The two most powerful people in the NBA today are Carmelo Anthony, who's got a proposed $65 million contract extension sitting in his lap, and Mikhail Prokhorov, the billionaire Nets owner with more than enough cash to give it to him.
The least powerful? Probably Richard Hamilton, one of the dozen players rumored to be involved in the Carmelo megatrade between Denver, New Jersey and Detroit. The longtime Piston admitted on Wednesday night that he's having trouble with the helplessness of his current situation, just waiting for a resolution.
"With all the speculation and everything that's going on, I've never been a part of it," said Hamilton, who won a ring with the Pistons in 2004. "I never thought that I'd have to be a part of it here, since I've put this jersey on."
Hamilton is a three-time All-Star currently playing out his ninth season in Detroit. He was an integral part of the Piston dynasty that made six consecutive runs to the Eastern Conference finals between 2003 and '08.
Now he's sitting on the bench. He's only 32 years old, with plenty still left in the tank, but he hasn't played a lick in the last week and a half. He's sat out the last four games by coach's decision, and he'll almost certainly miss a fifth when the Pistons take on the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. He's miserable, and he's not making any secret of it.
"It's tough," he said. "It's a tough situation when you just want to play, you just want to get out there and perform. It's definitely a tough situation."
Hamilton maintains that he hasn't spoken to anyone in the Pistons' organization about his current situation — not coach John Kuester, not GM Joe Dumars, not owner Karen Davidson. "The only person I can speak to is my agent," he said.
Hamilton's situation with the Pistons has reached a complete standstill, and even though the latest proposed trade with the Nets and Nuggets is apparently dead, there's still no resolution in sight for Hamilton, who remains on the bench.
"We've gone through a tough year, and we're searching for the right combination of players," Kuester said Wednesday. "Right now, we're staying with the group that we've had."
