por Covi »
11 Jun 2008, 11:36
Interesante artículo:
http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/2008/06/melo_doubtful_to_detroit_but_n.html
Melo doubtful to Detroit, but not totally out of the quetion
by A. Sherrod Blakely
Tuesday June 10, 2008, 5:35 PM
AUBURN HILLS -- Joe Dumars knew the first week after he put his entire team on the trading block with the exception of Rodney Stuckey, he would receive plenty of calls.
Among them was a conversation with the Denver Nuggets. And among the topics of discussion was Carmelo Anthony, a player the Pistons passed up in the 2003 NBA draft to instead select Darko Milicic.
Joe Dumars pulling off such a deal is still unlikely to happen, but it's not as crazy and far-fetched as it might seem based on comments Dumars made at today's press conference to announce Michael Curry as the team's new head coach.
Dumars stressed that no deal involving Detroit trading for any player is imminent, but he made it abundantly clear that it's going to take a player of Anthony's caliber for him to break up this core group.
Like any good GM, Dumars wouldn't go into detail regarding recent conversations about specific players to possibly trade for, but he did shed some light on where his head's at on the matter.
"I will say this. We're not talking to teams about their second and third-best player," Dumars said. "My point has been look, 'if I'm going to put these guys on the market, then don't waste your time talking about guys you don't like.' That's where it is now. Nothing is imminent. But I've talked to at least 10 teams."
He was later asked if Denver was one of those teams.
"I think I may have talked to Denver," Dumars said, doing his best to hold back from smiling.
Does this mean Detroit is trying to pry Melo from Denver?
Absolutely not.
What it does mean, more than anything else, is how serious Dumars is about shaking up this core group and how he's willing to explore any and all options that are put before him.
I understand what Dumars is trying to do, and it makes a lot of sense. But he's going to be hard-pressed to find a talent-for-talent swap involving any of his guys, that won't involve 1) taking back a bad contract, 2) taking on the lesser talent in the deal or 3) both.
He's found a way to make this work in the past. But he's never been willing to give up a guy who played an instrumental role from the 2004 championship squad -- until now.
Stay tuned, because things are about to get real interesting around here.
Oh, just a couple more revelations from today's press conference.
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Dave Cowens will be back as an assistant, but the rest of the staff is still a work in progress. Look for Curry to add at least one more veteran to his coaching staff as well as someone younger, possibly Ron Oliver who currently serves as the team's video coordinator.
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Rasheed Wallace was the only Pistons player on the practice floor during Curry's press conference. Dumars said he had spoken to Wallace once since Detroit's Game 6 loss to Boston in the Conference finals. Curry had a brief exchange with Wallace following the press conference. I anticipate those two will talk more in the coming weeks as Curry goes about getting a feel for who he believes can help him succeed next season, and who can't. Wallace declined to comment.
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Joe D., on whether hiring Curry makes him more inclined to keep this core group together.
"No. It doesn't change my stance on what I said last week," Dumars said. "I still feel the same way I felt last week."