I know we've been bombarding you with nostalgia this week, but allow me to provide you with one more link. The Basketball Hall of Fame has an amazing recap of the Pistons 1989-1990 season. Here's a hook:
For the Detroit Pistons, pursuing the 1989 championship had been a do-or-die proposition. They had wanted the trophy that badly. And when the Pistons finally got their golden prize, they embraced it, kissed it, sweet-talked it and danced with it.
But they barely had time to come down to earth when they heard the news: General Manager Jack McCloskey had been forced to leave four players from the roster unprotected in the expansion draft, and among the four was Rick Mahorn, the team's starting power forward. The 6-foot-10, 255-pound Mahorn had been so much a part of the Pistons' mind-set that no one had really considered him a candidate.
McCloskey had tried without luck to make a deal that would keep Mahorn in Detroit. When the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves made him their pick, all of Detroit was stunned. Mahorn was devastated, but he maintained his composure. Point guard Isiah Thomas declared that with Mahorn's departure the "Bad Boys" would be laid to rest.
(Single tear.)