Flip Saunders fired by the Pistons
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AVERY?!??! That nigga can't even get out the first round... The pistons need a coach that will humble the players... These niggas didn't respect Saunders and I'll be Damn if they respect a nigga who loses in the playoffs
I personally think Avery would be a bad choice for the Pistons.
It really did seem like the Pistons did not respect Flip Saunders to begin so they gotta get someone whom the team respects.
The Pistons may have the current assistant coach step of to the coach role... I would personally like to see Jeff Van Gundy coaching them.
i agree. not because coach johnson is not a capable head coach, but because i don't see his coaching style working with a bunch of experienced veterans who've already been to the finals.
IMO, he has the same problem that coach fratello did with the atlanta hawks: he attempts to micromanage games, and players recoil from too much rigid control. is it any wonder the hawks never made it beyond the 2nd round?
The Pistons next coach will be...
Michael Curry
He might not be the most well-known candidate for the job but he is well-respected by the front office and the players. If Larry Brown had stuck around a little longer, Curry would have gotten the job instead of Saunders to begin with.
Whoever the next coach is, he has to be able to deal with Rasheed Wallace, or Detroit will become the next Portland Trailblazers
Flip is the Dan Reeves of the NBA. His coaching style can get you to the playoffs, but not all the way to the title
Flip is the Dan Reeves of the NBA. His coaching style can get you to the playoffs, but not all the way to the title
DETROIT (AP) - Michael Curry will be the Detroit Pistons head coach next season after only one year as an assistant.
Dallas Mavericks guard Jerry Stackhouse, who played with Curry in Detroit, said Curry was like a player-coach during his career on the court.
"It was just a matter of time," Stackhouse said a telephone interview with the AP on Monday. "Everybody who knew Michael from his playing days knew this is where he would end up.
"He's going to do great for Detroit because he already has great rapport with those players, who will give him a different kind of respect because he played in the league."
Curry was an assistant last season in Detroit under for Flip Saunders, who was fired last week.
The Pistons and Curry agreed on a three-year deal worth $2.5 million a season. The team holds an option for a fourth season.
Before going to the bench, Curry was the NBDL's vice president of player development following a playing career that started as an undrafted free agent during the 1993-94 season in Philadelphia and ended during the 2004-05 season with the Indiana Pacers.
He averaged 4 1/2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 20 minutes a game over his career, which included two stops in Detroit along with stints in Milwaukee, Toronto and Washington. His defense and leadership kept him in the league despite averaging less than seven points a season.
"I think he has a lot of good qualifications," Phoenix Suns coach Terry Porter, who was a Pistons assistant with Curry last season, told the AP. "It's a pretty good jump going from assistant to head coach, but like Stackhouse said, he's been a player-coach most of his life.
"I don't know what his staff will be like, but that's important when you don't have a lot of experience."
The 39-year-old Curry played with Dumars more than a decade ago and with current Pistons Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince during the 2002-03 season, when the franchise started its active streak of appearances in the Eastern Conference finals. He also played with Detroit center Rasheed Wallace in Washington.
Curry might not coach all of those players next season because Dumars publicly put his whole team, other than Rodney Stuckey, on the trading block last week when he fired Saunders.
Curry played professionally in Germany, Belgium and France as well as the CBA and USBL after he was a standout at Georgia Southern.
Toward the end of his NBA career, Curry was president of the players' association and earned a masters degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. The native of Augusta, Ga., is married and has three children, including Deon, a wide receiver at Michigan State.
Dallas Mavericks guard Jerry Stackhouse, who played with Curry in Detroit, said Curry was like a player-coach during his career on the court.
"It was just a matter of time," Stackhouse said a telephone interview with the AP on Monday. "Everybody who knew Michael from his playing days knew this is where he would end up.
"He's going to do great for Detroit because he already has great rapport with those players, who will give him a different kind of respect because he played in the league."
Curry was an assistant last season in Detroit under for Flip Saunders, who was fired last week.
The Pistons and Curry agreed on a three-year deal worth $2.5 million a season. The team holds an option for a fourth season.
Before going to the bench, Curry was the NBDL's vice president of player development following a playing career that started as an undrafted free agent during the 1993-94 season in Philadelphia and ended during the 2004-05 season with the Indiana Pacers.
He averaged 4 1/2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 20 minutes a game over his career, which included two stops in Detroit along with stints in Milwaukee, Toronto and Washington. His defense and leadership kept him in the league despite averaging less than seven points a season.
"I think he has a lot of good qualifications," Phoenix Suns coach Terry Porter, who was a Pistons assistant with Curry last season, told the AP. "It's a pretty good jump going from assistant to head coach, but like Stackhouse said, he's been a player-coach most of his life.
"I don't know what his staff will be like, but that's important when you don't have a lot of experience."
The 39-year-old Curry played with Dumars more than a decade ago and with current Pistons Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince during the 2002-03 season, when the franchise started its active streak of appearances in the Eastern Conference finals. He also played with Detroit center Rasheed Wallace in Washington.
Curry might not coach all of those players next season because Dumars publicly put his whole team, other than Rodney Stuckey, on the trading block last week when he fired Saunders.
Curry played professionally in Germany, Belgium and France as well as the CBA and USBL after he was a standout at Georgia Southern.
Toward the end of his NBA career, Curry was president of the players' association and earned a masters degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. The native of Augusta, Ga., is married and has three children, including Deon, a wide receiver at Michigan State.
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