AUBURN HILLS -- Tayshaun Prince mused today about the moment he learned the Detroit Pistons went on an explosion against the San Antonio Spurs shortly after trading him to the Memphis Grizzlies.

"I saw they scored 119 against San Antonio," Prince said. "I thought, 'Damn, y'all shoulda got rid of me and Austin a long time ago.' "

Prince, traded along with Austin Daye to the Grizzlies on Jan. 30, makes his return to The Palace of Auburn Hills as a visiting player for the first time at 7:30 tonight.

Once the initial shock of the trade subsided, Prince quickly fit back into the multi-talented small forward role he played for 10 1/2 years in Detroit. He is shooting the ball well, started the last five games and the Grizzlies are 4-2 with him and Daye on the roster.

"The only thing that felt different was my first game in Memphis, when I ran out of that tunnel," Prince said. "I was like, 'Wait a minute, this don't seem right.'

"I'm pretty sure it'll feel different tonight. But walking in here right now and even having practice yesterday here didn't feel any different."

The Pistons entered the break with 33 losses, compared to the Grizzlies' 33 wins, and Prince said the chance to play with a playoff-bound team offered "a fuel, energy, that kind of buzzes through you a little bit."

"The way that things have been here the last few years, you kind of come to the gym with that 'down' mentality," he added. "So the spirits are kind of picking back up."

Prince, who said he stays in constant contact with his former teammates, "group-texting each other all the time, about all kinds of stuff," said he doesn't expect any shortage of spirit tonight.

"I expect it'll be a high-energy game for both teams -- especially from me and Austin, and especially from them -- because you always want to do good against your (former) team the first time you play against them," Prince said.

Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins portrayed Prince as a player who "talks, he counsels players, and on the court he's very vocal about telling players where they should be."

That sounds no different from the player the Pistons saw grow from the youngest starter on the 2004 NBA championship team into the last link to that team to leave.

"Leadership is leadership, no matter where it is," Hollins said.

Prince returned here last week during the All-Star break and attended the Pistons win over the Washington Wizards. His family is still here and he is living in a hotel in Memphis.

Hollins said the personal side is as big an adjustment as the professional one.

"Changing teams after so many years, changing cities after so many years, coming in the same locker room, going to the same practice facility, going the same way to work every day ... now all of a sudden you're in a totally new city, new coaching staff, new players, new system, everything is different," Hollins said.

So is the opportunity to play games in May, a month Prince hasn't seen on his basketball schedule in a few years.

"As long as I'm on the basketball court, doing what I love to do, that brings a smile to my face, no matter what," he said. "The trade and things, how it went, obviously was tough, but I'm excited to help this team get where they want to go."

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