The Detroit Pistons 2006 Toshiba Vegas Summer League roster shook out as expected.

The Team Page indicates that the Head Coach will be Don Zierden, and his assistants will be Ron Harper, Bill Pope, Kevin Wilson, and Paul Rivers.

• #01 ~ Rodney Billups - PG 5′10″ 165 lbs., Denver
• #05 ~ Rasheim Wright - SG 6′3″ 190 lbs., District of Columbia
• #06 ~ Alex Acker - SG 6′5″ 185 lbs., Pepperdine
• #07 ~ Mateen Cleaves - PG 6′2″ 212 lbs., Michigan State
• #08 ~ Sam Hoskin - PF 6′8″ 245 lbs., DePaul
• #09 ~ Wayne Wallace - C 6′9″ 215 lbs., Virginia Union
• #10 ~ Will Blalock - PG 6′0″ 205 lbs., Iowa State
• #12 ~ Nik Caner-Medley - SF 6′8″ 240 lbs., Maryland
• #17 ~ Marko Jovanovic - C 7′0″ 248 lbs., Serbia & Montenegro
• #18 ~ Cheikh Samb - C 7′1″ 195 lbs., Senegal
• #23 ~ Rick Rickert - F 6′11″ 235 lbs., Minnesota
• #25 ~ Amir Johnson - F 6′9″ 210 lbs., Westchester HS (LA)
• #54 ~ Jason Maxiell - PF 6′7″ 260 lbs., Cincinnati

• Pistons Team Page @ TVSL

A couple of NBA All-Stars will be participating in the 2006 Toshiba Vegas Summer League. Ron Artest of the Sacramento Kings and Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns.

Amare is looking to continue rehab by playing with the summer league Suns. Last season, Stoudemire had microfracture surgery on his left knee, and arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. The All-Star Power Forward looks for a healthy return to the Phoenix Suns lineup in November, and potentially a title run with the offensive powerhouse commanded by two-time league MVP, Steve Nash. Continue Reading »

With only 5 days until the 2006 Toshiba Vegas Summer League kicks off, the Detroit Pistons’ roster is beginning to take final form.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press is reporting that Rick Rickert, a 2003 Timberwolves draft pick (#55), is scheduled to join the Bad Boy Summer Camp.

Ex-Gopher Rick Rickert will play for Flip Saunders’ Detroit Pistons summer league team.

Pistons and Fayetteville Patriots fans know Rickert as a teammate of Amir Johnson and Alex Acker during last year’s D-League season. Continue Reading »

Nik Caner-Medley was almost a Piston by NBA birthright. So was Chris Bosh. Unlike the Toronto Raptors superstar, Nik slipped completely out of the draft when the Detroit Pistons seized opportunity and drafted Will Blalock.

“I felt I was one of the best 60 guys in the draft,” said Caner-Medley. “But the draft is based on what a team needs. There were people speculating that I might go from 40 to 60, but I had no solid feeling.”

Continue Reading »

Last evening, I wrote about the Detroit Pistons Summer League team for 2006, and the lesser known players accompanying the team’s rookie and sophmore players. With so many interesting (and well travelled) characters set to be on the squad, I’ll continue giving the 411 on other Summer Pistons.

Continue Reading »