DETROIT — Joe Dumars wants LeBron James. And Dwyane Wade. And Chris Bosh. And — what the heck — Kobe Bryant, too.

Who wouldn’t? Every NBA general manager wants those guys. That’s why actually getting them is so hard — and why Dumars is not going to build his franchise around a prayer.
Look at James, for example. If he left Cleveland for Detroit, he would be a) leaving a 60-plus-win team for a 40-something-win team; b) leaving Cleveland, near his hometown of Akron, for Detroit, instead of New York or Chicago or somewhere else; and c) leaving roughly $30 million on the table, because NBA rules allow Cleveland to pay him a lot more than anybody else.
For Dumars, signing James is a longer shot than trying to bank in a three-pointer at the Palace from I-75. It’s not going to happen.
Of the biggest potential 2010 free agents — James, Wade and Bosh — the Pistons have a realistic shot only at Bosh. And even that is uncertain.
Waiting for 2010 is a risk for another reason: Everybody is doing it. If the Pistons save cap space for another year, they will plunge into a players’ market — at least 15 teams will be seeking to spend big, and the Pistons will have to overpay to compete.
This is why Dumars likely will act this summer instead of next summer. You can expect him to add two significant pieces (not counting draft picks).
With a lot of teams cutting costs and only a few swimming in cap space, the Pistons are in a position to grab very good players — borderline All-Stars — but probably not superstars.
Logically, Dumars probably will pursue free agents first, since they only cost money. If that doesn’t work out, then he can pursue trades.
One prominent rumor, which you probably have heard, involves Bulls scorer Ben Gordon. Another involves Orlando forward Hedo Turkoglu.
The Gordon rumor makes more sense to me — Turkoglu lacks the toughness the Pistons want in their forwards, and he is about to get seriously overpaid.
Gordon, on the other hand, is a big-time scorer. He is known as the consummate pro, and if he is willing to be the third guard, alongside Rodney Stuckey and Rip Hamilton, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him sign with the Pistons.
Even if the Pistons sign Gordon or Turkoglu, they would still need to fill their biggest need: an elite post player. Rasheed Wallace started to look old this past season and is highly unlikely to return. Wallace’s personality worked when the Pistons had a veteran core, but his tendency to coast and act petulant makes him a risk around a young, rebuilding team.
This brings us to another prominent rumor — that the Pistons will pursue Utah power forward Carlos Boozer. This makes perfect basketball sense but is several steps from happening.
Boozer hasn’t even announced whether he will opt out of his contract, and if he does, he’ll surely want a huge payday. Dumars has avoided the huge contracts that have sunk so many other rosters. Pursuing Boozer is the easy decision; signing him at a reasonable price is not so easy.
If Boozer stays in Utah or gets blown away by another offer, Dumars would turn to a lesser-known free agent or (more likely, in my opinion) a trade. Atlanta, Washington, New Orleans, Milwaukee and Phoenix are expected to cut payroll (or at least try) and the Pistons could get a gifted player without giving up significant talent. Maybe New Orleans forward David West or Suns star Amare Stoudemire.
I don’t know how it will unfold. But I expect it to unfold this summer. They say patience is a virtue, but if Dumars shows too much patience, he might end up with a bag full of cash in 2010. And nobody to take it.