'Disgusted' GM Joe Dumars: I'll make significant trade

[greasybugsy]

Joe Dumars is in charge. And Joe Dumars is not happy. You can hear it in his voice. If I’ve observed one change in the man I have known for more than 20 years, it is this: What once was kept inside, quietly stewing, is now increasingly coming out of his mouth.

“I was disgusted,” he said of the performance by his Pistons in Games 3 and 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. “By the time I left that arena Friday night, I had seen enough.”

That was clear Tuesday, when Dumars broomed Flip Saunders out as coach. And the exit door awaits at least one of his starters.

“I’ll make a significant trade,” Dumars, the Pistons’ president of basketball operations, declared. “… "We have a core group of guys here that for the first time in six years I’m letting teams in the league know I’ll do a deal. … I’m open for business.”

See that? None of the navel-gazing GM’s and presidents often give the media. No hiding behind, “We’ll sit down and take a look at things.”

Dumars looked at things the same time and place as we did: on the court during the playoffs. And he wants the public to know, the media to know, but, most of all, his players to know, that there is one bottom line here: results.

On Flips and the flops

Listen to some highlights of Dumars’ version of the Straight Talk Express, carved from a conversation we had Tuesday afternoon:

• On firing the coach: “It’s never the easiest change you can make, but it’s the first change you can make.”

• On why Flip was no longer the right guy: “You can only deliver the same message so many times. After three straight years of the exact same ending, you have to change who sits in that seat, you have to change the voice.”

• On whether Flip sent the right messages to his team: “It’s not about the right or wrong message. It about are you getting it done? This is what we don’t do here. We don’t do psychoanalyzing. All this going into the whys, that’s for people who professionally do that. … Save that for somebody else, not me.”

I told you he was mad.

And he has a right to be. First of all, , three years in the NBA is a coaching lifespan, so there can be no shock Saunders was let go. Yes, he went to three straight East finals. He also lost all three. And remember, he followed a coach who’d been to two straight NBA Finals — one of which was a championship.

As for the players? Dumars has been loyal to his core group. He has given each, at some point, a fat, long-term contract. And he has kept them intact since 2004, an eternity in the NBA.

Party’s over.

On ’Sheed and the starters

• On whether Rasheed Wallace is the problem: “When people bash Rasheed, I don’t defend Rasheed. I’m not defending any single thing Rasheed has done. But I also say this, don’t be a hypocrite about it, because when we win, everybody says, ‘They don’t have one superstar’ … but when we lose, he’s an easy scapegoat. … I hold Rasheed accountable. I hold Chaucey, Rip, Tayshaun — I hold all these guys accountable.”

• On why the other players don’t bear as much scrutiny: “All too often, whoever the fan favorite or the media favorite is, whoever does the best interviews, they get the free pass. I don’t do interviews with players. I can only judge you on what you do.”

Now, in fairness, Dumars should be held to the same “results or else” philosophy, if that is the Pistons’ credo. But it’s hard to argue with his job performance. In a salary-cap world, he has crafted a talented, successful starting quartet, found some diamonds in the rough with later draft picks (Jason Maxiell, Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey) and hasn’t bankrupted the owner — even when the owner gave away millions because he wanted coaches fired.

Dumars picks them. He doesn’t draw plays. He doesn’t move their bodies or make their shots. He can’t light their fires.

But he doesn’t get sentimental. Somewhere along the way, the quietest Bad Boy found a valley for his voice, and we learned it is loud and decisive and he holds it to the same high standards that he once demanded of the rest of him. If you ever watched Dumars play, you remember, he was well-liked, well-respected, but never, ever, gave an inch. If I wore a Pistons uniform these days, I’d keep a suitcase handy.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...1051&no_cj_c=1

[greasybugsy]

Why Billups, 'Sheed most likely to be traded

How about that Joe Dumars? He fired his coach, then made bigger news at the press conference.

The Pistons president said he will try to shake up his core, a surprisingly bold statement intended to send a message to the rest of the league: Call me.

Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace are most likely to go. Richard Hamilton and Antonio McDyess are most likely to stay. Tayshaun Prince falls somewhere in between. I will explain all that in a second. But first, a word about the coach:

Michael Curry is the heavy favorite to be the next coach. This does not mean it's a done deal. It definitely won't happen this week.

Dumars will talk to Pistons assistant Terry Porter, the former Milwaukee head coach, and former Mavericks coach Avery Johnson, a fellow Louisianan who is interested in the job. But the job clearly is Curry's to lose, and he is unlikely to lose it.

When the new coach holds his first practice, which starter will be gone? I'll list them in order, from most likely to be traded to least likely:

1. Chauncey Billups

Last summer, the Pistons invested up to $60.5 million in Mr. Big Shot. So why is he the most likely to go? A few reasons.

Dumars talked Tuesday about a lack of urgency in his players. Billups is as responsible for that as anybody. Dumars surely wants a renewed emphasis on defense, and Billups is the weakest defender among starters.

Billups is most likely to go because teams covet point guards more than other positions, and the Pistons have two.

The Pistons believe Rodney Stuckey can be an elite point guard -- sooner rather than later. Billups, meanwhile, is still an All-Star-caliber player. Anybody with a young roster and a hole at point guard would have to be interested in him.

Billups has four years left on his contract, but the last year is not guaranteed. He is owed $36.3 million over the next three years -- reasonable by the NBA's unreasonable standards. So he is highly tradeable.

With Stuckey in the fold, the Pistons could package Billups and a young bench player for a high-scoring forward.

2. Rasheed Wallace

Wallace easily could go, but it's not just because the Pistons simply want to wash their hands of him. It is because he has high trade value.

Wallace's contract is up after next season, and in the wacky world of the NBA, that makes him more attractive to others. Expiring contracts mean future salary-cap space.

Wallace also is a 6-foot-10 forward with rare skills (though he didn't flash those skills enough during the Boston series). A contender might see him as the missing piece, and seeing as he has one year left on his deal, the risk is limited.

Dumars received several calls about Wallace last summer. He didn't really consider a trade then. He'll listen hard this time.

3. Tayshaun Prince

Other teams will want Prince for obvious reasons: He is the youngest Pistons starter (28), he has a reputation as an elite defensive player, and he is versatile.

But at times in recent years, Prince has not lived up to his defensive reputation -- he got torched by LeBron James in last year's playoffs and overpowered, at times, by Paul Pierce in this year's conference finals. Worse, Prince sometimes disappears offensively when he draws a big defensive assignment.

Prince might have saved his Pistons career with his performance in the first two rounds of the playoffs, when he was the team's best player. If he goes, it probably would be in a package with Billups or Wallace for a star.

4. Antonio McDyess

Sense of urgency? If anything, McDyess has too much of a sense of urgency. When the team loses two straight in January, he is apoplectic.

McDyess probably has more value to the Pistons than to anybody else. His attitude, reasonable contract and skill set are all appealing to the Pistons. But he turns 34 in September and is unlikely to fetch a big offer.

Expect him back.

5. Richard Hamilton

Rip isn't going anywhere. He is still among the best in the NBA at using screens, and he is a rare player who can average 20 points without dominating the ball.

Hamilton often has been compared to Reggie Miller -- another long, thin jump shooter who kept himself in great shape. Miller was an effective player into his late 30s. Rip is 30.

Of course, other teams like Hamilton for the same reasons. But if the Pistons trade him, they would need to acquire somebody with similar skills in the deal, and why trade Rip for a Rip imitation?

Besides, Hamilton would provide a perfect complement to Stuckey, who can drive to the basket at will but needs to work on his jump shot.

A Hamilton-Stuckey backcourt could keep the Pistons in contention for several years. And you might see it as soon as next season.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...806040405/1051

[uniletsgo]

Thank You..

Joe Duuuuuuuuumars!!