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Joe
Dumars
out as
Pistons
president
AUBURN
HILLS,
MI - Joe
Dumars
tried to
push the
Detroit
Pistons
back
toward
the
playoffs
with a
couple
of big
moves
last
offseason.
That
didn't
work,
and now
the
Pistons
will be
hiring
someone
else to
replace
him.
Detroit
has
decided
not to
renew
Dumars'
contract
as
president
of
basketball
operations,
a person
familiar
with the
situation
said
Sunday.
The
person,
who
spoke on
condition
of
anonymity
because
the team
has not
made any
announcement
on
Dumars'
future,
says
Dumars
will
remain
with the
Pistons
as an
adviser.
Dumars
was
named
the 2003
executive
of the
year,
and the
Pistons
won the
title
the
following
season,
adding
the 2004
crown to
the two
they won
when
Dumars
was a
player.
But
Detroit
hasn't
made the
playoffs
since
2009,
and the
retooled
Pistons
flopped
badly
this
season.
Detroit
has one
of the
game's
top
young
big men
in Andre
Drummond,
but he's
one of
the
franchise's
few
bright
spots at
the
moment.
Owner
Tom
Gores
must now
hire a
new
general
manager,
and in
the
meantime,
ownership
executives
Phil
Norment
and Bob
Wentworth
are
expected
to
supervise
preparations
for the
draft
and free
agency.
Detroit
signed
Josh
Smith
and
traded
for
Brandon
Jennings
last
offseason
in what
seemed
like a
return
to
relevance,
but the
new-look
roster
lacked
cohesion
at
times.
Coach
Maurice
Cheeks
was
fired in
February,
and the
Pistons
are
29-52
with one
game
remaining.
"I think
overall
we have
a
quality
team as
is,"
forward
Kyle
Singler
said. "I
don't
know
necessarily
the
formula
to win,
but we
just
weren't
able to
get into
a groove
earlier
on in
the year
to gain
confidence
and know
that
we're a
playoff
team."
Dumars
began
running
the
Pistons
in 2000,
and he
made one
shrewd
move
after
another
at
first,
acquiring
Ben
Wallace
for
Grant
Hill in
a
sign-and-trade
and
sending
Jerry
Stackhouse
to
Washington
for
Richard
Hamilton.
He
brought
Rasheed
Wallace
to
Detroit
in
another
trade
and
signed
Chauncey
Billups
as a
free
agent.
Even a
draft
day
blunder
in 2003
—
picking
Darko
Milicic
over
Carmelo
Anthony,
Chris
Bosh and
Dwyane
Wade
with the
No. 2
pick —
seemed
like an
aberration
when the
Pistons
beat the
Los
Angeles
Lakers
in the
finals
the
following
year.
That
title,
however,
is well
in the
past.
The
Pistons
have
played
in front
of
sparse
crowds
in
recent
years,
struggling
to stay
relevant
in
Detroit
while
the
Tigers
have
drawn
fans in
droves
to their
downtown
ballpark.
In 2008,
Dumars
traded
Billups
in a
deal
that
brought
Allen
Iverson
to the
Pistons.
That
move
didn't
work
out, and
neither
did the
decision
to sign
Ben
Gordon
and
Charlie
Villanueva
to big
contracts
during
the 2009
offseason.
Dumars
and the
Pistons
also
struggled
to find
the
right
coach.
When
Cheeks
was
hired
before
this
season,
he
became
Detroit's
ninth
coach
since
1999-2000.
Immediately
before
Cheeks,
Lawrence
Frank
and John
Kuester
lasted
two
seasons
each,
with
little
success.
When
Gores
took
over as
owner
after
the
2010-11
season,
the
Pistons
were
undeniably
in a
rebuilding
mode.
Last
offseason,
Dumars
had
another
chance
to show
he could
guide
the
franchise
back to
contention.
Instead,
the
Pistons
have
been one
of the
league's
most
disappointing
teams in
2013-14.
Although
Dumars
is
staying
with the
organization
in some
capacity,
his
departure
as team
president
and
general
manager
marks
the end
of an
era.
Drafted
by the
Pistons
in 1985,
Dumars
spent
his
entire
14-year
playing
career
with the
franchise,
winning
NBA
titles
in 1989
and
1990.
He was
Detroit's
vice
president
of
player
personnel
during
the
1999-2000
season
before
being
promoted
to
president
of
basketball
operations.
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