<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">LAS VEGAS -- Last month, as he introduced the Pistons' two first-round draft picks, team president Joe Dumars tried to correct a misconception about Arron Afflalo. Dumars said it wasn't just Afflalo's defensive skill that led him to pick the reigning Pac-10 player of the year, that Afflalo's overall versatility really sold the deal. But it is that defensive grit that will likely first endear him to typical Pistons fans. It's not just that Afflalo understands defense or has the right body to play it. He's 6-foot-5 with enough athleticism and quickness to guard multiple spots on the floor. But beyond that, he is simply driven to stop his opponents. "I think you can see that he has the mentality of, 'I want to defend, I want to guard somebody, I want to be the guy to make the big stop,' " said John Hammond, the Pistons' vice president of basketball operations. "He welcomes that. I think a lot of times it seems the good defenders have to have that kind of mind-set." Even in summer league games and scrimmages this week, Afflalo has been a take-away-your-space, cut-you-off-on-the-way-to-the-rim, knock-the-ball-out-of-your-hands pest. He provided a huge stop late in the Pistons' win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday afternoon, shutting down point guard Louis Williams on a key possession of a tied game. Those are the kind of game-changing moments he lives for. "The older I got, the more I realized how much I hate to lose," Afflalo said. "I've always hated to lose, even when I was little. It would bother me, even more than winning makes me feel good."</div> Source: Detroit Free Press
