Pistons Fire Michael Curry

[Drummond]

You beauty! Shouldn't have been hired in the first place but at least Joe ends it ASAP.

http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/2009/06/pistons_head_coach_michael_cur.html

Pistons fire coach Michael Curry after one season

AUBURN HILLS - The never-ending carousel of coaches for the Detroit Pistons continues with the announcement that head coach Michael Curry has been fired.

"This was a difficult decision to make," said Joe Dumars, Detroit's president of basketball operations. "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."

The timing of Dumars' decision -- on the eve of free agency -- could be just a coincidence, or it could speak to some concerns that potential Pistons targets and their representatives were having with Curry as the head coach.

While it's unclear who the Pistons will hire as the team's next head coach, former Piston and Detroit Shock coach Bill Laimbeer's name will surely come up in discussions.

However, Detroit will likely look to bring in a more experienced coach like Avery Johnson, who as the Dallas Mavericks coach, won 100 games faster than any coach in NBA history. However, his struggles during the playoffs -- sound familiar? -- ultimately led to the Mavericks firing him in April of 2008.

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

Avery's struggles in the playoffs was not the reason he was fired

 

[krisholio14]

Avery's struggles in the playoffs was not the reason he was fired

Yes, he was fired for the same reason we just fired Michael Curry.

I feel a bit sorry for MC to be honest. He had everything primed and ready to go for the season then Joe D trades for Allen Iverson two games into it. That was just never going to end well for anyone.

I just hope we hire a good coach, and make use of the salary cap space we have to turn around what has become a bit of a mess pretty rapidly.

 

[Messenger]

Yes, he was fired for the same reason we just fired Michael Curry.

Player disharmony?

 

[krisholio14]

Player disharmony?

Basically yes.

 

[celtic_pride]

Why isn't anyone in Detroit questioning Joe Dumars ???

He's made some stupid moves in the last couple of years, the biggest one getting rid of Billups for Iverson (yes i am aware it's a salary cap related trade) but it still weakened detroit considereably, and there is no guarntees they will nab a big free agent at the end of 2010 anyway.

 

[krisholio14]

Why isn't anyone in Detroit questioning Joe Dumars ???

He's made some stupid moves in the last couple of years, the biggest one getting rid of Billups for Iverson (yes i am aware it's a salary cap related trade) but it still weakened detroit considereably, and there is no guarntees they will nab a big free agent at the end of 2010 anyway.

We aren't looking for a free agent next year, we are looking for one this year apparently.

I'm willing to cut Joe D a little more slack for the next 6 to 12 months, but he'd better start getting something right, coz he's whiffed on his last few at bats.

 

[Pivo]

We aren't looking for a free agent next year, we are looking for one this year apparently.

I'm willing to cut Joe D a little more slack for the next 6 to 12 months, but he'd better start getting something right, coz he's whiffed on his last few at bats.

Who would you like the Pistons to get diablo?

Thank christ Curry is gone though - I don't think he was ever the right guy for the job.

That said, I'm also kinda over Hamilton and his petulant ways.

Might be time to shake that joint up properly. Should have happened before last season started but now is the right time I think.

Things are a little on the nose in Motor City at the moment.

 

[hamG]

F(h)ire Mike Woodson!

 

[September_Glory]

Somthing seems wrong here. Dumars, all season long, has publicly backed Curry even to the point of saying the AI trade has made it difficult for him to get any traction. How can he say those kind of things all season and dump him before giving him an opportunity?

Curry isn't clear of blame either, he made two key errors this year imo. One was not reaching out to Rasheed, who by all reports is the clear leader of this group. It's obvious when you watch the Pistons anyway, when he plays well, everything sorta falls into place. His effort this year was abysmal and while some of that is on him, Curry had to get Rasheed's ear.

Secondly, the decision to start AI and put Rip to the bench. Clearly, AI is/was the problem. Which leads me to...

That said, I'm also kinda over Hamilton and his petulant ways.

He was one of the main guys who took their team to (what was it?) 6 straight Conference Finals, then his backcourt buddy gets traded for that 5'10", wrong side of the hill ballhog ****ing up all the chemistry they've created as a group. Then he gets benched for this guy? C'mon, the amount of blame attributed to Rip is minimal to none compared to Dumars, Curry and AI.

As I said, something seems wrong here. Either this was the owner's decision and Dumars' is the face to blame (which is the GM's job description) or the playing group forced Dumars' hand.

 

[robd]

I feel a bit sorry for MC to be honest. He had everything primed and ready to go for the season then Joe D trades for Allen Iverson two games into it. That was just never going to end well for anyone.

agreed. I was actually really excited when Curry came on board, but when Billups left that was just a massive hole to fill. Billups would have made Curry's transition so much easier.

also agree with Pivotonian about Hamilton. the dude whined far too much during the season. he showed a lack of respect as far as i'm concerned. but i guess its up to Curry to earn that respect.

i think the main reason Detroit pulled this move was to appear more attractive to prospective free agents. Lets be honest, would YOU want to come to Detroit to play for Michael Curry? But coming to play for Avery Johnson doesn't seem so bad.

And i've always thought people were too hard on Avery. the guy has a 73% winning percentage. they should have won the '06 Finals but that is not all his fault.

 

[September_Glory]

i think the main reason Detroit pulled this move was to appear more attractive to prospective free agents. Lets be honest, would YOU want to come to Detroit to play for Michael Curry? But coming to play for Avery Johnson doesn't seem so bad.

I've said this in another thread as well, one interesting note about Michael Curry is that he has a relationship with Bosh. CB4 has stated previously that Curry was his mentor when he entered the NBA. They just lost that avenue it would seem.

I like Avery a lot but I have to believe the stories from Dallas, that they found his constant play calling and yelling from the sideline to be grating. Even I got sick of seeing Devin Harris look over every possession to see what play Avery wants.

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

Oh man if they don't like Curry, wait till they see Avery.

He has the best winning percentage of any coach in NBA history but is universally despised in Dallas.

 

[Pivo]

He was one of the main guys who took their team to (what was it?) 6 straight Conference Finals, then his backcourt buddy gets traded for that 5'10", wrong side of the hill ballhog ****ing up all the chemistry they've created as a group. Then he gets benched for this guy? C'mon, the amount of blame attributed to Rip is minimal to none compared to Dumars, Curry and AI.

I hear what you're saying, AI was something of a cancer but if Hamilton is a pro he needed to keep it in house. Sooking on the bench and to the media didn't help things.

Anyway, looks like Detroit has agreed to terms with Gordon and (possibly) Villanueva.

 

[Byron_Clanger]

such is life

 

[celtic_pride]

It does look certain the man with the annoying voice will be coaching Mo-Town

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4305278

 

[krisholio14]

Damn it, I know Joe D and AJ are good mates being Louisiana boys and all, but seriously, didn't Joe see what happened in Dallas????

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

Damn it, I know Joe D and AJ are good mates being Louisiana boys and all, but seriously, didn't Joe see what happened in Dallas????

Interesting that the source of this was none other than Avery Johnson, who mentioned it when he was trying to get an interview last year.

I saw a quote from Joe the other day where he said he really doesnt know Avery at all.

 

[krisholio14]

Interesting that the source of this was none other than Avery Johnson, who mentioned it when he was trying to get an interview last year.

I saw a quote from Joe the other day where he said he really doesnt know Avery at all.

Nah mate, I read an article in Basketball Digest 20 years ago about Louisiana ballers like Joe, AJ and Robert Parish looking out for each other throughout their careers.

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

Here's an interesting read

Is Suns GM Steve Kerr’s slap-of-omission of Avery Johnson an accident, a slip of the tongue, a brain-cramping oversight?

Or is Kerr’s view fueled by his first-hand knowledge of one of the NBA’s worst-kept secrets -- a tale lowlighted by bantam-rooster ego, harsh locker-room words, and finally, Naked Greco-Roman Wrestling -- that could be a small part urban legend and a large part of The Lil’ General’s unfortunate legacy?

Quote from Kerr on Phoenix’ ongoing coaching search: “I'm in charge of hiring the right person. … What's interesting is that there are no obvious candidates now. It's not like there are really prominent former head coaches out there.’’

No "right persons''? "No obvious candidates''? No "prominent former head coaches out there''?

Yessir, that is interesting.



We were long ago tipped to one of the reasons Kerr might have that view of Avery as a coach non grata: Steve Nash has a voice in that organization, just as Dirk Nowitzki has a voice in Dallas. Nash and Nowitzki are best friends who listen to each others’ voices. So when Nash is pitching in by doing his due diligence on coaching candidates, and he calls Dirk to find out what went down in Dallas. … well, you get the picture.

And then there are X’s-and-O’s issues, and matters of “fit.’’

But there might be another reason.

According to the lore (and it seems most people inside the NBA know it, and chuckle about it), the year was 2000. Avery Johnson was a season removed from his finest moment, hitting that game-winning shot to help the Robinson/Duncan Spurs to a title. He will always get credit for being a vocal and inspirational leader of that team, but. …

“This is MY team! This is MY team!’’ Avery squawked as he marched through the visitors’ locker room in Cleveland wearing nothing but a towel and too much pride. “This is MY team!’’

He wasn’t really saying it to anyone. No one was really listening. It was, maybe, like Denzel Washington’s crooked cop at the end of “Training Day,’’ a defeated Alonzo Harris theatrically howling at the neighborhood that had finally endured enough of his sociopathic bullying.

“Okay. Alright. I'm putting cases on all you b****s. Huh. You think you can do this s***... You think you can do this to me? You m************s will be playing basketball in Pelican Bay when I get finished with you. SHU program, n****s. 23-hour lockdown. I'm the man up in this piece. You'll never see the light of... who the f*** do you think you're f***** with? I'm the police, I run s*** around here. You just live here. Yeah, that's right, you better walk away. Go on and walk away... 'cause I'm gonna' burn this m*********** down. King Kong ain't got s*** on me. That's right, that's right. … I'm winning anyway, I'm winning... I'm winning any m*********** way. I can't lose. Yeah, you can shoot me, but you can't kill me.’’

Now, imagine that in your ear. Only in a Cajun-flavored squeak.

“This is MY team! This is MY team!’’

Some would argue that Avery was simply flexing a familiar muscle, that using his emotion and his voice in that manner was commonplace and acceptable – certainly acceptable to coach Gregg Popovich, who’d anointed Avery as the admittedly effective surrogate eyes and ears (and mouth) of his roster.

Others say Avery kind of snapped, maybe responding to the realization that making that shot in the NBA Finals game was his pinnacle as a player, and that there was no place to go but down.

Whatever the motivation, a certain group – and by that we mean most of the Spurs players in that locker room that night in Cleveland not named David Robinson – had grown tired of Avery’s chest-thumping, ghetto-preaching, ego-pumping pin-and-needling, “This-Is-MY-Team’’ing form of leadership.

Next thing you know, Malik Rose dogpiled Avery Johnson. They fought. In the locker room. Naked.

Avery was fighting to represent himself. Malik pretty much represented everybody else.

“At the end, they all wanted him out of there,’’ says one NBA lifer who counts himself as a friend of Avery’s. “He grated on them. Bad. It was a matter of time before somebody finally shut him up.’’

Robinson eventually interceded and broke up the brawl. Popovich interceded in his own way, too, later explaining that the disheveled room was the result of his anger.

But it was all Avery. Avery being Avery. The Avery who got one measly scholarship offer, grudgingly accepted it, and twice led the NCAA in assists for Southern. The Avery who wasn’t drafted by the NBA, was frequently rejected by the NBA, and still, three decades later, is a champion as a player and a coach with an incredible .735 regular-season winning percentage.

But he’s also a coach without a job, a leader without a team, a voice without a stage.

What's going on here? Is Avery Johnson destined to be under the curse of Alonzo Harris? You know, coaching basketball in Pelican Bay?

Avery Johnson deserves a tremendous amount of credit for building himself into an NBA force. He would not be in a position to collect $4 million-a-year paychecks (from Mark Cuban or elsewhere,coaching or not) without his feistiness, his combativeness, his ego. But it’s that Michael Irvin philosophy all over again: “A man’s greatest strength is also his greatest weakness.’’

There are two sides to every story, and in this one, Avery’s strength is one side. Avery’s weakness is the other. We're not saying this tale necessarily paints Avery in a newly horrid light, especially considering that, again, NBA insiders have long known the details of the brawl; we will opine that we don't have to portray Avery negatively inasmuch as he continues to make public statements that do a befuddlingly complete job of that all by himself. So much so, in fact, that even the needy Bulls seem to have somehow misplaced his phone number.

Still, having considered both sides of the story and both sides of the man, aware only of Avery's faith-based "Aspire Higher'' reputation, would understandable ask: how does he not qualify to the Phoenix Suns as a “right person,’’ an “obvious candidate,’’ a “prominent former head coach’’?

Well, you know who else was on that team, and in that room, listening to “The Lil’ General’s’’ Cajun cajoling, watching Avery play both sides of management and roster, hearing Avery harshly critique teammates, and then that night in Cleveland, observing as Avery cracked up just a little bit, the pressure getting to him and manifesting itself in Avery being administered a naked-on-the-floor locker-room beatdown?

The future general manager of the Phoenix Suns, Steve Kerr, was on that team. And in that room.

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

Nah mate, I read an article in Basketball Digest 20 years ago about Louisiana ballers like Joe, AJ and Robert Parish looking out for each other throughout their careers.

Maybe. But there's this.

That’ll be one stumbling block. Then will come this issue of Avery pretending to have relationships with people with whom he doesn’t have relationships. One of those is Dumars himself; a year ago, Avery made noise about being interested in the Detroit job (that eventually went to the now-fired Michael Curry) and noting that he and Dumars were close friends who “talk all the time’’ thanks to their shared Louisiana roots.

Woj himself wrote this week that Dumars was looking forward to getting to know Avery, with whom he is obviously not close.