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Goubot · 02-21-2007, 02:58 PM

From detnews' McCosky.

Quote:

Q. Are the Pistons any closer to making a deal?

A. No. In fact, the phrase Joe Dumars used Tuesday morning was, "nothing remotely close."

But he and vice president of basketball operations John Hammond stayed in Auburn Hills and were working the phones Tuesday while the team was in Milwaukee. The deadline is Thursday, and they are still searching for a veteran perimeter player, preferably a point guard.

Q. Are the Pistons involved in any of the big names reportedly on the market, like Pau Gasol, Jason Kidd or Vince Carter?

A. No. The Pistons aren't looking to take on that much salary, or break up the core of their team.

Q. Have the Pistons made calls on Mike James?

A. Yes. Like I wrote last week, James is the type of player they are looking for and his salary matches Nazr Mohammed's. But I can't imagine why Timberwolves general manager Kevin McHale would want to make a deal that would help a coach he fired two years ago win a title.

Q. How damaging would it be if the Pistons didn't make a deal before the deadline?

A. Not damaging at all. The Pistons have the requisite pieces to make a run at another title. The only deal they are looking to make is adding a player that would maybe play 15 minutes a game.

It would be nice to get another ball-handler and scorer on the perimeter. It would be nice to have some insurance for Chauncey Billups and Lindsey Hunter.

But it's certainly not mandatory.

Q. What if, say the Heat or Cavaliers or Bulls make a major trade. Say the Bulls got Gasol or the Cavaliers somehow got Mike Bibby. Would that change the Pistons' thinking?

A. Not to the point where Dumars would feel he had to make a drastic, desperate move.

Understand that those teams would have to give up major pieces to acquire those players. The Bulls probably would have to give up either Ben Gordon or Luol Deng. The Cavaliers would have to give up a good chunk of their core group. You would have to weigh what they gave up against what they gained.

It is very rare a team can acquire a major player without losing one or more core players in the deal. The Pistons have had that good fortune twice now -- acquiring Rasheed Wallace in 2004 and Chris Webber this season.

Dumars has built this team to compete against the best teams in both conferences. I doubt he is losing sleep over what his competitors in the East are doing.

Q. So, what percentage would you put on the Pistons making a deal vs. not making a deal?

A. I would say it's 35-65. Three weeks ago, I would have said there was a better than 80 percent chance Mohammed and Flip Murray would be gone. Now, I think it's more likely no deals will be made. But, as we all have seen, these things can change in an instant.

There isn't much time left, so if a deal is going down, it has to go down pretty quickly. We can probably take the East with this group, but that's not a guarantee. I don't think we should make a desperation trade, but it would feel good to solidify the bench going into the tail end of the season, especially since we have several players who are basically dead weight right now.

JoeD · 02-21-2007, 07:49 PM

I was about to make a thread about how I think this team doesn't need to make any moves.

We obviously aren't looking to move a starter. I like our bench a lot. I just hope Delfino earns more playing time and Rip and Tay gets more rest.

I don't really think we can improve our bench significantly, and anything involving the starters would be basically redoing the whole team.

**Husstla** · 02-22-2007, 09:02 AM

We aren't desperate, but it's not like we can't use a trade for a perimeter player either. So whatever happens in the next 3 hours, won't surprise me

**Austin Kent** · 02-22-2007, 11:58 AM

I would settle for a deal that could get us a perimeter player, somebody who is decent and can tie their own shoes. A point guard would be nice.

**Husstla** · 02-22-2007, 12:01 PM

Oh well, no deal after all

Goubot · 02-22-2007, 01:44 PM

If Lindsey keeps shooting like he did against the Magic, we wouldn't have needed another point guard anyway. We have to move forward with what we have, but thankfully Cleveland and Chicago didn't do much to help themselves.

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