The Detroit Pistons: Finally at the end of their descent to mediocrity.

Forty-seven. A number that most fans thought would be the Pistons' win total in the 2008-2009 season. Instead, the season full of turmoil and confusion gave us 47 losses, the final four in the form of utter domination at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

There has to be more than one reason that the Pistons fell from a championship team to a below .500 team that didn't even deserve to be in the playoffs. And there are three major ones.

1.) Chauncey Billups' departure to Denver.

I must say I was an advocate of this trade because I knew our core of Chauncey, Rip, Tayshaun and Sheed wasn't getting back to the Finals again. I did realize it made us a worse team, but I never could have realized to this extent. This season showed that Billups really was the last bit of glue holding this team together. As soon as he left, chaos ensued.

Rip, AI, and Stuckey fought for playing time throughout the year. Hell, who am I kidding, Dumars' mancrush Rodney Stuckey was never going to see the bench. Stuckey was forced into pointguard duties and the team suffered as a result. Rip had the lowest shooting percentage of his career because the offense was loaded on his back and Stuckey's passes to Rip coming around picks simply aren't as quick and crisp as Chauncey's were. Chauncey and Rip had a psychological connection and each knew exactly what the other would do. Stuckey and Rip can't operate on that level yet, and probably never will. The 7 years of chemistry that Chauncey and Rip built can't be duplicated by many tandems in the NBA. Chauncey and Rip made each other better and separately we're seeing how Rip fares with a far worse PG.

Iverson was a horrible fit for the Pistons, and I really hope Dumars didn't believe it would help the team this season. Iverson takes plays off on defense and doesn't pass when on offense. The whole core of the 03-04 championship team aged and just aren't the same now, they had a good run while it lasted, but Chauncey leaving was the last straw.

2.) Michael Curry sucks.

Here's a portion of an ESPN.com article written after the Pistons' first game with Iverson.

When Detroit needed buckets in the fourth quarter, it was Stuckey running the show at the point, with Iverson off the ball. And when the Pistons needed stops in the second half, it was Stuckey who continually was getting burned by Devin Harris (career-high 38 points, with 22 of his 24 free throw attempts coming in a second half in which Detroit surrendered 64 points to one of the NBA's worst teams). All that time, Pistons coach Michael Curry refused to switch Iverson onto Harris; even as Stuckey was committing five fourth-quarter fouls on Harris.

"Stuckey's the point, and Harris is the point. What we do here in Detroit, you guard your position. And when he comes into the game, Allen slides to the 2, and if Devin Harris is outplaying you, you're going to have to get better. That's what you're going to have to do, play your matchup," Curry said.

What a genius! Curry is stubborn and really doesn't know what he's doing, the Pistons simply don't have the personnel to support his idealistic approach to defense. Even back in the 2003-2004 season, while the players were better on individual defense than they are now, the team defense was what shone, and since Larry Brown left, the Pistons have never returned to the defensive identity that they flourished with. The Flip Saunders experiment failed with the offensive Pistons struggling to close out games defensively. Michael Curry's team has no identity whatsoever and I don't believe he's helping matters.

The Pistons use a half-court offense, with a PG who should be at SG and can't even initiate an offense properly. Curry's refusal (and possibly Dumars' refusal) to play Stuckey anywhere else on the floor is absurd, and is never going to benefit this Pistons team.

The only players who were anything close to efficient on defense were Maxiell (when at PF), Rasheed, McDyess, Amir Johnson, and Kwame Brown. And who would be missing from that group? EVERY PERIMETER PLAYER ON THE PISTONS. The Pistons defense consistently gave up easy drives to the basket and penetration. Stuckey isn't quick enough defensively to keep up with PGs like Devin Harris, Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose, etc.

The perimeter defense got so bad at times this year that Michael Curry went to zone defense. Zone defense should end in college, NBA players are the most athletic players at their craft in the world, yet they can't keep up with their counterparts on defense? NBA players and teams as a whole are far too savvy to be stifled by a zone, they rip it to shreds by attacking the weak points systematically and completely frustrating the defense. Until a coach comes back to the Pistons that knows how to match up his personnel properly on defense and can motivate his players to be defensive stalwarts the way Larry Brown did, this Pistons team will be nothing more than mediocre.

3. Joe Dumars' drafting and free agency signings.

Joe D.'s "best" free agency moves over the past few years include signing the following: Nazr Mohammed, Kwame Brown, Flip Murray and Jarvis Hayes, while he acquired below average benchwarmers such as Walter Hermann, Primoz Brezec, and Juan Dixon through trade, apart from the Iverson deal.

Where are the impact players, Joe? Remember a couple years back when you said anyone could be traded? Then why weren't they? I understand it can be hard to work out a trade but I don't believe for a damn second that no one made what could have been considered a good offer for Tayshaun Prince. Hell, Amare Stoudemire was on the block this year and what did Joe Dumars do? Watch some Rodney Stuckey game tape and keep his prized trophy draft pick exempt from trade talks. Dumars becomes attached to his players too easily and while chaotic trades every other year aren't the key to success, hitting on SOME trades are. In the beginning of his tenure, Dumars brought in Rip, Ben Wallace, and Chauncey who formed a good core. To win the championship he acquired Rasheed, and drafted Tayshaun shortly before the championship. Those moves had potential impact.

How are Primoz Brezec and Nazr Mohammed going to improve this team?

Joe Dumars has failed to recognize the true need of this team, a post-scoring presence. Rasheed can be one of the better players in the NBA when he feels like it, but now during games, he often looks like he's practicing for the 3-Point Shootout, shooting 5 threes a game. McDyess and Sheed operate their best away from the basket, McDyess on 15 foot jumpers and Sheed on turn around post up jumpers. But the Pistons haven't had a banger inside that can score and don't have the offense outside to survive without one.

Now the Pistons can add a new need to a post-scoring presence, a pointguard that can lead the offense. It's not Rodney Stuckey. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that Rodney Stuckey is going to be the point guard for the majority of the time he's here, because Dumars and Curry so badly want him to turn into Chauncey Billups' clone.

Let's take a look at the Pistons' drafts from the last five years.

• D.J. White (2008 1st round): Traded to the Thunder before the season.
• Deron Washington (2008 2nd round): Playing in Israel currently. A high-flying SG/SF who has little offensive game outside the basket and played decent to good defense.
• Rodney Stuckey (2007 1st round): Player that Joe Dumars believes is a PG/SG when he is only suited for the latter. He was a scorer in college, not a distributor. The apple of Joe Dumars' eye.
• Arron Afflalo (2007 1st round): Backup guard for the Pistons who was thought to be able to matchup against the opponent's best guard on defense.
• Sammy Mejia (2007 2nd round): Waived by Pistons in 2007, a versatile athletic 6'6" SG/SF that couldn't find his niche or stay healthy.
• Will Blalock (2006 2nd round): lol.
• Jason Maxiell (2005 1st round): Good energy player off the bench, 6'7" with long arms, a PF, but used as a PF/C.
• Amir Johnson (2005 1st round): Came straight out of high school, has no offensive game, but is good defensively. Another player that Dumars is attached to.
• Alex Acker (2004 2nd round): lol.

So the only notable players in the last five years out of the draft are Jason Maxiell and Rodney Stuckey. Maxiell is utilized properly, but is also making 5 million to play about 20 minutes a game where he provides no offense, while the rest of the Pistons' interior defense is serviceable to good. Stuckey is a SG that doesn't have a solid 3 point or long jump shot, has a decent mid-range shot and can drive to the basket near willingly, but plays point guard.

Looking through recent draft history, we can see that Joe drafted 3 big men in the last five years, and DJ White didn't even make it to the preseason. Ben Wallace left in 2006, and the only pick in 06 was wasted on Will Blalock. Dumars loves versatile players or guards apparently, because every draftee falls into that group, except DJ White, who's gone.

Dumars needs to take a step back and look at the deep hole he's dug the Pistons into and get them out of it. Carlos Boozer is a free agent this year and would fill the Pistons' need at PF, and a PG like Raymond Felton would be a solid signing as well, but the Pistons can only afford to sign one this offseason. If the Pistons don't sign any major players this offseason, the next few years could be ugly.