The conference finals are set, and the one thing the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics,San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder have in common is that each team has at least a pair of stars. The Detroit Pistons proved to be the rarest of exceptions in 2003-04 when they were able to win an NBA title without the typically requisite star power. Pistons team president Joe Dumars built that team and is trying to rebuild the current incarnation of the Pistons. However, Dumars has said both privately and publicly that he is not trying to recreate that championship team, according to the Detroit News’ Vincent Goodwill.
Perhaps Joe D realizes that he bucked the odds with that approach the first time and wants to take a more traditional approach to earning a fourth championship for the franchise.
As the roster stands now, the Pistons lack any form of star power. Rodney Stuckey is a solid two-way guard and Ben Gordon can score when his mind is right, but neither is close to being elite. The future really is in the hands of first-round picks Greg Monroe, Brandon Knight and the player they will take in next month’s draft.
It will be interesting to see how Dumars handles that pick (likely No. 9). Specifically, how much risk will he be willing to take to get a star player for the future? ESPN NBA Insider Chad Ford had the Pistons taking OSU’s Jared Sullinger in his first few mock drafts before changing to UNC’s John Henson in his most recent mock. However, he’s also speculated about taking 20-year-old Illinois center Meyers Leonard or 21-year-old Mississippi State power forward Arnett Moultrie:
– Tom Carpenter
