Pistons coach Michael Curry needs to work on his relationship with star guard Richard Hamilton.

"As far as the relationship being strained, it was a difficult season," Curry said.

The coach admitted that Hamilton was upset over a variety of things last season.

"Was Rip very upset that he had to come off the bench? He was very, very upset," Curry said. "He was upset that he had to split time with (Allen) Iverson. He was upset that Iverson was here and Chauncey (Billups) wasn't. Rip was upset with a lot of things this year, but I don't put much stock into what that means with our relationship."

According to sources, what upset Hamilton the most was Curry's decision to start Iverson over him without privately telling him first.

"I'm not going to get into that," Curry said. "However it was done, it wasn't going to be right or good for Rip because, at that time, he didn't want to come off the bench. He wasn't happy about that. I understand that."