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• Pistons’ GM Dumars has many options upcoming for NBA Draft May 16, 2012
  The nightmare that was the 2011-12 season for the NBA is nearing its’ conclusion with the NBA Playoffs in full swing. Some GM’s are still watching their team trying to take home the Larry O’Brien Trophy. In the case of Joe Dumars, he has watched other teams fighting to What will Joe D do in the Draft? become NBA Champions. Joe D was accustomed to have the Pistons making a deep playoff run nearly every year. Now he must sit in his office at 6 Championship Drive and try to conjure a plan for the upcoming 2012 NBA Draft. This year’s draft strategy may be different than in year’s past. Since 2008, the Pistons have had three first round picks in the top 20. Austin Daye has not come to fruition despite being given ample opportunity to seize a starting role. Greg Monroe was arguably the best player available in the 2010 Draft and has become the centerfold for a new look Pistons. And the Stones had luck on their side when Brandon Knight slipped to 8th overall l...
• Pistons get creative to keep fans engaged May 9, 2012
  AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- When Dennis Mannion became president of business operations for the Detroit Pistons last September, he took over an operation that had become an afterthought at best in the local sports scene. Attendance was down, the team was losing and to make matters worse, the 2011-12 season didn't start until late December because of the lockout. Looking back, Mannion realizes all those obstacles actually presented a unique opportunity. "One of the tricky things in sports is, when you win, it usually in some way cannibalizes your aggressiveness to do more interesting things for your fan base," Mannion said. For the third straight season, the Pistons missed the playoffs, going 25-41. They also finished 28th in attendance, but not for lack of effort. With a new owner and a rebuilding team, Detroit management has tried some creative ideas in an effort to appeal to fans. The most obvious new spectacle at the Palace was a series of halftime shows by performers such as Vanilla Ice, Gladys Knight and Bell Biv DeVoe. By the end of the season, it became almost the norm for some familiar name to show up and entertain at Pistons games. "Hopefully we've re-energized the Palace this year," owner Tom Gores said as the season drew to a close. "Part of our job is, even when we're having tough times, to make it right for the fans. You can't always guarantee wins, but you can guarantee the experience -- the moment you walk in the door, that it's a good experience for the fans, and so hopefully we've done that." Gores took over the franchise last offseason after a dreary 2010-11 campaign in which Detroit went 30-52 and players struggled with coach John Kuester. Attendance sagged accordingly, and the team remained in limbo until the drawn-out sale to Gores was complete. The new owner has remained somewhat in the background, leaving Joe Dumars in place to run the basketball side of the operation. Lawrence Frank was hired to replace Kuester before this season. Gores recently discussed his hope that the team can return to the postseason next year, but for now he's simply pleased that the "culture" surrounding the team is improving. With the Tigers, Red Wings and even the Lions enjoying success to different degrees these days, the Pistons run the risk of being forgotten. Mannion's job is to make sure that doesn't happen. The non-basketball-related entertainment at games is part of a larger plan. "We knew we needed something that would guarantee some measure of relevance," Mannion said in an interview with The Associated Press. "We wanted to set some sort of bar for entertainment value so fans would know they have a consistently fun experience." Mannion previously worked as an executive for teams in all four major U.S. pro leagues, and his vision for the Pistons doesn't end with musical guests. His hope is to provide flexibility and experiences apart from the actual games that will make purchasing basketball tickets a more rewarding proposition for fans. "We think that the days of the full- and in some cases half-season ticket, are dying a very slow death," Mannion said. "Why shouldn't you be able to go and say, Look, I don't want the full 41 games, 44 with preseason. Maybe I want to treat my family to two games per month. So I want 14 games, but I'd like to add in the basketball clinic for my son and daughter. I have another daughter that we're going to put in the cheer clinic.'" The Pistons averaged 12,730 fans for their first 16 home games this season, according to STATS, LLC. For their final 17 games at the Palace, that number jumped to 15,998. A winning team helps -- after a 4-20 start, Detroit played .500 basketball the rest of the way and actually went 18-15 at home for the season. Mannion says he didn't necessarily expect a quick fix to the team's struggles at the gate. The goal early on is simply to start changing the public's perception of game night at the Palace. "There's always a factor of revenue proceeding relevance," Mannion said. "It's only been a three-and-a-half, four-month season. I think in that short amount of time, we're building up a reputation for the uniqueness of halftimes." Improving the rest of the product is an ongoing process, but Gores sounds no less optimistic these days than when he first bought the team. "We made a lot of progress," Gores said. "We have to earn the trust and the excitement back from the fans. Were we disappointed with some of the attendance and all that stuff? Of course. But we have to earn that trust."
• Pistons getting creative to keep fans engaged May 8, 2012
  For the third straight season, the Detroit Pistons missed the playoffs, going 25-41. They also finished 28th in attendance, but not for lack of effort. With a new owner and a rebuilding team, Detroit management is trying some creative ideas to appeal to fans. The most obvious new spectacle at the Palace this season was a series of halftime shows by performers such as Vanilla Ice, Gladys Knight and Bell Biv DeVoe. By the end of the season, it became almost the norm for some familiar name to show up and entertain at Pistons games. Dennis Mannion, the team's new president of business operations, points out that sometimes winning teams have a harder time being innovative with fan outreach. The Pistons, on the other hand, have a unique opportunity.
• Prince Wants Pistons To Add Veteran Guard April 29, 2012
  Tayshaun Prince believes the Pistons would benefit from a adding veteran guard who can tutor the team's younger players.
• Pistons show improvement, but rebuilding continues April 28, 2012
  If there was one game that stood out in the Detroit Pistons' season, it may have been the March 21 contest at Denver. That was the night Detroit trailed by 22 points after the first quarter, rallied behind a 45-point effort from Ben Gordon - then lost by one in the final seconds when the Nuggets made a layup while drawing a foul, missed the free throw and scored on a putback for a four-point possession. The ending was emblematic of the Pistons, who are becoming competitive again but still have plenty of work ahead. Tom Gores, who just completed his first season as owner, has made the goal clear for next season. ''We've got to make the playoffs,'' Gores told reporters Thursday night before the season-ending win against Philadelphia. The next day, president of basketball operations Joe Dumars agreed it's time for the franchise's three-year playoff drought to end. ''I think it's a reasonable expectation,'' Dumars said at a news conference Friday. Detroit went 25-41 in its first season under coach Lawrence Frank and was never much of a factor in the playoff chase. But the Pistons played .500 basketball after a 4-20 start, a sign that perhaps the worst is over for the rebuilding franchise. ''If we had started off 21-21 and finished 4-20, it would be pretty easy to come here and say we're not headed the right way,'' Dumars said. ''We do like the direction we're headed.'' Detroit was in disarray after the 2010-11 season, when players struggled under coach John Kuester. Gores took over the team during the offseason, and Frank was hired as the new coach. After the lockout, the Pistons parted ways with Richard Hamilton but brought back Tayshaun Prince and Rodney Stuckey, choosing to remake the roster gradually instead of breaking it up completely. Detroit started poorly, losing three straight games by at least 23 points during one January stretch, but the team rebounded with a run of seven wins in nine games in February. ''We showed in stretches that we're capable of being a playoff team,'' Frank said. ''But we didn't do it over a 66-game season and next year there's 82.'' Center Greg Monroe was solid in his second season, averaging 15.4 points and 9.7 rebounds. Rookie Brandon Knight settled in after being taken with the No. 8 pick in the draft. The 6-foot-3 point guard averaged 12.8 points and made 105 shots from 3-point range. ''I think he's getting to that point where he's comfortable in the game,'' Monroe said late in the season. ''It's slower. The first few months in the league everything is moving 100 miles per hour, so I think everything is slowing down for him.'' Knight struggled with turnovers in his first season, and although Monroe did good work on the offensive boards, he could still be more assertive on offense. Gordon and Stuckey can score in spurts but lacked consistency. Both were limited by injury problems. Prince will likely be the only player remaining next season from Detroit's 2004 NBA title team. Hamilton went to the Chicago Bulls this season, and Ben Wallace has said he's retiring - although he did say after Thursday's finale against Philadelphia that walking away was difficult and he'd have to think it over. Gordon and Charlie Villanueva have two seasons remaining on the five-year deals they signed in the 2009 offseason - moves that haven't really panned out. Gordon remains a regular in the rotation and a consistent 3-point threat, but he's been unable to crack the starting lineup on a consistent basis since coming to Detroit. Villanueva played only 180 minutes during an injury-plagued 2011-12. The Pistons potentially could take advantage of an amnesty clause that allows teams to waive a player and have his salary taken off the cap. And Gordon would be the most likely candidate because of his $55 million contract. ''It's something that we're all going to sit down and talk about after the season,'' Dumars said. Jonas Jerebko, a second-round pick in 2009, averaged 8.7 points this season in 64 games after coming back from a torn Achilles' tendon. But Austin Daye, a first-round pick the same year as Jerebko's selection, started only four games in 2011-12 and didn't seem to have the coaching staff's trust. So Detroit has plenty to sort out during what will be another important offseason. At least this time, the Pistons enter the summer on a reasonably positive note. They went 9-9 down the stretch after starting the season as pushovers. `'Any time you can win and get any kind of positive feel from winning, there's always value in that,'' Gordon said. ''Take every game like it's your last. That's what playoff teams do, and that's how you develop into a playoff team.'' --- AP Sports Writer Larry Lage in Auburn Hills, Mich., contributed to this report.

• Magic Beat Pistons as Dwight Howard Sits Out April 10, 2012
  Jason Richardson hit six 3-pointers and scored 22 points and J. J. Redick had 20 points in Orlando’s 119-89 victory.
• Knicks Rout Detroit, but Stoudemire Leaves With Sore Back March 25, 2012
  New York won for the sixth time in seven games since Mike D’Antoni’s departure as coach, but Amar’e Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin left the game in the third quarter with injuries.
• Miami Heat Top Orlando Magic as Dwyane Wade Scores 31 March 19, 2012
  Chris Bosh added 23 points for Miami, and LeBron James had 14 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals.
• Deron Williams Leads Nets Over Pistons With 26 Points February 2, 2012
  Deron Williams scored 26 points to help the Nets beat the Detroit Pistons, 99-96, on Wednesday night in Newark.
• Carmelo Anthony Returns to Struggling Knicks Offense Against Pistons February 1, 2012
  Carmelo Anthony had a game-high 25 points in his first game back from an ankle injury, and the Knicks spread around the scoring in a victory against the Detroit Pistons at the Garden.