Joe Dumars Quotes (45 Quotes)

I saw a guy who persevered when many would've crumbled. Chauncey never blamed anyone else for his situation, and I loved his disposition, the fact he never brought attention to himself.

The team we ultimately turned into had a great impact on his situation. If we don't turn into the team we've turned into over the past 2 12 years, I guarantee his situation would be a lot different and he'd probably still be here.

He's looking good and playing well. It was just a chance to get to see him play before training camp starts.

I really like the fact that Maurice is young, athletic and very competitive when he's on the floor. We feel that he will fit right in with the rest of our guys, on and off the court. And getting the right fit is very important to us.

We have put ourselves in a position to re-sign both Ben (this summer) and Chauncey (in the summer of 2007), and we are getting a pretty good draft pick to fill in with another young guy in the next year or two. I am very satisfied with how this turned out

A lot of people get caught up in the hype of playing a big-time team. The name on the front of the jersey doesn't matter. Take that jersey off, and he's a human being just like you.

We've been able to negotiate with guys because they understand this is something special and they want to be a part of it. Maybe they could squeeze a few dollars more out of somebody else, but they realize that the few extra dollars they may get won't trump what's going on here.

I told him I'm gonna call him out so bad. On the phone conversation I had with him, when I saw him, he's extremely happy. I'm blowing his cover and letting you know, he's extremely happy to be on the team.

Lindsey is a unique situation. He knows what we need from him and when we need it. We're not trying to win the preseason world championship. This is the time for him to get healthy and we're more than happy to use this time for that.

To step into this spot right now, there is going to be some heat. There is going to be some pressure to win, ... The flip side is, to all the guys who called -- and we had a lot of guys call about this job -- is they all know they're going to be handed a hell of a team.

We needed someone who can play those two positions. If that had been a pure shooter, great, but we just needed someone to play that spot. We need players on our team to step up and make shots.

I would just like to thank the coaches in the league for recognizing our players. What the coaches are saying by voting our guys on is that they appreciate unselfishness, great attitudes and team basketball.

This is some great competition. There's a high level of college basketball here, so it's a great game for me to come and see.

I don't think there's a point guard in the NBA playing better than him right now. He has a control of the position that has him playing on a different level.

We have always respected the Heat and we know they are a very good team.

I think he's special because he has a gift to understand the game and the talent to back it up. He sees the floor, he gets everybody else involved and he plays to win.

He's been a valuable member of our team both on and off the floor in each of his first three years, ... I'm pleased that he will continue to wear a Pistons' uniform through the 2010-11 season.

All we did was guide him here, put him in a great environment and surround him with a great culture. He did the rest.

Any coach worth his salt will take a look at that and say, 'I'll take my chances with that'

Maurice is the kind of player we think is going to fit in with our team and our culture. Maurice brings a really strong competitive streak with him and can play two positions for us.

Surprisingly, Ben Wallace has come under fire from some fans. Some are wondering if his best days are behind him. Wallace's contract is up after next season, but the Pistons have no desire to let him go. Ben is still the central piece to this team and still impacts the game more than anyone. Ben is the face of this team, ... and he's the guy that leads us into battle every night we step on the floor. We intend to keep Ben here for the rest of his career.

When you are a kid you look up to the guys in front of you. You don't get to this place in life with only one or two people helping you. I thank my parents for raising me in the manner they did and all the other people along the way.

It really is like a parent, watching your kids grow into something. And these guys have grown into something special in the last two or three years here. Being a parent, I understand how that feels. And they're all happy about it.

We're sitting here with 107 consecutive sellouts because we win. My personal belief is that winning supersedes everything.

We wish him the best and good health going forward.

You're going to always deal with tough coaches, ... But a lot of the time you're playing as you're dealing with them. And so it's easier to deal with it. The tough part is when you're not playing. That was his biggest hurdle.

You don't get an overabundance of calls from people who are looking to make these great deals with you.

We look forward to seeing his continued growth as a player. Darko was able to play a lot of minutes during summer league this July, and we are happy that he is on Serbia-Montenegro's roster during the European Championships this September.

I am looking forward to our continued success and the opportunity to bring another championship to the Detroit Pistons.

It was time to move on.

These guys aren't five stiffs from off the street. They're excellent players. But the key was their willingness and ability to mesh with each other and the ability of our coaches Larry Brown and now Flip Saunders to help that process along.

I'm not surprised at all with our guys. This is one of the few teams you're going to find capable to do that.

I could hear him before the game one time. All I know is that there was a lot of talking going on early, like in the first two or three minutes.

I didn't so much think I needed to address the shooting need. What we needed was somebody who could come in and play the two-three (shooting guard-small forward) spot. If he could've been a pure shooter, great. But if not, we still needed somebody to give us minutes there. I like the guys we've got.

That's what we all have to live with, because we've set a very high standard here. We've been at least to the conference finals three straight years and we've been a 50-win team four years in a row.

It was the same in the regular season. When you win 64 games, that means you're taking care of business.

I never even thought about the Hall of Fame as a player. Really, all I thought about was trying to play to a bar that players before me had set.

They understand going out and scoring 30 points and losing games, that's just... You've got to get in a long line of people who've done that. But there's a very short line of people who have actually won.

He's proven in this league, and he's been in big games as a guy who has won 50-plus games for years,

Every hole on your team cannot be addressed by just going out and acquiring. You have to have some internal growth, too. That has to be a part of it. We have some good, young players on our roster. You have to let your young guys grow.

I think it is an awesome feat what Kobe did the other night, and I tip my hat to him. The one word that comes to mind when I think about what he accomplished is SPECIAL.

To have your body of work honored in this manner is the ultimate in any profession. I was blessed to play with some great players and for a tremendous organization.

I'll stop short of talking in terms of a sweep. But I will say this. This group does have more of a sense of urgency about dealing with a team in a series. We do have that sense of urgency about taking care of business.

We feel like this is a good trade for our team and gives our organization flexibility as we move forward this season and in the future.

Our guys just need to focus on the game and who they are playing against. Flip Saunders and I will make sure our guys know that we just want them to concentrate on the game and nothing else.