“It’s like I lost a brother, you know?” he said. “Me and Chaunce, we came in as nothing when we first got to Detroit, and then we pretty much played ourselves into stars here and won a championship together. We did a lot of special things together.

“It’s so tough. You always think you are going to play together forever. But in life, nothing is ever forever. I miss him like I would miss a brother.”

Dumars said he thought that for the first time Thursday, Hamilton looked like his old jovial self. Hamilton, Iverson and Rasheed Wallace all spent extra time shooting and talking under one of the baskets after practice.

• Pistons’ Hamilton saddened by Billups’ leaving | The Detroit News | detnews.com