Since the Carmelo rumor’s legs didn’t strengthen we’ve got a new and more interesting deal, in my opinion, to mull over today. Check out the noise coming out of Bay Area this morning:

Joe Dumars, the Pistons’ president of basketball operations, gave notice after losing the Eastern Conference finals that no one on his veteran-laden team would be safe, and the source said Detroit is willing to divest itself of longtime stars Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups.

Wallace, like Davis an unrestricted free agent after ‘08-09, would give the Warriors their best true power forward since Chris Webber’s first stint in 1993-94 and has 3-point range that coach Don Nelson would love.

[…]

Since Wallace and Billups will combine to take home nearly $25 million in 2008-09, the Warriors would need to add more salary ballast to Davis in order to make the salary-cap numbers work.

One possibility in that role would be forward Al Harrington. A source close to the 10th-year forward said he is currently leaning toward requesting a trade from the Warriors this summer, although he will not make a final decision until after the draft.

I like this deal. If we have to part with guys this deal sounds fun. Baron is very similar to Chauncey in that he’s a big bodied dominant guard. I think Baron is a little better going to the rim than Billups. Chauncey may have the better long range stroke, but Davis is no slouch. Plus, this gives our PG of the future, Rodney Stuckey, one more prime time floor general to learn from.

I like Harrington’s game as well. Like Rasheed he can go inside and outside, although he didn’t get to show to much of his post game under Don Nelson.

Our engine is overdue for an oil change. This deal could help get some of that built up sludge out. I say DO IT JOE!

So it ends, looks as if Webb will sign tomorrow.  Talk about all the unlikely places for him to land, not exactly the best fit for the up tempo game they play out there in Oakland.  Good luck Chris. (finder’s fee to Nation member Nick)

Chris Webber’s unlikely but fast-moving return to the Golden State Warriors is on course to be completed by Tuesday, according to sources close to the negotiations.Barring an unexpected change of heart, sources said, Webber will accept the invitation from former coach Don Nelson and former teammate Chris Mullin to come back to the team with whom he won NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 1994, only for Webber to force a trade to Washington some six months later when his prickly relationship with Nelson collapsed.

I think if he comes, it can benefit our team, it can benefit his and my relationship, it can benefit players on this team. I think he has a chance to make some of our players better and make our team better.

–Don Nelson

“I hope that it happens to be quite honest with you,” Nelson told Bay Area reporters Sunday before the Warriors hosted the New York Knicks. “I think our team needs it.”

Nelson made his own surprising and triumphant return to Oakland last season, guiding the Warriors to their first playoff berth since they went 50-32 in Webber’s rookie season in 1993-94. Sources say Nelson and Mullin, now the Warriors’ vice president of basketball operations, are confident that the 67-year-old coach and Webber are ready for this seemingly hard-to-fathom reunion after multiple conversations in recent days.

For his part, Nelson has maintained that he and Webber reconciled years ago, when he chose Webber to replace the injured Shaquille O’Neal — over Dirk Nowitzki from Nelson’s Dallas Mavericks — as the West’s starting center for the 2002 All-Star Game in Philadelphia.

Webber could not be immediately reached for comment Sunday, but sources insist that he would be Golden State-bound now even if the Detroit Pistons made an 11th-hour bid to re-sign him. The Warriors have offered to sign him for the rest of the season for a pro-rated share of the league’s $1.2 million veteran minimum.

The last time the Pistons played the Warriors they made an improbable 22 comeback with out Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess, Sunday’s matinee needed not a Herculean effort to secure the teams 17th victory on the season.

The Pistons had a plan going into the game. They were not going to be lured into playing the Warriors brand of up-tempo basketball. Detroit instead focused on the fundamental boxing out and limiting the Warriors to single shot possessions. Detroit also did a great job exposing Golden State’s lack of size in the half court sets. Billups, Rasheed, and Tayshaun were among the most noticeable examples of using their length and strength to get what they wanted against the smaller Golden State defenders.

The Pistons led by one after one but blew the game open in the second quarter going on a 23-3 run to end the half. The Pistons didn’t let the Warriors get out and run like the like to and defensively wore them down with a superb inside-outside attack. At the half the Pistons were all over the board war 26-15 and had held the Warriors to just 36% shooting. The Pistons led by 23 at the break.

The second half got back to seeing the Pistons starters getting rest like they had for a stretch of games when the Pistons were blowing opponents out. Arron Afflalo got in 24 good minutes and played with a lot of energy on both ends of the ball. Arron scored a career high 11 points and the Pistons were a +20 with him in the game. Amir Johnson got in there and gave the crowd a good show in the 4th getting up high for rebounds and throwing down a put back dunk off an Afflalo miss.

The Warriors swept the season series last year and the Pistons returned the favor this season.

Game Notes:

• Jason ‘OH-BEAST!’ Maxiell: OH-BEAST had 11 points to go along with his career high 6 blocks

• Baron PWNED: as the Pistons have been doing with high scorers Baron Davis was locked out of the Palace by Pistons D. Baron came into the game averaging 22.8 ppg, but was held to 2 on 1/8 shooting to go along with his 1 assist to 3 turn overs
• No Flip Murray?: Should we read anything into it that the self proclaimed “Fourth Quarter Slaughter” didn’t enter the 4th qtr of a blow out with Saunders electing to go with Arron Afflalo and Lindsey Hunter? It seemed like Amir Johnson sure benefited from Murray not being out there.
• Primo in da house: Newly acquired center Primo Brezec got some burn in the 4th showing his Pistons teammates that he likes to share. Walter Herrmann was on the inactive list for the game.
• Sheed’s bring’n Dobber back: Did you check out the Bob Lanier-esque sweeping hook Rasheed unvailed in the first quarter. It was schweet.
• BOOO Jackson: Seems Pistons fans still remember Jackson (who was serving a suspension a month ago when the Pistons played the Warriors in Oakland) as the Pacer going bezerk on the Palace crowd during the brawl because he was booed every time he touched the game in the early going.

[Box Score] munchies:

• Board war won 32-47
• Pistons with 8 steals and 9 blocked shots
• 6 Pistons in double figures led by Tayshaun with 23
• McDyess with a 14 point 11 rebound double-double
• Amir Johnson with 6 points on 3/4 shooting to go along with 7 boards
• Pistons made 20/24 free throws including Chauncey’s 11/11
• Sheed picked up a tech for the third straight game in a row


[box score] If you stayed up you were treated to a pretty memorable and improbable Pistons victory vs. the high octane Golden State Warriors. The Pistons came from 22 points down to beat Golden State 111-104. With Chauncey and McDyess out with injuries it took a total team effort amplified by the brilliant performance turned in by Rasheed Wallace down the stretch.

It didn’t look good early. The Pistons were missing open looks while the Warriors were bombing from down town and hitting the offensive boards hard. Baron Davis was going off in the first quarter finishing the quarter with 16 points. The Warroirs ended up with 40 points for the quarter, a season high for them, and that’s saying a lot for a team like G-State that scores in multitudes.

The Pistons found themselves down 51-64 at half.

The third quarter the Pistons really got it going. They turned up the defense that was mostly MIA in the first half. Tayshaun stepped up big scoring 10 of his 22 in the quarter. Detroit was able to get Golden States lead cut down to 3, 82-85 by the end of the quarter.

Rasheed Wallace went to work in the fourth quarter. He commanded the ball down low and facilitated the offense beautifully. Sheed’s big three pointer is what really put the Pistons over the hump. He scored 13 of his 22 points in the quarter. This performance in my mind was much more impressive than his 36 point game vs. Chicago. He never lost his composure and really led by example. He took the game over and the rest of the team responded running the offense through the big fella. The end result was the Pistons biggest road comeback since the 2002-03 season.

Other outstanding performance’s came from Jason Maxiell who had his first double-double of the season (14pts & 14rbs) getting 43 minutes in place of the injured Antonio McDyess. Max did a great job on the defensive boards (10) taking advantage of the Warrioir zone, and let’s not forget the 3 blocks. Maxy really made case for himself being inserted permanently into the starting line up. Flip Murray who even though had his erratic moments did get a career high tying 12 assists to go along with his 15 points starting in the place of Chauncey Billups.

GAME NOTES:

• When was the last time the Pistons were with out 2 starters in one game?
• With the win Flip Saunders moves into sole possession of #3 all time wins for a Pistons coach (123)
• The Pistons lost twice last season to Golden State by an average of 25 points
• All starters scored in double figures
• Rip, Tay, & Sheed all scored 22
• Sheed also grabbed 9 boards
• 30 team assists
• Arron Afflalo was solid.
• Amir Johnson played well in early minutes
• Lindsey Hunter seen his first action of the season. 3 points and 1 assist in a little under 7 minutes of play
• Bad free throw shooting by both teams. Pistons 68%, Warriors 61.9%
• Why does Warriors’ center Andris Biedrins spike the sides of his hair back like that? Is he trying to create the illusion that he’s going faster?
• Baron Davis finished with 29 points and 9 assists
• Golden State is the league’s only winless team at 0-6

GAME QUOTES:

Rasheed on taking over executing down the stretch:

“Just executing, that’s all it was,” Wallace said. “It’s not a matter of taking over or nothing like that. You just execute. We started getting stops in the second half that we should have got in the first half.”

Matt Barnes on the loss:

“It’s very frustrating. We didn’t play two halves tonight, that’s the bottom line. They are a veteran team and that’s something you do can’t with a team like that. This is a game we had a chance to win but we just didn’t get it done tonight”

MORE RECAPS:

• Golden State of Mind: RECAP: Warriors 104, Pistons 111 - Not Again!
• Detroit News: Pistons’ comeback is Golden