During the past few weeks, some of the best teams in the Eastern Conference upgraded their talent levels for the coming season and beyond. The Pistons weren't one of them.

But that's because the Pistons are comfortable with their lineup.

"Our window of opportunity may not even be today, though we could be a championship team with a break along the way," vice president of basketball operations John Hammond said Wednesday, the first day teams could sign free agents. "But our team is primed and ready to continue to improve and become more competitive. We'll be a better team at the end of this season than we are at the beginning, we'll be better than that next season, and better than that in year three.

"If there is something that should excite our fans, it's that this team is in a great position to continue to improve."

That may be necessary. While the Pistons are coming off consecutive 50-victory seasons and a trip to the Eastern Conference finals, the road back to such success will be difficult.