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Detroit has been rumored to be interested in a few power forwards to back up big free-agent signing Charlie Villanueva, all odd ducks with some flavor of a wacky game. There was "Big Baby" Glen Davis, a thick shooter with a personality vacillating between child and swag. Or Drew Gooden, the ultra-confident post player with a million bizarre hair decisions.

But according to ESPN's Chad Ford, the Pistons went with 26-year-old dunker Chris Wilcox, who spent last season between Oklahoma City and New York. Ford reports Detroit will pay Wilcox $6 million over two seasons, which tells me the Pistons don't really want to wait around on Eastern contention, despite the relatively young core of the team.

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

Vinny Del Negro needs to stop watching X-Files before games. How little does the Notorious V.D.N. trust his bench? He basically played a six-man rotation Tuesday against the Pistons, with seventh man Lindsey Hunter and burning man Tim Thomas each getting four minutes off the bench beyond Brad Miller's 23.

Derrick Rose missed his first game of the season with a bruised wrist. Kirk Hinrich filled in well, scoring 24 points (on 23 FGAs) and totaling eight assists. Tyrus Thomas was a beast for Chicago, with 18 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, a block and a steal.

A report from the Palace of Auburn Hills, where the Pistons faced the Rockets on January 25.

As the Pistons muddle along trying to figure out how best to use their surplus of perimeter players, an unfortunate consequence has been the mishandling of their talented frontcourt.

Rasheed Wallace's numbers have taken a dive after he's been overused and left on an island defensively, and players like Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell have had their roles change drastically from one game to the next.

A report from the Palace of Auburn Hills, where the Pistons faced the Mavericks on January 23rd.

When Michael Curry went from smallball (featuring three guards and Tayshaun Prince playing out of position at power forward) back to a more traditional lineup, the question on everybody's mind was how Rip Hamilton or Allen Iverson would handle being bumped to the bench.

Everyone, that is, except Curry himself. "I wasn't worried about if Rip wanted to come off the bench or Allen wanted to come off the bench. We just made a decision on what gives us the chance to be at our best," Curry said while announcing the move earlier this week.

Michael Curry announced the end of smallball in Detroit, revealing to reporters following today's practice that he's decided to replace Rip Hamilton from the starting lineup in favor of a traditional power forward. Amir Johnson will get the nod on most night, but Kwame Brown will be used against bigger opponents.

Rasheed Wallace will continue to man the middle, while Tayshaun Prince, who had been playing out of position at the four, will be allowed to shift back to his natural position of small forward. Rodney Stuckey and Allen Iverson will start in the backcourt. The move should reap immediate benefits for the Pistons, who have struggled to adequately rebound and defend with the undersized three-guard lineup.

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

Trevor Ariza is one of six NBA players who have come out of Westchester High School in Los Angeles. In this video, he talks about his days at Westchester, where he won two state titles. We also learn that teammate Kobe Bryant visited the school when Trevor was a student, and talk to longtime coach Ed Azzam.

Check out the video after the jump.

A report from the Palace of Auburn Hills, where the Pistons faced the Magic on Dec. 29.

Integrating Allen Iverson into Detroit's offense is an ongoing process that hasn't been easy, and Michael Curry isn't done trying new things. Earlier this month he seemed to settle on a "smallball" lineup featuring three guards and Tayshaun Prince playing out of position at power forward, but that's left the Pistons exposed on the defensive end.

More recently, injuries to both Iverson (who missed the second half on Dec. 23) and Rip Hamilton (who's sat out the last two games completely) have forced the team back to a more traditional lineup, and considering the Pistons have responded with four straight wins, including Monday night against the Magic, Curry seems ready to explore moving one of his established perimeter players to the bench.

"The big lineup makes us better defensively," Curry said. "And at the end of the day, we're going to have to make sure we're good enough defensively."

The Pistons have known for two weeks that Antonio McDyess wanted to return, but NBA rules prevented him from making his intentions official until today.

Assuming Detroit's putrid performance of late (they've lost three of their last four, including their last two against teams with losing records) hasn't given him cold feet, he should sign his new contract today and be in uniform and available to play Tuesday in Washington.

While the Pistons are still figuring out how best to utilize their backcourt with Allen Iverson in the mix, Michael Curry indicated before Friday's game that he doesn't think McDyess' return will require any type of transition.

"I think the biggest adjustment is when you have guys that are dominant scorers as far as [having] a lot of plays that are ran for them while the ball is in their hands," Curry said. "I don't think that's the case for Dyess. He'll pick right back up what we're doing defensively and offensively. He's just going to play his role. It doesn't take a lot of time adjusting with a guy like that."

Matt Watson: The Pistons finally shook up their core and the Nuggets cashed in on Allen Iverson's expiring contract. We know this deal will give Detroit uber-cap-flexibility the next two summers, but does how does it change their status this year? Can they get back to the Conference Finals, let alone the NBA Finals, with AI replacing Chauncey Billups? Did they make up any ground on the Celtics?

Matt Moore: Give me a list of elite scorers in this league. How far does it take to get to Iverson? You're inserting an elite scorer, albeit aging, into a sound defensive squad that's made of committed, professional veterans. When Billups started to falter, the team lacked a guy who could hit the big shots down the stretch. I think Hamilton is or could be that guy, but it never hurts to have more. Is there really any question that Iverson will do whatever is asked of him to get to a championship?

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. Straight Bangin'. Here's the best commercial (in my opinion) from opening night ... featuring (surprise) The Swoosh and King James.




2. Brew Hoop. Same ol' same ol' in Milwaukee's opening loss.

3. Third Quarter Collapse. Comparing Orlando starting two-guard Mickael Pietrus to those he replaced. Patience is requested.

4. Wages of Wins. No matter which way you look at it, Oklahoma City would not appear to be playoff-bound.

5. Detroit News, via DBB. Chris McCoskey quotes an anonymous former Flip Saunders assistant from two years ago: "As long as I am alive, Amir Johnson will never be in an NBA rotation." Somewhere, a coach sits nervously on his couch, waiting for 7 PM.

6. Bullets Forever. Begging Eddie Jordan to settle on a rotation.