Tmac for Francis?

Posted on Wed, Jun. 16, 2004





Dumars won't rest on laurels

By DREW SHARP

Detroit Free Press


An hour passed before Joe Dumars, a corked bottle of champagne in one hand and an unlit soggy cigar in the other, realized he had a couple of visitors.

"What am I doing with this?" he asked, staring at the bubbly. "Rasheed gave it to me. I've got no use for this. I don't drink. I don't smoke, either. ... I'll keep the shirt, though."

Although Dumars believed when others doubted, an air of disbelief remained once the deed was done. A sweat-soaked 2004 NBA championship shirt clung to his chest. He declined to wear any of the Eastern Conference championship paraphernalia because that wasn't the Pistons' final goal.

But Tuesday night he could bask in the glow of a franchise's revival. A hand stretched out from the crowd, offering congratulations. It was former Bad Boy Bill Laimbeer.

"And Billy," Dumars barked, "we're going to be even better next year."

The man could finally relax, if only for a night. It was a difficult year for someone who customarily keeps his emotions hidden. Dumars appears cool and detached, but he churns inside. It's one reason he learned to exist on minimal sleep during the last two months of playoffs.

He recalled how ABC brought a camera to his suite at the Palace with nine minutes left in the clinching victory over the Lakers.

"I'm saying, `What are you doing? It's not over. We're only up by 25,'" Dumars said. "I finally managed a smile with about three minutes left."

When Dumars left the Palace about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday following a team victory party, several dozen appreciative fans remained outside. And while they graciously saluted the players, they genuflected before Dumars, the former Bad Boy who rebuilt the Pistons as president of basketball operations.

This evening was equal parts validation and vindication. Dumars not only did it. He did it his way. He saw opportunity where others saw obstacles.

"I was just glad that Joe saw something in me and said, `You know, I want that guy to lead my team,'" said Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, the point guard who's on his sixth NBA team with the Pistons. "I always knew that I just needed somebody to believe in me and I could do special things in this league. I didn't know it would be in Detroit."

"Joe has to get the credit for all this," said forward Tayshaun Prince, "because he's the one who brought it all together."

But amid the sultry combination of perspiration and champagne in the Pistons' locker room, Dumars leaned against a wall, out of plain sight.

A champion really gets no rest.

The crown has been on the Pistons' head for barely a day, but already Dumars must turn to what's next. He knows that if champions stand pat nowadays, they get left in the dust. He understands that he must maintain a proper balance of youth and experience on the Pistons, and he doesn't think it will be a problem.

"I think the best thing that you can say about how we've done things here," Dumars said, "is that we've been able to remain objective when assessing what our needs are. There are weaknesses that we need to address, and we're going to try and take care of them."

That's evidence that until further notice, this championship should be considered an NBA aberration.

The most asinine observation emerging from the Detroit dominance of the Lakers was that the Pistons forever altered the template for building a champion.

But this was the first time in three decades that "five" beat "two." The NBA remains a star's league, and that won't change in the wake of the Pistons' triumph. Why would anyone reasonably assume that teams will now shuck their superstars for more easily contented role players?

"I don't think you have to worry about that," Dumars said with a hearty laugh. "Everyone's going to want their superstars. And I assure you if I can get one to improve my team, I'll do it."

This promises to be a dramatic off-season in the NBA, starting with Kobe Bryant's sexual assault trial. If exonerated, he can take advantage of becoming a free agent, and Phil Jackson's admission that he likely won't return to coach the Lakers improves Kobe's chances of remaining in Los Angeles.

But the main player to watch is Tracy McGrady. He can opt out of his contract following next season, encouraging Orlando to swing a deal this summer or risk losing him later for nothing. McGrady already has listed the Lakers and San Antonio at the top of his list.

Indiana Pacers president Donnie Walsh said Wednesday that the Pacers could put together an attractive package for T-Mac. And according to one league executive, a deal on the table could send McGrady to Houston for Steve Francis.

Among the Pistons' first moves might be a deal with the Charlotte Bobcats, giving them a first-round draft pick and financial considerations to take backup center Elden Campbell in Tuesday's expansion draft. That would free salary-cap room so that Dumars could re-sign Rasheed Wallace and possibly match any outlandish offer that restricted free agent Mehmet Okur might attract.

"You don't get much time to enjoy it all," Dumars said. "And then it's back to work."

This was a team whose personality reflected that of its architect. Underestimate either at your own peril.

 

OK, since nobody replied a few days' ago, this looks to be close to a done deal:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...BHNlYwN0bQ--?slug=ap-nbardp&prov=ap&type=lgns


T-Mac for Francis deal said to be near; Bobcats get Clippers' pick

By CHRIS SHERIDAN, AP Basketball Writer
June 22, 2004
A new dynamic duo in the West, Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, is a distinct possibility.

Executives from several NBA teams said Orlando and Houston were close to a deal sending McGrady to the Rockets for a package including Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley.

The Magic also are receiving offers for the No. 1 pick in the draft Thursday night.

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The expansion draft will be held Tuesday night, the Charlotte Bobcats selecting at least 14 players off existing rosters. The other 29 teams could protect up to eight players.

Charlotte made its first trade Monday, receiving the overall No. 2 selection in Thursday's draft from the Los Angeles Clippers for the fourth and 33rd picks. The Bobcats also agreed to select Los Angeles center Predrag Drobnjak in the expansion draft.

What promises to be a busy week began with loads of trade talk, though the Los Angeles Lakers apparently won't be putting any Shaquille O'Neal discussions on the fast track.

General manager Mitch Kupchak said he expects to hear from O'Neal's representatives in the coming days to gauge whether O'Neal was sincere in his comments last week demanding a trade.

``Me and the Big Fella are trying to get to Dallas together now,'' McGrady told Florida Today.

If the Lakers are serious about trading O'Neal, the Mavericks could be an ideal trading partner.

Dallas owner Mark Cuban said he hadn't spoken to the Lakers yet.

``Will we? Most likely,'' he said. ``But, you know, we also have to ascertain what's real and what's not real.''

Dallas has one of the league's most talent-laden rosters, including several players whose combined salaries would be within the league-mandated 15 percent of O'Neal's $27 million salary for next season.

The hangup would be deciding the players involved. The Lakers would start by asking for Dirk Nowitzki. The Mavericks would be more willing to package Antoine Walker, Antawn Jamison or Michael Finley.

``I'd be hard-pressed to see us trading Dirk,'' Cuban said. ``Dirk is as close to an untouchable as we'd get.''

The Rockets were said to be the leading candidate to acquire McGrady from Orlando, with officials from other teams saying Houston was offering a package including Francis, Mobley, Kelvin Cato and/or Bostjan Nachbar for McGrady, Juwan Howard, Andrew DeClercq and Tyronn Lue. Because of league salary cap rules relating to Francis' salary, such a deal could not be finalized until mid-July.

``Tracy has indicated he would like to play elsewhere, and we're trying to see what we can do,'' Magic executive Pat Williams said. ``The issue is where he would sign (a contract extension). Teams want to know what Tracy's plans are.''

The rumored deal sending McGrady to Houston could be contingent on whether the Bobcats select any of Orlando's unprotected players in Tuesday's expansion draft. Charlotte now has the security of knowing it'll be able to draft Dwight Howard or Emeka Okafor with the No. 2 pick Thursday night.

Howard and Okafor were expected in Charlotte for workouts Tuesday.

``We would be pleased starting our basketball team with either one of those young men,'' Bobcats coach and general manager Bernie Bickerstaff said. ``They represent what we would like to become in terms of character, competitiveness and talent.''

The Bobcats also were close to finalizing a deal with Phoenix to acquire center Jahidi White, cash and a future first-round draft pick. That trade would clear salary cap space for the Suns, allowing them to make a run at free agents Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and others.

With former Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich interviewing for the Lakers' coaching job, Los Angeles general manager Mitch Kupchak was coy regarding O'Neal.

``I do expect to meet with or speak to Shaquille's representatives in timely fashion. We've had three or four days now for everybody to wind down now, calm down a little bit. I'll get a better feel of where we stand at that time,'' Kupchak said. ``I'm eager to hear what they have to say, and we'll take it from there.''

Francis' agent, Jeff Fried, told the Houston Chronicle the McGrady trade was not complete, but was close.

``Steve's preference is to not go to Orlando,'' Fried said. ``Steve's tasted the playoffs. (The Rockets) got a series under their belts. He was looking forward to going further with the same Rockets team, but with another year of experience together. This is certainly not his preference. He loves Houston.''