It's been a while since the Detroit Pistons haven't been near the top of the league. Their players buy into the team concept, they play good defense, and they are consistently well coached and well managed from the front office.
Which is why I was surprised to see that Joe Dumars decided to trade for a mercurial shoot-first guard with a less-than stellar playoff record. They jettisoned their team leader and a guy who has proven himself time and time again in the playoffs for a guy who has never been a leader, never played defense, and most likely won't win a championship before he retires.
Then I thought about it. Joe Dumars obviously knows something that we don't. After all, he's made a career out of making moves and taking chances that look ridiculous at the time. Chauncey Billups had played for half of the teams in the NBA before Dumars picked him up. Ben Wallace never averaged more than 5 points and 8 boards when Dumars grabbed him off the scrap heap in 2000. Tayshaun Prince would blow away in a light breeze and yet Dumars had the foresight to make him a first round pick.
