Detroit Pistons Blog – Page 62 – NBA Blog

DaJuan Summers ends time playing basketball in Italy early

Detroit Pistons forward DaJuan Summers is the latest NBA player coming home early from an overseas job. He left his Italian team after only four games.

Any other American NBA player considering making a similar job to Europe or Asia during the ongoing lockout might want to talk to Summers first.

“I would tell them to be prepared for any and everything because it’s a different world than what you are used to,” Summers told Yahoo! Sports in a phone interview from Italy.

Summers, 23, played for the Pistons the past two seasons, averaging 3.2 points as a reserve, but struggled to crack the team’s regular rotation given the number of forwards on the roster. Shortly after the lockout began, Summers signed a two-year contract with European powerhouse Montepaschi Siena. Siena finished third in the 2011 Euroleague Final Four and has won four straight Italian League championships.

“They were telling me how much they wanted me to be a part of the team,” Summers said. “With those things considered, I thought it was a good move to get that exposure with the top Italian League, as well as a top Euroleague team.” …

The team gave Summers and his girlfriend and son a nice three-bedroom house in Siena’s countryside. But though Siena is a popular Italian tourist destination, Summers had trouble adapting to living in a small town – and he thinks team officials picked up on it.

— Reported by Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports

Ben Wallace pleads guilty in alcohol case

Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and possessing a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.

Wallace entered the plea Tuesday in Oakland County Circuit Court in Pontiac. Sentencing is Dec. 13. He faces a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail.

In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop a felony carrying a concealed weapon charge.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Ben Wallace due in court on drunken driving, weapons charges

Detroit Pistons’ Ben Wallace is in Oakland County Circuit Court Tuesday on weapon and drunken driving charges.

Wallace was arrested Sept. 24 at Telegraph and Long Lake Road after Bloomfield Township police officers said they saw his 2007 Cadillac Escalade swerving.

Police said they found an unloaded handgun and ammunition in a backpack in Wallace’s back seat.A field sobriety test showed Wallace was over the .08 legal limit. The handgun is registered to Wallace’s wife, police said.

Wallace said he drank four beers before he drove, police said.

— Reported by Santiago Esparza of the Detroit News

Chinese team hopes to sign Rodney Stuckey

The Guangdong Southern Tigers in China are making a hard push to sign Detroit Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations.

The biggest hurdle for Guangdong to clear, though, is the same hurdle all Chinese teams face when trying to land NBA players: Stuckey would be unable to come back to the NBA until Guangdong’s season ends in the spring if he goes through with the deal.

If Stuckey elects to sign with the Tigers, he’d be obligated to stay with the Chinese team through the completion of the season in March even if the ongoing NBA lockout ends before that, thanks to rules instituted this season by the Chinese Basketball Association that prevent its teams from offering an in-season out to players signed away from the NBA.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

Pistons fire sideline reporter Eli Zaret

Eli Zaret, who has spent the last five years with the Pistons organization, doing sideline reporting and other television assignments, has been let go by the team’s new management.

“The new guys are very smart, the direction that they’re going in, a plan that’s different than the one that is in place,” said Zaret, who has been part of the Detroit sports scene for more than 30 years.

Pete Skorich , who had been with the franchise for 30 years and most recently executive vice president of broadcasting, parted ways with Palace Sports and Entertainment a couple of weeks ago. It was then that Zaret saw the writing on the wall.

— Reported by Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News

Dennis Rodman thinks NBA players need to give in to owners

“I just think that … the players should bow down,” Rodman said. “They should bow down. In 1999 we (were locked out) and we missed half the season. The owners bowed down then. They gave the players everything. I think the players should do the same thing for the owners because today most of these teams are losing money. It’s not the players’ fault. It’s the owners’ fault. I think they should give a little bit and move on.”

Rodman insists he’s not taking the owners’ side in all of this but it’s apparent he doesn’t believe today’s NBA player deserves the kind of money he is getting.

“I don’t think they work that hard because most of the players don’t give a damn about the game. They want the money. I’m not taking the owners’ side, I just think the players should look at themselves. ‘OK, I’m making $16-million or $17-million a year but what have I accomplished?’ Most of the players haven’t accomplished anything. That’s what you have to look at.”

— Reported by Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun

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Ben Gordon expects more games to be canceled

“I think there will be more games missed,” Gordon said when reached by phone as he was driving to Chicago. “I expect it might be a year or two. I realized that when I was listening to both sides during the negotiations. I think there will be a lot of games missed and more money is going to go down the drain.

“I’m preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best.” …

Gordon was in New York for previous negotiating sessions and said until the past few days, he could tell the owners weren’t serious about making a deal and were looking forward to the eventual outcome.

“It just seemed scripted, and they were going through the motions,” said Gordon, calling it a valuable learning experience. “Sitting there in front of them you could tell they weren’t focused on getting a deal. I still don’t know the purpose of those meetings.”

— Reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press

Ben Wallace faces drunken driving, weapons charges

The Detroit Free Press reports:

Detroit Piston Ben Wallace is facing a 5-year felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon after police found an unloaded pistol in a backpack in his car as they arrested him on suspicion of drunken driving Saturday in Bloomfield Township.

When officers searched his car, they discovered an unloaded pistol in a backpack in the “passenger compartment” of the vehicle, according to a news release issued by the police department today.

Wallace, 37, is expected to appear Oct. 3 for a pre-examination conference in 48th District Court in Bloomfield Township, according to police. He has been arraigned on a 93-day misdemeanor charge of drunken driving and a 5-year felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon, police said, without specifying what day he appeared in court.

ClickOnDetroit reports:

Wallace was arraigned in Bloomfield Township Sept. 24 on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and carrying a concealed weapon…

Police said the roadside investigation revealed that Wallace was intoxicated and subsequently taken into custody…

Police said a search of his vehicle revealed an unloaded pistol in a backpack, which was in the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

NBA postpones training camps, cancels October 9-15 preseason games

The NBA announced today that player training camps for the 2011-12 season have been postponed indefinitely because a new collective bargaining agreement has not been reached with the National Basketball Players Association. Training camps were scheduled to open on October 3.

In addition, the league canceled all preseason games scheduled from October 9 through October 15.

“We have regretfully reached the point on the calendar where we are not able to open training camps on time and need to cancel the first week of preseason games,” said NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver. “We will make further decisions as warranted.”

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Pistons retain Brian Hill, finalize coaching staff

Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press reports:

The Detroit Pistons have completed their search for assistant coaches.

Brian Hill, who spent the last two seasons under former coach John Kuester, will return to the bench under new coach Lawrence Frank.

He joins John Loyer, Roy Rogers and Dee Brown on Frank’s staff.

Hill, 63, is an NBA veteran, having served as a head coach with the Orlando Magic (1993-97 and 2005-07) and the Vancouver Grizzlies (1997-99).