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» Sunday, April 10 2011 |
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Chief among them was Biyombo, who exploited his 7-7 wingspan and the most NBA-ready body on the floor. After a disappointing first quarter, the visitors adapted as Biyombo asserted himself defensively and Polish guard Mateusz Ponitka (who scored a team-leading 17 points) attacked the basket. "He runs the floor, he defends and he's cat-quick,'' said an NBA scout of Biyombo. "His offensive skills need to be developed, but his athleticism screams out.'' "He's Ben Wallace, basically,'' said another NBA executive. SI.com |
» Wednesday, April 6 2011 |
![]() Now, (Ben) Wallace is wondering if those hands are enough. He suited up for Tuesday's game in Washington, but doesn't know if his career is coming down to the final six games. "That's always been the case, the last couple of years," said Wallace, 37. "When the season is over with, I'll see how my body feels. See if I can get my strength back. If can help this team, maybe I'll come back." Detroit News Wallace is under contract through next season ($1.9 million), but with the drama — and losing — it's not hard to envision him reconsidering. "I'd definitely like to honor (the contract)," Wallace said. "But I have to do what's best for me as far as my body. "My legs are feeling good. Let me run up and down the court a little bit, see if I need to do some more work or sit my butt down." Detroit News |
» Sunday, March 13 2011 |
![]() Pistons big man Ben Wallace said Friday that the players are preparing for the worse. "We already thinking about that -- our situation," Wallace said after the Pistons'loss to the Thunder. "It's one thing for you to go through it, while it's different when you see somebody else go through it. "You know whether you are prepared or not, so you just hope those guys are prepared for it. I've already been through one lockout, so I know pretty much what to expect." Detroit Free Press "When it's time for the union to sit down with owners before June 30, I'm pretty sure they'll have to try to come to some type of agreement, and if they don't get some type of extension like the NFL did, try to knuckle down and get something done," Prince said. Detroit Free Press |
» Saturday, February 26 2011 |
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Sources say the alleged player boycott was actually a "perfect storm" that resulted in half of the team not showing up or showing up late. Tayshaun Prince and Tracy McGrady were both ill. Ben Wallace has a brother who was gravely ill and died Saturday. Wilcox overslept and Daye and Stuckey missed the team bus because the departure time was moved up from 11 to 10:30 a.m. ET. They have insisted to team officials they did not receive notification of the change. ESPN.com The brother of Ben Wallace died Saturday after a lengthy illness. The Rev. James McBride, the oldest of Wallace's brothers, was 58. Wallace missed two games in late January and a handful of practices and shootarounds -- including the one Friday in Philadelphia -- due to a family matter. The Pistons said Wallace will be out of the lineup indefinitely. Booth Newspapers In the second quarter, Kuester was ejected after vehemently arguing a non-call. Although it wasn't caught by the local broadcast, Tracy McGrady, Rodney Stuckey and Ben Wallace could all be seen laughing among themselves as the situation unfolded. After the back-and-forth between Kuester and Richard Hamilton, I guess it shouldn't surprise anyone that these grown men continue to act like middle schoolers, but it doesn't make the latest round of buffoonery any less disappointing. Booth Newspapers During the second quarter, Kuester argued with an official, was slapped with two technical fouls and was ejected. As the coach was being escorted off the court, cameras showed McGrady laughing on the bench. Later, the cameras showed McGrady, Stuckey and Wallace sharing a laugh right after Kuester went to the locker room. McGrady told the Free Press the players were laughing about something else. Detroit Free Press |
» Friday, February 25 2011 |
![]() A day after the trade deadline passed, half the Pistons players missed Friday morning's shootaround in what a team source called a "player protest." Tracy McGrady, Tayshaun Prince, Richard Hamilton and Chris Wilcox did not show up to Friday's morning shootaround. Ben Wallace also wasn't present, but has been dealing with an ongoing family matter for the past several weeks. Detroit News Austin Daye and Rodney Stuckey showed up as shootaround ended, after the media was let in. They missed the team bus from the hotel to shootaround. Various Pistons players have had their share of issues with coach John Kuester this season, and many have been vocal — privately and publicly — in their criticism of the second-year coach. According to team spokesman Cletus Lewis, McGrady was out with a headache, Prince had the stomach flu, while Wilcox and Hamilton apparently missed the bus without a reason. A team source confirmed Prince's and McGrady's illnesses, adding Wilcox overslept. Detroit News Kuester was unsure about how he might proceed for the team's 7 p.m. game Friday night against the 76ers. "We have some things … some excuses, not excuses, absences because of headaches and stuff like that," Kuester said. "We'll go with this group right now." Detroit News One source, who asked not to be identified, said he didn’t know what the next step would be, and didn’t say who organized the absences. But he said it was an organized protest and discussed among the players. Some players, though, decided it was best to show up. Kuester said he would go with who was available in tonight’s game against the 76ers. It was uncertain whether the players who missed practice would be allowed or available to play. Detroit Free Press ![]() Word of a player protest was news to Tracy McGrady when reached by phone this afternoon. McGrady, Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton and Chris Wilcox were among the Pistons who missed this morning’s shootaround. Only six players were full participants for the entire shootaround. Team sources termed the absences a type of player protest because of dissatisfaction with coach John Kuester. But McGrady said a headache had bothered him for the last three days. The team said Arnie Kander, the strength and conditioning coach, on Thursday night treated Prince for an upset stomach and McGrady. “If it was some kind of protest, everybody would know about it, right?” McGrady told the Free Press. Detroit Free Press There surely has to be some measure of discipline meted out to the players involved (Hamilton, Prince, Tracy McGrady, Ben Wallace and Chris Wilcox) if it’s proven that this was indeed an organized walkout. The organization has to make its own statement on top of the damage those players have done to their own reputations … especially after Terry Foster of the Detroit News reported Friday on his WXYT-FM radio show that some of the same players were planning a similar protest on the morning of the Pistons’ final game before the All-Star break against Indiana but called it off and wound up winning when they were told that Kuester would be ousted during the break. ESPN.com ![]() Look for the Detroit Pistons to have a new coach by next week. It sends a horrible, horrible message to make a coaching change after the apparent and indefensible protest staged Friday morning by five Pistons players, who skipped Friday’s shootaround in Philadelphia in what the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press report was an organized attempt to make their disdain for coach John Kuester as publicly clear as possible. But there’s no way that the Pistons can go on like this with 20-odd games to go, whether or not they care about still trying to make a run for the No. 8 seed in the East. ESPN.com Marc Stein: NO good way out of this ugliness for DET but Darrell Walker taking over from Kuester for rest of season is best on list of painful options Twitter Wallace has been dealing with a serious personal matter for some time. This isn't the first time he has missed a game or a practice due to the issue, so his absence does not come as a huge surprise. Booth Newspapers It’s gotten so ugly that the Pistons can’t possibly save face no matter what happens next. So trying to restore some semblance of order, now that they’ve lost the opportunity to trade Prince or Hamilton away this week, is the only reasonable counter they can muster. The most sensible scenario from here? Detroit has Sunday and Monday off after the Philadelphia game and a home game Saturday against Utah. That creates a window to allow Kuester to volunteer to “resign” -- with a paid-off contract -- and enable Dumars to install Pistons assistant Darrell Walker as interim coach for the rest of the season. ESPN.com Chris Iott: Hate to single out any one player because that seems like an indictment on the others. But it is worth pointing out that Ben Wallace has been dealing with a personal matter for some time. Leave him out of this. Twitter |
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