FanHouse AlexAcker

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

After being discovered in a pickup game by NBA superstar Chauncey Billups, Alex Acker was drafted by the Detroit Pistons, where his first encounter with Rasheed Wallace was truly one for the history books. Acker also spent two seasons with the best teams in Europe -- Olympiacos (Greece) and FC Barcelona (Spain's powerhouse) -- where he faced pepper spray and flare guns during games. In this FanHouse exclusive we hang out with Acker at his L.A. home and get a true inside look at the life of an NBA player.

Check out the video after the jump.

The Pistons made an extremely interesting trade on Friday, sending Carlos Delfino to the Raptors in exchange for two second-round picks (2009 and 2011). "Wait a minute," most of you are saying right about now. "What's so interesting about that?"

Well, Delfino was Tayshaun Prince's primary backup at small forward, as well as the first or second shooting guard off the bench (depending on Flip Saunders particular mood on any given night). He was a vital cog in the rotation, and given Joe Dumars' mandate that the team had to get younger and more athletic, it's definitely a little curious that they'd move such a young (24) and athletic player simply for a couple of second round picks far off in the future.

Of course, this might be one of those moves that makes more sense in hindsight. Is the team clearing cap space to make a run at a free agent? Maybe, but Delfino was set to make only $1.8 million next year. Might a guy like Grant Hill be willing to accept that? If anything, this probably puts an end to the "Hill to the Raptors" rumor which never quite got off the ground.

Another option is that the Pistons are simply clearing a roster spot to get even younger -- perhaps opening up a spot in the rotation for 20-year-old Amir Johnson, who is a restricted free agent this summer. The Pistons have a lot of faith in Johnson, who tore up the D-League before having success in significant minutes over the last few games of the regular season. Until now, it wasn't clear where/how he would fit into the rotation, but barring another move he could be in line for at least 15 minutes a game this coming season.

The Pistons advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive year, but just like last season their mission to advance to the next round was stopped short in six games. Also like a year ago, the team now must quickly divert their attention from the sting of defeat to re-signing one of their key players.

Ben Wallace was considered the prize of the free-agent market last year, and it was a surprise when he signed with the Bulls instead of returning to Detroit. In hindsight, the writing was on the wall, as he correctly deduced that his usefulness to Detroit was waning as the team shifted focus to emphasize offense. For Billups, the situation couldn't be more different: if his struggles against Cleveland proved anything, it's that he's still the most important player on the team.

Joe Dumars has indicated numerous times this season that money won't be an issue when it comes to retaining Billups, and Billups himself assured the media that he hopes to return. Only a small handful of teams can afford to match Detroit's money without going over the salary cap, and all of those teams are losing teams in various stages of re-building (i.e., Memphis, Orlando, Milwaukee). Other teams can attempt to work out a sign-and-trade, but that'd be difficult to orchestrate as Dumars would likely be selective about what salaries he'd be willing to take back in return.

In any case, there are a host of other questions the Pistons must answer heading into the offseason, including the status of their head coach. By most team's standards, Flip Saunders has had a successful first two years on the job, but he's considered a disappointment considering the club he inherited won one title and came within a game of another.