Pistons retiring a couple jerseys this year

[stalkerforlife]

Wallace was actually softer than you think. He had what I call "beach muscles." He looked the part, but he couldn't hang with the big boys.

Wallace pushed Artest because he knew Artest was trying really hard to get his act together for fear of banishment from the NBA. Had Artest engaged, he would've ripped Wallace's head off.

[Mike Armstrong]

Good. No reason to delay this.

[DCL]

it's all because of darko.

if the pistons never drafted darko, they could had gotten chris bosh instead.

with bosh developing early, they probably wouldn't have tried so hard to get rasheed.

no rasheed, no ring...

darko indirectly helped make the pistons bond in chemistry by being taken out of the equation.

[SugarHill]

Wallace was actually softer than you think. He had what I call "beach muscles." He looked the part, but he couldn't hang with the big boys.

Wallace pushed Artest because he knew Artest was trying really hard to get his act together for fear of banishment from the NBA. Had Artest engaged, he would've ripped Wallace's head off.

[Fire Colangelo]

it's all because of darko.

if the pistons never drafted darko, they could had gotten chris bosh instead.

with bosh developing early, they probably wouldn't have tried so hard to get rasheed.

no rasheed, no ring...

darko indirectly helped make the pistons bond in chemistry by being taken out of the equation.

They could've drafted Carmelo instead... And also traded for Rasheed.

Or even if they drafted Bosh, they'd start winning rings by 06 after Bosh blossomed into a all star........

The Darko pick fked up the Pistons... in every single way possible. It had no immediate impact, but it really limited their future. They were fked and had no plan b after their core got older.

[DCL]

They could've drafted Carmelo instead... And also traded for Rasheed.

Or even if they drafted Bosh, they'd start winning rings by 06 after Bosh blossomed into a all star........

The Darko pick fked up the Pistons... in every single way possible. It had no immediate impact, but it really limited their future. They were fked and had no plan b after their core got older.

yup, they had many choices besides darko. but i doubt carmelo would had ever bought into larry brown's team-concept game plan. that chemistry would had been very questionable if he was there. well, the pistons could had gotten d wade too, but they already had rip. a reliable scoring big man was what they needed.

but speaking of rip, he was pretty much the leading scorer for detroit during all those years and he averaged a respectable 5 assist/game too, which was only about 1.5 or 2 below billups.

if chauncey is getting his jersey retired for his contributions, rip's number should be retired as well.

[Fallen Angel]

Expecting Stanley Johnson to rock arm bands at Ben Wallace's jersey retirement

[Rake2204]

yup, they had many choices besides darko. but i doubt carmelo would had ever bought into larry brown's team-concept game plan. that chemistry would had been very questionable if he was there. well, the pistons could had gotten d wade too, but they already had rip. a reliable scoring big man was what they needed.

but speaking of rip, he was pretty much the leading scorer for detroit during all those years and he averaged a respectable 5 assist/game too, which was only about 1.5 or 2 below billups.

if chauncey is getting his jersey retired for his contributions, rip's number should be retired as well.

Yep, I think winning a championship requires such a delicate balance of skills and personality. I'm always left with questions of how Anthony would have fit into that system. Would he have willingly given up being so ball dominant for the duration of his career in Detroit? Would he have had the skills to defend at the small forward position the way those Pistons teams preferred (and would Tayshaun Prince have been dealt?) Would he and Larry Brown been able to co-exist?

I think I would have felt better about Dwyane Wade coming to Detroit but he was never even within the realm of possibility of being drafted by the Pistons, so it's tough to play the hypothetical game on that one.

As it worked out, the Pistons were somehow able to stumble upon the exact right set of circumstances to win an NBA championship. Changing one aspect, even if it's introducing an All-Star, doesn't always mean better championship opportunities. Sometimes there can be too many hens in the hen house, and Anthony seems like he could have been like that type of guy.

[jayfan]

Wallace was actually softer than you think. He had what I call "beach muscles." He looked the part, but he couldn't hang with the big boys.

Wallace pushed Artest because he knew Artest was trying really hard to get his act together for fear of banishment from the NBA. Had Artest engaged, he would've ripped Wallace's head off.

[WorldWarriors]

They could've drafted Carmelo instead... And also traded for Rasheed.

Or even if they drafted Bosh, they'd start winning rings by 06 after Bosh blossomed into a all star........

The Darko pick fked up the Pistons... in every single way possible. It had no immediate impact, but it really limited their future. They were fked and had no plan b after their core got older.

Didn't they pass on Wade as well? He went #5 IIRC.

[Rake2204]

Didn't they pass on Wade as well? He went #5 IIRC.

Neither Chris Bosh nor Dwyane Wade were ever really in the discussion for being possible #2 picks for the Pistons. Carmelo or Darko was a pretty definitive debate. In the eyes of most, it was one of those two, period.

Being a Pistons fan, I had tunnel vision on that draft, only focusing on picks 1 and 2, so I don't remember this well, but I feel like I saw some mocks that had Wade dropping even lower than he did. The Clippers were slated as picking him up in a few lists and I think a number of people had him going to Chicago at #7 for the whole hometown thing.

There were some concerns about where Wade would fit in the NBA when he came out, in terms of whether he could make it as a shooting guard or whether teams would have to try to convert him to point.

Either way, with the Pistons being Eastern Conference Finalists with Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Ben Wallace already roaming about, conventional thought said they had one gap, and that was in the frontcourt. If Darko were even a shell of what many expected him to be, he would have filled that gap.

[Fire Colangelo]

Neither Chris Bosh nor Dwyane Wade were ever really in the discussion for being possible #2 picks for the Pistons. Carmelo or Darko was a pretty definitive debate. In the eyes of most, it was one of those two, period.

Being a Pistons fan, I had tunnel vision on that draft, only focusing on picks 1 and 2, so I don't remember this well, but I feel like I saw some mocks that had Wade dropping even lower than he did. The Clippers were slated as picking him up in a few lists and I think a number of people had him going to Chicago at #7 for the whole hometown thing.

There were some concerns about where Wade would fit in the NBA when he came out, in terms of whether he could make it as a shooting guard or whether teams would have to try to convert him to point.

Either way, with the Pistons being Eastern Conference Finalists with Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Ben Wallace already roaming about, conventional thought said they had one gap, and that was in the frontcourt. If Darko were even a shell of what many expected him to be, he would have filled that gap.

What was the reason they didn't look into Bosh? I don't quite remember... Was it because they wanted defensive toughness? Bosh could've been a great fit in theory...

[Rake2204]

What was the reason they didn't look into Bosh? I don't quite remember... Was it because they wanted defensive toughness? Bosh could've been a great fit in theory...

The 2003 Draft had a series of tiers, according to most analysts and talent evaluators at the time.

Tier 1: LeBron James - Undisputed number 1 pick with zero doubt
Tier 2: Carmelo Anthony and Darko Milicic - Anthony was the star on an NCAA champion as a frosh. Milicic, meanwhile, in a climate where everyone thought the foreign diamond in the rough was bound to become Dirk or Peja, was getting this type of praise (via Chad Ford):

He's the real deal. He's really one of a kind. He runs the floor, handles the ball, shoots the NBA 3-pointer, plays with his back to the basket, so you can slot him in at the 3, 4 or 5. What sets Darko apart is his toughness in the post. You have to love a guy who has the footwork to spin by an opponent, but still prefers to lower a shoulder and bang. Fact is, Milicic plays in attack-mode at both ends of the floor. The more you push, the more he pushes back. He's got a great frame. He'll definitely get stronger. He'll have no problem holding his own in the post.

Tier 3: Chris Bosh - Bosh was considered by most as the sure-fire fourth best player in the draft. But for the Pistons, that meant he was clearly behind the other center in the draft - Darko. I assume they worked Bosh out but from the folklore of Darko's perfect workout run, combined with the drooling scouts and analysts, I think the decision to go with Darko was pretty clear at the time (and ultimately disastrous, of course).

Tier 4: Chris Kaman, Dwyane Wade, Kirk Hinrich, T.J. Ford - There was actually a lot of unknown surrounding Wade. From the same Stein article, he said this, answering the question of who will be the guy everyone's afraid to pick but will regret passing up in the future:

Chad Ford, ESPN Insider: Dwyane Wade will be this year's Caron Butler.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nbadraft/d03/story?id=1572643

[FKAri]

Some revisionist history here. Dark was the real deal on paper. He just didn't give two fuks about pro ball. No interest in being a professional or wanting to achieve anything as an athlete. A guy with that mentality isn't going anywhere in the league no matter how talented.

[WorldWarriors]

Neither Chris Bosh nor Dwyane Wade were ever really in the discussion for being possible #2 picks for the Pistons. Carmelo or Darko was a pretty definitive debate. In the eyes of most, it was one of those two, period.

Being a Pistons fan, I had tunnel vision on that draft, only focusing on picks 1 and 2, so I don't remember this well, but I feel like I saw some mocks that had Wade dropping even lower than he did. The Clippers were slated as picking him up in a few lists and I think a number of people had him going to Chicago at #7 for the whole hometown thing.

There were some concerns about where Wade would fit in the NBA when he came out, in terms of whether he could make it as a shooting guard or whether teams would have to try to convert him to point.

Either way, with the Pistons being Eastern Conference Finalists with Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Ben Wallace already roaming about, conventional thought said they had one gap, and that was in the frontcourt. If Darko were even a shell of what many expected him to be, he would have filled that gap.

Thanks. I couldn't recall the circumstances but I remember Pat Riley was extremely happy when he got Wade. And you're right, they already had a tight squad so Wade would not have made sense.