Video via the Detroit Pistons Facebook Page

Photo/AP

Via ESPN

Detroit’s Rodney Stuckey was conscious and breathing on his own as he was taken to a hospital after collapsing on the Pistons’ bench during a game Friday night.

The Pistons said Stuckey was taken to the Cleveland Clinic and his vital signs were stable, but was going for further testing and observation.

Stuckey was wheeled off the court on a stretcher during the third quarter after he collapsed into a trainer’s arms on the bench during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Stuckey walked off the floor for a timeout showing no signs of illness. After a few moments in a chair, though, Stuckey slumped over.

Medical personnel rushed over to the Pistons’ bench with a stretcher. Play was halted for 12 minutes as the medical staff worked on Stuckey, placed an oxygen mask on his face and wheeled him into an ambulance.

Let’s hope that everything is fine with Stuckey, who has a less severe, but similar thing happen to him last season.

Get well Rodney, this is beyond basketball right now.

Via SI

Rodney Stuckey was walking over to give rookie Jonas Jerebko some advice Friday night when he started feeling dizzy and sat down.

Shortly after he asked for some water, he slumped unconscious into the arms of Pistons trainer Arnie Kander.

Stuckey was to remain overnight at the Cleveland Clinic after collapsing and being taken from the arena by ambulance during the third quarter of Cleveland’s 99-92 win over the Pistons.

”He is stable and that is good news,” Pistons coach John Kuester said. ”I think he is going to be OK.”

LeBron James had 40 points, 13 rebounds and six assists as the Cavaliers rallied from a 21-point deficit in the first half, but the game was overshadowed by the scary scene in the third quarter.

Pistons teammate Tayshaun Prince sat silent in his chair a few feet away with his head down, and the Cavaliers huddled together near their bench also with their heads bowed as Stuckey was being treated.

Both teams huddled again at midcourt following the game and prayed. Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry met Kuester as the Pistons left the floor after the game. The two walked to Detroit’s locker room with their arms around each other. Kuester spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach in Cleveland.

”He came over and told Arnie he was feeling dizzy,” Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva said. ”He drank some water and the next thing you know, he passed out. It’s very scary. One minute, you think everything is OK, then the next second, it turns around so quick.”

The players were walking off the floor for a timeout with 2:30 left in the third quarter when Kuester got off the bench to meet them. He was going to say something to Jerebko when Stuckey stepped in.

”I loved that he took the initiative,” Kuester said. ”As I was meeting with the coaches, all of a sudden I saw him leaning over with Arnie and before I knew it, he was on the ground.”

Stuckey, a second-year guard from Eastern Washington, had eight points and 10 assists before collapsing. He missed two games in 2008 with dizziness. It wasn’t immediately known if the incidents were related.

Kuester was shaken by the scene because of his past involvement in similar situations.

”It’s not pleasant to talk about,” Kuester said. ”All that matters is he’s going to be OK.”

The Pistons struggled after Stuckey’s collapse. Detroit led 67-61 when he fell ill. Detroit scored just one basket the rest of the quarter.

”My mind came off the game, of course,” Jerebko said. ”I don’t know if it changed the outcome.”

Prince had 23 points and Richard Hamilton added 20 for Detroit, which lost its sixth straight. The Pistons will head home to face Houston on Sunday. It’s not known when Stuckey will rejoin them.

Tom Wilson has left his position as president and CEO of Palace Sports and Entertainment, according to a report.

ClickOnDetroit.com, attributing the information to sources, says chief operating officer Alan Ostfield will take over Wilson’s position.

Wilson was not at his usual seat at The Palace Tuesday night during the Pistons’ game against Minnesota.

Wilson joined the Pistons organization in 1977. He handles all business functions of the Pistons, The Palace, DTE Energy Music Theatre and Meadow Brook Music Festival.

He is a native of Detroit who graduated from Cass Tech High School and Wayne State University.

Uh oh….a sign of things to come Pistons fans.

No word yet on his availability for Saturday’s game at home against the Sixers.

Stuckey led the Pistons to a 3-0 week, averaging 27.0 points on .529 shooting from the field, 6.0 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals. On Dec. 12, Stuckey led the Pistons with a season-high 29 points and added seven assists, helping Detroit to its fifth straight victory, a 104-95 win over Golden State. On Dec. 9 at Philadelphia, Stuckey led all scorers with 27 points, including the game-winning field goal with 8.7 seconds remaining.  Via Pistons.com

Iverson made his debut for Memphis on Monday night returning to the court after a partial left hamstring tear, AI put up 11 points in 18 minutes in the Memphis’ 127-116 overtime loss.

“I had no problems (with the hamstring),” Iverson said afterward. “I had a problem with my butt from sitting on that bench so long. That’s the only thing I got a problem with. Yeah, I’ll be disappointed (if he’s a sub this season),” Iverson said. “I’m not a reserve basketball player. I’ve never been a reserve all my life and I’m not going to start looking at myself as a reserve. … To answer the question, ‘No, I’m not a bench player. I’m not a sixth man. Go look at my resume and that will show you I’m not a sixth man.” Via Fanhouse

Karma…AI, Karma.

I hate to post AI stuff anymore, but I love to say I told you so.
Hat Tip Detroit Bad Boys

A small snippet from Slam made quite a splash and as we know the “close personal friend” route can never be confirmed.

“SLAM contributor J. Gamble [making his debut with us next issue] hears from a close personal friend of Rasheed Wallace’s that unless Sheed gets $8 million to play next year, he’s going to retire. If that’s true, we’ve probably seen the last of Sheed in the NBA.”

It was a buzz on local sports radio yesterday as well as chatter I heard from Sheed fans via email. I’m with Detroit Bad Boys on this one, if 8 million is the true price tag you have seen the last of Sheed in a Pistons uniform (although I didn’t see him coming back either way).

Dave Dial with his expertise of the Salary Cap over at MLive also weighs in:

“As for the $8 million dollar price tag, that will be tough for Rasheed to get next season. The Mid-Level Exception was set at $5.585 million for the 2008-2009 season and is expected to decrease next season. So teams that are over the salary cap can’t offer Rasheed the $8 million he wants, even if they wanted to pay him that much.

There will only be a handful of teams that have cap space this summer. OKC, Memphis, Portland, Detroit, Atlanta and Minnesota will all have significant monies under the salary cap.

I think you can rule out Portland and Detroit, for obvious reasons. I doubt Rasheed would want to spend his last year or two playing for Memphis, OKC or Minnesota. The losing and having no chance at winning a Title would get to him too much. That would leave only Atlanta, which would only have the cap space required if they renounce Mike Bibby and let Marvin Williams and Zaza Pachulia walk.

Which leads back to Rasheed deciding to just retire, or maybe the Pistons would include Wallace in a sign and trade deal with a team that is over the cap. The Spurs, Mavericks, Cavaliers, Bobcats and Celtics have all been rumored to be interested in Wallace. If Rasheed wants a one or two year deal at $8 million per year, it probably wouldn’t scare off all of those teams. With the summer fast approaching, we will know for sure if this rumor is true or not.”