The Pistons have a need for another perimeter scorer off the bench and the plan is to fill that need through free agency.

It is likely that several veteran swingmen will become available this summer, as teams exercise a one-time only option to waive a big-salaried veteran from their tax rolls.

Michael Finley, Allan Houston and Jalen Rose are all expected to be released. Finley and Rose will likely be seeking the mid-level exception. Houston, who is older and in questionable health, will be available for the veteran's minimum.

Houston has told friends, by the way, that Detroit is at the top of his list. He played for the Pistons for three seasons starting in 1993-94. His wife is from Farmington Hills, and he is still close with Dumars and Hunter.

Luther Head has become a surprise pick to crack the top-30. When I spoke with Ryan Blake a few days ago to discuss this year?s crop, Head was one player he singled out as a prospect that would be an absolute steal in the second round and would become an instant candidate for the Gilbert Arenas Award.

Joe Dumars will not let him get past his pick at 26. Head possesses all the same qualities that made the Pistons? GM one of the finest players of the 80?s and 90?s. Head worked out for the Pistons on Saturday, solidifying what a source had previously told me about the team's interest in the Illinois product.

As everybody knows Pistons head coach Larry Brown is a candidate for the Cleveland Cavaliers president job.  There has been some concern over how he would be received by Cleveland?s superstar youngster LeBron James.   Brown did not play James much in the United State?s pitiful 2004 Olympic Summer Games performance which caused some minor animosity.

However, James, the consumate professional, does not seem to care.

``He's a great guy. I don't hold grudges,'' James said during a news conference about his first King for Kids Bikeathon scheduled for this morning in Akron. ``What happened at the Olympics happened. So if he decided to take the job, I will welcome him with open arms and we'll go from there.''

Despite having its first Game 7 in over a decade, a matchup that saw the San Antonio Spurs defeat the defending champion Detorit Pistons, the NBA Finals only received an 8.2 rating on ABC, down 29% from last year?s Pistons/Lakers series which saw the NBA highest rating of 11.5.

The numbers are not precise however, as the NBA is becoming more popular around the globe due to the success of foreign-born players like Frances Tony Parker and Argentina?s Manu Ginobili to name a few.

The Detroit Pistons will give Rodney Billups, the younger brother of their star point guard Chancy Billups, a chance to earn a summer-league roster spot.

"I'm stoked," Rodney said. "I can't wait. I've been working out a lot. I finally got a chance."

Rodney averaged 10.2 points and 6.4 assists per game last year as a senior at the University of Denver.

"A lot of people will say that he got the opportunity because he is Chauncey Billups' brother," said John Hammond, the Pistons' vice president of basketball operations. "I think he deserves the opportunity because he is a good basketball player.

Larry Brown and his Detroit Pistons has just lost a thrilling Game 7 to the San Antonio Spurs and now the coach is going to the Mayo Clinic to address a medical problem that developed from complications following hip surgery in November.

"Shelly has it set up for Wednesday morning," he said, referring to his wife.

The San Antonio Spurs have won their second World Championship in three years, defeating the Detroit Pistons by a final score of 81-74 in Game 7.

Manu Ginobili was 8-13 from the floor, finishing the game with 23 points, while Tim Duncan was big in the 3rd quarter and finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds.

Robert Horry had 15 points off the bench on his way to winning his sixth ring.

Rip Hamilton played 47 minutes and scored a team-high 15 points, one of five Pistons in double-figures.

The Pistons were up by nine in the third quarter, but when Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess each picked up their fourth personal foul, Larry Brown was forced to go with a small line-up, and the Spurs made a run on the champs that Detroit couldn't recover from.

In what seemed to be a very rare occurence in Detroit, a fan tossed a quarter at Philly star Allen Iverson in an earlier playoff game that took place in the Palace.

Dennis Pauley is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 1 and faces up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine as a result of his actions.

An Eastern Conference executive said that Larry Brown has promised New York Knicks president Isiah Thomas that he'll talk to him about the Knicks' vacant coaching job at the end of the Detroit Pistons' season.

The Cavaliers have been operating under the belief that Brown will be coming, but he has a history of changing his mind at the last minute.

The #2 pick in the 2003 Draft, 20-year-old Darko Milicic has seen very little action in his first two years in the NBA.

However, Detroit Pistons? president of basketball operations Joe Dumars remains optimistic about Darko?s future with the Pistons organization.

Darko broke his hand in the Pistons championship clincher against the Lakers last season and used the summer to recover.  Before he came to Detroit he was not able to play summer ball as he was negotiating a buyout from his Yugoslavia club team, Hemorfarm Vrsac, making this off-season Darko?s first chance to participate in an actual summer league.

"It's important for him to continue to develop and get better," Dumars says. "I want him to show his all-around game. He's talented. He's been showing stuff, but it's in practice."

"When he did get a chance to play at the end of the season, he showed tremendous promise," Dumars said. "Then everybody all of sudden is saying, 'Wow, this kid looks like he's going to be a good player.' That's what we've been sort of saying quietly all along for two years now. Don't judge this kid on the fact that he's not playing in front of Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace and Antonio McDyess."