Coaches that should be candidates for the Detroit Pistons head coaching job

Maurice Cheeks was surprisingly fired as coach of the Detroit Pistons on Sunday after 50 games. Cheeks was 21-29 and was replaced by assistant John Loyer on an interim basis for the rest of the season.

Even though Loyer is auditioning for the job himself it's doubtful that he'll land the job permanently. The job won't be filled until the off-season and here are a list of candidates that should be in play to be the next coach of the Detroit Pistons.

Lionel Hollins- Hollins is the hot name right now for the job right now. He led the Memphis Grizzlies to the Western Conference finals last season with a roster that was similar to what the Pistons have now. Hollins has expressed interest in the Pistons and is the odds on favorite to land in Detroit.

Bill Laimbeer- Laimbeer is the fan favorite based on his playing days with the Pistons. The problem is that Laimbeer's coaching experience is limited to the WNBA and one year on the sidelines with the Minnesota Timberwolves. If Laimbeer coached the Pistons, I could see a fight breaking out with one of the players, but he could make the Pistons interesting.

George Karl- Karl has won everywhere he's been. Karl has also worn out his welcome everywhere he's been. He was the coach of the year last season and has led five different teams to the playoffs. I don't think the Pistons have a roster for Karl's preferred style of play.

Jeff Van Gundy- It's a long shot, but when your in the position the Pistons are in it's worth a try. I don't see Van Gundy leaving ABC anytime soon. He seems too comfortable next to Mike Breen.

Phil Jackson- This is an absolute pipe dream. Only if Tom Gores gave him part ownership, a star player and a boatload of cash.

Stan Van Gundy- I think Stan is comfortable in semi retirement. He could come back if the right team came calling. He's never had a losing record.

Nate McMillan- The former Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle SuperSonics coach interviewed three times during the Pistons’ last coaching search, when the job went to Cheeks. He’s now an assistant with the Indiana Pacers.  

Dwight Howard isn't a winning player

There aren't many NBA players that are considered winning players. There are a select few in the league and you can probably count them on one hand. Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Kevin Durant, and no matter what anyone says LeBron James.

Dwight Howard is not one of them. It's not because he hasn't won any championships. It's because of the act he's pulling with the Orlando Magic franchise. He's literally trying to hold the Magic hostage and trying to get coach Stan Van Gundy fired. That all depends on who you ask. Van Gundy and reporters say that Howard has asked for Van Gundy to be canned. Howard denies this rumor.


"I know he has," Van Gundy told reporters after the team's morning shootaround ahead of Thursday night's matchup with the New York Knicks. "That's just the way it is. Again, I've been dealing with that all year. It's not anything real bothersome. You go out and do your job."


It's just like Howard to deny the statement. Just like he wanted to be traded, but later was all in and staying with the Magic. The problem with his trade request is that he wanted to pick his destination. I've always maintained that the franchise should be holding all the cards especially when it comes to trades. No player should be able to hold a team hostage like what Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Dwight Howard have done recently. Players would hate me if I were a general manager because I'm trading you for the best deal I get, not where you want to go.

About the Van Gundy rumors which Howard denies, it's no secret that Howard would rather have Van Gundy out of town rather than him staying in Orlando. It's a fact of life in professional sports. When the star player doesn't like the coach, usually the coach leaves town and it's not voluntary. Howard has been pretty critical of Van Gundy's coaching style the past few years and now he's playing a game of him or me.

"Whatever happens at the end of the season is not under my control," Howard told reporters. "I am a player for the Magic. I am not the GM. I am not (owner) Rich DeVos I am not (Magic CEO) Alex Martins. So that's not my job. So you guys should stop ... every other week ... trying to find something, because there's nothing.


"I haven't said anything to anybody about anything. Our main concern is winning. So all the other stuff should stop."

In a way Dwight is still immature. He says all the right things and talks about winning, but he isn't about winning. Which means he's not a winning player. If you want photo ops, commercials, and want to sell jerseys then Dwight is your guy. But if you want to win championships, you should go elsewhere.

I'm not saying he's a bad player, but he's what a friend of mine calls a "square button player". Anyone with a playstation should be familiar with that analogy. He just doesn't have the on court demeanor of a winner.

Quote Of The Week: Stan Van Gundy

In light of the Miami Hurricanes scandal, Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy had some disparaging remarks about the NCAA.

“The system is set up for everybody but the kids while pretending to be about the kids,” Van Gundy said. “Athletics and education should be separate. Colleges shouldn’t be farm systems. It doesn’t make any logical sense. But the schools don’t want to be blatantly in the situation of being professional sports even though they already are professional sports. They just want to disguise it, so they hide behind education. But, really, all you want is enough of your athletes to graduate so it looks like that’s what you care about. Anyone around sports knows it is all a bunch of bull [expletive].


I think if you let kids take inducements it would widen the gap between the haves and have nots in college athletics. On the other hand the rules are so archaic and they need to be revised.

Dick Vitale, Stan Van Gundy Rip The Pistons

The Detroit Pistons have been getting ripped from coast to to coast over the practice boycott last Friday. It is for good reason, because no team in recent memory has pulled a stunt like this. At least Latrell Sprewell had the guts to choke P.J. Carlesimo.

Dick Vitale and Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy had their say about practicegate and the players involved. Phil Jackson has already thrown his two cents so why not pile on.

Vitale appeared on Mike and Mike in the morning on ESPN radio and blasted the players for what they did.

“What happened in Detroit was absolutely absurd," Vitale said. "When those players did what they did in that mutiny, unbelievable. It is absolutely sad and a black eye and absolutely hurts the image of the NBA big time. When guys like, for example, (Austin) Daye and (Chris) Wilcox and (Rodney) Stuckey, they all apologize for being late because they overslept, they couldn't come to the shootaround, give me a break! You're making hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars, you're making millions playing a kids' game, and you're going to oversleep! And then there's the scenario where (Tayshaun) Prince and (Tracy) McGrady, they were sick, they couldn't go to the shootaround. Are you serious? That's absolutely a tragedy. And you know what? It breaks my heart. For someone who, for over 50 years, loves the game, loves people, loves being with people, when you hear that, man, I'd rather go watch some sixth-, seventh-graders play in some Little League game than spend thousands of dollars to watch a bunch of guys who don't give a damn.”


Sounds like vintage Vitale to me, but I do have to agree with what he's saying. Van Gundy appeared on the Dan LeBatard Show to pile on the Pistons. I'm suprised LeBatard didn't chime in considering he gets in any dig about anything Detroit.


Van Gundy said, "If there are players who truly were healthy and 'boycotted' practice — I don't care what the problem they have with the head coach is — why would you want those guys on your team in any situation? All of us have problems with our bosses at times, but you don't choose to just not show up for work. That's about as childish and unprofessional as you can get. And clearly, that illuminates some of the Pistons' problems right there. When you've got that many guys with that little toughness and professionalism on your team, it wouldn't matter who is coaching them — you're not going to be very successful. They've obviously got the wrong guys in that locker room. That's about the weakest group of players I've seen in the NBA — people that would do that. Patrick Ewing and I were talking about it and we were saying that if any of those guys become free agents, why in God's name would you want any of them on your basketball team? I know this much about John Kuester. John Kuester is one of the nicest people in our profession, so he didn't get out of line and treat anyone like a sub-human or anything else. They might not have liked his coaching decisions — playing time, how he's handling rotations, whatever. You don't simply not show up for (work) when you're getting paid well and you're supposed to be a professional and a competitor. That's a very weak group of people."


Some harsh words from someone whose franchise player might be leaving town.