*Originally published on Suite101.com in 2010; minor revisions made pertaining to Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Despite a lack of publicity, President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars quietly put together the Detroit Pistons’ 2004 NBA Championship team.
In 1999, Joe Dumars announced his retirement from a highly successful NBA career. As a guard for the Detroit Pistons, Dumars won 2 NBA Championships, 1 Finals MVP Award, and the inaugural NBA Sportsmanship Award (which has since been renamed the Joe Dumars Trophy). Immediately, he entered the Pistons’ front office. However, he had his work cut out for him. With the team’s game attendance dropping to new lows, the Pistons were about to lose superstar forward Grant Hill. While analysts and fans wondered if the Pistons could remain competitive, Dumars had the NBA Championship in mind.
Pistons Trades and Free Agent Signings
In the summer of 2000, free agent Grant Hill announced that he wanted to join the Orlando Magic. In order to make this deal work financially for Orlando, Dumars agreed to sign Hill and immediately trade him to the Magic for forward/center Ben Wallace and guard Chucky Atkins. Although Hill’s sign-and-trade deal was supposed to boost Orlando, it ended up serving as a building block for Detroit. While Hill would struggle through several injury riddled seasons, Wallace would eventually become the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Dumars further capitalized on other teams’ desires to catapult to the top of the league. His rival from the Chicago Bulls—Michael Jordan—gained much publicity by announcing a second return from retirement. When the Washington Wizards failed to make the playoffs in 2002, Jordan asked the team to trade for Pistons guard Jerry Stackhouse. While the media placed more focus on Stackhouse possibly helping Jordan make one last playoff run with the Wizards, Dumars quietly swapped Stackhouse—his team’s leading scorer—for rising star guard Richard Hamilton. While Stackhouse was successful with the Wizards, Rip Hamilton would become a cornerstone for the Pistons.
Dumars continued to make good acquisitions. Through free agency, Detroit signed Chauncey Billups. In five years, Billups had already played for four teams. While other league executives considered Billups mediocre, Dumars recognized the point guard’s confidence and work ethic. The signing would pay off, as Billups would become one of the NBA's best point guards.
Pistons Draft Picks
Dumars continued his roster building through the NBA Draft. While much emphasis was given to players such as Kwame Brown and Yao Ming, Dumars and the Pistons managed to select center Mehmet Okur and forward Tayshaun Prince in back-to-back drafts. While Okur would establish himself as a top bench contributor, Prince would find his way into the starting lineup.
Dumars would take much criticism after the 2003 NBA Draft. Rather than landing a college star such as Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, or Dwyane Wade, he drafted young, highly touted international basketball player Darko Milicic. While the move did not seem to be the best long-term move, it did keep the team’s chemistry intact.
Pistons Head Coaches
While Michael Jordan helped the Wizards hire former Bulls’ and Pistons’ Head Coach Doug Collins, Dumars quietly hired Rick Carlisle to be the Pistons’ new Head Coach. Oddly enough, Carlisle became Pistons Head Coach after being beat out for the Indiana Pacers’ Head Coach job by former Pistons guard Isiah Thomas. While Thomas saw moderate success as Pacers Head Coach, Carlisle was named 2002 NBA Coach of the Year.
After losing in the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals, Dumars made the controversial decision to fire Carlisle. Carlisle would return to the Pacers, where he would replace Thomas as Head Coach. To replace Carlisle, the Pistons hired legendary Head Coach Larry Brown, who was voted NBA Coach of the Year in 2001 with the Philadelphia 76ers.
2004 NBA Championship
One more move was needed for the Pistons to win the Eastern Conference Finals. In a midseason trade, Detroit acquired Rasheed Wallace, who had just been traded a few days earlier from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Atlanta Hawks. Wallace’s offense in the post would greatly complement the defense of Ben Wallace. Despite giving up Chucky Atkins in the deal, the Pistons also acquired guard Mike James. Furthermore, Dumars was able to re-sign Lindsey Hunter, who had also been in the trade, because Hunter was waived by the Boston Celtics.
When the Pistons made it to the 2004 NBA Finals, they found themselves playing against the highly favored Los Angeles Lakers. In addition to the dominant duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, the Lakers had also added future Hall of Fame candidates Karl Malone and Gary Payton. Neither Malone nor Payton had won an NBA Championship yet; with Shaq, Kobe, and Head Coach Phil Jackson on their side, it was assumed that they would win one with the Lakers. Yet, this would not be the case. The Pistons would win the 2004 NBA Championship in five games in what has since been nicknamed the “five-game sweep”. In earning the nickname “Mr. Big Shot” for his clutch shooting, point guard Chauncey Billups was named 2004 NBA Finals MVP. With that, President Joe Dumars and the Detroit Pistons were again NBA Champions.
Sources:
Basketball-Reference.com. Accessed May 7, 2010.
Diaz, George. “Grant Hill Tells Pistons He’s Joining The Magic.” Orlando Sentinel. July 7, 2000. From OrlandoSentinel.com. Accessed May 7, 2010.
Howell, Dave. “Hard Work Pays Off.” Pistons.com (NBA.com). Accessed May 7, 2010.
Langlois, Keith. “Together Again.” Pistons.com (NBA.com). Accessed May 7, 2010.
Monter, Chris. “Detroit ships Jerry Stackhouse to Washington.” September 11, 2002. Scout.com. Accessed May 7, 2010.
[Multiple Player and Coach Profiles.] NBA.com. Accessed May 8, 2010.
“Pistons Acquire Forward/Center Rasheed Wallace From Hawks And Guard Mike James From Boston In Three-Way Deal.” NBA.com. Accessed May 7, 2010.
Despite a lack of publicity, President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars quietly put together the Detroit Pistons’ 2004 NBA Championship team.
In 1999, Joe Dumars announced his retirement from a highly successful NBA career. As a guard for the Detroit Pistons, Dumars won 2 NBA Championships, 1 Finals MVP Award, and the inaugural NBA Sportsmanship Award (which has since been renamed the Joe Dumars Trophy). Immediately, he entered the Pistons’ front office. However, he had his work cut out for him. With the team’s game attendance dropping to new lows, the Pistons were about to lose superstar forward Grant Hill. While analysts and fans wondered if the Pistons could remain competitive, Dumars had the NBA Championship in mind.
Pistons Trades and Free Agent Signings
In the summer of 2000, free agent Grant Hill announced that he wanted to join the Orlando Magic. In order to make this deal work financially for Orlando, Dumars agreed to sign Hill and immediately trade him to the Magic for forward/center Ben Wallace and guard Chucky Atkins. Although Hill’s sign-and-trade deal was supposed to boost Orlando, it ended up serving as a building block for Detroit. While Hill would struggle through several injury riddled seasons, Wallace would eventually become the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Dumars further capitalized on other teams’ desires to catapult to the top of the league. His rival from the Chicago Bulls—Michael Jordan—gained much publicity by announcing a second return from retirement. When the Washington Wizards failed to make the playoffs in 2002, Jordan asked the team to trade for Pistons guard Jerry Stackhouse. While the media placed more focus on Stackhouse possibly helping Jordan make one last playoff run with the Wizards, Dumars quietly swapped Stackhouse—his team’s leading scorer—for rising star guard Richard Hamilton. While Stackhouse was successful with the Wizards, Rip Hamilton would become a cornerstone for the Pistons.
Dumars continued to make good acquisitions. Through free agency, Detroit signed Chauncey Billups. In five years, Billups had already played for four teams. While other league executives considered Billups mediocre, Dumars recognized the point guard’s confidence and work ethic. The signing would pay off, as Billups would become one of the NBA's best point guards.
Pistons Draft Picks
Dumars continued his roster building through the NBA Draft. While much emphasis was given to players such as Kwame Brown and Yao Ming, Dumars and the Pistons managed to select center Mehmet Okur and forward Tayshaun Prince in back-to-back drafts. While Okur would establish himself as a top bench contributor, Prince would find his way into the starting lineup.
Dumars would take much criticism after the 2003 NBA Draft. Rather than landing a college star such as Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, or Dwyane Wade, he drafted young, highly touted international basketball player Darko Milicic. While the move did not seem to be the best long-term move, it did keep the team’s chemistry intact.
Pistons Head Coaches
While Michael Jordan helped the Wizards hire former Bulls’ and Pistons’ Head Coach Doug Collins, Dumars quietly hired Rick Carlisle to be the Pistons’ new Head Coach. Oddly enough, Carlisle became Pistons Head Coach after being beat out for the Indiana Pacers’ Head Coach job by former Pistons guard Isiah Thomas. While Thomas saw moderate success as Pacers Head Coach, Carlisle was named 2002 NBA Coach of the Year.
After losing in the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals, Dumars made the controversial decision to fire Carlisle. Carlisle would return to the Pacers, where he would replace Thomas as Head Coach. To replace Carlisle, the Pistons hired legendary Head Coach Larry Brown, who was voted NBA Coach of the Year in 2001 with the Philadelphia 76ers.
2004 NBA Championship
One more move was needed for the Pistons to win the Eastern Conference Finals. In a midseason trade, Detroit acquired Rasheed Wallace, who had just been traded a few days earlier from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Atlanta Hawks. Wallace’s offense in the post would greatly complement the defense of Ben Wallace. Despite giving up Chucky Atkins in the deal, the Pistons also acquired guard Mike James. Furthermore, Dumars was able to re-sign Lindsey Hunter, who had also been in the trade, because Hunter was waived by the Boston Celtics.
When the Pistons made it to the 2004 NBA Finals, they found themselves playing against the highly favored Los Angeles Lakers. In addition to the dominant duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, the Lakers had also added future Hall of Fame candidates Karl Malone and Gary Payton. Neither Malone nor Payton had won an NBA Championship yet; with Shaq, Kobe, and Head Coach Phil Jackson on their side, it was assumed that they would win one with the Lakers. Yet, this would not be the case. The Pistons would win the 2004 NBA Championship in five games in what has since been nicknamed the “five-game sweep”. In earning the nickname “Mr. Big Shot” for his clutch shooting, point guard Chauncey Billups was named 2004 NBA Finals MVP. With that, President Joe Dumars and the Detroit Pistons were again NBA Champions.
Sources:
Basketball-Reference.com. Accessed May 7, 2010.
Diaz, George. “Grant Hill Tells Pistons He’s Joining The Magic.” Orlando Sentinel. July 7, 2000. From OrlandoSentinel.com. Accessed May 7, 2010.
Howell, Dave. “Hard Work Pays Off.” Pistons.com (NBA.com). Accessed May 7, 2010.
Langlois, Keith. “Together Again.” Pistons.com (NBA.com). Accessed May 7, 2010.
Monter, Chris. “Detroit ships Jerry Stackhouse to Washington.” September 11, 2002. Scout.com. Accessed May 7, 2010.
[Multiple Player and Coach Profiles.] NBA.com. Accessed May 8, 2010.
“Pistons Acquire Forward/Center Rasheed Wallace From Hawks And Guard Mike James From Boston In Three-Way Deal.” NBA.com. Accessed May 7, 2010.