by Timmy Duncan

Created on: May 28, 2010   Last Updated: May 30, 2010

The 2008 – 2009 season for the Detroit Pistons can only be described as disastrous. After the team inexplicably traded Chauncey Billups for mercurial guard, Allen Iverson, it was all downhill.

In one season, the Pistons went from appearing in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2008 to a disappointing first round exit courtesy of a four game sweep by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2009. It was a long way down.

The trade for Allen Iverson is what started the downward spiral. Chauncey Billups was easily the most talented player on the Pistons roster and he was also the de facto leader and fan favorite to boot.

While Iverson was clearly a talented player, his style of play certainly didn’t go with the Pistons style. His need to handle the ball and reputation as a selfish player turned out to be the understatement of the century and things slowly but surely began to deteriorate.

It certainly was no shock to anyone outside the team that Iverson was creating chemistry problems but this was no comfort to fans in Detroit who had expected Iverson to be the answer to their prayers, the force that could help the Pistons get to the next level.

With Iverson handling the ball, however, the offense stalled completely. The ball stopped moving. And with Iverson not shooting at the rate he normally did, the Pistons found themselves in trouble. Opponents only had one player that they needed to concentrate on in order to prevent the Pistons from scoring.

Not to mention the locker room issues that the Iverson trade inspired. The Pistons also had the equally mercurial Rasheed Wallace who has a notorious temper and a penchant for technical fouls and the Iverson trade did not sit well with him.

Iverson refused to come off the bench and essentially held the team hostage with his antics. Wallace had no tolerance and began to mentally check out long before the season was over.

Both players wound up quitting on their team and on their coach and leaving Detroit, a city that had been ravaged by the recession with a pretty bad taste in their mouths.

In the offseason, Detroit fired their coach and decided to let Allen Iverson and Rasheed Wallace walk away without making an offer to either for a contract extension.

They felt it better to start fresh by acquiring as much talent as they could for as little money as they could. The Detroit Pistons missed the playoffs this year, which ultimately was a shock to nobody.

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