Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that Michael Curry will not return next season as the team’s head coach.
“This was a difficult decision to make,” Dumars said. “I want to thank Michael for his hard work and dedication to the organization. However, at this time, I have decided to make a change.”
More to come, obviously.
From MLive.com:
The news of Curry’s dismissal was just reaching players Tuesday morning.
“I just found out about 10 minutes ago,” Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey said in a phone interview.
“It’s always sad to lose a coach,” Stuckey said. “But like I always say, this is a business and in this business, you have to be prepared and ready for anything.”
From Y!’s Adrian Woj:
No replacement has been hired, but a league source believes that one-time Detroit coach Doug Collins could be the favorite for the job.
Despite some public speculation, sources say former Pistons center Bill Laimbeer will not be a candidate to replace Curry.
Pistons president Joe Dumars had been considering a change for several weeks, sources say, and ultimately let go of Curry after concluding he couldn’t recover the locker room. Curry had a deteriorating relationship with All-Star Richard Hamilton, whom he benched at times in favor of Allen Iverson.
Names also being kicked around in the media: Avery Johnson and Cavs’ assistant John Kuester, who’s largely been credited with orchestrating Cleveland’s offense. I haven’t heard anyone mention Boston assistant Tom Thibodeau, the mastermind behind the Celtics’ defense, but I have to imagine he appears somewhere on Detroit’s list. Then again, Thibodeau was already passed over twice this summer after interviewing with Sacramento and Philadelphia, so perhaps there’s a reason he’s yet to get an opportunity.
Michael Curry is no longer our FI. Happy days all around.
Unfire Carlisle.
damn you guys and your credible organization!
Ding Dong the witch is dead… Talk about being set up for failure on the job though.
Finally. Sounds like we’ll be keeping Rip.
The names I’m hearing for Curry’s replacement are Avery Johnson, Sam Mitchell, and Bill Laimbeer. What do you guys think?
BTW, hi everyone–long time reader, first time poster.
hey, now we don’t have to trade Rip. Avery Johnson would be a great fit. His record with Mavs was impressive to say at least.
I want JVG now.
All the Joe D haters, atone.
I wonder what the dave cowens decision had to do with this, if anything?
I don’t think he was set up for failure. Had he had the gumption to bring Iverson off the bench from the outset - that is, had he fulfilled his promise to do the best thing for the team every time with no regard for players’ egos - he probably still would have a job. Iverson off the bench was clearly the right move from the beginning. Instead Curry coddled the superstar and alienated the rest of the roster. He did exactly the opposite of what he said he would do. Moreover, he bullied the young guys and insulted them in front of the media: he was routinely nasty to Kwame and Amir and Maxy. Oh, and he knew nothing about X’s and O’s or substitution patterns, and he hired a bunch of assistants who were equally useless. He deserves every bit of what he’s getting.
Definitely no on Laimbeer. Would prefer it not be Doug Collins. Avery and Van Gundy are ok with me.
Even the assistant coaches didn’t like him… Guess that whole ‘player’s coach’ thing didn’t pan out for him.
Not that I wish Curry ill personally. But if ever a coach has deserved to be fired, it’s Curry right now.
Bizzaro Sheed returns as the Coach.
Bill Laimbeer would be a perfect fit in my opinion. And I think it’s already setup to bring him here.
Bill H: +1, though I believe Cowens is an adequate asst.
JVG
Avery
Bill L.
Collins - been there. Did that.
Mitchell (former Tor coach if we can nab bosh)
Tim Floyd (Great at getting guys into the program via under the table payments)
Ford also says we should put a package together for Amare since GS isn’t letting Curry go. And I think Steve Kerr has painted himself into a corner if he doesn’t sign him long term now, given the bad blood, Amare leaves next summer with nothing in return.
Forget to say I hope Tom Thibodeau gets some consideration. I know Joe D might be a big apprehensive about hiring a guy who’s never coached before, but he’s regarded as arguably the top assistant in the league. He made the Celtics a great defensive team (with help from KG). I’d feel good about him turning potential FA’s like Gordon and Villanueva into solid defenders. Get him an assistant coach with some offensive expertise and it could work.
I hope the media don’t give Joe Dumars a free pass on this. Hiring Curry was one of the stupidest, most hubristic decisions any GM has made in years. It was easily Joe’s worst move since drafting Darko. And it built a lot of horrible-move momentum for the disastrous Chauncey trade that followed.
Dumars hired a personal friend who had precisely one year of experience of assistant coaching. He never had been a head coach at any level: not in high school, not at the YMCA. He had shown no strong promise for coaching. Dumars hired him because he was, he said, “the most like me” of any coach he had hired. He was hired to be a pliable presence on the bench for Dumars, hired because he would do exactly what Dumars told him to do. Dumars put all his chips on the line for this guy.
It was one of the most arrogant and stupidest moves in recent NBA history.
It’s OK to have an average GM as long as he knows he’s an average GM. Knowing his limitations, he’ll usually do the sensible thing, the thing that common sense dictates, and you’ll probably be fine. Once that average GM starts thinking he’s brilliant and can outsmart everyone else all the time, that’s when disaster happens. It’s blind hubris, not lack of talent, that really kills you.
Dumars is an average GM who used to make decisions with apparent awareness of his limitations. Somewhere along the line he decided he was a genius. That’s when he hired Curry.
He really should apologize to the fans for this one.
And, MB, I agree - Cowens seems like by far the most competent of the guys Curry had on the bench.
re: Bill Laimbeer
There seem to be mixed opinions on him as an NBA coach. I don’t understand the hesitation– could someone from the Anti-Laimbeer camp explain the negatives?
I wouldn’t put too much stock into Thibodeau. Kevin O’Neil was once considered the brains behind the Pistons’ defense and was hired to head coach Toronto — and we know how that went.
Bill Laimbeer will definitely provide a spark and bring back interest to this team.
If this were a Pistons Democracy, I would vote for Avery Johnson to light a fire under this team.
Bill Higgins: +100000000000
I’ve watched a lot of NBA games, and Curry is by far the worst coach I can remember seeing.
He combined a total lack of technical or strategic knowledge and ability, with poor communication skills, and awful game management.
Still, all of that might have been okay if he hadn’t been so outlandishly inconsistent. Whenever Curry said something in public, you could count on him to do the exact opposite when push came to shove.
He literally did not have a single strength as a coach.
It was pretty clear from about half way through last season that he was seriously harming the team, it’s too bad everyone had to suffer through such a crappy year. I kinda feel bad for AI after this, if we’d had a real coach, who sat him down with AI and was upfront about us using him as a scorer off the bench right from the start, I think there’s a chance last season ends a lot more happily. Oh well.
Matt, can you fire up another one of those poll-thinga-ma-jiggies to see where dbb nations stands on a new coach?
^good idea
@ Mike Payne:
I don’t understand the negatives either. Although I can understand why some fans would be a little gun-shy about hiring another first year coach.
But I personally think he deserves a shot. If nothing else, hire Avery as head coach and Laimbeer as assistant. Not only could it be a great coaching combo, it has potential as a buddy-movie too.
@ Bill H.
Dumars hired a personal friend who had precisely one year of experience of assistant coaching. He never had been a head coach at any level: not in high school, not at the YMCA. He had shown no strong promise for coaching. Dumars hired him because he was, he said, “the most like me” of
I think Jod’s quote was, “Most like-minded,” which I think is true. I think the problem was not MCIAFI’s mindset as much as it was his ability to execute and follow-through on that mindset and those promises.
BTW, I am with you in that I’m 100% thrilled that MC is no longer our FI.
@Matt
But I personally think he deserves a shot. If nothing else, hire Avery as head coach and Laimbeer as assistant. Not only could it be a great coaching combo, it has potential as a buddy-movie too.
I like that idea. Avery is a proven winner; Bill has proven he can win in the NBA. Sign Avery to three years. If it doesn’t work out after three years, promote Bill.
Sounds good to me.
Damn, this is great news. I just got back from lunch and it’s like somebody bought me a fancy dessert: No-more-Curry-cake.
Gabe, that’s exactly right. If the NBA Live programmers decided to assign ratings to teams’ coaches, as they do for players, across a range of different measures - technical knowledge, communication skills, game management, ability to develop young guys, influence on team chemistry, etc., etc. - Curry would score at or close to zero on all of them. As a coach, there wasn’t one thing he was good at, or even passably competent at. He was bafflingly ill-equipped.
At a certain point it’s not even his fault. Obviously this was not the right job for him; I’m sure he did his best. It’s the fault of the guy who put him in there in the first place.
Avery Johnson would be a solid choice. The question would be whether he could speed up the tempo, but he got a lot out of a mediocre defensive squad. It wasn’t his fault Mark Cuban pissed away Devin Harris in favor of Jason Kidd.
brgulker, “most like-minded” - I think that’s probably right. It means essentially the same thing. This was Dumars’s guy.
Finally! He was not a qualified coach; even if they hadn’t traded Billups. Maybe Dumars should step down (Darko/Billups trade….) and try coaching himself!
I’m pretty sure Laimbeer was “dismissed” from the Shock to take the Pistons job. He’d be a great coach. He can coach defense and toughness, and this team is built for both. It might be a difficult transition from the WNBA to the NBA, though. It didn’t exactly work as planned when Paul Westhead left the Phoenix Mercury for the Thunder in the NBA.
This firing couldn’t come at a worse time.
If not making trades and the draft selection of Daye left some question marks in our heads, what does this do?
Clearly Joe Dumars is in over his head on this one, unless like we always assume, he has some sort of side deal worked out for a coach and a free agent or 2 this offseason.
@Matt:
Not only could it be a great coaching combo, it has potential as a buddy-movie too.
I lol’d. What would it’s title be?
kevin s.,
What is Chris Sheridan saying on ESPN Insider this afternoon?
brgulker, “most like-minded” - I think that’s probably right. It means essentially the same thing. This was Dumars’s guy.
In my mind “like me” entails method, execution. Like-minded means we think the same, without regard to execution.
I do not like Michael Curry but I’m actually surprised to see him fired. I thought he would be around for atleast another year.
But I guess Piston fans around world can rejoice.
Bill, I usually think you’re too extreme with your Dumars criticism, but I’m with you on this one. But as far as apologizing, that’d be a bad idea - it’d completely undermine Curry for future job opportunities. Now an apology to the fans AND Curry…
My vote for next coach goes to former Coach of the Year Sam Mitchell. But overall, I like the options available.
Well, I do think Curry was put in a no-win position after the trade. The sit down with AI might have led to what happened in March (his back) would have happened in Nov. Ai could have as easily got his 20M sitting at home starting in Nov rather than March, but I think it would have made Curry look better to his players, Rip but made Jod look bad.
And if the reports of Rip not getting along with Curry and particularly Curry saying he’d wait until the roster shook out before talking to Rip, I think Curry may have dealt himself this hand in large part. Jod has to be thinking last week, WTF? I hired this guy in large part to be a players coach.
Plus, if Rip “pulls” this much weight, I can’t see Jod trading him. OTOH, what about SnT Rip for BG & TT? Given who the Bulls drafted last week, TT has got to be on his way out. Or, they’ve got something going with Phx/Amare. TT/Salmons/?? & picks for Amare?
Boy is this grrreeeeat (he said in his best Animal House Flounder voice).
Cast my vote for Collins…well after my girlfriend of course
I believe Jeff Van Gundy will bring back the lunch pail mentality that this team so desperately needs.
screw Avery Johnson and all the others… Jeff Van Gundy has proven the ability to coach and can put the D back in Detroit.
M.C.I.F.History!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank God,I thought we were gonna have to endure another miserable season so Joe didn’t hurt his buddy’s feelings. Today the sun shines brighter, the air tastes fresher and Pistons fans everywhere are liberated.
I think Jod did Curry a favor regarding his future.
If the Pistons sign two FA’s this summer and we still suck, Curry is done forever as a coach. This way, Curry was put in a no win situation last year (his side) and depending on who we sign/trade for doesn’t fit Curry’s style, he’s at least in the pool of possible asst coaches and can work his way back up.
I also gotta believe that if the mantra was to develop the young guys last year and Jod says he expects all 3 picks this year to make the team, then that’s not good for MCIAFI.
And I still don’t get MCIAFI saying he won’t talk to Rip until later this summer. Christ, the guy’s a captain, has just signed an extension that runs TWO years beyond your contract, there was bad blood from last season and your answer is to stiff arm him? WTF??
Shinons, you’re obviously right - a public apology from Dumars would destroy Curry’s career prospects, and he doesn’t need to do that. I agree with you completely. Curry’s done enough to destroy them already.
MB, agreed, 100%. Curry’s behavior toward Rip was astonishing.
Oh, and brgulker, point taken. There is a valid distinction. Doesn’t make the hiring any less stupid, though.
I like the Avery as head coach idea and Bill as an assistant. It would give Laimbeer a chance to get his feet wet and learn from a pretty good coach in my opinion in Avery Johnson. I thought he did a more than adequate job in Dallas. I would be fine with JVG too, and to a lesser extent Doug Collins. He was already here once but i thought he did pretty good with the crappy team we put around him. If Rick Carlisle were to become available I wouldn’t mind giving him another go. He was the guy I wanted us to hire when we fired Flip, but Dallas signed him before we made a decision on a coach(Curry). I still respect Curry as a person and a player(not so much as a coach) and I wish him the best of luck moving forward.
KRONIK,
Rick Carlisle makes fewer adjustments to the gameplan than MCIAFI does. Why is he a “good” candidate?
I don’t look at Bill Laimbeer like a first year NBA coach. Usually first year NBA coaches are coming out of college or are assistants that have never been headcoaches. Laimbeer understands the NBA grind, and has been a head coach at another level. I think he’s shown he can do X and Os and can handle the grind and there isn’t much of a question that he is going to command respect within the organization and in the locker room as a NBA champion. And he’s still a pretty imposing dude, even by NBA standards.
My only concern is you can’t run off talent like Laimbeer did with Swin Cash in the NBA, the contracts and cap are just too hard to manage. But you can put talent on the pine and I’m sure Laimbeer would have zero trouble doing THAT in the NBA. I also think Laimbeer would have no trouble telling Jod that he’s the coach and the players can’t be running playing the coach vs. GM thing every they have an issue. I think there was some of that last year and it’s on Dumars for allowing it, not Curry.
I like JVG and Avery too, just not as much as Laimbeer.
Anyone for a Stuckey for Ramon Sessions trade?
JVG…I love Lam, but I think he needs a little more seasoning. Only Dumars knows for sure. Certainly he didn’t fire MCINLAFI without having a plan.
Curry couldn’t handle it in more ways than one.
I’m happy with the choice to part ways with Curry, but like others have pointed out, he was set up for failure. I thought he was in over his depth at the start of the season, he proved it.
1) Laimbeer-THE bad boy, knows how to win, won’t take shit, respected by players and those in the know.
2) J. VanGundy-If only so I don’t have to listen to him on telecasts this year. Also proven winner.
3) D. Collins-see if he still has “it.”
Not a fan of any choice having to do with A. Johnson or S. Mitchell.
Live from the PDX,
Q Dog
Also, anyone remember during the Cavs series that JVG was pretty much auditioning for the job in his commentary, which was frequently critical of Curry?
NO to collins. The next move down that road would be teal unis. People don’t forget.
After firing Curry, Joe D has to save face and hire a coach with experience. I am all for Avery Johnson as HC, Billy Laimbeer as AC. I would be seriously disappointed if we got JVG or Sam Mitchell.
I’d love JVG in the D, and I second the idea of Lams as the assistant. That would be pretty hip. Replacing Cowens as the bigs coach. Getting some D. The only downside is that the sartorial sense of our head coach would not be improved.
I also have to believe that Joe D is plugged in and some SnT/FA’s agents are saying no to MCIAFI. I do find the BL resignation and Cowens move more than coincidence in some way. If you’re bringing in a Avery or JVG, these guys are certainly going to want to bring in their own staffs for which Cowens might not be one of them. If you’re kicking MCIAFI to the curb, do you not approach Cowens (if he has aspirations) first? Since if he does have aspirations perhaps he didn’t interview with Sac & Minn.
I think the opt out/in time is 5:00 EST today. Anyone heard anything specific on Boozer?
@MarkButta
I saw Chad Ford’s little comment too that Pistons should go at Amare, and I hope Joe D gives them or has given them a serious call.
Also, aren’t we supposed to be waiving Oberto before midnight??
ESPN’s Chris Broussard reports that Boozer only will accept a starting salary of $14M, which the Pistons (thank God) are not prepared to give.
He also corroborates MB’s speculation that free agents may have been saying Curry would be a deal-breaker. If that’s true, then God bless those free agents.
Finally, says the Pistons have been weighing this decision for weeks. Shows you that Langlois (who proclaimed that there was a 100% chance Curry would be back this year) has not the first clue what he’s talking about. I need to stop reading that guy’s crap. It’s bad for my health.
Here’s Broussard.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4297296
I’d be surprised if they bring Laimbeer in. He has no NBA coaching or assistant coaching experience. I also think he may be too bullheaded in dealing with highly-paid, big-ego male players. He needs to learn that fine balance or be exposed to it for a little while. That being said, he did win in the NBA as a player and win in the WNBA, so he’ll get respect, but it’s a different sport than years past and different from coaching the girl’s team. I’d rather have him as an assistant for a couple years before he’s given the keys.
I wonder if Curry was a hindrance to getting free agents to come here, especially for less which is Joe D’s motto. I bet Rip and maybe even Sheed didn’t have nice things to say about him when they talked to other players. Word gets around. I used to fcuking hate how he would trash Amir and Max in interviews after the game, but would keep his lips sealed when Sheed would fcuk up.
My best memory of Curry was during a halftime interview during a Spurs game at the palace. His first comment was “uuuuh, Spurs are a good d-d-defensive”. That was it. Never finished the sentence and never answered anything that the interviewer was asking. He just made randwom comments. My wife an I looked at each other and laughed hard as hell.
Maybe Dumars can trade Stuckey or Will Bynum to Minnesota for Al Jefferson? Given that Minnesota is now building a team of all point guards, I think they might be interested. (Well, maybe not in Stuckey, because as we all know he’s not really a point guard. But Bynum, definitely.)
I’m still not getting the skepticism about Laimbeer?
Yes, he’s a first-year NBA coach. But, he has all this in his favor:
1) He’s proven he can coach a professional team to multiple championships.
2) He is the epitomy of Bad Boy basketball.
3) He was a bad ass big man, which is what we’ve been lacking since Big Ben left. I have a feeling he could foster that in Kwame and Max, and whomever we end up acquiring.
In my view, the weightiest of these is #1, which no one else who is available has.
Further, when he was asked, didn’t Bill only comment that, “Joe has his staff in place”?
Wow. It’s like the 2008-2009 season was all a dream! And MFWB was there! And the Sandman was there! And even Iverson was there! Here’s to a REAL coach and hopefully a season where we can take a step forward, not ten steps back.
My coaching vote goes to (and has always gone to since early in the season) JVG. Laimbeer would be my second choice, just BARELY edging out Johnson.
If this had happened tomorrow I would have called it Christmas in July.
@BillH: 14 fuckin’ M dollars to start? Good luck Carlos. Better hope some team comes up short in the sweepstakes next year and over pays you. And I’d suggest you play every game (pre, reg & post) this season to have even have a prayer of sniffing that number.
Yeah, poor Carlos. He may have to show up to work next season.
Langlois? He’s a PR flack, just doing what he’s getting told to do, nothing more.
Collins is too emotionally unstable…and couldn’t win with a young Jordan. Besides, he was offered a ton a money to return to coaching last year, and passed on it.
Avery I’m not so sure about. Too much of a micro manager.
So, it kinda leaves me with JVG; I could see Lam as an assistant to coach the bigs (JVG’s guy, some dude named Ewing, is currently busy in Orlando)…the Cowens move makes more sense now, but I think it all depends on who Dumars is planning on bringing in.
I love Terry Foster, but this isn’t one of his better columns..
http://detnews.com/article/20090630/OPINION03/906300405/1127/sports0102/Commentary–Time-for-Joe-Dumars-to-halt-parade-of-scapegoats
I love Bill Laimbeer but……..AVERY JOHNSON!!! AVERY JOHNSON!!! AVERY JOHNSON!!! AVERY JOHNSON!!! AVERY JOHNSON!!! AVERY JOHNSON!!! AVERY JOHNSON!!!AVERY JOHNSON!!!
I love Bill Laimbeer but……..AVERY JOHNSON!!! AVERY JOHNSON!!! AVERY JOHNSON!!! AVERY JOHNSON!!! AVERY JOHNSON!!!
What great news!
I’d just like to add my voice to the chorus already singing the same tune: Curry is the worst coach I’ve ever seen at any level. REGARDLESS of who is in line to replace him, you can’t keep a guy on if you know he’s incompetent and can’t do the job.
For those ready to apologize for Curry by saying he was doomed to failure, I couldn’t disagree more. I agree that “the trade” added a degree of difficulty to the Piston’s season last year, but you have to break it down to more than that.
Curry made the opposite of the right move in every situation he was confronted with last year, including how to handle Iverson. If Curry had told Iverson from the start he was coming of the bench, and things had somehow been worse, then Curry would have at least had the high-ground with the veteran players (not to mention the CAPTAIN OF THE TEAM) and could have been defensible.
As it is, Curry made ridiculous decisions about the lineups, the rotations, had no ability to actually develop strategy, and on top of all of that, was a poor communicator with the players.
The Pistons just needed to win 2 more games and they could have been the #7 seed and had a different matchup (and a chance, it seemed). The team faltered down the stretch, and that’s never a sign of good coaching.
How much more evidence do you need that Curry SUCKED and needed to go regardless of the circumstances he found himself in?
As far as replacements are concerned:
JVG - NO WAY. If you haven’t been listening to him on ESPN, let me tell you he’s been past inane. Just embarrassing, mostly.
Collins - They could do worse. Collins tends to wear out his welcome, but is good for developing and maximizing talent and “selling” a plan. It would be weird that he is a retread.
Johnson - He would probably do well, although, some of you need to temper your enthusiasm. Remember, Johnson got out coached when he had the #1 seed and was beat by Golden State. He was reacting to them instead of making them react to him. There are hints that players tune him out as well.
Mitchell - Could be a good selection. Former Coach of the Year that may have partially been a victim or benefactor of the front office in Toronto. Are we willing to find out which?
Laimbeer - By far the most interesting prospect. Has had major success as player in NBA and coach in WNBA, but serious questions about his personality and ability to manage NBA egos. Chuck Daly he ain’t. Word on the street is that Dumars isn’t considering him seriously, but the street has been wrong before.
As far as other candidates are concerned, it seems hard to believe that Dumars will bring in an assistant from another team without previous NBA Head Coaching experience. It seems he’s looking for more of a “safe pick” on this one.
I do need to reiterate that after all options are considered: ANY ONE OF THEM WOULD STILL BE BETTER THAN MICHAL CURRY!
I don’t know about Avery. He bombed out in a series against Golden State that his Mavericks had no business losing. That’s all I can think of when I think of him.
Also, I think Dumars already knows who he wants. This has been his MO (Brown for Carlisle, Flip for Brown, Curry for Flip).
I don’t think we’re going to see an extended search here. There might already be a tentative deal with someone.
And Sam Mitchell spent years running one offensive play in Toronto and being made fun until he finally had enough decent players to win a few games and some how stumbled into CotY honours. He’s also the guy who failed to double/triple/quadruple/quintuple team Kobe when he scored 81. But he’s a great interview because he’s always so surly.
And as for JVG, I think he’s a brilliant basketball mind that keeps himself entertained by talking about goofy pop culture stuff. I had actually sort of written him off, thinking he lost interest in coaching and the sport in general until someone (Joel? Joejoejoe?) posted a fairly recent interview where he was all fired up about the game and the lack of defense and all these other good things that once again sold me on him being our head coach. If someone has the link to that interview, it might be a nice refresher for those who haven’t heard it!
Doug Collins!?!?! No! Hope it is far fetched!!!
Also, I guess I can officially retire my MCIAFI t-shirt now.
“If this had happened tomorrow I would have called it Christmas in July.”
Maybe Joe D. is going Jewish. Today, Curry is fired. Tomorrow a new coach. Thursday, a free agent signing. Friday we trade Kwame… Um, wow there aren’t enough days in Hannukah to fix this team, are there.
Players (free agents) like to play for Avery Johnson!!! For those of you not in the Detroit area……http://www.971theticket.com/ listen live….Valenti is the shit!!!
Thank you Big Z. Those stating Curry was “set up for failure” are failing to recognize that the it’s the coaches job to find a way of blending his “ingredients” into the perfect “Gumbo”. Aside from the bad rotations, horrible decisions, and inability to do anything right, he was also an incredibly inarticulate moron who wore eye makeup and dressed like a fucking sofa! The nightmare is over…
Garrett, you don’t have to retire your shirt. M.C.I.S.A.F.I… and probably always will be.
I don’t know about Avery. He bombed out in a series against Golden State that his Mavericks had no business losing. That’s all I can think of when I think of him.
I think I would say that the GS - Dal series was analagous to the Orlando - Cleveland series of this year, in that GS simply played as well as they could possibly play for a relatively short stretch of time. In both follow-up series, GS and Orlando were taken care of relatively quickly, and in both series, the inability of the underdog to make 3-point shots was the deciding factor.
Not sure that came out how I wanted, but I don’t think it’s fair to blame the GS/Dal series squarely on Avery; GS shot the f*ing lights out like they never had before, regardless of what strategy Dallas threw at them. Dallas just ran into a buzzsaw.
he was also an incredibly inarticulate moron who wore eye makeup and dressed like a fucking sofa! The nightmare is over…
LOL
And Stuckeyallstar needs to put a cork in the shameless promotion shpeel.
So no word on Boozer yet? He’s really waiting to the last minute to make his decision…only half an hour left to make up his mind.
Ahhhh, memories:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0_8×8YLAlY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWOWAYUZ83A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKw8W0EVbsI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fzlQRXNXWw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHqRKpXRzes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHzHvEVCuaE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqBZ1mmvUEg
@ Boney: First of all Carlisle being a candidate is moot because he is under contract with Dalls, but if he were made available, he would be a good coach because he single-handedly turned our franchise around when he took the reins in 2001. He led us to consecutive 50 win seasons when just the year prior we were 32-50. He was a hard-nosed coach that preached defense. We were his first head coaching gig so he wasn’t even at his best then. And it wasn’t like we had a loaded team, we had Stackhouse, Big Nasty, Wallace and perhaps even Atkins and Robinson are worth mentioning. No real good players but he got them to play good defense and team ball, i like a coach that can do that. But like i said, all this is moot because he is not available to us so let’s just move on. I’m on board the avery johnson head coach/laimbeer assistant coach train. ALL ABOARD!!!
brgulker, that’s a good Avery defense. It’s been awhile since that series, and I remember that GS looked just unstoppable then, like they might go to the Finals. Certainly one series shouldn’t define a career. I’m still not sold on Avery - I’m somewhere in the middle - but you brought me a step closer.
That sofa comment was unbelievable. Best line of the day by far.
yesssssssssssss,,, finalyyyyyy,, now pistons basketball can move on the top bring back AI w a good coach piston basketball will be the championship,,,,get boozer.. lower ai salary…. go go go piston hurray make me happy ,,,,, no more curry,, hired avery joe is awake now
yesssssssssssss,,, finalyyyyyy,, now pistons basketball can move on the top bring back AI w a good coach piston basketball will be the championship,,,,get boozer.. lower ai salary…. go go go piston hurray make me happy ,,,,, no more curry,, hired avery joe is awake
yesssssssssssss,,, finalyyyyyy,, now pistons basketball can move on the top bring back AI w a good coach piston basketball will be the championship,,,,get boozer.. lower ai salary…. go go go piston hurray make me happy ,,,,, no more curry,, hired avery joe is awake
And remember (re: Avery) that he was basically the worst-reffed NBA Finals away from having a championship under his belt, too.
I do love that joe hired a puppet coach, traded for a second all star sg, watched the chaos that ensued, and now curry gets thrown under the bus for benching one of the two sgs. I hate curry with a passion. But every move he made was in close concert with dumars. And the peronnel situation was entirely dumars’ doing. This should reflect terribly on dumars, notwithstanding his attempt to make curry the fall guy. My guess is it won’t, however.
Garrett, I love the clip you’ve linked from January (then’s when it was posted - is that when it was reported?) where Joe talks out of his ass about all the good things Curry is doing, like “defining the roles” for everyone, so that guys can “settle into their roles.” When did Curry ever define roles for anyone? He just yanked everyone around until they didn’t know which way was up. The young guys especially. Remember the night the phrase MCIAFI was coined? It was because Jason Maxiell had been a DNP-MCIAFI.
I mean, either Joe was just making stuff up, or he was as clueless as Curry.
Carlisle: even if not under contract, memories are long. And I agree, I think Joe D has already put out feelers. I vote for Kurt Rambis. the ultimate stab in the back to the Lakers.
Boozer waits till last minute, Curry is fired just before said last minute. . . ? But 14 eff’n M dollars? He’s staying and collecting 12.7 because he’s not going to get more than 10M from anyone by opting out. At worst he gets traded without a SnT, and dips into the pool again next year when the team that traded for him gets to pay him more than anyone else.
also read where hedo turnded down 35M/4 yr after the finals. Given that he’s 30, I don’t see him getting another contract and at ~8.75M a year and probably 1 trip to the finals in the next 4 years, what is he thinking?
Somebody is going to pay (starting in today’s environment) a contract that will pay him 10+M when he’s 35? Duuude, you fk’d up. And Orl isn’t doing a SnT and taking back salary. I think he eats crow and resigns a 1 year deal with Orl and goes into next summer as perhaps a champ and there will be alot more teams with cash next summer. At the 3, OKC has Durant and Memphis has Gay. Detroit is already paying Tay ~10M. The 3 teams with cash this summer are already set at the 3 and he can’t play the 4 and not get horrendously abused. Hedo, Hedo, Hedo. . . what were you thinking?
I do wonder if Dumars firing Curry after saying he’d be back next year furthers the Joe Dumars as Jod, the evil comic book character GM…
MCIAFI: Hi dere Jod, I was dinkin that for next season—
Jod: Thinking!?! I didn’t hire you here to THINK!! How many times haev I told you - your job is rebounds and sense of urgency, my job is to think!! Get out of my office! Pack your things MCIAFI - you’re FIRED!!
/Boney’s woulda been better
Everybody do yourselves a favor and listen to the 5/12/2009 edition of the “BS Report.” Then afterward, come back here and post who you think the next coach of the Pistons should be.
Do it right now. You’ll thank me later.
If you’re a fan of “Detroit Basketball,” then there’s really no argument as to who our next coach should be. Just listen to damn podcast. Trust me.
Oh, where have the bebounds gone?
Kid just called and per ESPN said officials from Det have already talked to Avery. Hmmm. Didn’t say when they talked to him.
Avery will be the coach by Friday. Helped mold Harris into a PG and that’s what we need and that’s what Jod needs to give Stuck the best chance and to minimize shit blowing up due to the CB trade.
@ Bill
I mean, either Joe was just making stuff up, or he was as clueless as Curry.
Or, he was doing PR, and he didn’t mean a word of what he was saying…
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not after you.
Just because you suck doesn’t mean you weren’t set up for failure.
Curry probably went from an 70% chance of failure to a 99.99% where as random somewhat capable coach would have had a slightly more open window of opportunity given their different treatment of the cancer and maybe just half the numerous missteps of Curry.
Jod’s only son died so that the sins of the stone’s may be forgiven..
Thank the Lord.
@ Joel: Bill Simmons?
Still think it’s Avery.
@Garrett
That was me a month ago trumpeting JVG. I still am. And for the record I think Avery Johnson would also be good. Wouldn’t it be nice if our coach maybe had some championship PG experience?
Via Yahoo:
“Maybe I put too much on Mike as a first-year head coach,” Dumars told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday afternoon. “As we continued to go through this transition, it became clear to me that we needed a more experienced coach at the helm.”
I think this firing tells us a few things:
1. Rip is staying
2. No Ben Gordon
3. Tayshaun is the most likely trade bait.
If I am Joe, I surprise everyone by signing Hedo and Millsap or David Lee and trade Prince and spare parts for Amare.
@Shinons
Hahahaha, Jod is a dick. Seriously, have you ever had to fire someone? It can’t be fun. Especially if it’s your friend. Especially if it’s pretty much your fault for why they were thrust into a position they weren’t qualified for. It’s pretty funny actually, but more harsh.
The thing that might scare me is Avery is the choice because we’re trading for Rondo.
I think Avery is a great fit to get the most out of Stuck. . or at worst be a good teacher.
@Jamison: That leaves only Kwame at the 5.
“I think I would say that the GS - Dal series was analagous to the Orlando - Cleveland series of this year, in that GS simply played as well as they could possibly play for a relatively short stretch of time.”
Not only that, but Orlando was THE matchup nightmare for the Cavs, just as GS was for the Mavs. The talent differential between the two teams was about the same.
Dallas did not play like a 67 win team that season. They played like a 59 win team, while GS played like a 50 win team. I don’t think you can entirely blame Avery Johnson for the debacle that ensued.
No, no, no, no, no on Hedo. Seriously? Do people actually want Hedo here? He’s 30, has basically the same skillset as Tay minus ANY defensive abilities, and is completely in between the 3 and 4 without being able to guard either.
No. No. No. No. Jesus H. Christ, Son of Jod, NO.
I vote Sam Mitchell.. He always tells it like it is in post-game interviews.
I’d also like to point out that the primary criticism against Johnson in the Golden State series is that he didn’t play Dampier and Diop enough…that makes it a tough argument for me to buy…
Regardless of the situation Curry was put in, if he had followed thru on his presser last summer, AI isn’t a problem. I think it also has to do with the way we finished. As someone said above, we only needed two more wins (one of the last games was against Chi) and we’re a 7th seed. This team bailed on him when he didn’t handle AI and Sheed’s early techs. I think he had like 7 or 8 in the first 12 games.
You look at how he handled Amir/Max and Stuck’s a 3 rd year guy and Jod thinks all 3 picks make the roster, do you want MCIAFI in charge of building a young team? I think Jod is realizing perhaps that Flip wasn’t that bad. OTOH, MCIAFI is making a cool 2.5 for each of the next 2 years. I’d take a certain amount of abuse for 2.5M/year.
And when Avery was with the Mavs, he helped groom Harris and I believe at the time Josh Howard was a first or second year guy and Dirk wasn’t a vocal leader. Who do we got here to be a leader?
That’s gotta be something Jod is thinking about also. And though it might not be fair, Avery has had coaching success, got a ring, a commanding presence and MCIAFI was a guy who got thru the NBA giving 110% while being the 7th or 8th guy. I think it’s gotta be tough to get respect in that scenario.
@ brgulker:
Sure, I mean, yeah. Joe must have been just spinning tales. I just found it ironic that he singled out for praise maybe the single worst aspect of Curry’s coaching - his fundamental inconstancy: the arbitrariness of his lineups and substitutions, the fact that in each game he seemed absolutely determined to act in the opposite manner from whatever he had just told people he would do. If there was one thing that Curry failed to do last season, just one thing, it was defining players’ roles clearly. Just funny looking back to see that Joe would pick pick *that* as the area for praise.
Now coaching the Detroit Pistons … (insert name here), Dead Man Walking!
I’m glad Curry’s gone … still not getting my hopes up.
Joel: Yeah, that’s the one. Thanks for re-posting that interview. I also won’t be disappointed if Avery is hired, but I’ve always liked JVG. Even when he clung to Zo’s leg like a small child during that Miami/New York “fight”.
@Garrett
That “fight” is actually analogous to why I want him as our coach.
On a brief side note does Booze have till 5 pm Eastern time or mountain time to make his decision to opt out?
Boozer just opted in. If DET wants him, it’s via trade.
“Johnson - He would probably do well, although, some of you need to temper your enthusiasm. Remember, Johnson got out coached when he had the #1 seed and was beat by Golden State. He was reacting to them instead of making them react to him. There are hints that players tune him out as well.”
Big Z said it best, here.
Avery’s fucking horrible. Absolutely not … Golden State didn’t have a pot to piss in with that series … all those big time losers could do, well … they hustled … and weak talent with uptempo pace and extra hustle shouldn’t get you any better results than an ass-handing against a 60-plus-win team. Yet, Dallas looked clueless against them. Avery couldn’t come up with the simplest answers, for his players, for the media, for his management. No adjustments, nothing he could say to the players, total foot-in-mouth disease … sound familiar???? Huh, people, familiar, come on, bebounds?!? Come on. Avery gets almost no credit from me for what they put together in Dallas.
No Van Gundy … that jackass goes on and on with the disparaging comments directed toward Detroit and praise for anyone playing our team. Might as well hire Bill Simmons if you wanted that kind of an asshole running the clip.
Thanks Tim. Looks like Utah could be in some serious cap shiznit then depending on what the cap is set at.
I probably have a reputation on this site as a Dumars apologist. But, the thing that I like about him is that he’s smart enough to recognize his mistakes.
Most GMs don’t do this. They will stick with a player too long because they don’t want to admit they made a bad trade, signing or draft pick.
Dumars is a gambler and he’s made his fair share of blunders. Darko, Michael Curry, Nazr Mohammed, Carlos Arroyo, Flip Murray.
But, he’s quick to rectify his mistakes once he realizes things aren’t going to work out. And for every blunder, there’s a winner: Firing Carlisle for Brown, trading Stackhouse for Rip, drafting Tayshaun and Stuckey, etc.
That’s why I feel comfortable with him as a GM. He may not be the best. But, he’s probably Top Five.
Well, then, sauce your choice would be who?
Yep LeeROYbrown (baddest man in the whole damn town). I think I read they were in luxury tax land even before Memo’s decision. If he opts in like Boozer and Kyle Korver did the Jazz is in real trouble.
Here’s the Boozer link:
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12724003
I’m in the “No on Laimbeer” camp. Those thinking he will come in and clunk heads together and then everything will be alright have not been paying attention this last year.
I doubt some WNBA championships will earn the player’s respect. I don’t think his two titles will either (those didn’t make Isiah or Magic a good coach).
My personal preference is a coach that’s committed to running an offense like the Princeton or the Triangle. An offense with constant movement will be tough to stop with a lineup like the Pistons where at least 4 of the 5 players on the court have ball-handling, shooting and passing skills.
Eddie Jordan’s already taken. Maybe Brian Shaw or Kurt Rambis off the Lakers staff.
@ Tim: Anything on Okur? He was leaning to opting out.
QD: I think Arroyo came via trade? If not, he cut bait on that pretty quick as Arroyo is now overseas. Bad lockerroom guy from what I read.
My concern here is this is Jod’s 6th coach in 10 years. LB looking for another job while he’s coaching us and cutting MCIAFI after a year are acceptable. With this much cash and the players he can bring in this time in coordination with hiring a coach, I think no matter what else happens, Jod is on the hook for the next 2-4 years for the performance of the team.
Thank God Boozer opted in. Jod, go get Millsap NOW !!
@Sauce
If we can’t hire someone because they’ve made disparaging comments about Detroit, I’m pretty sure there isn’t anyone on the planet we’d be allowed to hire. Detroit is pretty much a shithole. It’s undeniable. And my family’s from there. Not a big deal. Don’t slag on a guy because he calls a duck a duck. He clearly respected Bad Boys era Detroit Basketball and even claims to have modeled him Knicks teams after that same philosophy.
QD - Yep. Better to have guts and lose than to lose playing it safe. As a White Sox fan, he actually reminds me a lot of Kenny Williams.
Re: Joel
I like Hedo because he can play the point and take pressure off of Stuckey. Tayshaun… not so much in that role.
My choice is “fuck you.” Go fish out names I’ve already put out there.
I love this quote:
“We are excited that Carlos has decided to remain with the Jazz,” said Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor. “We are hopeful he can continue to play at an All-Star level and will have an injury-free season.”
Cough, cough, bullshit, cough, cough.
Joel, Jeff’s a shit coach. You’re just paying more for not any better of a result.
Might as well bring back Doug Collins, if you guys are getting sweaty balls and puppy dog eyes for Junk Van Gundy and Averdummmy Johnson.
God this feels like deja vu. Who then, Sauce, would you suggest? Didn’t we have this discussion like two months ago? Where we keep asking if you have any suggestions, but you just retort back with how all of ours are stupid?
Nah, i’m not that bored. Glad to see you’ve expanded your vocabulary this summer.
@MarkButter in SoCal:
Okur’s deadline is 10pm, so we won’t know for sure for a while.
Not sure on Milsap. If we could grab him for 6-7 million sure, but someone’s going to overpay for him. I’d rather get someone with more than one good year behind him.
Agreed QD Rambis is an interesting option AND I’ll begrudgingly admit that Laimbeer probably would not fit the bill. Problem is I think Kupcake over in LA made Rambis an offer he cannot refuse once Jackson steps down.
This is Karma for the Jazz for stealing Okur from us in a bidding war after the championship year. I want them to experience a luxury tax implosion of deathstar proportions! The Jazz will move from game to game greyhound and stop for mcnuggets and orange drink as the budget permits.
JVG probably wouldn’t take the Pistons job. He’s good friends with Flip Saunders and I think a lot of his Piston hating was due to the players not respecting him and getting him fired.
I will swing with Rambis.
Put away Doug Collins… it is not going to happen!!
And Joel, I produced names then. I don’t do requests for people challenging me. I’m not your friend.
You’re still dumb as ever, Craig. Saying “no” is valid.
@ Tim: Thanks.
LeeRoy: I had forgotten that about the Jazz following 04. Tang and Slim Jim’s on every flight.
Of course this topic already has more than 140 comments.
I’m surprised he got fired but he did deserve it. I’m hoping laimbeer as assistant coach and Avery head coach.
Doug Collins would be a mistake
Whoa my god, whoa my god, WHOA MY GOD!!!
Sauce, don’t be a douche, all right.
Laimbeer would be a great tutor for Austin Daye, I would think.
Colin, I come here for laughs at the expense of the majority of you. Most of the time, I leave satisfied.
Sweet! Too bad I don’t come here to be annoyed by disgruntled assholes.
So does this mean we’re keeping Rip?
Yeah Colin, I don’t know why you bother at all. I’m surrounded by those assholes.
@TDP
Much more likely than it was yesterday. I’d still be surprised Joe signed Gordon and kept Rip around, but Gordon’s no sure thing.
KEEP FIRING, ASSHOLES!
The only possible reason I can see for hiring Doug Collins is he probably wouldn’t want to coach for too many years, so I could see him being okay with having Laimbeer on his staff and helping to groom him to eventually be the head coach.
I really think it would be in Detroit’s interest to bring Laimbeer onto the staff of whatever coach they hire. I’ll admit to having watched a decent handful of Shock games, and having heard Laimbeer talk about the game, I just think there’s a solid chance he ends up being a very good NBA coach.
Tom Thibodeau?
The Booze is no court warrior. He’ll go to the highest bidder and I consider him lacking in the grit and drive that I think our squad needs. Don’t want that fool here.
@Sauce:
I come here for laughs at the expense of the majority of you. Most of the time, I leave satisfied.
Dude, Joel and Colin both bring a hell of a lot more to this community than whiny, negative, conspiratorial bullshit that just is your fare. You come here to tell everyone how wrong they are, but never add any positive suggestions yourself. Isn’t it about time you blow up and curse everyone out, then take a six month break without commenting? The rest of us could use it.
Just wanted to get in on this thread after a long day. I saw this late in the afternoon and it totally turned a stressful day into a fantastic one.
I thought so!! hell yeah, good move detroit!!!
NBA.com reports that Avery Johnson is not interested in the Pistons job (nor was he contacted, apparently):
The Detroit Pistons have three candidates for their head coaching job after firing Michael Curry early Tuesday, sources tell TNT’s David Aldridge. The three are current Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach John Kuester, former Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson and current TNT analyst Doug Collins.
A source close to Johnson told NBA.com’s Art Garcia that Johnson is not a candidate or currently interested in the position. Johnson, according to the source, has not had any contact with Detroit and is preparing to return to ESPN as an analyst. After the upcoming season, Johnson would be more amenable to a return to the sidelines, the source said.
THIS IS GREAT NEWS!
You know you’re in the sh*tter when firing the coach feels like you just landed an awesome trade or draft pick.. haha
BIIILLLL LAIMBEER! Oh, and Sauce, you are a giant D bag. You said keep firing…….
The Cavs assistant - no. Mike Brown sucks and I’m sure his assistants do too. Collins - no, just no. I’m down for Thibodeau or Johnson. One of those two.
What about Terry Porter? He was something that could have had staying power in Milwaukee-then he got the shaft (imo). Here in PHX, he was trying to teach DEFENSE, and to be honest, it seemed to be taking hold, Amare was NOT a liability during the last days of TP, Kerr (a Jordan beneficiary as a player-read OVERRATED) was to impatient and didn’t like the idea of a slower paced game-dumped him. I am not making excuses, I just think TP is a defense first coach, and with a strong background as to what Jod wants…just sayin’
Mike Payne, that sounds like an invitation to keep going.
Yay. Lets get a better COUCH.
i thought dumars was going to torture everyone with another curry year for sure. didn’t he already say that curry would be back? what great news. a season with no a.i. posts. no amir posts. no mike curry posts.
thank you joe dumars
LAUGHTON looks like taking STYLE of coachDP to make POSTS that are FUNNY. just epinion
AFB, you should know by now that all three of the aforementioned Pistons will be mentioned for years to come, although with less regularity.
pistons to finally GET good COACH. no sugarcoat, curry not cut OUT for coaching at PRO level.
Looks like Laimbeer MAY be in the running after all…
http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/2009/07/coaching_search_includes_bill.html
Damn two coachDP comments today. Fantastico.
thankyou skylar, no sugarcoat, OTHER commitmints have taken me from GREAT bad boys e-blog lately. hoping to PROVIDE more analisys and contirbution to COMMENTS now.