Glenn
08-07-2008, 09:19 AM
Q&A with Pistons head coach Michael Curry
By Sean Deveney
The Sporting News
Posted: August 7, 2008
There are few jobs in the NBA that figure to be as difficult as coaching the Pistons. Flip Saunders posted a record of 176-70 in three years in Detroit, but he was fired on June 3 because he failed to lead the team to the Finals. Less than a week later, the Pistons hired Michael Curry, who retired as a player in 2004-05 and has no previous head coaching experience, to succeed Saunders.
SN: It's your first summer as a head coach. How has it been?
MC: It's been a good summer. We had a good summer league, and now that we're back in town, we're seeing a lot of the guys, especially the young guys, coming in for volunteer workouts. That's important. We always say that this time of year is when you can make yourself better individually.
SN: One of those young guys is Rodney Stuckey. You have spoken about him as a sixth starter. He's a guy who you'll be counting on next year. In fact, there are a lot of young guys you'll be counting on -- Amir Johnson, Arron Afflalo, Jason Maxiell.
MC: You know, if you asked somebody the average age of the Pistons, they'd probably say something in the 30s. But people don't realize, our starting five, they're all veterans, but after that, we're very young. We're a young team. Our bench, they're all 22, 23. Jason Maxiell is the oldest one, and he's 25. We have a lot of teaching to do with these guys.
SN: A lot was made of the Joe Dumars press conference, in which he said there are no sacred cows and he would not be afraid to make a big move with one of the starters. But you've said you would not mind keeping this group together, as is.
MC: Absolutely, I would be more than happy if this team stays the way it is. The thing is, you have to take the whole interview, everything that Joe said and what he's been saying all year. He has always protected the core of this team. They know that. But he told them throughout the year that if they can't get it done, there might have to be changes, and we didn't get it done. It wasn't a surprise to the players to hear him say that.
In the press conference, Joe said he'd make changes that help the team. But we have not had any offers that would make us better. He's not going to make a deal for the sake of a deal.
SN: Doesn't that put more pressure on you? Doesn't that mean it's up to you to win a championship?
MC: There's going to be pressure either way. I expect to compete for a title. I know those expectations are there. But if you were to ask me what job I'd rather have, one where the expectations are to win a championship or one where the expectations are to win 30 games, I will take the championship job. Every time.
SN: When you look at what the Pistons have done over the last few years, there's been a tremendous amount of success. You've won a lot of games, you've gone far in the playoffs, conference finals. At some point, doesn't it just come down to being a good team that just gets some bad bounces here and there?
MC: At the end of the season, if you don't win a championship, you can walk away from the year feeling either disappointment or frustration. When you are disappointed, it's just because you weren't good enough. You got beat by a better team and, OK, that happens. Frustration is different. That means that, at times, you were the best team in the league. And then, at other times, you were a no-show. That's where we are.
There is frustration within the organization, frustration coming from fans, even frustration with the media. I don't know how many times I heard you guys in the media say you don't know which Detroit Pistons team is going to show up. You're right. How do we lose to Dallas by 20, then, the next night, go into San Antonio, second night of a back-to-back, and win? That shouldn't happen.
SN: Is it just a matter of consistency?
MC: Yes. We can be two different teams at times. You look at Boston, they were first in the league defensively. We were second. The difference is, when you played Boston, they were going to be the best defensive team every night. They played you the same way. With us, we would be up and down. The question is, how can we make sure we are the same team, every night?
SN: But how do you do that?
MC: We'll see. We'll be holding people accountable when they need to be.
SN: You have bounced all over the place in your pro career, but it seems like out of all places, Detroit is home to you more than anywhere else.
MC: I would agree with that. When I finally made it into the NBA to stick, it was with Detroit, and my family is kind of set up here. We've had to do a lot of moving, but we've always come back and made a home here.
SN: It's got to be especially nice for you, with your son, Deon Curry, playing wide receiver at Michigan State.
MC: Oh, it's great for me. They just started camp recently, so now the real trouble starts for him. It's brutal. It's a tough sport, you get so beaten up physically. I just hope he gets through healthy.
SN: When he is going through tough practices, don't you ever say to him, 'You should have stuck with basketball ... '?
MC: No, no, that was his decision and I supported it. He loves football, and once he decided he wanted to do that, he went full-speed ahead. He has done a really good job with it. As a father, I just love going over and watching him play. I just want to be able to see as many of his games as I can before our season starts.
SN: Aren't you tempted to do some coaching? Tell them to throw the ball to No. 84 more?
MC: No, I am just a spectator. I have enough coaching to do when I am at work, believe me.
By Sean Deveney
The Sporting News
Posted: August 7, 2008
There are few jobs in the NBA that figure to be as difficult as coaching the Pistons. Flip Saunders posted a record of 176-70 in three years in Detroit, but he was fired on June 3 because he failed to lead the team to the Finals. Less than a week later, the Pistons hired Michael Curry, who retired as a player in 2004-05 and has no previous head coaching experience, to succeed Saunders.
SN: It's your first summer as a head coach. How has it been?
MC: It's been a good summer. We had a good summer league, and now that we're back in town, we're seeing a lot of the guys, especially the young guys, coming in for volunteer workouts. That's important. We always say that this time of year is when you can make yourself better individually.
SN: One of those young guys is Rodney Stuckey. You have spoken about him as a sixth starter. He's a guy who you'll be counting on next year. In fact, there are a lot of young guys you'll be counting on -- Amir Johnson, Arron Afflalo, Jason Maxiell.
MC: You know, if you asked somebody the average age of the Pistons, they'd probably say something in the 30s. But people don't realize, our starting five, they're all veterans, but after that, we're very young. We're a young team. Our bench, they're all 22, 23. Jason Maxiell is the oldest one, and he's 25. We have a lot of teaching to do with these guys.
SN: A lot was made of the Joe Dumars press conference, in which he said there are no sacred cows and he would not be afraid to make a big move with one of the starters. But you've said you would not mind keeping this group together, as is.
MC: Absolutely, I would be more than happy if this team stays the way it is. The thing is, you have to take the whole interview, everything that Joe said and what he's been saying all year. He has always protected the core of this team. They know that. But he told them throughout the year that if they can't get it done, there might have to be changes, and we didn't get it done. It wasn't a surprise to the players to hear him say that.
In the press conference, Joe said he'd make changes that help the team. But we have not had any offers that would make us better. He's not going to make a deal for the sake of a deal.
SN: Doesn't that put more pressure on you? Doesn't that mean it's up to you to win a championship?
MC: There's going to be pressure either way. I expect to compete for a title. I know those expectations are there. But if you were to ask me what job I'd rather have, one where the expectations are to win a championship or one where the expectations are to win 30 games, I will take the championship job. Every time.
SN: When you look at what the Pistons have done over the last few years, there's been a tremendous amount of success. You've won a lot of games, you've gone far in the playoffs, conference finals. At some point, doesn't it just come down to being a good team that just gets some bad bounces here and there?
MC: At the end of the season, if you don't win a championship, you can walk away from the year feeling either disappointment or frustration. When you are disappointed, it's just because you weren't good enough. You got beat by a better team and, OK, that happens. Frustration is different. That means that, at times, you were the best team in the league. And then, at other times, you were a no-show. That's where we are.
There is frustration within the organization, frustration coming from fans, even frustration with the media. I don't know how many times I heard you guys in the media say you don't know which Detroit Pistons team is going to show up. You're right. How do we lose to Dallas by 20, then, the next night, go into San Antonio, second night of a back-to-back, and win? That shouldn't happen.
SN: Is it just a matter of consistency?
MC: Yes. We can be two different teams at times. You look at Boston, they were first in the league defensively. We were second. The difference is, when you played Boston, they were going to be the best defensive team every night. They played you the same way. With us, we would be up and down. The question is, how can we make sure we are the same team, every night?
SN: But how do you do that?
MC: We'll see. We'll be holding people accountable when they need to be.
SN: You have bounced all over the place in your pro career, but it seems like out of all places, Detroit is home to you more than anywhere else.
MC: I would agree with that. When I finally made it into the NBA to stick, it was with Detroit, and my family is kind of set up here. We've had to do a lot of moving, but we've always come back and made a home here.
SN: It's got to be especially nice for you, with your son, Deon Curry, playing wide receiver at Michigan State.
MC: Oh, it's great for me. They just started camp recently, so now the real trouble starts for him. It's brutal. It's a tough sport, you get so beaten up physically. I just hope he gets through healthy.
SN: When he is going through tough practices, don't you ever say to him, 'You should have stuck with basketball ... '?
MC: No, no, that was his decision and I supported it. He loves football, and once he decided he wanted to do that, he went full-speed ahead. He has done a really good job with it. As a father, I just love going over and watching him play. I just want to be able to see as many of his games as I can before our season starts.
SN: Aren't you tempted to do some coaching? Tell them to throw the ball to No. 84 more?
MC: No, I am just a spectator. I have enough coaching to do when I am at work, believe me.