All or nothing seems to be the formula for coaching the Detroit Pistons. Bring home an NBA championship or hit the road. First-year coach Michael Curry became the latest Pistons coach to get the ax as president for basketball operations Joe Dumars fired him Tuesday after watching his team stumble to a sub-.500 record and an embarrassing first-round exit from the playoffs.
They are partying at the Palace as well as in Motown as the Detroit Pistons finally did something right after a lost season. According to the Associated Pressthe Detroit Pistons have just done the old addition by subtraction routine. The Pistons announced Tuesday that they have relieved rookie head coach Michael Curry of his head coaching duties. Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars told reporters that he is looking for a more experienced head coach as Detroit tries to bounce back from their worst season of the decade.
Curry was brought into replace former head coach Flip Saunders who had kept the team from Motown near the top during his reign but never could capture an NBA Championship. Curry with a roster in flux as Detroit traded Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson just were able to get into the NBA post-season as the team got the final seed in the East with a record below .500. The Pistons made an extremely early exit as they were trampled by the Cleveland Cavaliers in a four game first round sweep.
Detroit is looking to a very active participant in the Free Agent market this Summer and reports out of the Motor City was Dumars did not think that he could attract quality players with Curry at the end of the bench. Iverson and Rasheed Wallace are both free agents which gives Detroit lots of room under the NBA salary cap.
So far two possible coaching choices have been mentioned former Bulls and Wizards head coach Doug Collins and Avery Johnson who was fired after last season as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. Collins is now a TV Analyst for TNT while Johnson has the same job for ESPN. Last Summer there were reports of a deal almost happening between Collins and the Bulls but in the eleventh hour Collins withdrew his name from consideration.
Jazz forward Carlos Boozer and center Mehmet Okur exercised the options on their contracts and will stay with the Jazz.
Here’s a look at the big issues to be conquered when the NBA free-agency window opens at 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday. Teams may negotiate with free agents starting July 1, but new contracts cannot be signed until July 8.
Sources say Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is going to meet with free agent Jason Kidd in New York.