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Should the Detroit Pistons consider hiring Lindsey Hunter? From Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press:
Suns coach Lindsey Hunter’s status hasn’t been decided in Phoenix, and considering his ties as a former player and member of the Pistons’ 2004 NBA championship team, his status is even further in doubt following Monday’s firing of Suns GM Lance Blanks, also a former Piston.
Hunter is someone the Pistons could possibly consider. He enjoys a great relationship with president of basketball Joe Dumars and is well regarded by the organization.
I mean ... I guess. But he was a controversial choice when the Suns hired him to replace Alvin Gentry in the first place, and the fact that the Suns went just 12-29 with Hunter as interim head coach does nothing to help his resume.
In fact, I'll go one step further: I'm guessing Blanks' decision to hire Hunter in the first place was a big reason he got canned. Hunter was technically on Gentry's staff but worked behind the bench -- when he was promoted to the top spot, longtime assistants Elston Turner and Dan Majerle were so upset they quit. Hunter was so unprepared for the job that he admits not calling a single offensive play in his first game. From an end-of-season retrospective by Dave King at Bright Side of the Sun:
Hunter has come to the point where it's okay to admit how far he had to come as a coach, from the first game where he didn't even call a single offensive play.
"I went from not holding the clipboard at all to totally taking over at the end, so that's a big jump," he admitted. "I think throughout the losing, that made my stomach sick at night but I enjoyed the coaching. That's what I do."
Point guard Goran Dragic said Hunter still has a lot further to go in the play calling area.
"We only had two, three actions," Dragic said of the difference between Hunter and Alvin Gentry. "Teams would scout us and make it difficult to run those actions. Alvin always had a play he could draw up to get a good shot."
Hunter has charisma, playing experience, a good relationship with Joe Dumars ... and an open FBI investigation. But what else? Didn't Michael Curry teach us anything?