Written by Rich Swerbinsky

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The Flip Murray Era came to an end here in CTown, as the diminutive shooting guard signed with the Pistons to back up Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton. Flip gave us a nice shot in the arm in the absence of Larry Hughes, but his days officially became numbered here when the team drafted Shannon Brown. In a move that should have surprised no one, Flip Murray's brief tenure with the Cavaliers ended yesterday when he signed a two year contract with the Detroit Pistons worth 3.6 million dollars.

Flip was acquired by Danny Ferry at the trading deadline from the Sonics for Mike Wilks and cash. Murray did a servicable job for the team, and provided a lift in the absence of Larry Hughes, who missed most of the year with a finger injury.

While it always seemed unlikely that Flip would return, the drafting of guards Shannon Brown and Daniel Gibson officially ended the Flip Era here in Cleveland. Brown is a similar type player, but a better defender and jump shooter ... both weak areas of Murray's game. One thing Murray can do is get to the basket and score, and he will be looked to do that off the bench for the Pistons as the third guard behind starters Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton.

Murray only recieved 3.6 million over two years from Detroit, far short of what he was expecting the free agent market to yield him. According to ESPN's Chad Ford , Murray passed up more money from Detroit earlier in the free agent signing period in hopes of a lucrative deal, then was forced to settle for the Pistons offer after recieving no attractive offers.