Poor Joe Dumars

He's the face of the organization. He's the public figure who fans rail against, Millen-style, when things go wrong. He's made some terrible decisions as a GM. He's also made some incredibly shrewd acquisitions & picks, including the best deadline-day trade of the last ten years.

In effect, Joe's human. Some good moves, some bad moves. For a glorious seven years, he had the Pistons as true contenders. Not many NBA teams have that sort of staying power. Obviously, the wheels came off once he traded Chauncey. It was inevitable. The players were getting older, more content, and the league was changing around them, catering to more offense-minded teams. Through it all, though, Dumars made moves. He was never afraid to shake things up.

He traded away Jerry Stackhouse. He fired Rick Carlisle. He signed Lindsey Hunter, then traded him, then signed him again. He picked up Dice. He let Ben Wallace walk, then brought him back. He extended Rip, then inked BG and CV. There was always movement.

Until Bill Davidson died.

How important is an owner? In this case, it's the most important thing in the world. The current owner, Karen Davidson, essentially killed any chance the Pistons had at a trade. She refuses to take on any more salary. For the Pistons, they're stuck with too many high-priced guards. Other teams would gladly take them off the Pistons' books, but only if the Pistons take salary in exchange. It's the price Dumars must pay for the poor decisions. There's no way a team would give up a valuable draft pick for the steep Hamilton and Gordon contracts.

So, without financial wiggle room, Dumars was forced to into an impossible spot... at least with regard to Rip, BG, and CV. Dumars' goal is always to improve the team. Apparently, none of the trade offers last night offered improvement.

Of the trade offers made public, none really excited me. It's just sad that we, as fans, are stuck with this current roster for a few more months. The team is as listless as a three-toed sloth:

Friends, it's a bad situation. Yet, let's not crucify Joe D. I have no doubt he desperately wanted to dump these guys and atone for some bad moves. But he's got to wait until he's no longer answering to Karen Davidson.