Nazr Mohammed Wants Nothing To Do With Garbage Time

Though he was probably hoping to be traded before the deadline, Nazr Mohammed is still a member of the Pistons, which means he's still the fifth big man in a crowded front court. He knows that he has little chance to play any significant minutes, but if he had his way, he'd rather not be bothered with the "insignificant" minutes, as well. From the Detroit News:

"I don't like the garbage minutes, I can tell you that," Mohammed said. "If he calls on me, I will play. But they might as well have Amir (Johnson) out there. He would get more out of those minutes than I would."

Saunders understands that. But he doesn't accept it.

"My dad wasn't keen on getting up at six o'clock in the morning to get to work, either," Saunders said. "We all have jobs and there are things you just have to do. When you are called upon to play, whether it's the first quarter or the last, that's what you have to do.

"As I have told players before, if you are willing to pick up your paycheck, then you should be willing to play when you are called upon to play."

While most Pistons fans are itching to see what teenager Amir Johnson can do as well (especially after the front office deemed him untouchable in trade talks), he's still a bit of a project and not quite ready to contribute to a championship contender. Mohammed, on the other hand, is a veteran who should know his role on the team, even if it's just to prevent an injury to one of the starters late in the game.

If he doesn't realize this, hopefully a meeting with the team president Joe Dumars can clear things up:

Saunders said he and Pistons president Joe Dumars will sit with Mohammed when the team gets home to discuss his role moving forward. Saunders does sympathize with Mohammed, but there are only 12 players on the active roster.

"If you don't want to play, then there is no reason to be on the roster," Saunders said. "There was a game a few games ago where we had a lead with two minutes left and I wanted to take Chris Webber out, but I didn't want to put (Mohammed) in for that little bit of time. If something would have happened to Chris, I would have really been kicking myself."

On a side note, that last paragraph makes me nervous as a Pistons fan -- is Saunders really so worried about bruising egos without Dumars at his side to back him up that he's willing to risk injury to one of his starters? Yikes -- maybe he would be more comfortable coaching amateurs.