ORLANDO -- Pistons general manager Joe Dumars signed broken-down Ben Wallace this summer to be a figure-head, to serve as a low-budget example for his young, talented guys to see where hard work could take them.
Dumars never expected this kind of start.
Wallace, 35, is one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises of this young season. In the first five games, he has averaged 10 rebounds in 31 minutes while also playing the kind of hard-nosed interior defense that once helped him anchor Detroit's NBA championship team in 2004.
"I just thought he'd be great for the young guys to be around, an undrafted guy who worked his way up without any shortcuts. Just for the young guys to see him every day. That's why I got him,'' Dumars said Friday before the Pistons played in Orlando. "But he's been better than I ever imagined. It's like an added bonus.''
We could rehash the depressing nitty-gritty details, but why bother? It's a new season, and this year's squad looks very little like the one swept out of the playoffs in front of a turncoat Palace crowd.
Instead, let's focus on the changes, which should destroy your outdated notions of what Dee-troit Basket-ball is all about. First and foremost, the Pistons went from being one of the oldest teams in the league to one of the youngest -- and not just because four rookies will make the roster.
The trade of Shaquille O'Neal was just as intriguing from the Phoenix side as it was the Cleveland end, even though the Cavs got the best player (by far) in the exchange. While clearly a cap-cutting move for the Suns, the return package of Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace provided a flexible cap situation in which Phoenix had the potential to offer a retiring Wallace to a cash-hurt team needing to unload a well-paid player.
That particular avenue was closed Monday, however, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports the Suns bought out Wallace's $14 million contract for $10 million. Coro reports Phoenix went forward with the buy-out in order to maintain a reasonable payroll after signing Channing Frye ($2 million) and Grant Hill ($3 million) last week. But in the process, a long-rumored Wallace-for-Tyson Chandler deal goes kaput.
There was a lot of activity in the NBA this week, and we're not just talking about the draft. Some of the NBA's big names and better teams were in on it.
Here's a quick look at the trades that went down and what they mean:
The Thinking: The Cavaliers get an aging O'Neal, with the hope that he can have a productive year playing alongside LeBron James. The only way this trade is a success is if the Cavaliers are the 2009-10 NBA champions. For the Suns, trading O'Neal means that they are beyond tinkering and are leaning toward turning over the personnel of a team that missed the playoffs last season.
Around this season's trade deadline, there was a lot of chatter surrounding Shaquille O'Neal. Everyone assumed that Shaq or his teammate Amare Stoudemire wouldn't be in a Suns uniform past the trade deadline. Of course the deadline passed and both Shaq and Amare remained on Planet Orange.
One of the teams reported to be involved in the pursuit of O'Neal was none other than the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to reports, the deal fell through because the Cavaliers wanted the Suns to take back Ben Wallace in return for Shaq, while the Suns wanted Wally Szczerbiak. The disagreements were purely financial, as Szczerbiak's deal expires at the end of this season, while Wallace has an additional year.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but did the Cavs make a mistake in not trading for Shaq?
After the Cleveland Cavaliers' season ended Saturday night in an onslaught of Orlando threes and Dwight Howard dunks, drop-step hooks, and again, dunks, the Cavs all responded in different ways. Mo Williams spoke to reporters, the only effective thing he did in the series. LeBron James walked off the floor without speaking to the Magic and left the arena without speaking to anyone. And Ben Wallace was talking about walking away permanently.
Wallace told ESPN that there was a "strong possibility this was (his) last season."
Van Gundy essentially called Wallace a flopper on Monday, saying "he and Mo Williams were falling down more than a baby learning to walk.''
While Wallace reacted with a string of expletives Tuesday morning after the Cavs workout, James took the time just an hour before Game 4 on Tuesday to chastise Van Gundy.
For all of the Cavaliers' success this year -- both posting the league's best record and winning their first eight games of the playoffs -- the Magic have actually held their own in head-to-head matchups, winning two of three games in the regular season and seven of 10 the last three years.
Much like your 401k, though, past results do not guarantee future performance, but at least the Magic won't come into this series questioning whether they have what it takes to win a single game against the vaunted Cavs, which was exactly the situation the dysfunctional Pistons and the injury-depleted Hawks faced in the first and second rounds, respectively.
A funny thing happened on the way to the game on Sunday. I left my house intending to go to the Palace of Auburn Hills, and I swear I even remember driving down I-75, exiting at Lapeer Rd. and pulling into the same parking lot I've entered dozens of times this year. Except, well, somewhere along the way, I must have took a wrong turn -- and ended up at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
At least, I think that's what happened, because make no mistake, the Cavaliers played a home game as they clinched their first-round series with the Pistons, complete with "M-V-P" chants every time LeBron James took a free throw and loud boos when the Pistons tried to rally late. "It was a little bit amazing, to be honest," said Mo Williams after the game. "Coming out to warm up, you hear all those Cavs fans there and it was kind of a joke going around the locker room, 'Hey man, we're at the Q!' ... I mean, I've never experienced something like that in my life."
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.
ORLANDO -- Pistons general manager Joe Dumars signed broken-down Ben Wallace this summer to be a figure-head, to serve as a low-budget example for his young, talented guys to see where hard work could take them.
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The trade of 
There was a lot of activity in the NBA this week, and we're not just talking about the draft. Some of the NBA's big names and better teams were in on it.
Around this season's trade deadline, there was a lot of chatter surrounding 
After the Cleveland Cavaliers' season ended Saturday night in an onslaught of Orlando threes and 
ORLANDO -- Cavs star 
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A funny thing happened on the way to the game on Sunday. I left my house intending to go to the Palace of Auburn Hills, and I swear I even remember driving down I-75, exiting at Lapeer Rd. and pulling into the same parking lot I've entered dozens of times this year. Except, well, somewhere along the way, I must have took a wrong turn -- and ended up at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. 
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 
