Vince Ellis

Detroit Free Press

Rodney Stuckey had a quick answer.

The current Pacers guard was asked Friday afternoon before Detroit beat Indiana, 119-109, whether there was anything he would do differently during the first seven seasons of his pro career — all spent with the Pistons.

Once considered an untouchable by former Pistons president Joe Dumars, he saw a lot of losing and clashing with previous coaches.

But Stuckey didn't offer any regrets about his actions. He turned the focus on the day that changed the course of the entire franchise — the day Dumars traded Chauncey Billups to the Denver Nuggets for the locker-room hand grenade known as Allen Iverson.

The move came early in Stuckey's second season with the Pistons and, when asked to look back, that's the moment he would change.

"I wish they wouldn't have traded away Chauncey, to be honest with you," Stuckey said. "I wish they would've took the San Antonio Spurs philosophy of keeping all their vets and get younger guys around their vets and doing it that way. You see how successful they are."

You get many answers when you look for the key moment that led to the Pistons' current state of ineptitude.

The Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva signings in the summer of 2009. The Josh Smith signing in 2013. The drafting of Darko Milicic in 2003.

For Stuckey, all of those moments pale in comparison to Nov. 3, 2008 — the day of the trade.

Before that day, the Pistons had made six consecutive Eastern Conference finals.

Afterward?

They limped into the playoffs that season and haven't sniffed the postseason since — their five straight seasons missing the playoffs is the longest current streak in the Eastern Conference.

"After Chauncey left, that's when everything went downhill. Chauncey was the glue that held everything together and held everyone accountable," Stuckey said. "When you trade away that you see what happens. Everything was just a domino effect after that. If I'd say one thing that would be my thing."

Stuckey leaves out the fact that a major reason of the trade was to give him a larger role in the Pistons' backcourt — a role he was never able to fulfill.

He arrived Christmas evening in a slightly better position with the Pacers, but he scored just nine points on four of seven shooting as Indiana fell to 10-20. But the Pacers lost standout guard Paul George to a broken leg during a scrimmage for USA Basketball. The Pistons don't have such an excuse.

Pacers coach Frank Vogel said Stuckey, who has started most of the season, has fit in well.

"Great toughness," Vogel said. "He's got a good basketball IQ, but guys that play the game with a nasty disposition and physicality are guys that we like with the Pacers and he's brought that to the table first and foremost.

"He's obviously a great attacker off the bounce and good playmaker and really fit in well with our team."

Although Pistons president Stan Van Gundy, who replaced Dumars this past off-season, didn't show interest in the free agent Stuckey, he harbors no ill will toward the Pistons.

He has many former teammates remaining — he spent Christmas day with one of his best friends, Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko.

"They just got to stay positive," Stuckey said. "This is not the first year they've been going through this. It's been happening for the last five or six years so you gotta stay positive throughout the whole thing. Hopefully, they're doing that."

Contact Vince Ellis at vellis@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.