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Detroit Pistons: Arn Tellem Hiring Not All About Free Agency, But …

By Phil Watson

Apr 12, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; A general shot of a basketball with a Detroit Pistons logo on it during the third quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons beat the Hornets 116-77. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 12, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; A general shot of a basketball with a Detroit Pistons logo on it during the third quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons beat the Hornets 116-77. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Detroit Pistons made a bold, creative front office move on Friday, announcing the hiring of agent Arn Tellem as the vice chairman of Palace Sports and Entertainment, the company that owns the club.

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Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, citing league sources, broke the story early Friday morning.

The team announced the hiring of the 61-year-old Tellem on Friday.

Tellem told SI.com in a first-person account Friday that he resigned his post at Wasserman Management Group, ending 34 years as an agent, after he was approached by Pistons owner Tom Gores about the position.

“Tom was offering me a chance to join him in making a difference in Detroit and its surrounding neighborhoods. I thought, ‘I’m 61. If not now, when?’”

Tellem is being brought into the parent company, an indication the move is more about the Palace and its business strategy, but his influence over his former clients could be significant, just the same.

“Arn is one of the most accomplished and respected sports executives in the world,” Gores said in a statement, via the Detroit Free Press. “He has great passion, integrity and honest and he shares my belief that sports can be a catalyst for change in the community. He is an outstanding addition to our leadership team who will help us make a real difference in Detroit.”

Those are high-minded, commendable goals.

But the fact that Tellem’s list of clients includes two of the premier free agents this summer—Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies and LaMarcus Aldridge of the Portland Trail Blazers—can’t be overlooked, either.

Tellem will stay on at Wasserman Management Group through early August, enough to get through the bulk of the free agency extravaganza, and it’s not clear what his role with that organization will be considering he will be going from representing labor to joining management.

Tellem does have Michigan ties—he is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School. And he’s saying the right things about his move being about more than helping Stan Van Gundy recruit talent.

"“I’m excited by the 21st century potential of Detroit—in commerce, the arts and on its playing fields. I hope to make a constructive impact as the Motor City emerges from bankruptcy. I want to augment and expand the Pistons’ Come Together Foundation, which enriches the lives of Detroiters by mentoring local youth, encouraging volunteerism and partnering with businesses, government and charitable causes. Outreach programs like Come Together can make a real difference in the community.”"

Everything Tellem is saying about Detroit’s potential and Detroit’s future is commendable, save for that nagging fact that the Pistons haven’t actually played anywhere near Detroit on a regular basis since leaving downtown’s Cobo Arena after the 1977-78 season.

They spent 10 years playing in the Pontiac Silverdome before opening The Palace of Auburn Hills in 1988 and the last time they played a game in the city of Detroit was in 1984-85, when they played 15 games at Joe Louis Arena and one at Cobo Arena after the roof of the Silverdome collapsed.

Wojnarowski’s report said that Tellem’s role with the Pistons will as the “ownership face in Michigan.”

But HoopsHype reports that Tellem represents 42 players currently under contract in the NBA, including such prominent names as Derrick Rose, Joe Johnson, Russell Westbrook, Al Horford and Brook Lopez, as well as Marc’s older brother, Pau Gasol.

That’s a lot of potential influence to be peddling for a team in pursuit of guys on the open market.

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    • The Pistons have cap space heading into next season, with $42.75 million on the books for 2015-16, according to HoopsHype.

    That figure includes a $3 million team option on Anthony Tolliver and a $3.4 million qualifying offer to restricted free agent Reggie Jackson.

    And the $14 million stretched out annually through 2016-17 thanks to Joe Dumars’ parting gift to the franchise, the Josh Smith contract.

    With the salary cap projected at $67.1 million for 2015-16, the Pistons have some wiggle room.

    And if Arn Tellem could get, say, a LaMarcus Aldridge to sign on the bottom line in (or near) Motown, that could make Tellem a heckuva lot more than just “ownership’s face.”

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