to unravel. The loss of Ben Wallace during the off-season really shook up the team’s chemistry, and even though they won the first two games against the Cavaliers, LeBron James led Cleveland back winning four in a row. It looked like the Pistons gave up.

Time to buckle up your seatbelts folks, it’s about to be a bumpy ride.

 The team looked stale, cocky, and somewhat entitled. There were games in which it seemed that they were just going through the motions, and there were some games when it looked like nobody in the starting lineup cared. That being said the team was still talented, and they made their way all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals yet again. Unfortunately for the Pistons, 2008 just happened to be the year that the Boston Celtics put together the “Big Three” in Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. The Pistons fell to Boston in six games. 

Fans were screaming for a change, and General Manager Joe Dumars heard their cries. Unfortunately for Detroit though, he may have made the wrong changes. 

Out with Saunders and in with a new coach. How does Michael Curry sound to ya? Who cares, let’s sign him! 

For those of you who don’t know, Michael Curry was a Piston back in the days of the teal jerseys. The problem with Curry though was that he wasn’t even a good player! Granted, he seemed to know and understand the game very well, but how Dumars saw him fit to be a head coach I will never know. 

What would be the next plausible move for the Pistons? How about trading away our franchise point guard? Sounds good to me… 

I still shudder when I think about the carnage that came from the Allen Iverson for Chauncey Billups trade. I can see why Dumars thought it could work out, and it was definitely an apparent salary dump, but I guess that’s why they say hindsight is 20/20. 

To make a long story short, Iverson burnt out in Detroit, spent more time in the casinos than on the court, and turned Rip Hamilton into a cry baby. Hamilton was ticked off that Iverson was getting his minutes, and he could not stand coming off the bench. Iverson on the other hand felt entitled to a starting position. 

Michael Curry was dead before he even knew what hit him. 

The Pistons finished with a losing record in 2009 and got swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. Seeya Mike… 

Dumars hired Cavs assistant coach John Kuester in the offseason, and used what was essentially the money he gained from getting rid of Chauncey to scoop up Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva through free agency. Rasheed Wallace ran out of contract and patience, so he took a trip over to Boston to try to get another “Ship”, and Antonio McDyess found greener pastures in San Antonio. 

Looking back on it, it’s rather apparent that both players could foresee the proverbial crap that was about to hit the fan, and they got out before they got hit with it. 

But hey, Big Ben re-signed back with the team! The Gong was ready to ring at the Palace once again! And look, even Chucky Atkins has come back to play for us! 

Unfortunately the combined age of both players is higher than the point total that the Pistons would get on most nights in ’09-’10. The Pistons finished dead last in the Central Division, and we had finally found our rock bottom. 

So there ya have it: The story of the Detroit Pistons fall from greatness to obscurity. 

Thankfully when you hit rock bottom the only way you can go is up though, and that is where we are today. 

The team is up for sale, and in my opinion that is the only way that they will be able to climb out of this mess. The franchise has been stuck in limbo for the past year at least, and the lack of definite ownership has really hamstrung the organization. 

Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Ben Wallace are the only players left from “the glory days”, but it has become apparent that this team needs to move on from the old, and step into a new age of players. The problem though is that trades are incredibly hard to maneuver when your ownership is undefined as it is. The truth is that a trade is the only way the Pistons will be able to move forward. 

At the moment, they’re kind of screwed. 

Thankfully though recent reports have come out that Flint native and Michigan State graduate, Tom Gores, has stepped up to the plate with an offer, and is now entering a 30-day exclusive negotiating period with current owner Karen Davidson. 

Gores is the CEO of Platinum Equity, and has an estimated net worth of $2.4 billion. 

If he indeed buys the team, fans have to hope that he will be ready to pony up some big money, and start opening up some room for movement on this roster. 

My hope is that he will, because to be honest, that’s the only way the Pistons can get back up.