Dale Davis..... A Piston.

[Its_asdf]

Veteran center Dale Davis and the Pistons agreed in principle on a two-year contract Monday afternoon.

Davis' agent, Chubby Wells, said the Pistons were tired of waiting for forward Michael Finley to make up his mind and decided to move on.

"Dale's really excited about the Pistons and we're glad to get something done," Wells said. "It's a good fit for both sides."

Finley still hasn't made up his mind, debating between the Heat, Suns, and Pistons. The offer to Davis takes the Pistons out of the running for Finley, as they do not have any more open roster slots.

Davis, 36, is expected to fill the reserve role vacated by Elden Campbell. Davis is 6-11 and 252 pounds, a durable center who has played most of his 15-year career with the Indiana Pacers.

He's averaged 8.4 points and 8.3 rebounds over his 1,020 NBA career games. He last played for the Pacers, signed as a playoff pickup last March.

The Pistons tried to get Davis last season as their playoff insurance, but he signed with the Pacers instead.

The Pistons like to stockpile big men, a policy unofficially called "Shaq insurance". The Pistons know, through winning experiences in the 2004 NBA Finals and 2005 Eastern Confernece Finals, that they need multiple big men to defend Heat center Shaquille O'Neal in the playoffs.

Wells and Davis received the contract offer from the Pistons and were going to review it Monday evening.

Wells expected Davis to sign the contract on Tuesday.

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I wonder what Indy has to say about this....

[Rip32]

Well Fuck me running this is an ok but suprising signing. I know the saying that you can never have too many quality vetran bigmen, but What about all our young front court players? Darko, J-Max, and Amir Johnson three extremly talented bigs they are now just gonna getting PT with Flip but Davis is gonna come in and take some of those valuable minutes away from those guys especially DArko.

Davis cant score anymore and im guessing he'll be the new Elden Campbell with better overall skill on the Boards and D. But the Darko situation is still up in the air. He should be slated as the backup Center or Power Forward but with the steady rebounding of Dale he should get some minutes.

This means we have given up on the race for Finley and our backup plan Derek Anderson just signed with teh Rockets so this is Backup Backup plan, Dale Davis and Latrell Sprewell. Dale is a dependable backup but i dont know what to make of Spree. If hes the Latrell of last year he can fly the fuck out, but if hes the determined Spree of past years he'll be a bargin and a very solid contributor.

IMO this should be what i think the Depth Chart looks like right now...

C Ben-Darko-Dale-Maxiell
PF Sheed-Dyce'-Dale-Maxiell
SF Tay-Spree-Maxiell-Delfino
SG Rip-Spree-Delfino-Acker
PG Chauncey-Lindsay-Aroyyo-Acker

With the signings of Acker and Amir Johnson (NBDL i think) We have young depth but we stilll need our 2 big youngin's Darko and Delfino to be solid contributors. Now if we could only trde Yucky Aroyyo....

[Amphatoast]

yeah poor darko. Unless Dale Davis is teaching him how to rebound, but then again ben wallace is there

[Fitzy]

Yeh poor Darko, picked number 2 but will never be a superstar

[Emiliano]

Maybe signs of a possible trade involving Darko

[Kemp]

This is a good move by the Pistons. Now, is not just McDyess who is backing up both Wallaces, Davis can also comes in, so a 4 men rotations. Davis can strengthen the Pistons defensive ends as well. I like this move.

[_marsal]

For crying out loud ...I really hope Darko gets traded..he just doesn't deserve this Not to mention that this sucks for Pacers..

[Matt]

Great move Joe D. I think the approach with Davis will be the same as with Campbell, save him for the playoffs. At least that's what makes sense. So Darko should be fine.

With Spree, if we do get him it'll be at a bargain price. I hope we do because he can be a valuable addition to the bench. It's worth the risk...at worst he's a distraction and Joe can cut him. No harm done. Can't be more of a distraction than Larry Brown was last season.

Looking good for Detroit....now let's hope Finley doesnt go to Miami

[Andrew]

So much for the plan of a Foster and Davis as Indiana's "two-headed monster" in the middle. An interesting little twist in the brewing Pacers/Pistons rivalry, I too would call it a solid pickup for the Pistons. Davis is obviously still capable of making a contribution, especially in small doses as the Pistons will likely use him.

[dan_suth]

After Davis signs, the Pistons' roster will be full at 15 players, meaning that, barring a trade, the team's off-season work is complete.

[Indy]

I knew Dale wasn't coming back to Indy, it just kind of stings that he went to Detroit instead of Seattle. It makes me think that something went down while he was here. He has some sort of problem with someone in managment, or some player on the team. Going to Detroit is a slap in the face to Indiana fans. Dale was one of my favorite Pacers in the 90s, but this move shows he has a serious lack of loyalty. He cares about the name on the back of the jersey way more then the one on the front, which is kind of sad to me. He had a chance to retire in Indiana and be a fan favorite and an Indiana legend. Instead he will be booed louder then any other Piston when (and if) he steps on the court in Conseco.

[J@3]

Lol @ lack of loyalty. It's a business, you don't know what went on behind the scenes.

Even still, the Pacers traded him in 99. What kind of loyalty is that?

[dan_suth]

Or maybe he wants a solid shot at a championship.. do you think Seattle has a better chance than Detroit?

[Matt]

this is a move that would of happened last season had not E Campbell been on the team. I guess Davis just wants to play for a contender minus the bullshit.