$200K fine: Pistons have right to be mad

The Pistons were fined $200,000 last week for what amounts to little more than a miscommunication. The Pistons thought their two new players — Rasheed Wallace and Mike James — were eligible to play because they hadn’t heard otherwise from the league. The league said the onus was on the Pistons to call and find out whether the deal was complete. Is that really a $200,000 offense? It’s absurd. It presupposes that the Pistons were trying to pull a fast one, trying, in essence, to cheat.

McCoskey calls the fine "Garbage"

If the league wants to fine someone, why not fine New Jersey president Rod Thorn? Tell me this isn’t tampering:

Thorn, when he heard that the Hawks were about to send Wallace to the Pistons, made two phone calls to Atlanta General Manager Billy Knight, trying to talk him out of doing the deal. He told Knight that it was a horrible mistake for the Hawks and that they would be better served using Wallace in a sign-and-trade deal over the summer. Fortunately for the Pistons, Knight and Dumars have an excellent working relationship and Knight rejected Thorn’s self-serving advice. But isn’t that tampering? Isn’t that a finable offense?

Via Chris McCosky of the The Detroit News

Detroit Pistons, New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks

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Pistons sign Lindsey Hunter, Okur placed on injured list

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) Eight days after they traded him, the Detroit Pistons re-signed guard Lindsey Hunter.

The Pistons also placed Mehmet Okur on the injured list with a lower back strain. Okur, averaging 9.9 points and 6.5 rebounds in 23.3 minutes, has missed five games due to back spasms this season.

Hunter was dealt to Boston in the Feb. 18 three-team trade that also sent Chucky Atkins to the Celtics and Bob Sura and Zeljko Rebraca to Atlanta in exchange for Rasheed Wallace and Mike James. The Celtics waived Hunter.

Pistons coach Larry Brown said the team needed some backcourt depth.

``Right now, we have three guards, and Mike (James) is scared to death, so much has come at him. At least Lindsey has some familiarity, he will give us some defensive presence that Bobby (Sura) gave us.

Hunter, 33, returned to the Pistons roster for the second time in his 12-year NBA career when he was acquired from Toronto in exchange for Michael Curry on Aug. 28.

Prior to the trade, the 6-foot-2 guard spent 39 games on the injured list with a strained left medial collateral ligament. He averaged 3.7 points and one rebound in 11 games.

Via Associated Press

Detroit Pistons

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Pistons fined $200,000 for using ineligible players

NEW YORK (AP) The Detroit Pistons were fined $200,000 by the NBA on Monday for using Rasheed Wallace and Mike James before the league finalized the deal that brought them to the team.

The league said it was the first time a player acquired in a trade played for his new team before the NBA officially approved the move.

Wallace and James came to Detroit in a three-team trade with Atlanta and Boston on Thursday, and both played in the first half of the Pistons' 88-87 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

They were pulled at halftime when it was discovered that paperwork for two other players in the deal _ Lindsey Hunter and Chris Mills _ had yet to be completed. Wallace and James also missed a practice Saturday before the NBA said the trade was ``final and complete.''

``In accordance with league rules, each team was informed that none of the traded players could play with their new teams until all conditions of the trade had been met, including the signing of certifications by teams, players and agents involved in the deal,'' the NBA said in a statement. ``The Pistons violated this rule by playing Wallace and James in the first half of the game against the Timberwolves even though the required certifications were not yet signed.''

Pistons president Joe Dumars said the team wouldn't have used Wallace and James if it knew the other teams hadn't submitted the required paperwork.

``We are happy that this unfortunate situation is over and that we can get back to focusing on basketball,'' Dumars said before Detroit played at Philadelphia on Monday night.

Via Associated Press

Detroit Pistons

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