Tayshaun Prince apparently will be staying with the Pistons for the near future. (Clarence Tabb Jr./The Detroit News)
Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince may as well drag out their winter attire from the closet.
They aren't headed any-where.
The Pistons remained in a holding pattern Monday as the firm handling the sale of the Pistons told potential buyers the deal won't happen before February.
Until then, president Joe Dumars' hands are tied — he can't make a major change to the roster.
And that puts Dumars in a bad spot.
Let's say the Pistons are sold in early February — possibly not until the All-Star Game, Feb. 20 — and everything is in order. The issue is, the trade deadline is Feb. 17, which means Dumars would have little to no time to formulate a deal. And, with the Pistons likely all but eliminated from the playoffs, who's to say the new owner(s) would keep Dumars around?
That means what you see on the court now is likely what you'll see the rest of the season.
No big man coming to save the day, such as Philadelphia's Elton Brand.
No power forward like Memphis' Zach Randolph.
And no travel bags for Hamilton or Prince.
Higher price pushed
Owner Karen Davidson doesn't want to add additional payroll that might make the Pistons less attractive to a potential buyer.
She also doesn't want to add payroll to a team that likely won't make the playoffs, and has become irrelevant.
Forbes values the Pistons at $479 million, and Citibank, the company brokering the sale, wanted to sell the team for $500 million, according to published reports.
Pizza mogul Mike Ilitch reportedly offered around $400 million, and now it appears the NBA is trying to find competition to drive up the price.
That's why we heard reports of potential investors from Dubai and Qatar, although NBA officials shot down those prospects almost as quickly as they were brought up.
It's believed Beverly Hills financier Tom Gores, and a group headed by George Postolos made bids on the Pistons. But the numbers were not high enough for Davidson.
She gave Ilitch a 30-day exclusive negotiating window to work out a deal, but now the Pistons are up for talking to anybody with a few hundred million to spend.
Either way, NBA officials won't allow the Pistons to go for a low price because that development would hurt future franchise sales.
Recently, Golden State sold for $450 million, even though the value of the team was set at $315 million.
But none of this is of interest to you, the Pistons fan.
The bottom line is, the Pistons won't be able to retool and get enough help to salvage this season.
And that's bad news for just about everybody.
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