A possible Piston trade

[DJessen33@aol.com]

A trade with the Pistons that may work out is Brian Williams and Jerry 
Stackhouse for K. Anderson and Mercer. Detroit needs perimeter scoring and a 
point guard and are power forward heavy. Jerome Williams has emerged to claim 
that spot. They also got Loy Voight and See Ya Laettner. See the following 
Sporting News article dated June 5. 

DJessen33

snip
<Dumars has a good feel for players and coaches in the league, which could 
come in handy in player procurement. Though he has been giving input on 
personnel matters for several years, Dumars' ascension to a high-level job 
could bring direction and stability to Detroit's front office. Many of the 
club's recent signees -- Bison Dele, Jerry Stackhouse and Loy Vaught -- have 
not met expectations. If free agents see Dumars is running the show, they 
might be more willing to select Detroit. . . . 

Coach Alvin Gentry might have to retool his staff because he's going to lose 
at least one assistant and possibly two. 

John Hammond will join Quin Snyder's staff at Missouri as an assistant head 
coach, while Gar Heard is still a strong candidate to be the Washington 
Wizards' coach. Heard interviewed for that job last week, but ex-Piston Isiah 
Thomas has suddenly emerged as a possibility there, reports say. 

If Gentry must fill only one vacancy, scouting assistant Bob Ociepka will 
likely be promoted to the bench staff. If there are two openings, George 
Irvine could become the No. 1 assistant, but Gentry would still have to bring 
in someone else. He would likely try again to entice Bill Blair out of 
retirement; Gentry couldn't convince him last year. . . . 

Milwaukee free agent Michael Curry, the ex-Piston, is on Grant Hill's wish 
list for next season. 

Curry, whose family stayed in Detroit after he signed with the Bucks in 1997, 
has been working out at the Pistons' practice facility regularly since the 
season ended. 

PLAYER ANALYSIS 

Don Reid 

The Pistons are in a quandary with the 6-foot-8 Reid, who's too small for 
center and saw his power forward minutes dwindle with the return of Christian 
Laettner from injury and the emergence of Jerome Williams. 

Reid's contract is up and the Pistons might have to let him go, though 
they're probably hesitant to do so. He is the ultimate team player and never 
whines about his minutes, plus he plays hard all the time. He is also 
Detroit's leading shot blocker, which isn't saying much. 

But Reid has also become foul-prone. In the last 20 games of the season, he 
got in foul trouble almost nightly and it cut into his aggressiveness. Reid 
must be aggressive to be effective, because he's so undersized. 

Reid has carved out a solid career since the Pistons got him with the 58th 
and final draft pick in 1995, but it might be time for them to part ways. 

WHAT'S NEXT 

Without a draft pick and already over the cap, the Pistons can either make 
trades to clear cap room (anyone want Bison Dele?) or nibble at the edges of 
their roster. For now, it looks like they'll nibble. 

They're not planning to acquire a pick, though they might work out some draft 
candidates just in case. They're planning a rookie/free-agent camp for July, 
but they're unlikely to find anybody who can help.>