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I said it time and time again, "Michael Curry will be back next season."  Well, at this afternoon's press conference, Joe Dumars confirmed that Michael Curry will in fact be back next season. 

As I alluded to in the Pistons roundtable discussion Dan Feldman of Piston Powered put together, Curry dealt with a lot of adversity this season with it being his first year and a trade that sent the team's glue to Denver just a couple games into the season.

Dumars reiterated those sentiments in his press conference today:

It was an up-and-down season for him and an up-and-down season for us.

The fact that we made so many changes for a first-year coach, I had to step back and be a little more patient than I have been.  During the season, I said to myself, ’What affect is this having on him as a first-year coach?’ I tried to put myself in his shoes.

I may be pulling this completely out of context (this was the quote put in the Free Press today), but I expected Joey D to have a little more conviction with his response about Curry coming back.  I guess I thought he would say, "Yes, he'll be back. Next question."

Instead, I get the feeling that he's reluctant to bring him back, but feels it would be completely unfair not to. 

I don't think Curry did anything this year that warrants any accolades, but I also don't think it's fair he be canned after all that's gone on during his first year as head coach.  I think Dumars sees it the same way, but his remarks have me wondering, just how patient will he be? 

If we're anywhere near 39-43 next season will he not be afraid to fire him midseason?  I think it will have a lot to do with what kind of players Dumars is able to bring in this summer and how much they produce.  This season Curry had all the excuses in the world, but assuming Iverson and 'Sheed are gone, and Dumars does bring in some fresh talent this summer, I think Curry's the next scapegoat on the list.