AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Michael Curry is coming back as the Detroit Pistons' coach.
Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars held a news conference Wednesday to wrap up a miserable season and he ended any doubt about his plans on the bench by confirming Curry would return.
"It was an up-and-down season for him," Dumars said. "And, an up-and down-season for us."
Curry was 39-43 in his first year as a head coach and his second season in the coaching profession.
A Pistons team that opened the season with high hopes couldn't recover from the loss of All-Star point guard Chauncey Billups in a November trade to Denver for Allen Iverson. Iverson's past-his-prime game and pride proved to be a bad fit in Detroit.
The Pistons plummeted to the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs and were swept in four lopsided games by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Dumars, though, did not blame Curry for Detroit's demise.
"The fact that we made so many changes for a first-year coach, I had to step back and be a little more patient than I have been," Dumars said. "During the season I said to myself, 'What affect is this having on him as a first-year coach.' I tried to put myself in his shoes."
Dumars fired coach Flip Saunders last year after he led the team to the Eastern Conference finals in each of his three seasons.
The Pistons parted ways with Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown in 2005 after he helped them win a title and almost repeat in his two years with them.
Rick Carlisle was fired after two years with the Pistons following an Eastern Conference finals appearance in his second season and NBA Coach of the Year honors in his first.
There were "reasons" why Carlisle and LB were let go…
The Pistons wanted Larry Brown, Larry Brown was interested in Detroit, and so the whole scenario was put in place to let Carlisle go… even after back to back 50 win seasons and Central Division titles, but the perception was that Larry Brown >>> Rick Carlisle
Regarding Larry Browns departure,
There was alot of speculation during the season that a)Cleveland wanted to hire him to be head of player personal/GM and b)the Knickerbockers wanted him to be head coach. LB even said the the Knicks coaching job was his "dream job". All these rumors and speculations were going on during the playoffs, and upon loosing in 7 games in the Finals, Larry Brown said he was in questionable health, and had to confer with the Mayo Clinic regarding these health issues. He created a situation that he would not be able to be available full time for coaching due to health concerns, and the Pistons were forced to "fire" him as part time Larry Brown would be redundant. And so it was… had he not been fired, its a guaren-damn-tee he would have not been on the sideline for a majority of the season for "health reasons".
I honestly think this was probably the hardest team in the league to coach last year. Curry really didn't look like a great strategist but I think he deserves a second chance. You can be successful in the NBA without a great X and O's coach. Hard to a win a championship that way but we aren't ready for that anyway.
During the season I wasn't happy with Curry at all. I still think Avery or Lambeer would be a better fit but now that the season is over and looking at the grand scheme of things it's really hard to give up on a coach after 1 season. Let's give the guy a chance. It's obvious Iverson is a cancer to a team. If Curry would have had Billups instead of Iverson on his team he would have looked much better. Let's see what Joe D can do with all the cap space we have this year and see how Curry performs with a better team on the court.
I One reason I want us to keep Curry is so that when we have a better coach, it'll be after Joe builds a better team.
It would suck if we finally dialed up Bill's number, only to give him a terrible squad. He might lose the good player's confidence on the squad because they felt they were so much better than their record.
That is true. We all knew last season was going to be tough for us. Heck, Lambeer may not have even wanted the job with that squad. Once we get another good team they will make a move like they did with Larry Brown.
Curry can coach the Shock, develop his style and fundamentals, and Laimbeer can bring his style over to the Pistons, which he has spent the last 7 years refining with the Shock.
Dumars: Curry will Return as coach
