Joe Dumars Quotes

"These guys aren't five stiffs from off the street. They're excellent players. But the key was their willingness and ability to mesh with each other and the ability of our coaches [Larry Brown and now Flip Saunders] to help that process along."

"Maurice is the kind of player we think is going to fit in with our team and our culture. Maurice brings a really strong competitive streak with him and can play two positions for us."

"That's the guy. He brings great energy."

"The one thing that I really want, ... is for our second group to be an energy unit. That's what we had in our championship run, and that's what I think you are starting to see with this group."

"I never even thought about the Hall of Fame as a player. Really, all I thought about was trying to play to a bar that players before me had set."

"To have your body of work honored in this manner is the ultimate in any profession. I was blessed to play with some great players and for a tremendous organization."

"I told him I'm gonna call him out so bad. On the phone conversation I had with him, when I saw him, he's extremely happy. I'm blowing his cover and letting you know, he's extremely happy to be on the team."

"We wish him the best and good health going forward."

"I think the (brawl) made the league and the players more conscious of our responsibility to the public."

"I think he's special because he has a gift to understand the game and the talent to back it up. He sees the floor, he gets everybody else involved and he plays to win."

"It's always cool to be a part of anything that hasn't happened before. This is a great sports town, and the fans around here are about to really have some fun following both teams."