Chris McCosky of the the Detroit News reports that Pistons guard Pepe Sanchez finally arrived in camp yesterday. Almost a month after signing a 2-year contract, Sanchez was able to cut through the international politics and red tape and fly all night from Buenos Aires, through Atlanta, before arriving in Detroit at 10 a.m. Pistons international scout Tony Ronzone picked him up and drove him directly to practice.

When asked how Sanchez looked, Pistons Coach Rick Carlisle cracked, "Well, he looks alive. That's a good thing."

To get Sanchez from Argentina to Detroit, Dumars and vice president of basketball John Hammond had to: negotiate a buy-out from his contract with a team in Spain, get clearance from the Spanish Federation, get clearance from FIBA, get clearance from the INS and obtain a work visa.

"Each one of those steps takes its own time, and we were actually on the quick path," Dumars said. "We couldn't have possibly got him here any quicker. When you are dealing with international agencies, they don't work on your clock. You work on theirs.

"So I had to take my patience pills every morning."