AUBURN HILLS - The Detroit Pistons first two championship teams were built over the course of several years with draft picks that landed Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars and Dennis Rodman as well as trades that brought Bill Laimbeer, Vinnie Johnson and Mark Aguirre to the Motor City.

But few moves transformed the Pistons more than a 1985 deal that saw the Pistons part with Dan Roundfield in exchange for one half of the Washington Bullets' duo that Boston Celtics radio broadcaster Johnny Most dubbed McFilthy and McNasty.

Rick Mahorn's arrival in Detroit marked the beginning of the Bad Boys era that would yield two championships but only one with Mahorn, who was lost in the 1989 expansion draft on the day the Pistons celebrated their first title.

A former Detroit Shock coach who is now a Pistons radio broadcaster, Mahorn discussed all of the above as well as the Pistons 2004 championship team and good friends Laimbeer and Charles Barkley in a Q&A with MLive.

MLive: Bad Boys against the '04 team; seven-game series; who wins?

Mahorn: We win 4-2. We'd give them one because they'd have the home-court advantage. (Laughs)

MLive: What about the other one?

Mahorn: Other one somebody might have got hurt.

MLive: Which player on the '04 team do you think might have made the best Bad Boy?

Mahorn: (Thinks about it for several moments.) They all would have made it. They were good throwback players. That's what I loved about them. They were all throwback players. The starting five definitely. Any of them could have fit in.

MLive: Excluding yourself, who was the baddest of the Bad Boys?

Mahorn: I thought Vinnie Johnson was nuts. But Isiah was pretty nasty himself. He would take on 7-footers. Probably Isiah.

MLive: How would that team do against today's competition?

Mahorn: It depends on the rules. One thing that we were good at, we adjusted to the rules. I thought we were very professional, we were accountable for each other and our basketball IQ was very high.

MLive: When it came to difficult moments in your career, where did having to watch the Bad Boys repeat without you rank?

Mahorn: It really didn't matter. It's the business of basketball. It was more of me not being there to protect it in a selfish way. But it's basketball. I got my ring and that didn't matter.

MLive: What was it like playing with Barkley?

Mahorn: One of the best times of my life. Other than winning the championship, one of the best times of my life.

MLive: Was that on the court or off the court or both?

Mahorn: Both. He's still a good friend. He's one of the best guys I know. With Laimbeer, Ruland, you build friendships and he'll be a friend for life.

MLive: Was Laimbeer a better coach or a better player?

Mahorn: Laimbeer is a better ... both. He's a great coach. He's a competitor. As far as basketball, being able to translate it onto the court, I think he was a better ... both.

MLive: Why do you think he never got a chance to coach in the NBA?

Mahorn: Because people think he's an a------. That's it. When it comes down to it, if he ever got an opportunity, I think he would be great at it.

MLive: What went through your mind when you got traded to Detroit? Did you think it was a good thing for your career?

Mahorn: At the time, I'm young, coming out of a Division II school, I thought I built a reputation (in Washington) with the Beef Brothers. I thought I'd be there for the rest of my life. It was a change. It showed me that's what basketball was all about. It was a business move.

MLive: What did you think of the McFilthy and McNasty nicknames? Was that a compliment?

Mahorn: Anything for another team that didn't like us and bring some fuel to the fire I think it was always great.

MLive: Who was the player you disliked playing against the most?



Mahorn: Wasn't anybody. It was always a challenge for me. I didn't dislike anybody because we're all a brotherhood. It was a challenge each night.

MLive: What's the best part of your current job?

Mahorn: I don't win and I don't lose. (Laughs.)

MLive: You just get paid.

Mahorn: That's it. It doesn't count against my record. As long as I do a great announcing job, I'm good.

MLive: Other than The Palace, what was your favorite NBA arena to play in?

Mahorn: It's always going to be the old ones like Chicago, Boston, when they didn't really have no air conditioning. Just a lot of heat, a lot of cold. I loved playing in those places.

MLive: What's your favorite NBA city to visit either then or now?

Mahorn: I like visiting Toronto. It's so diversified.

MLive: Everybody says Toronto.

Mahorn: It's so diversified. It's just Canadians enjoying life. It's diversified.

MLive: Ever think you'd like to get back into coaching?

Mahorn: Always if that opportunity presents itself. But it hasn't presented itself so I continue to do what I do.

-- Download the Detroit Pistons on MLive app for iPhone and Android

-- Like MLive's Detroit Pistons Facebook page