On Tuesday the Detroit Pistons announced that they were parting ways with head coach Flip Saunders after three seasons and three unsuccessful trips to the Eastern Conference Finals. While in Detroit, Flip compiled a rather remarkable 176-70 record. That’s a seven-hundred-fifteen winning percentage.
Where will Saunders go from here? There’s no doubt that the 53-year-old Cleveland native could land a television gig without any hesitation. But there are some tempting positions immediately available for a veteran coach who has been to the playoffs eleven of his thirteen seasons, including four conference finals.
Chicago, Phoenix…or Atlanta?
One possible destination is just four hours west of Detroit. The Chicago Bulls hold the number one draft pick, a young potential-laden roster, and a rich tradition in the nation’s third largest city. The Bulls are the second youngest team just behind the Portland Trailblazers and just two years ago they were in the Eastern Conference semis. However, big-time preseason aspirations were too much to bear for the young roster and many of the young talents seemed to regress under coaches Scott Skiles and then Jim Boylan.
This off-season, Bulls’ management has plenty on their plate. Not only do they have to replace their coach and make the top overall draft pick, they also have to deal with their two top scorers becoming restricted free agents. Ben Gordon and Luol Deng will likely shop around this summer in order to make the most money possible. Each will field offers above what the Bulls ownership will be willing to pay, but they cannot let them both go without bringing in a top-notch free-agents to replace them. Free agents like Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison or one of the many all-stars with player options.
The Bulls stand to have a franchise altering off-season but if they play their cards right they could be right back in competition with the East’s contenders.
The Phoenix Suns are in a win-immediately mode. The roster is loaded with former MVPs, rookies-of-the-year, sixth-men of the years, All-NBA performers and more. Most coaches can only dream of coaching a roster such as this one.
But will that roster look as good in October? We know by now that their ownership is typically not willing to pay the luxury tax and the current 2008-09 roster consists of just nine players set to make over $70 million. Roster moves, and big ones, may be on the horizon.
A sleeper team may reside down in Atlanta. Head coach Mike Woodson was on the hot-seat much of the season but appeared to have saved his job by taking the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics to seven games. However, it’s no secret that his relationships with restricted free agents Josh Smith and Josh Childress have been strained over the years.
The Hawks’ roster is also very young and extremely talented. The trio of Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson, and Al Horford is a handful for most NBA teams and will be even more-so next season as they become more familiar with one another. Throw-in an improving Marvin Williams, Acie Law and Zaza Pachulia and you can see where this situation might appeal to a coach looking for a long-term home.
Why dump Flip?
Why do you let go of a coach who has reached three consecutive conference finals and holds a near .600 winning-percentage over thirteen seasons?
The only possible reason for this is that the Pistons are convinced he cannot win his way into the Finals. But has Flip ever had the better roster?
In 2006, they lost out to Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal and a veteran stacked Miami Heat team, deep enough to pull Gary Payton and Alonzo Mourning off of the bench.
In 2007, they ran into one of the greatest single-player (LeBron James) performances in NBA history. Furthermore, their shallow roster was aged and tired, anchored in the post by a trio of Chris Webber, Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess.
In 2008, the Pistons roster had improved significantly with the developments and additions of Rodney Stuckey, Theo Ratliff and Jason Maxiell. But were the Pistons as a whole on the same level as Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and the rest of the Celtics? Certainly not.
Perhaps Joe Dumars found fault in Flip’s roster management. Maybe, just maybe, he relies too much on his veterans. Talented youths such as Aaron Afflalo, Amir Johnson, and Jarvis Hayes saw ridiculously few minutes throughout the entire postseason.
So who is out there that the Pistons may consider candidates for the new opening? There is Avery Johnson, Mark Jackson, Doug Collins and others. But it is Pistons assistant coach Michael Curry who appears to be the front-runner.
Flip Saunders could not cut it. Larry Brown did not last. Rick Carlisle could not cut it.
Good luck, Mr. Curry. No pressure…rookie.
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