Error processing SSI filePistons: Notebook
Prince will get a five-year deal
Forward agrees in principle to the contract extension that will pay him about $48 million.
Tayshaun Prince is expected to sign a new contract that will keep him in a Pistons' uniform through the 2010-11 season.
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AUBURN HILLS -- Tayshaun Prince is in, and, from the looks of things, Ronald Dupree might be out.
The last two pieces of unfinished business will be cleared up today, as the Pistons prepare to open the regular season on Wednesday against the Sixers.
Prince, 24, and the Pistons have agreed in principle on a five-year extension, which would keep him with the team through the 2010-2011 season and is expected to pay him just under $48 million.
"I said from day one that we wanted to get this done and that I felt we would be able to get it done," said Pistons president Joe Dumars, who informed Prince of the agreement after practice Sunday night. "We are very happy to have an agreement, now we just have to put the contract together."
Prince didn't want to speak on the contract until it was officially signed. That is expected to take place sometime today.
Had a deal not gotten done before midnight tonight, Prince would have become a restricted free agent in July.
"Having gone through what I went through last year, there's no question I am glad he got it done," said coach Flip Saunders, who had to coach unhappy players Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell last season after they had been denied contract extensions. "This is one of those win-win situations. When you have made a decision on the type of team you want and you identify the type of players that you want and you have guys that fit into what you want to do, you do all you can to solidify it.
"And no question it's beneficial for the player. He gets some security that you can feel real good about and he can pick up a check a few times."
Final cut
The Pistons insisted Sunday night that they had not made a final decision on which player would be let go to get the roster down to 15.
The Pistons have until 6 tonight to choose between third-year forward Ronald Dupree and rookie guard Alex Acker.
"There are different options on the table and different reasons to keep both guys," Dumars said. "We are trying to work through them. We will have something done in the morning."
It sounded like the Pistons were trying to work some kind of trade, probably involving Dupree for a future draft pick. Both San Antonio and Chicago have expressed interest in Dupree, should the Pistons waive him.
Acker's contract is non-guaranteed, but with Lindsey Hunter out indefinitely after ankle surgery, he is the team's third point guard.
Dupree, in the final year of his contract (worth $630,000), is in a logjam at the swing positions behind reserves Maurice Evans and Carlos Delfino.
"We are still going back and forth," Saunders said. "The main thing is, you don't want to make a decision before something happens that could affect everything."
In other words, the Pistons don't want to do anything until all trade possibilities are exhausted.
Dupree sounded Sunday like a man who had seen the writing on the wall.
"They probably had their minds made up on who was going to go where, who was going to play where and what the roles were before camp even started," he said. "I look at it like, if not here then elsewhere."
Dupree would prefer to be waived rather than traded. If waived, he could choose the best situation for him and double his salary (he would get his Pistons salary, plus a minimum contract from whatever team signed him).
"I want to be here, I really do," he said. "But at the same time, I want to play. I am not looking to start. I am just looking to get the minutes I earned.
"If I don't get that opportunity here, then maybe I will someplace else."
You can reach Chris McCosky at (313) 222-1489 or chris.mccosky@detnews.com.
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