Motown's been his town

Hunter's career nearly took detour

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Lindsey Hunter has played 12 of his 15 NBA seasons with the Detroit Pistons. He's practically Mr. Piston, the link between the final days of the "Bad Boys" and the current collection in Detroit with championship credentials.

"Basically, basically," said Hunter, who was the 10th overall pick of the Pistons in 1993, with a hardy laugh.

That's why it's tough to envision Hunter in Celtic green. But the 6-foot-2-inch point guard technically was a Celtic in February 2004, at least for about as long as it takes to ride to the top of the John Hancock Tower. Hunter was part of a convoluted three-team deal in which the Celtics helped deliver both Rasheed Wallace and an NBA title to the Pistons.

The Atlanta Hawks shipped Wallace to Detroit and received Zeljko Rebraca, Bob Sura, and a first-round pick, as well as the expiring contract of Chris Mills, from Boston. The Celtics shipped guard Mike James to Detroit and received Hunter, guard Chucky Atkins, and a first-round pick from the Pistons. But rivals-turned-decision makers Danny Ainge of the Celtics and Joe Dumars of the Pistons had a wink-wink deal on Hunter.

Hunter never reported to the Celtics. In fact, he never even left Michigan. A week after the deal, Hunter was waived by the Celtics and he re-signed with Detroit, which went on to win the NBA title.

To Hunter's credit, he didn't announce his intention of returning to his former team. Jerry Stackhouse did that in Dallas this season, and the NBA told Stackhouse that if he was involved in the Jason Kidd trade with the Nets, he couldn't return to the Mavericks if immediately waived.

"I knew what the deal was," said Hunter. "I wasn't running my mouth about that type of thing. We knew what was going on the whole time."

Hunter, who played six seasons with Dumars, now the Pistons' president of basketball operations, said Dumars let him know he wouldn't have included Hunter in the deal without assurances he could get him back.

"Exactly, and that's what's so special about our relationship. I know people are always asking him, 'Why do you keep Lindsey?' He knows me. He knows what I bring, and he knows he can depend on me," said Hunter, who has averaged 8.8 points and 2.7 assists for his career.

"Even in the situation when Chauncey [Billups] went down, he knew, 'Hey, I got Rodney Stuckey, but I got Lindsey also to help him.' Those are the things I pride myself on, staying ready and being able to step in in any type of situation because I've been there. I think he appreciates that more than a lot of other people."

Drafted to be the next Isiah Thomas, Hunter instead carved out a career as a reserve who brings energy, defensive intensity, and steady play to the floor. His ability to pressure the ball off the bench is one of the reasons the Celtics went out and signed another veteran point guard, Sam Cassell.

"I could have never envisioned that I'd still be in the league this long," said Hunter. "But it's been a blessing for me to have played so many years and to establish myself as one of the respected guys in this league and to still be able to contribute on the court and off the court."

Hunter doesn't wonder about the direction of his career if he'd played for Boston because he knew it was never going to happen. However, Ainge made another run at Hunter in 2006, as a free agent. This time the Celtics' executive director of basketball operations had every intention of keeping Hunter if he got him.

Hunter decided to re-sign with Detroit, but he was flattered by Ainge's pursuit.

"You always feel good when you're valued," said Hunter. "I just wasn't ready to go. They hadn't acquired all these guys yet. They were OK, but they were still kind of rebuilding, and I wasn't ready for that. I've been through that.

"Of course, he said to me, 'But remember, I let you go back to Detroit.' I laughed and I was like, 'Hey, Danny, thanks, man.' "

Some Celtics fans might be angered by Ainge's assist, but Hunter said it earned the Celtics some good karma.

"Danny understood, and he knew that if you do things like that, then good things happen to you," said Hunter. "They're a contending team now. Had not all those things happened, who's to say that they would have gotten [Kevin] Garnett and Ray Allen?"

Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com.