By this point of the off-season, Pistons fans paying any degree of attention know about the fruits of a productive draft, about Jason Maxiell’s 30-pound drop and impressive Summer League performance, and about the continuing buzz Amir Johnson has created since the season ended.

They know, also, that Joe Dumars is confident that those draftees can join forces with Maxiell and Johnson to alter the Pistons’ chemistry just enough to effect a significant change in the product.

They might not know the players feel the same way.

All-Star guards Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton told me separately last week how delighted they are that Dumars resisted fairly strong initial public sentiment to make a dramatic move to alter the core of a Pistons team that has played in five straight conference finals.

They’re delighted not only because it keeps together a team those players still strongly believe is capable of competing for championships, but also because it speaks of the confidence Dumars – a man they universally respect and admire – has in them.

“It means a lot,” Billups said at his charity golf outing. “Joe said he was going to bring in some guys who would help and that’s what he’s done. I still feel like we’re the best team out there.”

Billups watched the Pistons’ Las Vegas Summer League entry via NBA-TV and the Internet and liked what he saw of Rodney Stuckey, who, he said, is arriving in the NBA with some of the same suspicions about him that dogged Billups early in his career – skeptics who doubt his potential because Stuckey, like Billups, is hard to categorize as point guard or shooting guard.

“I liked him a lot,” Billups said. “I watched the games on TV and I was very impressed with him. I think both of those guys will be able to step in and help us out and give us the breaks we need throughout the season. They’re coming in with young energy, they’re hungry, they want to win, they want to compete, they want to contribute and that’s exactly what we need.”

Billups is far more familiar with Afflalo and, in fact, touted him to the Pistons’ scouting department for the last two years. Billups and Tayshaun Prince are occasional summer visitors at UCLA’s men’s gym, where pickup games involving NBA and college players have taken place for years, and Billups was immediately struck by Afflalo’s body language.

“I love the way he competes,” Billups said. “He takes the challenge. He tries to defend and he does a really good job of it. He’s long and he’s quick. And he’s not just a defensive player. He can score the ball, as well. He’s a guy I’m really happy we got.”

Hamilton, too, is more familiar with Afflalo because, as a hoops junkie, he saw several of his televised UCLA games over the past few seasons.

“The one thing Joe told us was that he was going to bring in guys to help us out,” Hamilton said at his youth basketball camp at Detroit Country Day. “I think we’ve got a great mixture of talent. We’ve got some older guys on the team and some younger guys like Jason Maxiell and Amir. They’ll help us a lot.”

Billups and Hamilton concur that the two second-year forwards are ready and deserving of the spots in the rotation that Dumars pretty much said would be theirs this season.

“They had the opportunity to learn from great players with Ben (Wallace) and Rasheed (Wallace) and Dale (Davis) and (Chris Webber) and (Antonio McDyess) and all those players,” Hamilton said. “Max is a beast. Everybody saw that in the playoffs and I expect him to play a lot more. I expect Amir to play a lot, too. He’s athletic and he can play multiple positions. Hopefully, we’ll get those guys on the court a lot more.”

“Maxy has been ready,” Billups said. “Amir, I’m happy we’ll have him around for a few more years now. He’s going to be a very good player. He’s shown you guys some glimpses of how good he can be and how athletic and fast he is. If you look at the league now and what’s going on, you need those big athletic guys who can play multiple positions. He’s going to be a very valuable asset for us.”