Posts
Flip Saunders is out as Detroit Pistons head coach after three straight Eastern Conference Finals defeats, via ESPN:
Flip Saunders was fired as Detroit Pistons coach Tuesday, four days after his team was eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
President of basketball operations Joe Dumars said it's "time for a new voice to lead our team." Saunders had a year left on a four-year deal he signed in 2005. The decision comes three years after Saunders took over for Larry Brown, who led the Pistons to two straight NBA Finals.
"Decisions like this are difficult to make, especially with the success we have had throughout the last three regular seasons," Dumars said in a statement. "However, at this time, I feel it is necessary to make a change."
The Pistons will hold a 2 p.m. ET news conference. A message left for Saunders on Tuesday was not immediately returned.
Assistant coach Michael Curry appears to be the leading candidate to replace Saunders. Other possible candidates include Detroit assistant coach Terry Porter and former Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson.
In Saunders' three seasons, the Pistons were 176-70 in the regular season and 30-21 in the postseason, but they lost in the Eastern Conference finals each year.
The Pistons have appeared in six straight conference finals, the first franchise to do so since the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s. But they also are the second team in league history to lose in the round before the NBA Finals three years in a row, joining the Celtics from 1953 to 1955.
Dumars decided a year ago to bring back key players who have been together since the 2004 championship season, as well as Saunders, while infusing energy with rookies and young reserves. But after the loss in Game 6 of the East finals to Boston on Friday, the likelihood of change grew.
Before coming to Detroit, Saunders was 411-326 with the Minnesota Timberwolves from 1995-05. He led them to eight straight postseason appearances -- seven first-round exits and an appearance in the 2004 conference finals. After leading Minnesota to a franchise-high 58 wins, he was fired with a 25-26 mark in the 2004-05 season.
I'm not surprised that Flip Saunders was canned as the Detroit Pistons coach because he has not been seen as the greatest game coach and it seems like his team doesn't really care what he says. Chris Webber pretty much said it all when he said that "No disrespect to Flip but it doesn't matter what Flip says."
It will be interesting to see who Joe Dumars picks as the next head coach of the Pistons. Michael Curry, Terry Porter, and Avery Johnson are all strong coaching candidates. If Curry or Porter were named head coach, I think it would be an easy transition for the team since they are already part of the team culture but at the same time that culture needs a face lift in some ways.
Flip Saunders was fired as Detroit Pistons coach Tuesday, four days after his team was eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
President of basketball operations Joe Dumars said it's "time for a new voice to lead our team." Saunders had a year left on a four-year deal he signed in 2005. The decision comes three years after Saunders took over for Larry Brown, who led the Pistons to two straight NBA Finals.
"Decisions like this are difficult to make, especially with the success we have had throughout the last three regular seasons," Dumars said in a statement. "However, at this time, I feel it is necessary to make a change."
The Pistons will hold a 2 p.m. ET news conference. A message left for Saunders on Tuesday was not immediately returned.
Assistant coach Michael Curry appears to be the leading candidate to replace Saunders. Other possible candidates include Detroit assistant coach Terry Porter and former Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson.
In Saunders' three seasons, the Pistons were 176-70 in the regular season and 30-21 in the postseason, but they lost in the Eastern Conference finals each year.
The Pistons have appeared in six straight conference finals, the first franchise to do so since the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s. But they also are the second team in league history to lose in the round before the NBA Finals three years in a row, joining the Celtics from 1953 to 1955.
Dumars decided a year ago to bring back key players who have been together since the 2004 championship season, as well as Saunders, while infusing energy with rookies and young reserves. But after the loss in Game 6 of the East finals to Boston on Friday, the likelihood of change grew.
Before coming to Detroit, Saunders was 411-326 with the Minnesota Timberwolves from 1995-05. He led them to eight straight postseason appearances -- seven first-round exits and an appearance in the 2004 conference finals. After leading Minnesota to a franchise-high 58 wins, he was fired with a 25-26 mark in the 2004-05 season.
I'm not surprised that Flip Saunders was canned as the Detroit Pistons coach because he has not been seen as the greatest game coach and it seems like his team doesn't really care what he says. Chris Webber pretty much said it all when he said that "No disrespect to Flip but it doesn't matter what Flip says."
It will be interesting to see who Joe Dumars picks as the next head coach of the Pistons. Michael Curry, Terry Porter, and Avery Johnson are all strong coaching candidates. If Curry or Porter were named head coach, I think it would be an easy transition for the team since they are already part of the team culture but at the same time that culture needs a face lift in some ways.
This team just can't take games off and not listen to the coach anymore because that way of doing things is just not getting it done.
The easiest way to change that culture would be to shake- up the roster a little bit. I'm not sure who the Pistons could move but I would think Rasheed Wallace would have to be involved in some way but I'm just not sure how much they can get back for him. He's also their best low post defender, so losing him would definitely hurt on the defensive end of the floor.
No comments:
Post a Comment