All Michael Curry wants for Christmas is Antonio McDyess back in a PIstons uniform.
Curry has been very frank on how much his team misses McDyess, who was included in the Allen Iverson deal because of salary purposes. McDyess left $9 million on the table to take a buyout, rather than play for the Nuggets.
Though he's eligible to sign with any other team right now, McDyess cannot come back to the Pistons until Dec. 7 because of trade stipulations. The NBA wanted to discourage teams and players from quickly reuniting after a trade, thus making the deal look like a sham. If you recall, the Pistons got back Lindsey Hunter in no time after the Rasheed Wallace deal in 2004 because the Celtics didn't want him.
If not for McDyess' loyalty to the Pistons, there wouldn't even be a discussion about this. The impact of McDyess' inclusion in the trade was lost on most people. The focus has been on whether the Pistons are better off with Iverson at the point that Chauncey Billups. But Curry's rotation has been a game-to-game proposition because he doesn't believe there's enough scoring punch from the second unit. That's why Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince have been playing extra minutes in tight games. Put McDyess back into the equation and Curry can feel comfortable with putting all or most of the second unit on the floor for most of the second quarter, as well as the stretch from late in the third and early in the fourth.
On another front, Walter Herrmann suffered a mild concussion when he got hit in the jaw during the fourth quarter of the blowout loss in Boston. Trainer Mike Abdenour stayed with Herrmann in Boston while the rest of the team flew home shortly after the game. Herrmann was feeling much better Friday morning - he was on the same plane as yours truly coming back to Detroit.