.:[Back To Work]:. | :'(

Great dynasty! Love the pics and orginization, keep the good work rollin.

Bucks get Magloire for Mason

The Milwaukee Bucks continued to aggressively reshape their roster Wednesday by beating out a clutch of teams to acquire New Orleans/Oklahoma City center Jamaal Magloire.

Milwaukee will send swingman Desmond Mason, its 2006 first-round pick and cash considerations to the Hornets for Magloire, an East All-Star in 2004.

Hornets general manager Jeff Bower said the first-round draft pick, which New Orleans would get even if it ends up in the lottery, was a crucial part of the trade.

"Getting a player of his quality in addition to acquiring an unprotected first-round pick that we'll be able to use immediately in this upcoming draft is a package that we feel really has tremendous value," Bower said.

"We feel that this gives us a player we want and the player to add for our future that we are really, really excited about."

The Bucks, according to sources, felt they needed a more physical presence on their front line to aid the development of No. 1 overall pick Andrew Bogut and the recently re-signed Dan Gadzuric. Magloire, like Mason, has only this season and next season left on his contract, lessening the immediate demands on Bogut without affecting the 7-footer's standing as a future cornerstone.

"In Jamaal, we were able to add a young, All-Star-caliber big man to our front-court rotation," Bucks general manager Larry Harris said. "He can score facing up, as well as with his back to the basket and he's proven to be a good defender and rebounder during his young career."

Given Milwaukee's logjam of swingmen after retaining Michael Redd, trading for Jiri Welsch and signing Bobby Simmons, a move involving Mason between now and the February deadline was widely seen as inevitable. This one gives the Bucks an opportunity to play Magloire and Bogut -- the Australian from the University of Utah is still expected to start -- together, with Simmons starting at the other forward spot. The Bucks also have Gadzuric and Joe Smith in what suddenly looks like a well-rounded frontcourt rotation.

The Hornets have been shopping Magloire for months as part of their own makeover, which accelerated in February when Baron Davis, another former All-Star, was dealt to the Golden State Warriors.

Coach Byron Scott denied earlier this week that Magloire was available, but the Hornets -- rebuilding around the embryonic backcourt of Chris Paul and J.R. Smith and displaced from its home base in New Orleans for at least a season -- opted for the chance to add another 2006 first-rounder to their own and an athletic swingman with ties to the team's new home state.

"He's still a dunker, but he's added a whole lot more to his game than that," Scott said of Mason. "He gets to the free throw line a lot. He's a great one-on-one player, and that's something that we really don't have a lot of.

"He's a guy that can get his own shot as well as get other people's shots."

Mason, entering his sixth season out of Oklahoma State, carries a career scoring average of 12.9 points per game and averaged a career-best 17.2 points last season.

"It puts a little bit more pressure on those guys to perform because you've got a guy like that who can come in and play both spots," Scott said. "To me, he's a complete player. He doesn't have 3-point range on his jump shot, but everything else.

"He can get you baskets, he can rebound. I don't know if we've got a guy that can run up and down the floor as fast as he can."

Magloire played only 23 games in 2004-05 because of a fractured ring finger but averaged 13.6 points and 10.3 rebounds in the previous season. The five-year veteran's 19 points in the 2004 All-Star Game led the East.

The Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Clippers were among the teams that, needing quality size, hoped to win the race for Magliore, whose departure has also seemed inevitable since he was mentioned in various trade scenarios in conjunction with the June draft. Most of those scenarios involved the Toronto Raptors, who have long coveted the Toronto-born big man.

WOW..talk about locking people down...that is like vintage Detroit Basketball..61 point win over the Kings on their home court...You played REAL good D

Hey man, nice to see you really working hard on this... Linking to all the players' profile

nice coverage on the trade...looks really professional (especially with the player link and team links)...im not one to read much of the dynasty stuff (im all about the patchin ), but i think this dynasty has grabbed my attention for good now lets see some more good stuff!

Detroit Pistons History

1941-48: The Zollner Pistons

Automobile-piston magnate Fred Zollner launched the club in 1941 and christened it the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons. The Pistons joined the National Basketball League, a circuit that consisted primarily of teams fielded by Midwest corporations. Fort Wayne posted a 15-9 record in that inaugural season and reached the NBL Finals before losing to the Oshkosh All-Stars.

From 1943 to 1946 Fort Wayne posted the NBL's best record, and the Pistons survived the playoffs to claim the championship in 1944 and 1945. The team's star was 5-11 Bobby McDermott, the league's perennial Most Valuable Player. In 1947 and 1948 the Pistons put together strong regular-season records before falling in the early rounds of the playoffs.

1948-57: From The NBL To The BAA To The NBA

Four NBL teams, including the Pistons, jumped over to the rival Basketball Association of America for the 1948-49 season. Fort Wayne fell to a 22-38 record and finished in fifth place in the BAA's Western Division.

Following the 1949 playoffs the NBL and BAA merged to form the National Basketball Association. The Pistons were placed in the Central Division, the circuit's toughest, along with the Minneapolis Lakers and the Rochester Royals. Fort Wayne put together a decent campaign at 40-28 and swept Rochester in the first round of the playoffs. However, the Pistons were no match for eventual NBA-champion Minneapolis Lakers, who eliminated them in two games. Fred Schaus led the team in scoring that season with an average of 14.3 points per game.

The Pistons finished in the middle of their division during each of the next four years. The team made the playoffs in all four of those seasons but survived the first round only once. In 1952-53, after getting by Rochester in the division semifinals, Fort Wayne extended the powerful Minneapolis Lakers to the limit in the Western Division Finals before bowing out in five games.

12 Seconds From Ecstasy

Led by Coach Charles Eckman, the Pistons forged a 43-29 record in the 1954-55 season and came within 12 seconds of winning the NBA championship. This was the first season in which the 24-second clock was used, transforming the previously plodding NBA into a running league. In the final game of the 1955 NBA Finals the Pistons built a 17-point second-quarter lead over Syracuse, then saw the Nationals claw their way back. As the fourth quarter waned, a free throw by George Yardley pulled the Pistons to a 91-91 tie. The Nats' George King followed with a free throw to give Syracuse a 92-91 edge; then King intercepted Fort Wayne's inbounds pass to seal the Pistons' fate.

The mainstays of the Fort Wayne team were Max Zaslofsky (a former league scoring titlist with the Chicago Stags who was finishing out his career), Mel Hutchins, and Yardley, who became the first player to score 2,000 points in a season when he reached 2,001 in 1957-58. The team also had a powerful center in 6-9, 250-pound Larry Foust, who was named to the All-NBA First Team in 1955. Foust finished the 1954-55 season with a career-high 17.0 points per game.

The 1955-56 Pistons reached the NBA Finals after winning the Western Division with a 37-35 record. However, they fell to the Philadelphia Warriors in five games. (It would be more than 30 years before the franchise would play for the championship again.)

1957-61: Coaches Come And Go, But They All Lose

In 1957 the Pistons moved to Detroit, and Coach Charles Eckman was replaced by Red Rocha 25 games into the 1957-58 season. The team finished at 33-39. Through the 1950s and 1960s the Pistons continued to post losing records. Coaches came and went-including Rocha (.423 winning percentage); Dick McGuire (.432); Charles Wolf (.275); Dave DeBusschere (.356); Donnis Butcher (.458); Paul Seymour (.367); Butch van Breda Kolff (.471, although he did take the Pistons to a 45-37 mark in 1970-71, the team's first winning season in Detroit); Terry Dischinger (0-2 in two games); and Earl Lloyd (.286).

Although the teams weren't very good, Detroit did have some stalwart players. George Yardley led the league in scoring in 1957-58 with 27.8 points per game, a mark that survived into the 1990s as the best in Pistons history. He also set team records that season for free throws attempted (808) and converted (655). Yardley scored 51 points against the Boston Celtics on January 15, then topped his own record with 52 against Syracuse on February 4 (a franchise mark that lasted until 1971). The 6-5, 195-pound Yardley had been a first-round pick out of Stanford in the 1950 NBA Draft. After a few years in the military he had signed with Fort Wayne in 1953. An All-NBA First Team selection after his prolific 1957-58 season, Yardley was traded to Syracuse the following year.

Another solid performer was rugged Walter Dukes, acquired from Minneapolis in a trade for Larry Foust. Beginning in 1957-58 Dukes averaged more than 13 rebounds per game for four years. Gene Shue was another durable player and an accurate free throw shooter. And Dick McGuire was a clever ballhandler and floor general who later coached the Pistons. Yardley, Shue, and McGuire were All-Stars in 1957-58.

The top draft pick in 1959 was hustling Bailey Howell, a stocky 6-7, 220-pounder who averaged more than 20 points and made four All-Star appearances in his five seasons with Detroit.

The 1959-60 Pistons posted a 30-45 record under Rocha and McGuire. McGuire took over as player-coach on December 28 and finished the year in that dual role. He retired as a player and continued to coach the Pistons for the next three seasons. Shue's average of 22.8 points per game was sixth in the league. The team had been playing its home games at Olympia Stadium and the University of Detroit, but during the playoffs it had to host one contest at the Grosse Pointe High School gym, since no other facility was available. The Pistons lost the game by a single point to Minneapolis.

The 1960-61 season began in strange fashion. On November 15, almost exactly a year after they had put up 142 shot attempts in a game against Boston, the Pistons pulled down a record 107 rebounds against that same team. In a November 25 contest Bailey Howell had 21 rebounds in the first half of a game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Howell, Shue (who ranked among the league leaders in assists), and Walter Dukes (14.1 rpg) represented Detroit in the 1961 NBA All-Star Game. For the year Detroit was a forgettable 34-45. Even with that record, the Pistons' third-place division finish earned them a berth in the playoffs, in which they were eliminated by the Lakers in five games. Howell paced the Pistons with 23.6 points and 14.4 rebounds per game.


George Yardley - January 1, 1958

Nice history! Clean and simple yet profound. Never knew George Yardley was a Piston.

very nice work on the Pistons History lesson...nice work

wow a 61-point victory over the kings...... that's an nba record..... are the kings that bad in this game? haven't played them yet....... i gues you really played good D huh.... anyway, good wins and great recaps...... keep it up.....

Damn take it easy on my Kings now
Nah haha just kidding, good game(s) and good win(s)

Nice history lesson, a nice little side item for your dynasty. Can't wait till you cover the "bad boys" era

nice history stuff!!!

it seems that most people still don't realize that most articles are taken from other sites, lol. However, the information taken from somewhere else should have the source after each post.

ex:
Source:Pistons.com

it seems that most people still don't realize that most articles are taken from other sites, lol. However, the information taken from somewhere else should have the source after each post.

ex:
Source:Pistons.com

One question... what's the problem? All guys in the forum know that I never have inspiration to write something and I take the articles from different sites. But, in other articles I will post the source...

yeah, i don't think it is wrong as long as you add the source.

Great Pistons History coverage, keep it up!

yeah, i don't think it is wrong as long as you add the source.

i like detroit basketball, heres some dedication pics

Nice Rommas

Nice Rommas

yea nice...i like that jersey texture..damn consoles always get the better stuff...

[spam] Nice dynasty you got running, keep up the good work [/spam]

Darko Milicic's 3rd Season: Man or myth?

Pistons insist this season can finally be Darko's time

November 12, 2005

BY KRISTA LATHAM
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Late in practice this week, Darko Milicic, sweaty and tired from a long night of scrimmaging, slashed through the air for a sure dunk. His hand slammed onto the rim but an opponent had nudged his arm and knocked the basketball away, drawing a foul.

Milicic went to the free-throw line as Rasheed Wallace yelled with glee from the other side of the court, "Go for it, Darko!"

He's not the only one who likes what he sees. Milicic missed that time, but watch a Pistons practice and there's no question something is different about fans' poster child for high expectations.

"If he came here as a boy," assistant coach Igor Kokoskov said, "he's a grown man now, that's for sure."

Gone are the blond streaks that highlighted the 7-foot center's dark brown hair last season. Gone is the expectation that he can work hard in practice but fail to have that translate into playing time come game nights. New coach Flip Saunders has promised to give Milicic a chance to make or break his fate on the floor.

And Milicic's happier than ever to be playing in Detroit.

"This year I feel more comfortable," Milicic said. "The coach is trying to let me know that I just need to play and everything will be OK. They all know that I have two bad years behind me, and they let me know that those two years are over."

What was so bad about the last two years? Let's recap. After being selected No. 2 overall in the 2003 draft, Milicic, barely 18 and playing in America for the first time, found himself working with a coach not known for developing young players.

Larry Brown worked Milicic hard in practice but rarely played him.

So Milicic sat the bench and played meaningless minutes at the end of blowouts. He earned the nickname "The Human Victory Cigar" and became a favorite topic of discussion on talk radio and the Internet, where the great "Milicic: Bust or Future Star" debate rages on.

It was clear Milicic wasn't happy.

"He looked stressed out all the time," guard Chauncey Billups said.

As his draftmates made names for themselves in Cleveland, Denver, Toronto and Miami, Milicic felt frustrated and embarrassed -- but, also lucky -- in Detroit.

"I am very lucky to be around these players and this team," Milicic said. "They're great players. They're all winners. I feel lucky to be here. But I haven't played in three years. So it's bad for me."

Every so often, Milicic spoke out about his frustrations in the media. And it wasn't Brown's constant chirping that bothered him.

"That was nothing for me," Milicic said. "My coach from Serbia was 10 times worse."

Milicic just wanted to play. And president of basketball operations Joe Dumars understood, and appreciated Milicic's occasional comment. Who wants a player to be happy sitting on the bench?

"You're going to always deal with tough coaches," Dumars said. "But a lot of the time you're playing as you're dealing with them. And so it's easier to deal with it. The tough part is when you're not playing. That was his biggest hurdle."

It wasn't exactly a hurdle he could jump, either. With Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Elden Campbell, Mehmet Okur and Corliss Williamson holding down the post over his first two seasons, there was just too much depth in front of him.

"For those who forgot, he didn't come to a lottery team," Dumars said. "He came to a world championship team. And most rookies are not going to come to a world championship team and break into the lineup, break into the rotation, and play."

Injuries also plagued Milicic. He lost last summer with a broken finger that came in the final minute of the final game of the season.

That made this summer even more meaningful. For the first time, Milicic was invited to play with the Serbia & Montenegro national team as it prepared and competed for the European Championships.

This was a team Milicic followed and dreamed of playing for since he was a little boy. And to make the dream even sweeter, this year's tournament was held in his home country.

"It's really crazy," Darko said. "The fans, the people are crazy about it. A lot of people, they have no money over there. Some people work months for those tickets to come see us play a game."

For two months this summer, Milicic did two-a-day sessions, lifted weights, played in exhibition games and lower-level tournaments, and even ran through the mountains.

"That was tough," he said. "I thought I was going to throw up."

Serbia & Montenegro was expected to be one of the best team's in the tournament, but a lack of chemistry and infighting doomed the squad. It placed 11th and failed to make even the quarterfinals.

But Milicic made an impression. He was the star of one game, scoring 11 points and making numerous key defensive stops against Israel.

"But it wasn't just about those four games" in the European Championships, Kokoskov said. "It was two months that he played hard. He had two sessions everyday and worked on his abilities. He did great lifting weights and running and basic preparation."

Now, he has showed up in camp with obvious gains from his summer of work.

"He's been better than I thought he would be," Saunders said, "and I thought he was going to be pretty good."

Saunders complimented Milicic's defensive rebounding, his versatility and his basketball IQ, saying it was higher than he expected. He plans to use Milicic all over the court, rather than have him simply stake out the block every play.

"Right now, there's not a lot of guys who are 20-years-old who are predominantly low-post players," Saunders said. "One of the reasons (Phoenix center) Amare Stoudemire had a breakout year last year is because they moved him around. ... He became less predictable, and he became more effective. I think Darko is similar, in that, you can't say just go to this one spot and play there."

Dumars said he hasn't ordered Saunders to give Milicic playing time.

"I'll never walk in and tell a coach who to play," he said. "I think it's counterproductive."

But Dumars and Saunders are on the same page. Both would likely put Milicic at No. 4 in the big man rotation behind the Wallaces and McDyess.

And if Milicic continues to impress the way he has so far, that's going to translate into meaningful minutes -- and help erase the memory of the last two seasons.

"I think he feels like he has a weight lifted off his shoulders," Billups said. "He's playing freely. He's playing a lot more aggressive. He's going to be great, man."

Last edited by kibaxx7 on Tue Nov 01, 2005 6:24 am, edited 2 times in total.

yah..make darko a player. He never excelled under LB. use him at center more

Good article on darko, is this once again copied from the site, or is it your creativity .

Good article on darko, is this once again copied from the site, or is it your creativity .

It was from Detroit Free Press... you remembered me to add the source... I posted site logo with a link to it