Stuckey's Growth Is Great, But Will He Stay In Detroit?

First, there was Dave Bing. Then Isiah Thomas. Then Joe Dumars. After a gap, there came Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton.

And now, Rodney Stuckey?

The Pistons' reputation for superb guard play over the past 30 years or so -- with some breaks for mediocrity -- seems to be adding another link to its chain, with the wonderful maturation (so far) of rookie Stuckey. He scored 27 points last night, starting in place of the resting Billups -- including 12 in the fourth quarter -- in leading the Pistons to a comeback victory in Minnesota.

Stuckey seems to have all the goods: court awareness, high basketball IQ, a jump shot, and more. He may actually be benefiting from his hand injury, suffered late in training camp that kept him on the shelf for the first few weeks of the regular season, because he might be fresher now than if he was playing from Game 1. He should be, along with Jason Maxiell, one of two very interesting "X" factors for the team in the playoffs.

That's all fine and dandy for right now, but if Stuckey continues to progress exponentially, it spawns a question.

Where will Rodney Stuckey play, going forward -- say, two or three years from now?

It may not necessarily be in Detroit. Billups is only 31 and just signed a long-term extension. Hamilton is 30. Will Stuckey be content to be the team's apprentice and third guard, a la Vinnie Johnson? Or better yet, will he be too good to not start somewhere else? Might he be a blue chip prospect that GM Dumars can use to wrangle another low-post scorer onto the roster?

Stuckey is special, folks. I think we're seeing a star NBA guard blossoming before our very eyes. And the Pistons could do a lot worse than to bring someone of his caliber off the bench, or start in case of injury or rest. Yet it might not happen for him here, only because of the quality of the dudes he's playing behind. Neither Billups nor Hamilton is close to retirement. This isn't 1993, when Thomas was on the verge of calling it quits, and thus trained rookie Lindsey Hunter as his successor, while Dumars did the same with Allan Houston. It's not far-fetched to say that Billups and Hamilton could both stay in Detroit for another five or six years, barring trades or free agency issues.

So where does that leave Stuckey?



Certainly Dumars had a plan for his rookie guard when he drafted him last summer. No doubt it included spending time under Billups's wing. But that can only go on for so long. Sooner or later the kid has to fly on his own. Whether that happens in Detroit, we can only guess. I hope it does. The Pistons won a couple of championships with a three-headed guard, you know.

Stuckey isn't ready yet to assume anyone's mantle. He, like most rookie point guards who've been used to scoring big in college, has to walk that fine line between distributing the ball and shooting it -- and knowing when to do what. But he's growing fast. He appears to be a quick study. He might be, when all is said and done, Dumars's best draft pick ever -- even better than Tayshaun Prince.

Ahh, but where will Rodney Stuckey be playing basketball as the century's first decade comes to a close?

Detroit isn't a slam dunk, sadly.