Dan Feldman has something stuck in his peanut butter!

[deusXango]

Coaching experience:
284-286 overall
Portland: 162-139 (2001-05)
Philadelphia: 122-147 (2005-09)

Reading Dan Feldman Crying Piece this morning shows signs that the media is ready to go full blown whiners. I wonder if the 284-286 was reverse to read 286-284 would this clown feel better about the pending hiring of Cheeks.

Funny who would have ever thought Chuck to be a HOF coach before we hired him, I don't think Dan whined one time about the last three coaches being hired. In fact I think I recalled him being on board with the Curry hiring. Yet Cheeks is 2 games off a 500 mark for winning games and it's the worst thing ever. Hell even the great LB only has .518 career mark now I'm not making a comparison by no means just trying to say that sh!t happens. Cheeks for all we now could have a span of being well above .500 the next few seasons especially since many of you think the team is already .500 capable.

Wise, I've dried my crying eyes (from laughing at that jab you shot me yesterday) and ready to welcome Cheeks to Detroit; I just made a lengthy post about the unimportance of a coaches record as the total criteria for consideration and Cheeks record is a prime example of that. The inescapable fact is, Cheeks is better than the last three hires and shouldn't be "punked" by Dumars when it comes to his coaching decisions but, be his own man. There's already enough talent on this team for Cheeks to post better than a .500 record in his first year in Detroit (even if Joe f#(ks this draft up) and hopefully he'll be respected enough to be included in the process to acquire FA's also. (The possibility of signing both Smith and Iggy just took a quantum leap.)

The backbone of Joe is being a little overstated, considering the timing of this but, George Karl is the current Coach of The Year and that can't be overlooked; you don't earn that honor with smoke and mirrors. The good news is, Denver shows how blinded a franchise can be in its' quest to win.....what?! Denver is a winner, just not all the marbles. My point being that a couple of teams drafting before the Pistons are sure to make some startling choices, leaving the Pistons in the catbird seat.

[WTF]

Coaching experience:
284-286 overall
Portland: 162-139 (2001-05)
Philadelphia: 122-147 (2005-09)

Reading Dan Feldman Crying Piece this morning shows signs that the media is ready to go full blown whiners. I wonder if the 284-286 was reverse to read 286-284 would this clown feel better about the pending hiring of Cheeks.

Funny who would have ever thought Chuck to be a HOF coach before we hired him, I don't think Dan whined one time about the last three coaches being hired. In fact I think I recalled him being on board with the Curry hiring. Yet Cheeks is 2 games off a 500 mark for winning games and it's the worst thing ever. Hell even the great LB only has .518 career mark now I'm not making a comparison by no means just trying to say that sh!t happens. Cheeks for all we now could have a span of being well above .500 the next few seasons especially since many of you think the team is already .500 capable.

[WTF]

I got a feeling that you nay-sayers will end up loving this hiring of Cheeks and all I can say is it's about damn time. This should have happen Three Stooges Ago (See No Evil, Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil) aka KFC Kuester, Frank and Curry.

This falls under my theory of being Bold and Daring. Joe fat ass finally did something right for a change, instead of making the popular choice or dumb ass choice he finally grew some real balls in taking a risk and going with his gut feeling.

Uggh, where are you getting that feeling from?

Can you show me a post where ANYBODY even said they were ok with it, let alone loving it?

Is this "make up something you want to believe" time?

I do understand many of you might be a little distraught of this pending hiring. Maybe you had some tears in your eyes.

[Oracle]

And I LOVE it!!!

I hope the Heat get swept!

I don't hate them like I used to, but that doesn't mean I have any love for them either!

[Oracle]

I got a feeling that you nay-sayers will end up loving this hiring of Cheeks and all I can say is it's about damn time. This should have happen Three Stooges Ago (See No Evil, Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil) aka KFC Kuester, Frank and Curry.

This falls under my theory of being Bold and Daring. Joe fat ass finally did something right for a change, instead of making the popular choice or dumb ass choice he finally grew some real balls in taking a risk and going with his gut feeling.

Uggh, where are you getting that feeling from?

Can you show me a post where ANYBODY even said they were ok with it, let alone loving it?

Is this "make up something you want to believe" time?

[WTF]

I got a feeling that you nay-sayers will end up loving this hiring of Cheeks and all I can say is it's about damn time. This should have happen Three Stooges Ago (See No Evil, Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil) aka KFC Kuester, Frank and Curry.

This falls under my theory of being Bold and Daring. Joe fat ass finally did something right for a change, instead of making the popular choice or dumb ass choice he finally grew some real balls in taking a risk and going with his gut feeling.

[Oracle]

"The Denver Nuggets parted ways with coach George Karl on Thursday, just a few weeks after he was honored as the league's top coach. When Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra finished second, he half-seriously joked about avoiding the curse that has befallen recent recipients of that honor.

Of the last nine winners of the award, six have been fired — a combined eight times. If Memphis moves on from Lionel Hollins, a strong possibility, six of the 16 coaches who led their teams to the playoffs this season will be gone.

"That's a tough state for our business and where it is right now," Spoelstra said shortly after learning of Karl's departure. "That just doesn't correlate to an objective mind. People's expectations are way off or (they're) just not looking at it really objectively."" - Spoelstra, Popovich lament George Karl's firing

The Pistons are looking like putty tats!

[merc]

Yep... saw this on Yahoo sports... we're gonna hire Mo Cheeks so that KD will sign when he's a FA

[Oracle]

Deal with Cheeks could get done TONIGHT!!!

This being reported by Goodwill from "Sources".

[WTF]

Yes I remember seeing that choking incident forgot how it all came about but those 76'ers-Celtics game from the 70's and 80's were brutal back then. Moses and Parrish, Andrew Toney against anyone in a Celtic uniform even the mild manner Cheeks snarled and growled. Those were likely the toughest and meanest games back then.

[Oracle]

I'm not interested, but the real news is that there is "Yet Another" team out there looking for a coach!

Denver will immediately look at Hollins & Shaw!

Why is there no interest in either McMillan or Cheeks?

IMO, there could be several possibilities.

1. They both are totally uninteresting to teams
2. One or both are expected to be off the table
3. Cheeks holds no interest at all
4. McMillian is close to being hired
5. Owners give other owners a wide berth when they're locked in on a candidate
6. One of both have taken themselves off the table for certain opportunities

I guess the short, and most accurate answer is that I don't have a clue

All I know is what I see... only Joe is chasing these two guys and nobody else appears to have even the slightest interest in either of them, and it's confusing(at least for McMillian).

BTW: Does anyone Remember this? I didn't. - Dr J & Bird Choke each other

[WTF]

Murph, I have all the respect in the world for Mr. George Karl, and his coaching resume speaks for itself, however I'm concerned with his health; I wish him nothing but the best but, it's there and I have to recognize it. That being said, George Karl is now at the top of my wish list for the Pistons next coach!

I'm back to dreaming of the FA signings of Josh Smith and Andre Iguodala thanks to you, Murph! "Just when you think you're out, they pull you back in."

Murph stop getting DX all riled he just went from Hollins to Karl in 60 seconds.

Health would be my concern with Karl but I think he's a great teacher for a young team much in the way Collins is with young players.

DX, I like that concept of both Iggy and Smith but I would be hard press to give max money to Iggy and getting both would require a major sign and trade for at least one of them. No doubt a starting line up of Iggy, Smith, Moose, Drummond and Burke or MCW at PG could make me smile.

[merc]

Sherrod Blakely ‏@SherrodbCSN 1h
"Some teams with coaching vacancies will make a run at G. Karl. Per league source, #pistons not one of them because they're "close" on hire."

[Go Stones!]

I thought I would start this one...

My belief is that Jackson is snooping within the Pistons organization as "consultant" for the sole reason to look into if he wants to tak over after Joe Dumars gets fired in the next year. What if Jackson took the coaching job, Shaw as assistant at some point within the year Joe D was fired and Jackson and Shaw each move up a level? Jackson has been looking at GM positions and I think he wants to work with a city that is further out of the spot light than NY, Chicago and LA where he has ties. Detroit is believable, and can ONLY improve at this point. It is a mid-tier city that should always be taken seriously in sports. (For example, how long do you think it will take for Toronto Raptors to get a championship? It.Will.Never.Happen.)

[deusXango]

Murph, I have all the respect in the world for Mr. George Karl, and his coaching resume speaks for itself, however I'm concerned with his health; I wish him nothing but the best but, it's there and I have to recognize it. That being said, George Karl is now at the top of my wish list for the Pistons next coach!

I'm back to dreaming of the FA signings of Josh Smith and Andre Iguodala thanks to you, Murph! "Just when you think you're out, they pull you back in."

[Murph]

And while you're pursuing Karl, you might as well make an offer for Iggy.

[Murph]

I see George Karl is available.

Hall of Fame coaches, still in their prime, don't come along every day.

Mr. Gores, open that wallet of yours, and make a generous offer...immediately!

[WTF]

Certainly Joe should have been fired long time ago, IMO as far back as 2006. Sadly people hold onto 2004 like it happened just yesterday.

As a coach I would want to have complete say in personal, the only thing Joe needs to do is try to figure out how to financially make it happen. This is probably the most reasoning to my constant defending of Flip Saunders as coach or any coach on any team. I don't want to judge a coach on how well he forces a square peg into a tight circle and that's why I didn't totally kill Lil Larry like most did.

The roster sucks even with promising young pieces it still sucks, it's still out of balance largely because Joe relies on what's trendy oppose to what traditionally works and I guess you can't blame him considering that the 2004 team was about as unique as a team could get. But that's what made them special so dum dum spends his wheels trying to recreate it.

I agree 100% that oppose to firing Flip Joe should have did his best to trade both Tay and Sheed as early as 2006 when Flip first arrived as coach. He certainly should have done before trading away CB and firing Flip in 2009.

[deusXango]

Coaching records should take into account factors too numerous to list, both for winning and losing, but the "fit factor" is what's important, along with integrity; if a coach has the teams best interest at heart and says what he's going to be about, and does what he said he would, he'll have the teams respect, trust, loyalty, and their best efforts will be given at all times. The exceptions to that would be "weeded out" and dealt with in the locker room, by the players themselves; no divas, no malcontents, and no distractions from the stated goal.

Unfortunately the fit has not been for the team but, the GM, for far too long; that's why starting with Curry and ending with Frank, the coaches were all self-serving, mercenaries, who lacked integrity, and the team, along with the fans, suffered for it. Their coaching styles and handling of the team bears that out; AI was the first to call out a coach for being untrustworthy when he accused "Banjo" of lying to him, and ended with almost an entire team, albeit silently, not having any trust in Lil' Larry! That's five years that a dark cloud hung over this franchise because the coaches were trying to appease the GM, and neglected coaching the teams they were charged with to the best of their abilities.

Why cater to Joe? Well it was the little matter of him compounding mistakes that needed a "happy face" put on the ongoing and growing ugly mess he created. The firing of Flip Saunders, instead of trading Rasheed and Prince to upgrade the declining frontline, followed up with trading Billips (the team leader and half of an all-star backcourt) for a washed up malcontent, to make way for an unproven combo guard to take over leadership of a contending team. He replaced Flip with one of his assistants (not a lead assistant but, a one year wonder), a hiring choice clearly made on friendship, totally overlooking his ex-comrade in arms who was a rising star with better credentials; five years ago it wasn't as important as it is today that we bring in a novice coach. The misappropriation of funds called by some, a timely free agent signing of Gordon and Villanueva; the franchise is still paying for that show of foolishness with next to zero returns! The common thread woven through all the coaches was to, not only start Rodney Stuckey but, prominently feature him in the offense, on a team that was whittled down, talent wise, to do so; as time went on it became apparent that Stuckey shouldn't be a starter (at PG or SG) but he continued to do so.

What's a coach to do when there's no center or PG on the team? When "small ball" fails because all the players are selfish ball hogs, who refuse to pass the ball to open team mates, does a coach have the right to demand personnel changes for the sake of the team? Demand is too strong a word? Well excuuuuuuuse me. How about we politely request that Joe step down? Better?

[Sparma]

Thanks Oracle.

I'm aware of big man camp, but not of PG camps. What comes to mind is Barcelona's soccer academy, with Messi as its most famous graduate. Of course they're starting much younger than NBA players (they signed a 10 year American kid). Also, some think it's less that the academy is so transformative and more that they're beginning with outstanding talent.

I was thinking Eric Snow might be an example of massive ratio improvement (X 2.5). No doubt he improved a lot, but his ratio was too good out of the gate to leap the Knight to Calderon standard of improvement.

I like Knight's chances of improving, although the 2.5 x improvement mark to Calderon-in-Detroit level good seems quite unlikely (granted that history doesn't determine his fate). Weirdly, I think what he has going for him, improvement wise, is his unusually high TO rate. He should easily be able to cut down on some of the reckless stuff (I remember him driving to the baseline, getting trapped and throwing a crosscourt pass as he fell out of bounds for a TO). In addition, raising assists per game doesn't seem to be that rare (as you've pointed out, Oracle).

Looking into the numbers makes me rethink Calderon. I think there's a widespread perception that he was disappointing in Detroit, along with the sense he didn't help the team much. The team didn't get the boost I expected, but he was good in Detroit. His 4.35 ratio last season in Toronto was outstanding, just a tick below his 4.4 the year before. His shooting's outstanding. He's on the wrong side of 30, but he's in super shape. His defense can be energetic, but it's deficient for sure. For some reason, I've been starting to assume he'd be heading out (maybe in part because his family moved to Detroit, then didn't stay). We might want to work pretty hard on trying to keep him.

All in all, I'd rather entrust the franchise jewels (Monroe and AD) to Calderon than to Knight. If we get Burke, Calderon might well be a barrier to his progress.

[WTF]

I'd like to share my expert opinion on how well this years rookie crop will do...
I like apples... bananas are good too... good luck Joe.

Unfortunately these are Oranges! and the climate has wreck havoc on this years crop.

[WTF]

I don't want to leave the impression that I believe that you go out and select the coach with the best record and that's it!

I think you recognize the fact that someone is successful, but there are so many other factors related to who and what you want your team to be, the personnel, and the culture, that a record doesn't define.

I think our biggest problem right now is that our record with coaches is so poor, it doesn't allow us to take chances, we feel that we need to get one right.

In fact, the greatest win might be in taking a calculated risk on a rising assistant who's never coached, but has great ideas... you never know.

Unfortunately, we can't do that right now!

This isn't what your 500 previous postings on this subject indicated You seem to be so set on the bottom-line and that records speaks for themselves. Okay you did say Gundy with the best record wasn't the best fit and I think that's what I'm saying about Hollins because if the record isn't the only criteria for hiring then his record shouldn't be hyped as if it is the only determining criteria.

BTW I was just using Flip to indirectly make my point of how irrelevant records can become and that the real focus should be on all the other things (Like Fit)

[Oracle]

and oh, so true!

"Brown would certainly leave his current job, head coach at Southern Methodist University, for an NBA position. That’s not because the NBA is a step up from SMU (though it is), but because Brown would always leave his current job for a new one." - Report: Larry Brown contacted by Nets, 76ers and third mystery team

[Oracle]

I don't want to leave the impression that I believe that you go out and select the coach with the best record and that's it!

I think you recognize the fact that someone is successful, but there are so many other factors related to who and what you want your team to be, the personnel, and the culture, that a record doesn't define.

I think our biggest problem right now is that our record with coaches is so poor, it doesn't allow us to take chances, we feel that we need to get one right.

In fact, the greatest win might be in taking a calculated risk on a rising assistant who's never coached, but has great ideas... you never know.

Unfortunately, we can't do that right now!

[Oracle]

I'd like to share my expert opinion on how well this years rookie crop will do...
I like apples... bananas are good too... good luck Joe.

Merc, I actually think they will do well, just no super stars, but that's not all bad unless you're picking in the top 3, then I would feel a bit cheated.

But for us, we should be able to pick up a player worthy of an 8th pick in most average drafts.

There's talk of McCallum in the 2nd round, and he did show well at the combine.

Top 10 Max Vert: aka "The 40+ Club"

1. Shane Larkin: 44"

t-2. Victor Oladipo: 42"

t-2. Ben McLemore: 42"

4. Peyton Siva: 41.5"

5. Michael Carter Williams: 41"

t-6. CJ Leslie: 40.5"

t-6. Adonis Thomas: 40.5"

t-6. Isaiah Canaan: 40.5"

t-6. Glen Rice Jr: 40.5"

10. Ray McCallum: 40"

After reviewing this and other combine results, Burke does fail to impress anywhere, but I continue to believe that combine results are a single data point in evaluating players, not the absolute truth!

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