Richard Hamilton: "The Answer" For Detroit

The Detroit Pistons have had an outstanding resume for the past several years.

Motown has made it to the Eastern Conference Finals the past six years. In 2004 the Detroit Pistons won the NBA title. They won because of their teamwork.

Everyone knew each other like a brother on that team and that team chemistry is what really made them flourish. That core five of Billups, Hamilton, Prince, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace were truly awe-inspiring to watch.

They were also well-coached with Larry Brown manning the ship.

On July 20, 2005, the Pistons decided to part ways with coach Larry Brown. The Pistons and Brown came to an agreement on a buyout of his contract that had three years and $21 million remaining.

On July 13, 2006, Ben Wallace decided his time was up in Motown, leaving the Pistons to sign with the Bulls.

The Pistons soon found replacements, however, in Antonio McDyess and Flip Saunders. 

All was well.

A series of events then lead to the downfall of the Detroit Pistons.

On July 9, 2008, Michael Curry was hired as the head coach of the Pistons. This announcement came after the firing on Flip Saunders.

The Pistons were eliminated by the Boston Celtics from the Eastern Conference Finals prior to this.

Joe Dumars then made an unexpected move, landing Allen Iverson from Denver in exchange for Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess, on Nov 4.

Dumars was perturbed by the string of playoff disappointment in Motown, so this triggered Dumars to acquire the 10-time All-Star.

The Denver Nuggets then waived Antonio McDyess, thus making it a virtual Billups-Iverson trade. McDyess later re-signed with Detroit.

The Denver Nuggets have propelled to a 39-21 record with Billups on the team. The Pistons have dropped to 25-28.

Detroit looked somewhat out-of-whack on the court with Iverson leading them. Rodney Stuckey was left out of his role as a distributor, Tayshaun Prince did not get the type of looks he normally receives, and Rasheed Wallace was limited to only a few looks from beyond the arc.

The Pistons have down-graded their team with the trade of Billups. They are not the type of team they used to be with Iverson. Nevertheless, Dumars is working to fix that mistake in Detroit.

With Iverson out two weeks with a back injury, Richard Hamilton has been re-inserted into the lineup.

With Hamilton in the lineup Detroit has won their last four games, including wins over Eastern Conference foes Orlando and Boston, not to mention handling the Carmelo-less Nuggets and Chauncey Billups.

With this sudden success, the team announced that when Iverson returns, he will be starting the game on the bench.

"This change is more than about Allen and Rip," Curry told reporters. "We hope that with this change, more guys will play better. That's what we are seeking. Hopefully this will allow us to execute better, get us back in sync and rejuvenate us."

Iverson has expressed his understanding in this situation.