(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.
The 2002 NBA Draft is filled with what ifs. What if Jason Williams had decided not to jump on that motorcycle? What if DaJuan Wagner had been physically able to withstand the rigors of the NBA? What if NBA scouts weren't so enamored with European prospects?
This is a draft of major successes -- Amare Stoudemire, Yao Ming, Carlos Boozer -- and abject failures -- Marcus Haislip, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Frank Williams. And the 2002 class will be best known for not being the 2003 class, perhaps the best in league history. Yao was perhaps the most mysterious No. 1 pick of all time. Few knew more than he was 7-foot-6 and from China.
And what followed Yao was a bunch of question marks, kids who left school too early and unknown international players. The result was an uneven draft that will go down more for its misses than hits.
For the first time in seven years, the Pistons will not make an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals -- and it's only fitting that Ben Wallace was present to witness the dismantling. He was the foundation of Detroit's first four appearances, the face of the franchise up until the moment he left as a free agent three summers ago before ultimately landing with the Cavaliers at the 2007 trade deadline.
Even though a lot of Detroit fans haven't forgiven him for leaving, he clearly enjoys coming back. After seeing him roam the hallways behind the scenes this weekend, I can understand why: he's still greeted warmly by former teammates, locker room attendants, Pistons front office staff and even members of Detroit's media. It may be easy for jilted fans to switch allegiances on a dime, but as explained this weekend, the bonds he formed during six long years in Detroit will always be there.
The Blazers and the Rockets are both playoff teams that have their share of obvious flaws. In fact, neither one of them have any business getting out of the first round this season. But thanks to the way the seedings shook out, one of them will advance by default.
Unfortunately for Portland fans, that team is going to be the Rockets, and the reason is rather simple: This Blazers team is just not built for the playoffs.
Maybe they should rename the building, "The Palace King James Tore Down."
The Cavaliers took no time in putting their foot to the throat of the Detroit Pistons, closing them out in the third quarter with 16-6 run. The Pistons, a powerhouse over the last seven years, will not reach the conference finals for the first time in seven years. The cause of their downfall? The only man with less fear of the Palace than Ron Artest.
LeBron James had 36 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists to again create the majority of the punch for the Cavs, who will now have up to a week of off time before facing the winner of the Atlanta-Miami showdown.
With the way the Cavaliers are playing, those teams might want to put off facing the Cavs as long as possible.
The Cavaliers did indeed beat the Pistons in Game 3 of their first round playoff match-up, stretching their lead to a near insurmountable three games to none in the process. And because Cleveland was able to comfortably pull away in a 79-68 victory on the road, that pretty much means this series is all over but the Rasheed Wallace shouting at the refs.
Because it is. Look a little more closely at how this one went down, and you'll see that so much had to go wrong for Detroit to even make a game of it, and you'll see that the rule is this. Cleveland looks like the best team in the East, possibly the league right now, and it may not be that close.
Five Things takes a look at five things to watch out for in marquee games with playoff implications.
We've got a trifecta of Game 3's on Friday. We've got an Eastern Powerhouse trying to prolong its relevance, and the new Eastern Order trying to showcase how dominant it really is. We have a scrappy underdog showing you that to overlook them leads to your own peril. And we have a physically and emotionally wounded star-crossed titan battling the basketball equivalent of a populist movement.
So what should you be paying attention to this evening? 5 Things has you covered. Let's talk about Cleveland-Detroit, Orlando-Philadelphia, and Portland-Houston.
With two games in the books, it's clear the only victories the Detroit Pistons will enjoy against this postseason are of the moral variety, so here goes: after losing each of the first seven quarters by a combined 45 points, the Pistons finally showed some fight in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, outscoring the Cavaliers 32-17.
Granted, the Pistons still lost the game by a dozen, but at least they head back to Detroit having ended the game on a high note, right? OK, maybe not; briefly cutting the deficit to within single digits doesn't count for much. The Cavaliers won the game 94-82 and now hold a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.
CLEVELAND -- They posted the result on the end scoreboards at Quicken Loans Arena, and gradually, the crowd noticed and erupted. "CHI 105 BOS 103," the news flashed, followed by "ROSE 36." I'm not sure what more this ohhhhhhh-noooooooo, disbelieving city requires in regard to positive reinforcement, but when the Celtics lost at home to Derrick Rose and the Bulls, it should have reminded every doubting soul in northeast Ohio that the Cavaliers have an express lane to the NBA Finals.
And if that wasn't enough, what about You Know Who, launching a prayer just past the midcourt stripe and watching it bank in as the halftime buzzer sounded? What more do you possibly need, Cleveland? Isn't it time to forget those deep, ugly wounds and start buying into this "ONE GOAL" stuff printed on every T-shirt?
There's not a single team in the NBA that can claim they know how to stop LeBron James, but the one thing the Pistons could hang their hat on was the fact that they've traditionally done the best job at slowing him down: In 23 career meetings in the regular season, he's averaged "just" 23.7 points against the Pistons, his fewest against any team in the league, on 41.5% shooting.
Unfortunately for Detroit, trends don't win playoff games, players do. LeBron exploded for 38 points on ultra efficient shooting: 13-20 from the field and 11-14 from the line. With him leading the charge and a balanced supporting cast chipping in (none of his teammates topped 13 but four players finished with at least 12), the Pistons never had a chance as the Cavaliers won every quarter.
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.
For the first time in seven years, the Pistons will not make an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals -- and it's only fitting that 
Maybe they should rename the building, "The Palace King James Tore Down." 
The Cavaliers did indeed beat the Pistons in Game 3 of their first round playoff match-up, stretching their lead to a near insurmountable three games to none in the process. And because Cleveland was able to comfortably pull away in a 
With two games in the books, it's clear the only victories the Detroit Pistons will enjoy against this postseason are of the moral variety, so here goes: after losing each of the first seven quarters by a combined 45 points, the Pistons finally showed some fight in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, outscoring the Cavaliers 32-17. 
There's not a single team in the NBA that can claim they know how to stop 
