Dave Cowens as a Piston assistant, huh?
Desperation has apparently set in; the Boys in Blue are now hiring former Celtics to man the bench next to Flip Saunders. Who’s next, Dennis Johnson? McHale may be looking for a job soon; how about him? Anyone have Danny Ainge’s number?
Okay, okay…I’m kidding (sorta). In all seriousness, the addition of Hall of Famer Cowens to Flip’s coaching staff adds even more experience to the bench. Like the recently-added Terry Porter, Cowens is a former NBA head coach — most recently leading the Golden State Warriors to a combined 25-80 record in 2000-2001(ish) — and he just wrapped a season heading the 5-29 Chicago Sky of the WNBA. (For those of you scoring at home, that’s a solid 22% winning percentage from his last two resume bullets.)
“Such allure!” — you say.
But wait, prior to his recent failures, Cowens was thought of as somewhat of an up-in-comer, leading the Glenn Rice/Anthony Mason-era Charlotte Hornets to the playoffs in ‘96/97 and ‘97/98 (after the departures of Grandmama and Satan…er, Alonzo Mourning). And at the very least, you’ve gotta think that Cowens will have some helpful advice for the Piston bigs, right? Taking a look at his stats…wait a minute…
Cowens was a 6’9” center…(check)
Who was a monster on the boards…(hmm…)
And who was known for his intensity and hustle…(this is sounding very familiar)
But somehow he managed to shoot 78% from the free throw line for his career?!
Perhaps the Pistons are adding Cowens a year too late, no?
Report: Hall of Famer Cowens to join Pistons staff [ESPN]
Dave Cowens’ career stats [Basketball Reference]
http://hire-bill-laimbeer-already.blogspot.com/
After interviewing for the Knicks job (even if it was Isiah throwing an old teammate a bone) and winning two titles in four years with the Shock, I have to believe that Laimbeer is holding out for something better than an assistant coaching position.
His “aw shucks” demeanor doing color for Pistons games aside, he proved with his little feud with ESPN during the WNBA Finals that his competitive fire is still as strong as ever. I’m guessing he’ll be coaching in the NBA within three years, if not sooner. But the way the Pistons have gone through head coaches lately, I’d actually prefer he get his feet wet in the men’s game elsewhere so he can continue to establish his coaching chops a little bit more.