AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) – Pistons coach Larry Brown had surgery on his left hip Wednesday and is expected to be away from the team for seven to 10 days.

Assistant coach Gar Heard will run the NBA champions during Brown’s absence. Heard coached the Dallas Mavericks in 1993 and the Washington Wizards in 2000. The 64-year-old Brown could return in time for Detroit’s home against Minnesota on Nov. 17.

“I talked to the doctors in the operating room, and they told me that seven to 10 days is a conservative estimate,” Pistons president Joe Dumars said. “It all depends on how Larry is feeling, but that’s what we are looking at.”

Brown had his hip replaced 15 years ago, and this latest operation was the result of wear on the artificial joint. It had recently caused him severe pain, the team said.

Brown is expected to spend two to three days in the hospital. Dumars wasn’t sure what kind of rehabilitation his coach faces.

“Oh, I suspect Larry will be active in running things,” Dumars said. “He’ll definitely have a cell phone and stay in the mix.”

Heard ran practice Wednesday, a day after the NBA champions opened their season with an 87-79 win over the Houston Rockets.

“I’m in a great position to do this,” he said. “We’ve got a veteran team that knows what they are expected to do. And Larry will still be involved. I’ll be talking to him today as soon as he gets out of the recovery room.”

Brown’s players were more concerned about his health than his absence.

“He’s not just our coach, he’s our friend, so we are worried about him,” Rasheed Wallace said. “We know what to do on the floor. Our general is down, but the soldiers are going to keep fighting.”

All-Star center Ben Wallace added: “This is not a big deal. We wish him the best, and now we will go out there and play the way he wants us to play.”

The surgery was performed by Dr. Sam Nasser and assisted by team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Robert Teitge at Michigan Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Troy. Dumars said Brown learned of his condition a couple of weeks ago.

“The doctor called him and said he had an issue with the hip,” Dumars said. “They told him that he was getting to the point where he would have metal rubbing metal, which would have caused major problems.”

Dumars was asked if Brown could have had the surgery during training camp, but he said the decision to wait was easy.

“By the time he could have gotten scheduled for surgery, doing it any sooner would have meant he would have missed opening night and getting his ring,” he said. “I told him that I was dead set against that. He needed to be there – he deserved to be there.”

Note: Pistons forward Antonio McDyess was fined $5,000 by the NBA on Wednesday, a day after he was ejected for kicking a basketball into the stands during the opener.