Together Again

It was expected to be a brief reunion. Atkins was brought in on a non-guaranteed contract as an extra body to get through the grind of camp without wearing out Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum. Smart money said he’d be waived before the regular season began.

But the reunion will have a little more permanence that anyone believed – anyone beyond Chucky Atkins, at least – as the Pistons chose the veteran leadership and experience of Atkins over the youthful athleticism and potential of Deron Washington.

It might have been different if the Pistons weren’t already carrying three rookies and 10 players in addition to Washington 27 or younger. Atkins played sparingly in the preseason – 23 minutes spread over three of the eight games – but showed John Kuester and Dumars enough in camp scrimmages to sell them that Atkins had more to offer than Washington given the roster’s makeup.

“(Fans) couldn’t see all the things he did from a positive standpoint,” Kuester said. “He has been a great role model for our young point guards. He’s really done an outstanding job of running the team in practice. He’s challenged both (Stuckey and Bynum) every day in practice and I’m very impressed with what he did on the court and off the court.

“It’s huge, for me being a first-year coach and having people I can trust in the locker room. That’s where Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince (are important) and I’ve talked about Ben being such a good influence on our bigs. Chucky has to fit into that category also. I’ve been very impressed with what he’s done so far.”

Atkins got the news after Sunday’s practice when Dumars told him, “that I worked hard and he was proud of me and that I deserved to be here,” said Atkins, 35, who missed substantial chunks of the past two seasons with a groin muscle tear that required surgery and knee surgery to clean up loose cartilage.

“Physically, I’m great,” he said. “When I played (in preseason), I played well, even though I didn’t play a lot. But I did what I had to do in practice and I’m happy with what’s going on.”

Though it’s likely Atkins will be one of the Pistons’ two inactive players most nights, if they need him he remains a fearless shooter who improves the Pistons from the 3-point line. Atkins, Ben Gordon, Austin Daye, Charlie Villanueva and DaJuan Summers all make the Pistons a more dangerous perimeter team than they were a year ago, when they ranked among the NBA’s least effective from distance.

Mostly, though, Atkins understands his role is to be a great practice player, stay ready, get in the ear of Stuckey and Bynum and show the roster of young players the way an NBA professional goes about his business.

“Right now, just leadership,” he said of his view of the role the Pistons have for him. “You make the team as a long shot, pretty much as a third point guard. The only thing I can add is my insight into the game with Rodney and Will and be a leader. I’m a guy who’s been around this league for a while. I know what it takes to win and we’ve got two young guys I can mentor.”

The Pistons were in serious rebuilding mode when Atkins arrived with Wallace – they were the package the Pistons acquired from Orlando in the sign-and-trade deal that sent Grant Hill to the Magic – and are again in a transition phase after years of stability. Atkins, sent away in 2004 when Dumars pulled off the three-team deal that netted Rasheed Wallace, sees some similarities but a more talented roster with this group.

“The difference was we had a lot of older guys when I got here the first time,” he said. “We had guys who had been around – Jud Buechler and those guys. We’ve got young guys who have been in wars – Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Chris Wilcox, Tayshaun is still young. We have more potential on this team than when I first got here.

“We’ve got a lot of weapons, a lot of guys who can do a lot of things. It’s just going to take us some time to gel. We have to give our coach some time to figure out guys’ minutes, but I think we can be as good as we want to be.”

Just as Atkins has landed a job most didn’t expect him to get, Wallace – now merely the second-oldest Piston, 27 days younger than Atkins – is in line to land a role bigger than most expected when Dumars signed him, ostensibly to be the No. 5 big man behind Villanueva, Wilcox, Jason Maxiell and Kwame Brown.

Kuester took that five-man group with him into his office after Monday’s practice to discuss roles and said that no decision has yet been made as to which two will start in Wednesday’s season opener at Memphis, but Wallace’s 33-minute stint at Milwaukee in the preseason finale – in which he had 14 rebounds and four steals to spark a defense that had lagged badly in its previous three games – surely encouraged Kuester to strongly consider him a starter.

But Kuester is also mindful of the energy Wallace expends when playing heavy minutes and said Monday it’s likely he’ll sit Wallace out occasionally during the season to prevent him from getting worn down. The second night of select back-to-backs would be a logical night off for Wallace – and the Pistons play 23 such games this season, more than a quarter of their schedule.

“It could very easily happen,” Kuester said of that option. “We haven’t mapped out exactly what’s going on because it’s sort of unpredictable. … (Time off) is one of the things we’re looking into. There will be times when Ben gives us a substantial amount of time and also times when he realizes that the energy level of some of these other young players might be even higher. I have a tremendous amount of confidence in what he’s able to contribute to this team. Those minutes will fluctuate, but what minutes I do give Ben, I know I’ll get the most out of him.”