FanHouse Richard Hamilton

There's a little NBA trading spice coming out of Woj's internet-making machine recently, in the form of (another?) rumor involving Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. This time, they were reportedly offered to Detroit in a deal that would have sent Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rodney Stuckey to Beantown.

(Quick aside: Is it just me or is the NBA offseason easily the most fun of any sport?) Anyway, it appears, based on Woj's sources, that this rumor is likely to gain very little steam, primarily because Danny Ainge is dealing with "Bring in Rasheed Wallace to win a championship" Joe Dumars, as opposed to "Draft Darko, Trade Chauncey for Iverson" Joe Dumars.

NBA Essentials provides the must-see links, quotes and videos of the day.

-- "I haven't had a man crush," Cuban claimed. "Shaq and I and Phil Jackson, for that matter, always would have these fun verbal sparring matches. It was always just fun and entertaining, and I think people extended that with Shaq to think that we were madly in love. We haven't even dated." -- Dallas Mavericks Blog

-- "I really don't have a preference. I wouldn't mind staying and playing in Oklahoma but at the same time, I've been in Oklahoma my whole life, so getting out and trying something different wouldn't be too bad." -- Blake Griffin on potentially being drafted by the Thunder.

NEW YORK -- A beautiful thing happened to the Detroit Pistons on their way to the playoffs. Oh, they haven't quite reached the postseason yet, but there isn't much doubt that is where they're headed, where they belong now that the team has been made whole again.

It took the subtraction of Allen Iverson to mend the Pistons, and while there is a chance his removal came a bit too late, Detroit needs to win just one more game to seal a playoff berth. The Pistons are now tied for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with the Chicago Bulls, a lucky spot that means avoiding a first-round clash with LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers.

NEW YORK -- A beautiful thing happened to the Detroit Pistons on their way to the playoffs. Oh, they haven't quite reached the postseason yet, but there isn't much doubt that is where they're headed, where they belong now that the team has been made whole again.

It took the subtraction of Allen Iverson to mend the Pistons, and while there is a chance his removal came a bit too late, Detroit needs to win just one more game to seal a playoff berth. The Pistons are now tied for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with the Chicago Bulls, a lucky spot that means avoiding a first-round clash with LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers.

Notes from a trip to the NBA Playoffs.

After suffering a sprained elbow in the final minutes of Game 5, Rip Hamilton's status for tonight's game was uncertain. But after getting a bit of advice from his dad and testing it during this morning's shootaround, he told reporters that he was ready to go. From Dana Gauruder of the Oakland Press:

"I talked to my dad and he said, 'Man, just spit on it. You're all right.' We're at war right now. You ain't go no choice to sit down or anything like that. I feel all right. I feel good enough to go out and play."

During his pre-game press conference, Flip Saunders indicated he didn't think the injury would slow Hamilton at all. "Most guys, I'd worry a little bit," said Saunders. "Him, when it comes to shooting, he'll find a way to get it off, so that doesn't concern me nearly as much."

Doc Rivers was asked if the Celtics will prepare for Hamilton differently knowing he's coming off an injury. "Our motto is, if he steps on the floor, he's 100 percent, and that's how we're going to play," said Rivers. "If he shows us something different, then maybe we will do something different. But as far as I'm concerned, if Rip gets an open shot, you'll be amazed how healthy he looks. That's the way we look at it; you're on the floor, you're fine."

We don't usually think of the Pistons are a barrel of laughs, but their camaraderie is severely underrated. Case in point: The Richard Hamilton/Chauncey Billups shooting contest that took place at practice recently. From The Detroit News:

Hamilton missed, Billups won. But Hamilton complained that somebody, somehow cheated. (Just so you know, Hamilton has NEVER lost at anything -- either he wins or he got cheated.) I don't know what the details of his complaint were, but I can tell you Billups wasn't buying it. The two continued to argue (good-naturedly) in the locker room as they were getting ready to hit the showers -- some 15 minutes after the contest was over. Finally, the door bangs open and out comes Hamilton and Billups back onto the court, both clad only in towels and shower slippers. Apparently they were going to settle the dispute on the court -- dressed or not.

We don't get the results, but this is still as funny as anything that's gone down in Washington. In fact, I'm willing to bet that most teams have stuff like this happening in practices; either it's not getting covered, the organization doesn't want it covered, or both.

The Wizards have gone out of their way to cultivate the accessible, slightly wacky image, which may or may not have a negative affect on their reputation around the league. At the same time, the perceived austerity of the Pistons definitely hurts their appeal. It's a fine line between attracting fan interest and coming off as unprofessional, but more teams need to at least acknowledge this gray area.

Quick, name the league leaders in technical fouls.

If you guessed Rasheed Wallace with 17, you shouldn't feel like it was a lame guess. Despite his ever-improving veteran rep, Wallace is still the king of the whistle. In fact, he's already earned a one-game suspension for having hit 16 on the season. Second on the list is the volatile Amare, currently sitting at 14.

And in third? None other than the exceedingly professional Rip Hamilton. From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Defenders have been getting more physical with him, and Hamilton is getting frustrated that he is not getting calls from the referees. "He's got to keep his mouth shut," said coach Flip Saunders. "All of our players do."

I can think of at least twenty players who, given their image, I'd think would be ahead of Hamilton. Apparently, though, the refs don't feel that way. No one gets that many techs called on him if he's still considered a first-class gentleman.