To the casual observer, it seems odd that a coach with a record as good as Rick Carlisle’s has been over the last 2 years would get fired, even if his season DID end in a sweep by the Nets. On the surface, at least, he did a great job with a not-very-talented team.
So, what’s the scuttlebutt in Detroit? Did he just not get along with Dumars? Did his players all go to management and say, “We can’t stand him?” Has he been hanging around strip clubs with Mike Price? Or perhaps Dumars is just a HUGE admirer of Larry Brown, and just had to have him?
I’m not taking Carlisle’s side, because there are BOUND to be major factors I’m not aware of. He MAY well have deserved what he got… I’m just wondering why.
One of my good friends is a HUGE Pistons fan, and I’m worried he’ll jump off a bridge. As far as I can tell, this was done SOLELY so they could hire Brown. I think it’s a big mistake too. Carlisle was a young coach who could’ve stuck around for a long time. Brown is close to retirement, and he’s the most nomadic coach ever. Three years is a pretty long stay for him. I imagine the team’s thinking was “well, this is as far as Carlisle can take us, he helped make a bad team into a good team. Now we need someone to make it into a great team.” That’s apparently NOT what Larry Brown has done throughout his career, though. And he’s made the NBA finals ONCE, ever - he’s been coaching for 30 years (not all of them in the pros, I know) - which wouldn’t leave me feeling encouraged if I was a Pistons fan. And that one year was with an overachieving Sixers team that got creamed by L.A.
I was shocked when it happened. There were rumors during the Orlando series when Detroit was down 3-1, but they died away by the time they made the Eastern Conference finals. There are many of us scratching our heads trying to make sense of it.
Most of the local reporters think the firing had more to do with the owner William Davidson than of Joe Dumars. Joe obviously went along with the firing, but didn’t push for it. Maybe he didn’t even want to do it.
Rick Carlisle was sometimes a non-friendly guy to many in the organization. He just ruffled too many feathers. I wouldn’t think it would be grounds to fire the guy, but then I don’t have millions of dollars to waste on a professional sports team.
I’m not in or from Detroit, but from what I’ve heard and seen, they didn’t like Carlisle’s rotations (management thought Prince and Okur should have been playing all year long,) and some of the veterans on the team had been grumbling about the way he handled substitutions. And the usual friction between coach and management, although Dumars and Carlisle denied they had any problems between them. A dumb move all around, in my opinion. Larry Brown has made a career of turning crap franchises into pseudo-contenders. The Pistons are at the point now where Brown would usually be leaving them, that is, they’re good but not great. It’s not like Brown’s going to use the talent in Detroit any better than Carlisle did. I mean, hell, Carlisle’s Pistons just flat outplayed Brown’s Sixers, and the Sixers probably had better overall talent, especially with Billups hurt.
I live near Detroit, and I’m in favor of the move.
The chance to get Larry Brown is too good to miss. I have a distinct feeling, however, that next year we will make it one round less than this year in the playoffs and people will begin to regret it.
Then again, I predict we will win a championship sometime in the next 4 years. We were in the Eastern Conference finals this year AND have the number 2 pick in the draft(as well as the 23rd I believe).
According to the hosts of the morning show on Detroit sports talk radio WDFN 1130 AM today Carlisle rubbed the front office the wrong way and because GM Joe Dumars was very unhappy that Carlisle didn’t play hot-shot rookie Prince very much during the regular season and didn’t play him during the playoffs until it was almost too late.
I fully understand the rubbing the wrong way portion. He has been known as a rather sour individual since his Indiana days, so I am not surprised there.
I don’t get the part about the “hotshot rookie Prince”. After all, he was taken 23rd, which isn’t exactly a draft spot that leaves a team or a town on the edge of excitement. That is the draft range that tends to produce solid players with little fan fair.
I’m more inclined to believe Carlisle’s personality clashed with the owner, much more eloquently stated in Mitch Albom’s column.
You might, but I bet Larry Brown won’t be coaching you when it happens. (Nevermind the issue of the Spurs, Mavs, Lakers, Kings and Nets. ;)) I think he spent five years in Philly, and that was the most he’s ever spent with a team.