In a bold and completely unexpected move, Dumars canned Curry this afternoon. Following a dismal 39 win season - 20 fewer than the year before - the coach should certainly feel the heat. Yet, on April 30th, Dumars held a press conference confirming that Curry would return. So, what gives?
The first explanation is... GMs and owners lie all the time. Yes, we accept that. But I truly believe Dumars planned on bringing Curry back. I postulate that two things happened between April 30th and today:
- The full weight of the lockerroom drama came to light, culminating in the Drew Sharp article. Yeah, it was clear that Rip was pissed that Chauncey got traded. And he was probably pissed that the Pistons got him to sign a contract extension a few days before the trade. And getting pushed from the starting lineup in favor of AI? That must've sucked. But the last straw was Curry making that announcement in front of the whole team, without consulting Rip first. Not cool.
- Dumars landed a replacement. I can't imagine Joe D would fire Curry this late in the game without a replacement in place. The rumor on MLive right now is that Dumars landed Doug Collins.
Regarding #1, I'm hoping that Dumars at least knew of the lockerroom drama prior to the article. He works at the Palace, sees those guys every day, and Joe D's not an idiot. He had to know. It just proves that the NBA is a player's league. Coaches are just passengers. The players drive the car. If the Pistons have any hope of competing next year, they need a happy Rip Hamilton. He's an elite player, and they'll be wise to keep him.
As for Doug Collins... yes, he was fired once before as coach of the Pistons, but he did resurrect them during the teal years. He would be a vast upgrade from Curry. With so many years out of the game, the emotional Collins may have mellowed. Collins has a good basketball mind and has molded some fantastic NBA players (Jordan, Pippen, Grant, and Hill). Perhaps he can work the same magic with Stuckey.
Soooo, do we need a new "Headline of the Year"?
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing. I figured it would be a funny thing to keep around, so I changed the title.
ReplyDeletedunno about you guys but I'm excited about the possibility of Avery Johnson coaching the 'Stons. I like Doug Collins (we share a first name) and his status as one of only a handful of folks to ever reject an olympic medal but I feel like Avery did more with less. His '06 Mavs were one awkward call at the end of game 5 (D-Wade goes to the line after seemingly punching Dirk in the stomach, then the refs inexplicably charge Dallas w/ its last timeout between free-throws preventing them from advancing to halfcourt) away from swinging the series. The '07 team was admittedly a disaster but I think that had more to do w/ Don Nelson's coaching philosophy and familiarity w/ the Mavs system.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, Doug. Avery would be my preferred choice over Doug Collins. Unfortunately, Avery specifically mentioned the Pistons did not contact him. Doug Collins made no such claim, which leads me to believe Joe D hired him prior to the Curry firing.
ReplyDeleteEither way, both are an upgrade over Curry.