Rasheed Wallace Gets Pissed, Takes Over

[kurple]

Chucky Atkins
Zeljko Rebraca
Bob Sura

Also gave up Lindsey Hunter, but he got waived and came right back.

Also Pistons got Mike James in that trade, not just Sheed.

After that, the entire league refused to do more trades with Dumars.

Iverson

[Clifton]

I still believe this championship pistons team COULD be the Atlanta Hawks ceiling with their current core in place (Horford, Teague, Korver) with good coaching

The Hawks are special in their own right, but they don't have a leader like Chauncey and they don't have a defensive captain like Big Ben. The thing is... almost nobody does. These are guys in the Jerry West and Bill Russell conversation as far as leadership and intangible impact go (not as good but to have them both on the same team at the same time is powerful indeed).

These Pistons would hold teams under 70 for weeks at a time. Good teams, too. Every guy on that team would knock you to the floor and wrestle you for the ball every trip down. That's the kind of commitment you need for that level of greatness without a superstar on the roster.

I think it's safe to say the Hawks will never win a title without a lot of luck (in the form of injuries, not shots falling). It's not hard to make it out of the East - there's only one other good team - but almost any playoff team in the West, and several non-playoff teams, are their equals or better in a playoff context.

I love the Hawks though. I don't mind if they prove me wrong.