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Tayshaun Prince 'Not Unhappy' - But Perhaps Not Thrilled - At Return To Detroit

By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak

CBS DETROIT - Head coach Stan Van Gundy knows that forward Tayshaun Prince, a former Detroit Piston whom the team brought back Thursday in a deadline deal, wanted a buyout this season.

"That's an interesting situation," Van Gundy said with a smile, "because I think that was his expectation, quite frankly. That's certainly not why we acquired him. We didn't acquire him with any kind of promise from us that we were going to buy him out. We brought him in here to play and play a lot. I think yesterday when I talked to him, yeah, his head was spinning a little. Things hadn't gone in a direction he expected."

The Pistons acquired Prince, a member of the 2004 championship team, in exchange for forwards Jonas Jerebko and Gigi Datome. Detroit's other deadline deal brought in point guard Reggie Jackson. Van Gundy noted that the two had quite different reactions to the news.

"Reggie was really, really excited," Van Gundy said. "I think Tayshaun was - not unhappy, but he was sort of trying to figure out what the hell happened, and I understand that."

The Pistons will be Prince's third team this season. He played 26 games for the Memphis Grizzlies before he was moved to the Boston Celtics. Van Gundy said Prince's history in Detroit played no role in the organization's decision to acquire him.

"It wasn't a sentimental move at all," Van Gundy said. "We needed another small forward, and I've always had great respect for Tayshaun. Again, it was another guy I went back, read all of our reports, he's been playing very, very well in Boston, and so again, that was something I could go and look at, and our guys have been watching all those and scouting all those, so we knew where he was in terms of playing.

"He's one of the guys I lost to in two playoff series," Van Gundy added, "so those guys you keep in the back of your mind always. I have great respect for him, and I think he can help us in a push here down the stretch."

The Pistons have a record of 21-33 and, despite playing in the relatively weak Eastern Conference, are not currently in the playoff picture.

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