Pistons say no

By Tom Enlund
Monday, Mar 31 2008, 07:06 PM

The Milwaukee Bucks have hit at least one road block in their search for a new general manager.

The Bucks, seeking to replace the departed Larry Harris, asked the Detroit Pistons for permission to speak to John Hammond, their vice-president of business operations, about the position but the Pistons refused.

At a recent press conference, Bucks owner Herb Kohl said that he was looking for someone who had been successful and had experience in the NBA. Hammond would fit both criteria as he is in his seventh season as the right-hand man to Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars. The Pistons have appeared in five straight Eastern Conference finals, have had six straight 50-victory seasons, and won the 2004 NBA championship. Hammond has 28 years of coaching and administrative experience – 17 professional and 11 in college.

This does not necessarily rule out Hammond as a candidate if the Bucks remain interested as sometimes in situations like this a team – Detroit in this case - will re-consider its position and grant permission if their executive continues to express an interest in talking to the other team about the job opening.

The Bucks had no comment. Kohl said recently that he would not be discussing candidates for the job.

“It doesn’t serve any purpose except to muddy up the waters,” he said. “I’d rather not say anything about anybody except it’s wide-open for the best person we can find.”

Since Harris’ departure on March 19, director of player personnel Dave Babcock has been running the day-to-day basketball operation and has been very visible. He sits court-side during practices, has been traveling with the team, and has kept an open dialogue with the players. Kohl said that it was his “inclination” to hire someone outside of the organization but if no one sweeps the Bucks away in the interview process, they may decide to turn the reins over to Babcock full-time.

“I basically have just been supporting the coaches and trying to instill the fact that the way we finish this season will reflect on how we start next season,” said Babcock after Monday’s practice. “Those kind of things. It’s a way to stay motivated.”

http://blogs.jsonline.com/bucks/archive/2008/03/31/pistons-say-no.aspx

Apparently they are also interested in former Pistons/Sonics exec, Rick Sund.

I can't blame the Pistons. Wait until the season is over at least.

i dont know. at this point what exactly does hammond have to do other than preparing for next year? i hope they atleast talked to JH before they said so. cuz if not, he should be pissed.

I'm guessing that they don't want to have him leave to a division rival.

They may even have an agreement that he will not do so.

I'm telling you, the Knicks are missing the boat here.

Maybe he's got a good connection with some players. Then when they hear he's leaving, that throws them off a bit. This is common policy in most leagues. Wait until the season is over, then you can hire guys from other teams.

Who knows...maybe JoeD will slide over a lil bit and give him more responsibility and maybe a new title. If they want to keep him bad enough, that is.

well, there is a practical side. im sure these guys are complete bff's with hammond, but the sooner he could start for milwaukee, the better it would be for both parties. and im guessing (dont know what hammond makes) the difference in salaries would be enormous. typically, in sports, its only the guys at the top that make the big money, everyone else is grinding (reletively).

personally, i think hammond has more than paid his dues and deserves a shot at the big stage. i hope we're not holding him down.

I agree with him deserving a shot. He's been great here and I don't want to see him leave, but if he's got an opportunity that would be good for him I'd like to see him take it and do well.

I don't think we'd hold him here if he wanted to go. Perhaps we did him a favor in denying an opportunity at someplace he didn't want to go (holding out for a better place?)

thats what i was thinking.

I dunno, refusing to give permission to let him interview isn't exactly the best way to generate additional interest, IMO.

If he's really looking for a better gig, he'd interview and then turn the job down.

Perhaps he doesn't want to leave at all then. That would be the best way to keep people from calling/speculating. Think of all the Izzo rumors. If MSU simply said that he'd never be able to break his contract then the rumors would stop. Maybe Hammond just wants to be here.

hammond probalby could be a gm right now if he wanted. i believe the offers have been there. maybe hes waiting for a kid to leave for college, or maybe he just wants the right job.

Now, does the Pistons saying no mean that Hammond isn't interested, or does it mean that Hammond doesn't have a say in the matter as he is obligated to fulfill his current contract w/ Detroit???

If we said no, than why did we let Perry leave?

:mccosky:


Passing on the Bucks
Pistons vice president of basketball operations John Hammond will keep on being Pistons VP of basketball ops. He is no longer in the mix for the general manager job in Milwaukee.

Hammond, up until a week or so ago, was thought to be the leading candidate. Reports out of Milwaukee that the Pistons did not give the Bucks permission to talk to him were inaccurate. Joe Dumars would never do anything to impede Hammond's ambitions. Something occurred -- something Hammond did not want to discuss -- that caused him to reconsider taking a formal interview for the job.

Not going after the Bucks job might prove to be a smart career move for Hammond. The Bucks franchise is in disarray. Talent-wise, they aren't that far off, but front office-wise, they are a mess. And Hammond would be working for a very meddlesome owner in Sen. Herb Kohl. Kohl likes to think he's hands-off, but ask anybody that's worked for him and you will hear a different story. I think Hammond would have been very frustrated working there.

Hammond is a good man who has a deep understanding of how to build successful basketball teams within the constricts of the current economic landscape in the NBA. His day will come, and hopefully the team he eventually runs will be a lot more stable than the one in Milwaukee.

This is a perfectly valid format for McCosky to use to express his opinion:


Not going after the Bucks job might prove to be a smart career move for Hammond. The Bucks franchise is in disarray. Talent-wise, they aren't that far off, but front office-wise, they are a mess. And Hammond would be working for a very meddlesome owner in Sen. Herb Kohl. Kohl likes to think he's hands-off, but ask anybody that's worked for him and you will hear a different story. I think Hammond would have been very frustrated working there.

Hammond is a good man who has a deep understanding of how to build successful basketball teams within the constricts of the current economic landscape in the NBA. His day will come, and hopefully the team he eventually runs will be a lot more stable than the one in Milwaukee.
This is an invalid format for McCosky to use when expressing his opinion:


Joe Dumars would never do anything to impede Hammond's ambitions. Something occurred -- something Hammond did not want to discuss -- that caused him to reconsider taking a formal interview for the job.
In short, McCosky sucks.

McCoskey: Why didn't you take the job, John?

Hammond: None of your business, McCoskey. And also, fuck off a cliff, cuntcasket.

McCoskey: Hmm, must be something secret.

When McCoskey goes, I really hope it's to a western conference team. I don't want him building the anti-pistons in our backyard.

Sports writers are the male equivalent of tabloids.

You gossipy fags.

When McCoskey goes, I really hope it's to a western conference team. I don't want him building the anti-pistons in our backyard.

Hammond?

Hammond?

Yeah. I don't know where the M-word came from. Obviously I need a drink.

I say we trade McCocky and a draft pick to Minneapolis in exchange for Prince.

:mccosky:

Reports out of Milwaukee that the Pistons would not allow the Bucks to interview Hammond were inaccurate. It was partly Hammond's decision to decline a formal interview.

I say we trade McCocky and a draft pick to Minneapolis in exchange for Prince.
This is the "Let's Go Crazy" trade.