<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">AUBURN HILLS -- Pistons president Joe Dumars, speaking publicly for the first time since the Pistons were bounced from the playoffs, charted a clear and direct course for a team that seems to be treading water between good and great, though dangerously close to plunging into mediocrity. He said it was not the intention to blow up the roster. There will be no fire sale. One of the starters, he added, could be moved if the right deal presented itself. He reiterated that re-signing point guard Chauncey Billups was the first priority, and he remained confident he would get that done. He promised the roster would be significantly altered with an infusion of young talent. And, most significantly, he issued a mandate for every returning player, every coach and every prospect that works out for the Pistons leading up to the June 28 draft. "Complacency is the worst thing you can have in sports," Dumars said toward the end of his 32-minute address Monday. "It will not be the calling card of our team going forward. I know that's been the tag we've been labeled with and deservedly so. I'm not going to sit up here and try to defend it. But it won't be our calling card going forward. Either you play with a sense of urgency or you will be leaving. It's that simple." Dumars delivered that message, bluntly, to each player before they departed for the summer. "You can't beg guys to play with hunger," he said. "After a while, if it doesn't happen, then I have to find guys who automatically have that. That's going to be the test for me. Either you are going to play with a sense of urgency or you are not. And if you can't, it's time to fill that spot with somebody new who maybe hasn't had all the success we've had." Complacency, Dumars knows, wasn't the only issue that prevented the Pistons from getting to the NBA Finals. Clearly, an aging frontcourt and an erratic bench were suspects, as was an offense that for the second straight season went cold late in the playoffs. "Look, if the right change opportunity comes along, I will do it," Dumars said. "We're open. But it has to be the right one. Here's where we are: We're good enough right now where you don't make a change just for change sake. But I don't think we're so good that you can close your eyes to the right kind of move."</div> Source: The Detroit News
I have faith that Joe D will make the right decisions. He is right, our formula now is working (5 straight ECF and 2 Finals appearances), so there is really no point in breaking that up, we just need to find out what it is that is that is keeping us from getting over that final hump.
