Nice guy. Great, versatile player. Non threatening. Can speak clear english.

It's cool for fans (not those from Detroit) as well as the league that Hill is leaving. It just wasn't happening in Detroit. There was no reason to think the Pistons were ever going to compete for a championship with their current squad (unless Christian Laettner suddenly decided to become Chris Webber). Hill and Stackhouse are good enough to keep pulling the team into the playoffs, so unless they cleared a lot of cap room to sign a star power forward or center, they were doomed to remain better than most but definitely not all of the Eastern Conference teams.

So, Hill's gone, ready to join a fantastic supporting cast in Orlando.

He'll need other stars, of course. And if Orlando signs McGrady and no one else, will the Magic really be that much better than the Pistons were? We'll see.

But, back to Grant. He gave the Pistons and honest effort. Detroit management failed to provide Hill with teammates good enough to really do damage in the playoffs. Joe Dumars was ancient. Jerry Stackhouse is excellent now, but the rest of the team is lacking. In six years, the Pistons failed to win a single playoff series.

Hill is a winner. He was Duke's best player when they won the NCAA championship. His dad won a super bowl. Winning is in Grant's blood. 

Now the NBA can package young, nice guy (and black - there are very few black coaches, you know) Doc Rivers with Grant Hill. Good feelings all around. Yay! 

Get ready for a barrage of Grant Hill in Mickey Mouse hat photos.
 

By DantleyMania
7/14/2000
____________

Back to InsideHoops Home

Say what you've got to say on the InsideHoops NBA MESSAGE BOARD

Sign up for a free web-based email account @InsideHoops by clicking  here.

Basketball fans who don't use InsideHoops as their primary web-based email account might as well forget basketball forever and become diehard water-polo fans.