Error processing SSI fileBucks 104, Pistons 94
Pistons weigh roster choices
Acker, Dupree make decision difficult, but Dumars wants to keep everybody if he can.
Richard Hamilton was fouled by Ervin Johnson on this drive. Hamilton wore his goggles for the first time this exhibition season.Pistons extras
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Rip Hamilton separates the basketball from Bucks point guard T.J. Ford, but the Pistons committed the most turnovers (22).
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- There are 12 days left before Pistons president Joe Dumars has to submit his 15-man roster to the NBA.
There are 16 players fighting for those 15 spots, and Dumars has all but given up on the idea of somebody cutting himself.
"I like everybody on our roster right now," Dumars said before the Pistons were beaten by the Bucks, 104-94, in an exhibition game at the Resch Center on Wednesday night.
"I truly would like to keep each and every one of these guys. If somebody was playing badly or had a bad attitude, it would make it very easy for me.
"The fact that all of these guys have shown up and played so well, and are all such good guys, makes it difficult to say what's going to happen. My inclination is to figure out how to keep all of these guys."
There are essentially two players on the bubble. Rookie guard Alex Acker is the only player without a guaranteed contract. But, with Lindsey Hunter out indefinitely after ankle surgery, Acker has the third point-guard role.
Acker got his most extended playing time of the preseason Wednesday, contributing 13 points, nine assists, three steals and three turnovers in 22 minutes, all at point guard.
"At times I thought he looked OK," coach Flip Saunders said."Right now he's trying to adjust to the quickness of the points at this level. They get by you quick."
Bucks point guards T.J. Ford (19 points, nine assists) and Maurice Williams (16 points, five assists) had big games.
"He's played a couple of games there now and he'll learn," Saunders said of Acker. "He will start to know who he can pressure and who he can't."
Unfortunately for the Pistons, there is no place to stash him should they decide to leave him off the roster.
If they cut him and send him to play in Europe, they would lose his rights. And, Dumars said, he suspects that as many as four NBA teams would rush to sign him should the Pistons waive him.
The other player on the bubble is forward Ronald Dupree, a third-year pro who had six points and two blocks.
If Dumars has his way, Dupree won't be going anywhere.
"I haven't had one single conversation with another team about Ron," Dumars said. "I like Ron. I am trying to find a way to keep Ronald Dupree. I like what he brings to our team."
Hunter is an unknown factor in the roster equation. He will be 35 years old in December, and the Pistons don't know when he will be ready to play or at what level.
"All I can say is, I am exploring every possible option and scenario," Dumars said. "I really am trying to find a way to keep all of these guys. We just have to see how it all plays out."
Bad night
The Pistons will finally get a day off today, their first since camp started Oct. 4, and, from the looks of things Wednesday, they need it.
"We didn't get much accomplished tonight," Saunders said of the Pistons' worst effort of the preseason. "When you go out in exhibition games, the idea is to try and get better. We didn't get better tonight."
The Pistons committed 22 turnovers, which the Bucks turned into 27 points. They gave up 15 offensive rebounds, which the Bucks turned into 20 points.
"We'll take a day off and then come back and get after it," Saunders said. "We have two weeks before the season starts, and we have a lot of things to clean up."
Saunders wasn't giving them a free pass for fatigue, either.
"I'm not letting it go," he said. "I told them I can only judge what I see."
One of the bright spots was the play of Maurice Evans. He had 20 points, hitting 6 of 7 shots, including all four of his three-point tries.
But even he drew the coaching staff's ire for not running plays correctly.
In the bonus
One of the officials Wednesday night was former NBA point guard Haywoode Workman. Workman is one of several rookie officials the league is considering to fill three openings this season.
... For the first time this season, Richard Hamilton donned his protective mask.
You can reach Chris McCosky at (313) 222-1489 or chris.mccosky@detnews.com.
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