Pistons veterans nearing end of run

Rasheed Wallace showed up at the Detroit Pistons’ practice last week, and it wasn’t long before his old teammates swarmed him. Ben Wallace, Richard Hamiltonand Tayshaun Prince  took turns teasing ‘Sheed about his retirement and reminiscing about their glory days. For the three Pistons – the last holdovers from the franchise’s not-so-distant past as an Eastern Conference finals contender – ‘Sheed’s visit served as a reminder that their own time together could be nearing an end.

Said Hamilton, “We had a special group, and we did special things.”

The Pistons won the 2004 championship and advanced to six straight East finals from 2003-08. During most of that time, they were anchored by a core featuring Chauncey Billups, Hamilton, Prince, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace. The group – brought together by Pistons general manager Joe Dumars – was close on and off the court. The stereo in the team’s locker room was almost always on, playing hip-hop music, exceeded in volume by only the players’ laughter.

“Everybody held each other accountable,” Hamilton said. “Everyone was happy for each other. We never let egos get involved in how we wanted to be successful.”

“L.B. was great for us because he didn’t allow no slippage,” Hamilton said. “Everyone came in knowing what we were doing regardless of whether we liked it or not. We were a special group and we needed someone to say, ‘You need to do this,’ regardless of how great we were.”

Said Prince, “Once we didn’t have Larry Brown anymore, things started to fall apart.”