Pistons coach Michael Curry is looking forward to working with the team's new starter -- and he's not talking about power forward Kwame Brown.
Brown, a free agent, officially signed with the Pistons, the team announced Monday, after he agreed to a deal last week. The two-year deal is for $8 million and includes a player option for the second year.
But Curry wasn't talking about Brown, the 6-foot-11 former No. 1 draft pick who split last season with the Lakers and Grizzlies. Instead, he was referring to second-year combo guard Rodney Stuckey.
Stuckey had a promising rookie season, averaging 7.6 points and 2.8 assists in 57 games. Curry thinks Stuckey will have a huge effect on the lineup this season. And that, Curry insists, possibly could eliminate the need for a blockbuster trade or free-agent signing.
"You know, we see Rodney as a starter -- he's a sixth starter,"
Curry said Monday at Wabeek Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, where he was participating in a charity golf outing for the St. Cecilia basketball program.
Curry, an assistant last season under Flip Saunders, is counting on continued improvement from Stuckey, guard Arron Afflalo and forwards Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson, plus the addition of Brown, to serve as the talent infusion necessary for the Pistons to return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2005.
"We have a young group, and if we continue to develop them and add their playing time to our starters, I see us having a chance to be really good right now and on down the road, even if we keep the nucleus the way it is right now,"
Curry said.
After the Pistons were eliminated in the Eastern Conference finals for the third consecutive season, Pistons president Joe Dumars put everyone on notice, saying the team had no sacred cows and that Stuckey was the only untouchable in a trade.
Almost immediately, speculation centered on trades involving point guard Chauncey Billups and small forward Tayshaun Prince.
But no deal has materialized, and it looks more and more likely the Pistons' core will continue to be Billups, Prince, Rasheed Wallace, Richard Hamilton and Antonio McDyess for at least one more season -- or perhaps until the February trade deadline.
Curry is fine with that. He's also fine with the addition of Brown, whom the Pistons hope will benefit from a change of scenery.
After being selected No. 1 overall by Washington out of Glynn (Ga.) Academy in the 2001 draft, Brown hasn't lived up to the hype for the Wizards, Lakers and Grizzlies. He has averaged only 7.5 points and 5.7 rebounds in his career. Last season, he averaged 4.8 points and 4.9 boards.
Curry hopes an emphasis on the positive will lead Brown, 26, to become a solid member of the rotation.
"We understand that players have strengths and weaknesses, and we're not going to harp on their weaknesses,"
Curry said. "We're going to try to be a positive influence when we're coaching them. We are trying to coach from a positive standpoint rather than a negative standpoint."
"That makes it attractive for free agents to be a part of that."
