Michael Curry will be Detroit Pistons’ next coach
By LARRY LAGE, AP Sports Writer
3 minutes ago

DETROIT (AP)—Michael Curry will be the next coach of the Detroit Pistons after having played for the team and worked as an assistant.

Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars tells The Associated Press that Curry will be introduced at a news conference on Tuesday.

Curry agreed to a three-year deal worth $2.5 million a year, with the team holding the option for a fourth season. He replaces Flip Saunders, who was fired last week. Curry served as an assistant on Saunders’ staff.

$2.5 million a year?

He should get $2.5m for three years, total.

I hope that is a mistake.

Have to give him a real salary if you expect the players to see him as a real coach.

That's one theory, of course, but most of the players are going to make more than he will no matter what.

Do you honestly think they'll respect and listen to him less if he's making $800,000 per year than they will at $2.5m?

I'll have to research this, but I'd guess that this puts him in the Top 20 for coaching salaries, and he has no experience.

Is there any coach making less than 2.5?

Also, I think Paul Silas would make a decent lead assistant (or "Co-head coach" as I have been calling it).

Check out his wiki, specifically his rebounding prowess and more specifically, the section entitled "controversy".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Silas

Is there any coach making less than 2.5?

Byron Scott made $3.5m this year.

Doesn't answer your question, but there it is anyways.

Thinking 2.5 puts him in the bottom 3rd. I would have to presume he has some incentives built in.

Byron Scott made $3.5m this year.

Doesn't answer your question, but there it is anyways.
He's now making $5m a year with incentives that make it $6m.

He's now making $5m a year with incentives that make it $6m.

Coach of the Year.

He had a proven track record to get that $3.5m.

Also, I think Paul Silas would make a decent lead assistant (or "Co-head coach" as I have been calling it).

Check out his wiki, specifically his rebounding prowess and more specifically, the section entitled "controversy".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Silas

I like that idea. And we could give him an very incentive heavy contract for every cunt he calls out in the press. Hell, we might not even have to give him a base salary.

Porter, who also has experience, is getting $7m for 3 years from PHX.

I think Curry's deal is probably in line, it just seems high for a rookie coach, especially compared to baseball.

It will be interesting to see what the Bulls give Del Negro. Chicago's got a higher cost of living, though.

I'm just worried that this is another reason for Davidson to avoid going over the luxury tax.

Del Negro's never even been an assistant and zero teams were looking to interview him so it will be interesting to see what he gets.

Here's a New York Times article that claims Mitchell was the lowest paid coach in the NBA at $2 mill in may of 07, which doesn't seem right. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/23/sports/basketball/23nba.html?ex=1337572800&en=16f75928afe979d5&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Here's a USA Today article that says NBA coaches average 4 million.

(It also says Baseball coaches don't make jack. But really, they shouldn't anyway.)

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2007-10-31-managers-pay-disparity_N.htm

Theus makes just a touch over 2. YOu know, every year sports contracts add about 10%, so that's about right.

Flip's 5.5m plus Curry's 2.5m = $8m

I wonder what MC's budget for assistants will be?

Flip's 5.5m plus Curry's 2.5m = $8m

I wonder what MC's budget for assistants will be?


Igor's working for free.

I hope he puts a former head coach on his staff, just for the sake of having somebody who's been through the grind of coaching an NBA team. And not Dave Cowens, because he's one of Flip's cronies...

Maybe somebody like Randy Ayers or somebody like that...

and not Garfield Heard either, he wore out his welcome pretty fast

Haha, remembering those games that Gar had to coach makes me cringe.

Michael Curry is equipped to lead Pistons

BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • June 10, 2008

The best thing you can say about Michael Curry is that he didn't have much talent.

"Michael wasn't a great shooter," said John Hammond, the former Pistons assistant coach and executive, who just took over the Milwaukee Bucks. "Michael wasn't great passer. And Michael wasn't a great ball handler."

Also, Michael was undersized for his position. Yet Curry somehow started 269 games in the NBA, and most of them were for winning teams.

When Hammond speaks to groups of kids, or businessmen -- or anybody, really -- he usually talks about Michael Curry. He talks about a guy who showed up in Detroit on a 10-day contract and played another 10 seasons in the NBA.

"How do you do it?" Hammond asked. "You do it with amazing heart and amazing leadership."

Is Curry the answer for the Pistons? Nobody knows for sure. But in all the areas that matter for a head coach, he is well-equipped.

PEOPLE SKILLS: Curry arrived in Detroit in the middle of the 1995-96 season, right before a game. Hammond sat down with him as the teams were warming up and said he was happy to have him aboard.

"I can remember him stopping me in mid-sentence," Hammond said. "He said, 'Hey, Coach. Let me tell you one thing: Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine.

" 'I know what it takes to be an entry-level person. You have to be the first one in the office. You have to be the last one to leave. You have to speak to everyone and call everyone by name.' "

Curry pointed at the players shooting on the floor.

"Those guys don't know how to be an entry-level guy," he said. "I do, and I'll survive in this business."

Curry was on a 10-day contract at the time.

Five years later, his fellow players elected him president of the NBA Players Association.

BASKETBALL SMARTS: This is the biggest question about Curry. He has been an assistant for one year. Can he make adjustments in the middle of a helter-skelter NBA game?

Well, in his first two seasons as a Pistons player, Curry spent most of his time on the bench. He always -- always -- sat next to Hammond, one of Doug Collins' top assistants.

"He was in my ear constantly," Hammond said. "And the amazing thing about it to me was that so many of the things he was saying were right on. I can't tell you how many of the things he said to me that I passed along to Doug Collins."

When Tayshaun Prince was a rookie, Rick Carlisle kept Curry as his starting small forward. It was probably a mistake -- Prince is a much better player than Curry. But Curry had that kind of effect on coaches. They clung to him. He understood the game on a different level from other players.

CREDIBILITY: Yes, Curry is a first-time head coach. But several Pistons players sprinkled references to "Coach Curry" into interviews this past season, and it happened too often to be an accident.

Curry already has more credibility with his players than Flip Saunders had. He could squander it, of course -- that happens sometimes. But credibility is not a concern right now.

TOUGHNESS: Hammond loves telling a story from Curry's first year with the Pistons. They were playing the Knicks in New York.

Allan Houston, the Pistons' star shooting guard, was chasing the Knicks' John Starks. Collins kept telling Houston to go around Patrick Ewing's screens. But Ewing kept moving a little on his screens -- which was illegal, of course, but Ewing got away with it for roughly 20 years.

Houston complained to Collins: "He's moving on his screens."

From the bench, Michael Curry yelled: "You gotta run through it!"

Houston complained again: "He's moving!"

Collins complained to the officials: "He's moving!"

Curry yelled again: "You gotta run through it!"

Collins finally put Curry in the game. And, of course, the Knicks tried to run Starks around a Ewing screen. And Ewing moved.

And Michael Curry gave Patrick Ewing a forearm shiver that knocked Ewing back and nearly started an altercation.

LEADERSHIP: This is the most important quality for any coach, and it is probably Curry's best attribute. He did not garner the Pistons' respect this season by being soft.

"The best coaches I've observed in 30 years in this game have this very unique ability," Hammond said. "And that is the ability to coach people, which means criticize people -- coaching is critiquing -- and yet not offend them in doing so.

"We're talking about an extremely bright person, an extremely quick learner. As a coach, if he makes a mistake once, it won't happen a second time. I don't think it's going to take him long to be a great one."

Until Curry coaches a season or two, people have every right to be skeptical. We don't know yet if he can last longer than Rick Carlisle, Larry Brown or Flip Saunders. They are all highly regarded coaches, and none lasted more than three seasons.

But Curry has one advantage over Carlisle, Brown and Saunders: extensive experience working with Joe Dumars, as a player and assistant coach. Dumars knows him better than he knew any of those coaches.

And if you wonder how Curry will do as a first-time head coach against NBA legends, just remember: In 1995, he knew how to be an entry-level guy. I don't think he has forgotten.

I was all for Curry but that story puts me over the top. That's what I want more of. I wouldn't have minded seeing some of that handed out in the Boston series.

I wonder how Curry and Tay get along?

"We're talking about an extremely bright person, an extremely quick learner. As a coach, if he makes a mistake once, it won't happen a second time. I don't think it's going to take him long to be a great one."

And yet, he didn't even try to get Joe to let him interview Curry for the Bucks coaching spot.

Maybe because he already knew Joe was going to hire him.

Sure, I thought of that and it could be the case. But the only fact we know is that he didn't even try and Rosenberg didn't ask an obvious question.

why ask a question when you already know the answer? hammond knew curry was our future coach and we were bringing him along to succeed flip. that was no secret to insiders and was talked about for a while. so of course hammond knew that.

so he's not going to ask when he already knew the answer.

Rosenberg needs to ask the question of Hammond.

It's great to assume when you don't have access to the people who actually know, but when you are interviewing a guy who just had to hire a coach for his team and he is calling someone other than the coach he just hired a sure-fire great coach, the natural thing to do is to ask why the guy didn't have any interest in the sure-fire great coach for his own team.

Also, claiming "insiders knew all along" as your answer for why a reporter didn't ask the question or tell THE PUBLIC is very McCosky. I hope you had a condescending tone in your head when typing it.

I wonder how Curry and Tay get along?

What, like Curry resents guy that replaced him? Anyone that can last that long in the NBA with that little talent surely has no illusions about how good he is. I'm sure he is enough of a realist to have accepted and dealt with the times he has been replaced, cut. etc.

On the other hand, maybe Tay will get mad when Curry reinserts himself as a player coach and Tay gets traded.

I wonder how Curry and Tay get along?
Tay is a cancer, so who knows?

As far as the forearm shiver, looks like we are bringing the hired goons back to Detroit. :)

I understand what you're saying Fool, but I don't think that was the angle Rosenberg was looking for. This was more about a guy from the Pistons organization who had had a lot of experience with Curry telling stories and talking about the guy more than getting a GM's view of whether or not he would have liked him as a coach. It just happens that in this case those two angles are pretty much joined at the hip if the quotes come from Hammond.

Rosenberg needs to ask the question of Hammond.

It's great to assume when you don't have access to the people who actually know, but when you are interviewing a guy who just had to hire a coach for his team and he is calling someone other than the coach he just hired a sure-fire great coach, the natural thing to do is to ask why the guy didn't have any interest in the sure-fire great coach for his own team.

Also, claiming "insiders knew all along" as your answer for why a reporter didn't ask the question or tell THE PUBLIC is very McCosky. I hope you had a condescending tone in your head when typing it.

I agree with this, a good reporter asks that question and possibly comes away with a scoop.

We know why Hammond didn't interview Curry, or ask to interview him, but you need to try and make Hammond tell you himself if you are Rosenberg.

Maybe we need a journalism subforum.

you're right- he should have asked the question of hammond. i meant that the reason hammond didn't ask permission is because he knew the deal and/or he didn't want to take a key guy from dumars. perhaps.

speculation on my part? yeah. but it's a pretty reasonable assumption. and i've read several times on ESPN that it was common knowledge that curry was our future.

that being said, yes- the reporter should ask the question of hammond. but like was mentioned, the line of questioning appears to be that of a reporter looking for someone else's opinion of curry and not of a reporter trying to write aout whether he's fit for the job or not.

FWIW the bulls asked permission to talk to curry and were denied. just an interesting tidbit.

Curry said Dave Cowens, who was a fellow assistant under Saunders, will be back next season. But with Curry being promoted and Terry Porter leaving to coach the Phoenix Suns, the new Pistons coach will be looking to fill some holes on his staff.

"We're going to be a staff that is going to be here from the summer until the end of the season and will be here for players to continue to develop and breaking down other teams in the league," Curry said. "We're going to be a hardworking staff from top to bottom."

Bye, Igor.

a dream team of assistants who know their shit would be nice. Actually this is a very attractive place to be an assistant here seeing it got terry porter a job again right?

So did Porter get along well with Sheed? Joe needs to call him up and get the Amare trade going.

^^^Yea, we as fans overrate sheed's value on the nba market ten fold. (though i'm sure you're kidding, i hope you are...lol)

Just got back from the Michael Curry press conference and we’ll have more on Pistons.com later this afternoon, but wanted to give you a few quick impressions:

Curry’s answer to the first question posed to him was telling – it says much about why Joe Dumars hired him. The question was about Curry’s understanding of the culture and expectations of the franchise. Curry said he could live – not well, maybe, but endure – should the Pistons fall short of a championship but that he hopes to “never get the chance to read one of you all say the team didn’t play hard, they pick and choose when they want to play, they play up to the level of their competition, the regular season doesn’t mean anything. For me as a coach, that’s a direct relationship to me. That’s a stab to me. That hurts me more than losing in the conference finals, because that’s something you directly control. And that’s one of my goals, personally, to never let that be said about a team that I coached and a team that represents this organization, because you don’t get that nowhere else in the organization. Everybody else in the organization works every day.”

And when he was asked what he would do to motivate players to play hard, he said “you don’t make anybody play. You substitute.”

Why do I think that’s going to be music to the ears of Pistons fans?

Check back for more on Pistons.com a little bit later this afternoon.

“you don’t make anybody play. You substitute.”

That's the shit right there.

yup. that would've meant a lot more amir, j-max, stuckey, and even afflalo earlier on if we had that approach. i love it. you don't want to lay it all on the line, then you can lay down on the bench.

bring on curry!

^^^Yea, we as fans overrate sheed's value on the nba market ten fold. (though i'm sure you're kidding, i hope you are...lol)
I'm not kidding, but I'm also not talking about the 1 to 1 swap (which is rediculous). I'm talking about my Sheed/RIP/#29 for Amare/Barbosa/#15 swap.

I'm not kidding, but I'm also not talking about the 1 to 1 swap (which is rediculous). I'm talking about my Sheed/RIP/#29 for Amare/Barbosa/#15 swap.
and i mean to laugh at that deal too. sorry but if i'm kerr, i kill myself for making that deal. Amare's only equal at PF in this league is KG, and Rip's value over barbosa isnt enough to justify it. And we gain a higher pick as if we are being too generous, and they needed that to throw it over the top...lol


WE OVERVALUE SHEED's MARKET VALUE.

That's the shit right there.
Thanks for seeing that as clearly as I did. Man, this has got me on a rant today.

You got a lot of guys on your bench who are ready to eat their own guts and ask for seconds to get some playing time. There have always been times when a starter just isn't getting it done, and Flip never responded to those situations. How hard is it really to look at your starters and say "this guy is shitting up the court tonight. Let's swap him out and give someone else a chance to spark"?

The essence of greatness in sports is competition. None of these guys lacks a spirit of competition, or else they wouldn't be in the league. If your starters are good enough to fuck up all comers, it isn't all that important to play your bench. But that isn't how it is for most teams and the Detroit Pistons are no different. If your starters aren't getting it done (for whatever reason you like), the substitution should be automatic. We ain't in the business of protecting a motherfucker's feelings. We in the business of winning championships.

If you pull up the same bullshit 3-point attempt twice with 18 seconds on the shot clock, you should be coming the fuck out of the game for a bit to get your head together. That don't take no Masters Degree in Sports Management. Ain't no fucking decision to be made here. You could program a goddamn Apple ][ computer to make that substitution with 6 lines of BASIC. You don't want to make that decision because it's too early in the game to make substitutions? Great, you're conditioning your team to make slow starts. You don't want to make that decision because you're already ahead by 12? Great, you're conditioning your team to give up big leads and not feel bad about it. You don't want to make that decision because you just hit the stretch, and you're scared to sub when things are getting heated? Fuck you, you're too timid for this game, go enjoy a nice glass of warm milk and an oatmeal cookie to go with your offseason.

My problem with Flip Saunders always was the same as everyone else's - that he wasn't dynamic enough to adjust or respond in the short term. But when you think about that, all anyone is asking him to do is to A. notice when you got a guy who doesn't have any game, and B. put in someone else. All he needed to do was to watch the same game the rest of us were watching. As far as I could tell, that twitchy motherfucker was watching reruns of Scrubs during the game, maybe filling out his expense reports or whatever. If a coach doesn't find himself saying "fuck this, I've seen enough" every now and again, not only is he not a good coach, he is probably one of those shitheads who always needs to interrupt a movie to have someone else explain to them what's going on.

I know this team has serious problems that aren't going away just because a coach got replaced. But I also know that getting rid of this coach was a massive step in the right direction. Man, am I glad that fucktard got sacked.

"Anytime you want to win a championship, defensively you have to be really good and you have to rebound," he said. "Offensively, you have to share the ball, get points in the paint and win the battle at the free throw line.

"That seems simple, but when you look at those areas every night, the team that wins those areas usually wins the game."

I already like him better than Flip Saunders.

Seriously, the above, and the earlier bit about sitting down people who aren't playing with passion/motivation, are all I ever wanted to hear from a head coach when talking about philosophy. A lot of people ripped on Flip in a reactionary fashion (ie even when we were winning) only, but even when we were on a 70 win pace, it befuddled me how little emphasis there was on banging around, rebounding, and scoring non-jumper-percentage points inside.

Curry on ’Sheed
New Detroit Pistons coach Michael Curry, the former Milwaukee Bucks player, told Fox Sports Radio he has “good rapport” with veteran forward Rasheed Wallace.

Curry said Wallace is an emotional player who “unfortunately” does things out “in the light” where people make judgments.

“I’ll use an example,” Curry said. “ ’Sheed was late for shoot-around, and everybody talked about him being late for shoot-around in Game 6 (against Boston). Everybody talked about it. But we had a player that was late for shoot-around in Game 1. No one said anything about that.”

Curry said both players made bad judgments.

“Unfortunately for ’Sheed, everyone always wants to correct his behavior when things are not going well,” Curry said.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=761253

If Curry can get him to play in the post on a regular basis we might actually get somewhere.

This could be Curry just doing what he has been told to do (prop up Sheed so his image/value improves).

Does anyone think that Curry ends up being Joe D's yes man?

Is Joe D coaching by proxy?

Hope this wasn't posted already:

Curry on WDFN: Leadership based on accountability, respect and honesty

by Philip Zaroo | MLive.com Wednesday June 11, 2008, 2:15 PM


With rumors flying about Rasheed Wallace's imminent departure from the Detroit Pistons, new head coach Michael Curry has a message: Not so fast. It's not that he thinks 'Sheed was perfect. More so that Wallace's actions were made more public than the actions of others. "A lot of guys weren't saints with their behavior and their habits," Curry said on WDFN's The Stoney and Wojo Show. "So what we're going to try to do is we're going to have it, really, out front.
"If Rasheed, or any other player, if they're not participating, preparing themselves like we want them to, we're not going to reward them with playing time. And from that, you can draw your own conclusions at that time, you know, that this guy must not be doing what he's supposed to do.
"If we stay consistent, and that's what I think you have to be with guys – whether a guy has a history of doing things or whether a guy has never done anything – you have to be consistent with how you hold them accountable."
Another key aspect, Curry pointed out, is to make sure players trust whatyou're telling them.
"I think the most important thing with players, is you can't lie to players," he said. "I think the first time they think you're lying to them – or B.S.'ing them, for a better word – I think you lose players.
"I'm going to be straightforward with guys, and I'm going to tell it to them in a manner in which, you know, it's going to be with respect. And that's what I'm going to demand back from them."

This could be Curry just doing what he has been told to do (prop up Sheed so his image/value improves).

Does anyone think that Curry ends up being Joe D's yes man?

Is Joe D coaching by proxy?
I don't think it's an either-or thing. I do think, however, that Curry is closer to Joe's management influence.

Curry bringing back one of LB's old assistants, interesting.


The Nets are going to have a vacancy on their coaching staff: Pat Sullivan, the Bogota native who has served under Lawrence Frank the past three years, is leaving the team to join Michael Curry's staff in Detroit. Sullivan has worked in the Pistons organization before, under Larry Brown....

http://www.nj.com/nets/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/121333177850790.xml&coll=1

It will be interesting to see what the Bulls give Del Negro. Chicago's got a higher cost of living, though.

Vinny the Black got $2m per year (3 years/$6m, total).

That's a little more than the $800,000 you wanted Joe to pay Curry.

That's a little more than the $800,000 you wanted Joe to pay Curry.

Yes, yes it is.

Maybe I was wrong again? Could it be?

What has Curry done to deserve a 25% higher salary than VDN? (actually more than 25% with the lower cost of living in tha D)

Yes, yes it is.

Maybe I was wrong again? Could it be?

What has Curry done to deserve a 25% higher salary than VDN? (actually more tha 25% with the lowest cost of living)
worked in the league on a coaching staff. Also cost of living has never been a documented factor in nba contract negotiations. Don't really get that angle. Trying to out think yourself on an excuse maybe.

While Del Negro has only been an Assistant General Manager.

You make a great case there.

So John Hammond is just as ready to coach as any assistant coach in the league?

While Del Negro has only been an Assistant General Manager.

You make a great case there.
yea if we were talking about gm's this would be a great comeback. Unfortunately we are talking about coaching. I dont think rick sund is more qualified than Curry and he's been doing it way longer than Del Negro.

So John Hammond is just as ready to coach as any assistant coach in the league?
pretty much. we sdhoulda shifted him to HC and everything would make sense again.

So John Hammond is just as ready to coach as any assistant coach in the league?

John Hammond is more than qualified to be a head coach in the NBA, resume check.

And while you are chewing on Hammond's resume, how does being qualified equate to your salary in the NBA?

Does it? (serious question)

When college coaches get recruited to the NBA they get monster deals, are they more qualified that a low paid counterpart with 20 years of NBA front office/coaching experience?

Mitch Kupchak should save the 10 mill a year and just coach Kobe.

Why even have coaches with all these GMs so qualified? I mean, the GMs pick the players anyway.

Enough. Its time for Joe to coach.

And while you are chewing on Hammond's resume, how does being qualified equate to your salary in the NBA?

Does it? (serious question)
It doesn't. Because there's no set way to prove you are qualified. Its just generally thought to be resume. But its obvious that resume had little to do with how much Joe valued Curry. Also having a sharp agent helps. That agent alone is the difference in about 500,000 worth at least imo.

Mitch Kupchak should save the 10 mill a year and just coach Kobe.

Why even have coaches with all these GMs so qualified? I mean, the GMs pick the players anyway.

Hammond's got a lot of NBA coaching experience, you picked a bad example.

Michael Curry has one year of tutelidge under Flip Saunders as an assistant, is that worth $1.5 more than what experience Vinny Del Negro brings to the table?

Why even have coaches with all these GMs so qualified? I mean, the GMs pick the players anyway.


Enough. Its time for Joe to coach.


Ouch, babe.

^ I had that as my sig for like a year. How is that "ouch"?

I was unaware that Hammond has had (5) years as an assistant coach. I knew he'd been a scout but not an assistant coach.

Still, are you really saying you'd prefer Hammond as coach?

I was unaware that Hammond has had (5) years as an assistant coach. I knew he'd been a scout but not an assistant coach.

Still, are you really saying you'd prefer Hammond as coach?

Actually no, I think he's a pussy.

Ouch, babe.

??

I was just paying homage to one of the all time greats.

Actually no, I think he's a pussy.

But wait ... what about all that experience. I mean, the dude should be pulling down like 4 mill a year as a head coach, shouldn't he?

Glenn is arguing against himself?

I said he's qualified to be a coach, I didn't say that I'd have him coach my team.

You guys are looking for anything, aren't you? lol.

You are the one quibling over 1/2 a million difference in the contract of two new NBA coaches.

Curry was the coach Joe targetted a year before he fired Flip. Hairdo was like the 5th selection by a desperate Bulls team. It's half a million dollars in a league where the top guy makes 10 million, the median is 2+ million.

My "quibbling" is coming from a good place, though.

I'm concerned that we'll end up with shitty, low-budget assistants and even more of a reluctance to go over the lux tax.

Especially if you consider that we're still paying Flip $5.5m.

Especially if you consider that we're still paying Flip $5.5m.

Speaking of that, does anybody know, definitively, if another team hired Flip to be their head coach before his contract term with us is over, would the Pistons still have to pay him?

In other words, can Flip "double dip" or is there a chance that the Pistons could get a big break, financially, if someone else were to hire him?

I think that teams own the rights to a coach till the contract is done. The coach is fired from showing up at the gym but they are still under contract. iirc

Pat Sullivan on board per DetNews. Guess that means Sheed is sticking around.

Speaking of that, does anybody know, definitively, if another team hired Flip to be their head coach before his contract term with us is over, would the Pistons still have to pay him?

In other words, can Flip "double dip" or is there a chance that the Pistons could get a big break, financially, if someone else were to hire him?
Dont know about basketball, but in football if you find another job you are no longer owed the old team's contract unless you negotiated a severance package or they didnt pay before you were hired, then you could probably sue for that money..I'm guessing basketball is not far off and that minny owing him that money was a partial factor in flip being very slow about taking another job.

We could've gotten Flip for basically nothing, letting Minny pay the bulk of his salary for the first couple years. For reasons that still aren't clear to me, we chose to pay Flip money that could've otherwise come from Minny. There might have been be some sort of agreement among the owners or something like that. For all I know, in exchange for taking on Flip's contract, Glen Taylor buys glass from Guardian -- a deal entirely outside the context of basketball. There's not many rules when it comes to non-player compensation, AFAIK.

Interesting.


Utah Jazz: Corbin to stay with Jazz
Jazz assistant opts to remain in Utah after interviews

By Tim Buckley
Deseret News
Published: June 16, 2008

After interviewing for coaching jobs with three other organizations, including one not previously disclosed, Jazz assistant coach Tyrone Corbin has decided to return to Utah for a fifth season on the staff of Jerry Sloan.

Corbin was a finalist for the head coaching job in Phoenix that went to Detroit Pistons assistant coach and former NBA head coach Terry Porter. Corbin interviewed as well for the head coaching job in Chicago that went to Suns assistant general manager Vinny Del Negro.

Corbin disclosed on Sunday that Detroit also "called about the head assistant's position" on the staff of new Pistons head coach Michael Curry, but added that, "this is a better situation for me."

New Jersey Nets assistant Pat Sullivan was hired late last week by Detroit, where former NBA head coach Dave Cowens remains as a holdover assistant from the former staff of the recently fired Flip Saunders.

In Utah, Corbin and former Jazz and New York Knicks GM Scott Layden serve behind Sloan and longtime top assistant Phil Johnson.

Corbin has never been a head coach or a No. 1 assistant in the NBA, and that ultimately hurt him in the Phoenix search.

"I was close," said Corbin, who was one of three finalists for the Suns job.

"But the edge that I was told that Terry Porter had on me was he had been a head coach before," the ex-Jazz forward and 16-year NBA veteran added. "There's nothing I can do about that until I get the head-coaching experience."

Corbin also interviewed for Seattle's head coaching job in 2007 and suggested that pursuing three top jobs over the past two years can only enhance his ability to ultimately fulfill career goals.

"I do have aspirations of being a head coach in this league," he said. "When that will be, I don't know. But just going through the process of interviewing ... has been interesting for me."

Bye, Igor.

Porter is bringing Igor to PHX, reportedly.

Pistons' Curry completes coaching staff

by A. Sherrod Blakely
Friday June 20, 2008, 6:30 PM

AUBURN HILLS -- Newly hired Detroit Pistons coach Michael Curry completed his coaching on Friday by adding Darryl Walker and Harold Ellis as assistants.

They join Dave Cowens, who has been a Pistons assistant the past two seasons, and Pat Sullivan who returns after a three-year stint with the New Jersey Nets. Sullivan was an assistant coach on Detroit's 2004 NBA championship team.

Walker, who played two seasons with the Pistons (1991-1993), comes to Detroit from New Orleans, where he was an assistant coach. The 47-year-old joins Cowens as Pistons assistants with NBA head coaching experience.

Walker, a former first-round pick of the New York Knicks, was the second coach in the Toronto Raptors' history, and stayed on the job for a year and a half. Also, about halfway through the 1999-2000 season, he replaced former Pistons assistant Gar Heard as the head coach in Washington.

Ellis, 37, comes to Detroit after spending the past five seasons as a scout for the Atlanta Hawks as well as serving as the team's minor league coordinator.

A former Division II standout at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ellis spent three seasons as an NBA player (two with the Los Angeles Clippers and one with the Denver Nuggets), with a 5.8 points per game career average.

Former Pistons assistant Igor Kokoskov now holds a similar position with the Phoenix Suns, who recently hired another former Detroit assistant, Terry Porter, as their head coach.

This pretty much confirms that Lindsey won't be an assistant, which puts him either in uniform or upstairs with Joe.

This pretty much confirms that Lindsey won't be an assistant, which puts him either in uniform or upstairs fetching Joe's coffee and slippers for a year.

Fixed. This wouldn't be such a bad thing. Joe basically walked around taking notes for his first year in the front office.

This pretty much confirms that Lindsey won't be an assistant, which puts him either in uniform or upstairs with Joe.

I read the answer by JoeD in the QanA you posted as JoeD hinted LH might want to play one more year. Would LH go to a contender for one last hurrah?



Langlois: When Lindsey sign his contract two years ago, the assumption was that he would play those two years and then join the organization in some capacity. Where are we at with that right now?

Dumars: Yet to be determined with Lindsey. But we still, long term, would love to see him here in Detroit in the organization, but right now, Linz and I have to sit down and talk about his future and what he’s going to do.


After reading the answer again, I dont' know where I got that, cept maybe in a can of Coors Light.

Michael Curry's father passes away
by A. Sherrod Blakely
Monday June 30, 2008, 2:43 PM

AUBURN HILLS -- The father of Pistons head coach Michael Curry has passed away. The funeral will likely be sometime this week in Georgia, which is where Curry grew up. I'll pass on more details as they become available.

That sucks.

When Curry gets to hoist that championship trophy next June, he will look up to his dad and say, "I did it." No doubt Curry will use this loss as motivation to be the best coach he can be. My prayers are with you, Curry family.

Also, I think Paul Silas would make a decent lead assistant (or "Co-head coach" as I have been calling it).



I think Chicago has the right idea by surrounding Vinny with experienced assistants. BB and DH have head coaching/front office experience, too.


The Chicago Bulls have surrounded new coach Vinny Del Negro with three veteran assistants, including Bernie Bickerstaff and Del Harris, league sources said. Bob Ociepka will be the third assistant.

so in essence they really hired Del Harris.

A fun thread to re-read.

When Curry gets to hoist that championship trophy next June, he will look up to his dad and say, "I did it." No doubt Curry will use this loss as motivation to be the best coach he can be. My prayers are with you, Curry family.

I didn't really stick my neck out there. I just said if he can actually get Sheed to play in the post this might work out.