Until last week, the last time the Detroit Pistons played a game in which neither Rip Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince started was the 2001-02 season -- when Prince was a senior at Kentucky and Hamilton still coming into his own playing alongside Michael Jordan in Washington.
Needless to say, adapting to life without those two mainstays -- Hamilton suffered a high ankle sprain in the season opener, and Prince joined him on the trainer's table with a back injury two games later -- has been an unexpected hurdle for first-year head coach John Kuester, who's now tasked with helping a starting lineup featuring four new additions to the team develop chemistry.
Who's Got Next is a weekly look at some of the top players widely available on the waiver wires.
The injuries are starting to kick in, so now we have to start looking at players who are getting more burn in the absence of the fallen few. I wrote earlier about the injuries to Kevin Martin and Tyrus Thomas.
The obvious front-runner in Sacramento is Beno Udrih who is now the starting point guard for the Kings. Tyreke Evans will also see an uptick in value, but it's less likely that he's still available in your league.
In Chicago it'll be Taj Gibson's role to step in and replace Tyrus Thomas at the power forward. Gibson dones't have the upside or the dfensive powress that Thomas does, but he should make for a nice short-term add. Is he Paul Millsap? Probably not. But when the opportunities are there, you have to take advantage.
Let's take a look at a few other players widely available who can help you in the week ahead.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The arrivals of Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva in Detroit made headlines across the entire NBA this summer. The return of Ben Wallace, on the other hand, was barely a footnote.
In a way, it makes perfect sense. Overlooked and ignored at the start of his career -- Wallace spent four anonymous seasons bouncing around the league before emerging as one of the most dominant defenders of his generation in Detroit -- it's only fitting for him to be written off yet again as he nears the end.
But what first looked like a purely sentimental signing by the Pistons might prove to be so much more as Wallace makes his case for a starting job -- something that even Wallace admits has caught him by surprise.
"I had absolutely no expectations at all," Wallace told FanHouse after Sunday's win against the Hawks. "I didn't even come back here expecting to get a jersey. I'm just coming in here and working hard and whatever happens, happens."
LAS VEGAS -- Austin Daye has given his seal of approval on comparisons to Tayshaun Prince. The similarities are obvious. Both are long, underweight players who are matchup nightmares but also give away 50 pounds to opposing forwards. Daye, the 15th overall pick in June's draft, is listed at 6-11 and 190 pounds. You may miss him from a sideways view, but the former Gonzaga standout is a gifted player.
He ignored those pundits who believed he should have remained in Spokane for another season and entered the draft. After dropping 19 points and playing the entire 40 minutes of Detroit's 91-87 win over Toronto on Saturday, Daye is confident he can contribute at the highest level, even though he is far from a finished product.
In the weakest NBA draft in years, sitting out might have been the best thing to do. All the fireworks were done before it even began. The Cavs traded for Shaq. The Magic added Vince Carter. The Wizards snagged Mike Miller instead of the No. 5 pick. Several teams showed little interest in getting involved.
Keep reading after the jump for the Eastern Conference rundown.
New Jersey hosted a massive workout over three days, inviting a whole slate of first round prospects and just about every NBA front office. Who stole the show? Austin Daye's fat lip. Or bloody lip, actually. Israeli prospect Omri Casspi reportedly manhandled the twiggy Daye in 5-on-5 competition. DraftExpress reported Daye ended up with a cut lip requiring stitches.
Wait ... a European player ... out-toughing an American? Mon dieu! Apparently, Casspi is doing the same thing at every stop. Not drawing blood necessarily, but throwing down the stereotypes that all Euros are stuffed with down and darned with straw. First the Gasols, now Casspi? Our world will never be the same.
FanHouse's Matt Steinmetz attended the big NBA draft work-out in Oakland, Calif., on Monday and Tuesday. Gonzaga's Austin Daye had bad, bad athletic testing numbers at the Chicago combine, which makes work-outs like this critical in holding on to his first-round draft stock. Daye briefed talked to the media after Tuesday's batch of fun. This is the transcript.
Q: What did you do well today?
A: I shot the ball well. It always helps when you make shots. Yesterday I wasn't making many shots. I was creating space but I just wasn't knocking them down. Today I did a good job of that.
Q: Did any of the players in your group stand out today?
DraftExpress has added the official athletic measurements from the 2009 NBA Draft Combine to its comprehensive (and addictive) database. In addition to the size measurements that came out last week -- height with and without shoes, wingspan, standing reach -- the results include 3/4-court sprint times, body fat percentages, bench press, agility numbers and everyone's favorite, the vertical.
Despite claiming to have lost 40 pounds since the end of the college season, DeJuan Blair still has the second-highest body fat count (12%) among those measured. Florida State's Toney Douglas, Patrick Mills of St. Mary's and UCLA's Darren Collison rate as the fastest first-round prospects. (Austin Daye would be the slowest. Yes, even B.J. Mullens and Blair beat him.) Jonny Flynn is the only cat to break the 40-inch mark on the max vertical. DeMar DeRozan is almost five inches behind Vince Carter. The real shocker might be the incredible similarity in numbers between top pick Blake Griffin and ... Tyler Hansbrough. Guh.
* The Oregonian's Geoffrey C. Arnold talks to various GMs about Ricky Rubio's leverage. Meanwhile, the Memphis Commercial-Appeal's Ronald Tillery reports the Grizz met with Rubio agent Dan Fegan in Spain Saturday. C-A columnist Geoff Calkins practically begs Memphis to draft the Spaniard.
* TrueHoop's Henry Abbott investigates the tape on Rubio to get fans' toes a'tingling while splashing a pot of cold water.
Until last week, the last time the Detroit Pistons played a game in which neither Rip Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince started was the 2001-02 season -- when Prince was a senior at Kentucky and Hamilton still coming into his own playing alongside Michael Jordan in Washington. 
Who's Got Next is a weekly look at some of the top players widely available on the waiver wires.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The arrivals of 
LAS VEGAS -- 
In the weakest NBA draft in years, sitting out might have been the best thing to do. All the fireworks were done before it even began. The 
New Jersey hosted a massive workout over three days, inviting a whole slate of first round prospects and just about every NBA front office. Who stole the show? 
FanHouse's Matt Steinmetz attended the big 
DraftExpress has added the 
* President Obama 
* The Oregonian's Geoffrey C. Arnold 
