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Grex > Sports > #105: Detroit Pistons/professional basketball | |
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jep
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Detroit Pistons/professional basketball
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Apr 25 12:24 UTC 2001 |
This item is for discussion of professional basketball, including
anything related to the Pistons.
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| 11 responses total. |
jep
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response 1 of 11:
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Apr 25 12:28 UTC 2001 |
Who will be the next coach of the Detroit Pistons? Tom Izzo of Michigan
State has made it pretty clear he doesn't want to leave the Spartans.
Joe Dumars, the president of the Pistons, has said he's not really
interested in any other college coaches.
George Irvine was hired last year to make Grant Hill happy, and then
when Hill left for Orlando anyway, Irvine was fired as soon as it was
convenient. Did he get a raw deal?
I'm thinking the Pistons will try to bring in a high-profile coach who
appeals to high-profile players, such as Chris Webber. They really want
to bring in Webber. Every NBA team needs a superstar or two to win, and
Webber's the best available star.
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jep
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response 2 of 11:
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Apr 25 12:34 UTC 2001 |
A lot of buzz has been generated by the possibility of Michael Jordan
returning to the NBA, this time as a member of the Washington Wizards.
Rumors have been floating around since shortly after Mario Lemieux
returned to hockey.
Jordan lived his whole adult life in the center of fame and adulation.
It must be pretty hard to know you could come back and get a lot of that
back, and that you're capable of playing pretty well. I can see why he
would want to come back.
He retired twice, each time after leading his team, the Chicago Bulls,
to a series of 3 consecutive NBA championships. His last play was a
buzzer shot to come from behind for the win in the NBA championship.
Everyone who watched knew what was going to happen. Jordan was going to
shoot, and he was going to make the shot. It was a Jordan moment. How
could he ever hope to match that? It was a great way to end a career.
For that reason, and because it's unthinkable to imagine him in another
NBA team's uniform, I hope he doesn't come out of retirement.
But if he does, I'll watch.
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albaugh
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response 3 of 11:
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Apr 25 21:38 UTC 2001 |
He would be better off staying retired, having gone out on top - 6
straight NBA championships the last 6 years he played. If he comes back
with any team less than one that is on the brink of winning it all - say
LA Lakers or San Antonio - I would think he would be miserable. By
himself, he will not transform a mediocre team into a contender.
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jep
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response 4 of 11:
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Apr 26 01:52 UTC 2001 |
Right, I agree. If he could turn the team from bad to good by just
being there, he could do it as the president.
Wouldn't you watch the games if he came back?
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raul
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response 5 of 11:
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Apr 26 03:03 UTC 2001 |
Athletes, sadly, have more desire than perspective. Everybody can see that
Michael should stay retired, but I"m not sure that he does. I had been
figuring that all the speculation was just speculation, but an interview that
Mario Lemieux (whose comeback was far more appropriate and can only be topped
if he wins the Stanley Cup) did with the Hockey News has changed my mind.
He's talked to Jordan. "I can't comment on that," he says, and then goes on
to talk about what a Jordan comeback would bring to the table in a positive
manner.
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jep
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response 6 of 11:
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Apr 26 13:24 UTC 2001 |
Well... but why *should* he stay retired, if he wants to play
basketball? So we'll all remember him as Air Jordan, who won 6 NBA
championships? We will anyway. We all remember Muhammad Ali for his
spectacular career, and not for the shadow of his former self that lost
a few rounds at the end, don't we? And we always will. We'll always
remember Air Jordan, too. (No one thinks of him primarily as a failed
baseball player, do they?) If Michael Jordan wants to come back again,
geez, he's only 38 years old. If he can still make a few shots, let
him. It's his life.
Maybe it would be better for everyone else if he'd start a Senior NBA
league, like the senior golf circuit, and play with other elder
statesmen like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Who else could make that
work but Michael Jordan?
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albaugh
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response 7 of 11:
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Apr 29 15:47 UTC 2001 |
From a certain POV, MJ coming back might be bad for the NBA, PR-wise, either
way (of course the NBA is "hurting" anyway): If MJ fails, it looks like a
failed gimmicky sales schtick. If MJ succeeds, what does that say about the
NBA, if a 38-year-old player - regardless of how good he was in his prime -
can thrive? Don't look for any MJ un-retire endorsements from Com. Stern.
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cyklone
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response 8 of 11:
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May 1 11:40 UTC 2001 |
Re #1: Mark my words: Chris Webber will never be a Detroit Piston. Anyone who
thinks otherwise is deluded. I'm getting a little sick of seeing sportscasters
and the public (and apparently Pistons officials, as well) talking about
making a strong push for CWebb. There are going to be a lot of disappointed
people around here after he signs elsewhere. What really bothers me though,
is that people have consistently ignored his very clear signals that he
doesn't want to play here. Which means the Pistons will waste a lot of time
and effort on what will ultimately result in failure. They will then scramble
for some other players and then spend the year trying to explain their
incompetence. If Dumars does not have a carefully thought out Plan B, he may
end up losing his job in the fallout.
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jep
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response 9 of 11:
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May 1 15:53 UTC 2001 |
So what kind of plan B would you recommend he have? Webber is the
biggest star that's a free agent, and everyone wants to sign him. In
the NBA, you either have big stars, or you don't compete in the playoffs
and don't draw fans. There aren't any magnificent stars coming out of
college or high school, except maybe Loren Woods; Dumars can't count on
getting him and can't control whether he gets him or not.
Plan B has to be to build the components of a good team and wait for
next year to sign or draft some big star. The media aren't going to
write stories about that. All you're going to hear about is Webber, no
matter what Dumars is really doing.
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albaugh
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response 10 of 11:
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Oct 15 17:05 UTC 2004 |
The Pistons coach for 2001-2002 & 2002-2003 was Rick Carlylse (sp).
The Pistons coach for 2003-2004 & 2004-2005 was/is Larry Brown.
The Pistons were NBA champs in 2004, beating LA in a "5-game sweep".
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albaugh
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response 11 of 11:
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Oct 15 17:08 UTC 2004 |
Heard on sports radio: Supposedly it is being considered for the NBA to not
allow 3-point baskets until the last 5 minutes of a game. If true, what the
heck are "they" thinking?! What, there's too much hoisting of long bombs,
lowering shooting percentages, making for lower scoring? And they think that
requiring teams to get their points closer in is going to solve anything?
The only thing to counter the clogging of the lane is the threat of 3-point
"punishment". I hope this is just another bad idea that dies a deserved early
death.
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