Pistons Demise – Bad Business Joe

As the Pistons spiral away from being an elite team, sinking below .500 and almost out of the playoffs for the first time since 2001, it’s easy to point a finger.  Allen Iverson hasn’t been a godsend.  The young guys Stuckey, Maxiell and Johnson haven’t come on like planned.  Rasheed has lost his dominance, if not his mind.  Rip Hamilton isn’t the same without Chauncey Billups.  Michael Curry wasn’t the right choice as coach.  Jettisoning Billups because they thought he was losing a step both on and off the court, was ill planned.    Only one guy is responsible for this collection of talent and cap space…Joe Dumars.

Dumars is the same guy that fleeced Michael Jordan for Rip Hamilton.  Rescued Billups off the scrap heap and got Ben Wallace for Grant Hill, who was leaving anyway.  He drafted stick-thin Tayshaun Prince, stole Rasheed Wallace, and won an NBA championship in 2004.  He’s also the same guy who drafted Darko Milicic, passing on Bosh, Wade, Carmelo and so on. 

Dumars has  kept the Pistons competitive since he stepped in in 2000, making it to the conference finals in each of the last six years.  But Palace fans are starting to flee.  After all, they are Pistons fans.  You don’t have to go back to the days of  playing at The Olympia and Cobo Hall to recognize a dead team when they see one.  Say it isn’t so, Joe.

Are the days of Joe Strawder, John Tresvant, Al Eberhard and Sonny Dove upon Piston fans again?  Can Dumars be counted on to use his cap space wisely?  Will he make choices like when he picked up Jefferson, Billups, Wallace and Prince?  Or will he choose the next Darko?

The passing of owner William Davidson will have a large effect on the future prospects of the Pistons. Davidson was famous for believing in his people, which was easy to do when winning begat financial success. Ask the guys who ran the Tampa Bay Lightning how Davidson’s support changed when he discovered that even winning the Stanley Cup in 2003-04 couldn’t keep the St. Pete Times Forum full. Davidson sold the Lightning in 2008 after only eight years.