Official NBA Thread 2013-2014 ed.

Yes

 

Was Drayton McLain really that bad? He took the Astros to their only World Series appearance and made the playoffs a bunch of years in a row. He was also the owner and the other two guys were GMs so not sure if that was intentional to include him as an owner.

I'm not saying he was the best owner but he had a good run for awhile. I think (?) part of his downfall was intentionally not signing draft picks and thinking that giving big contracts to guys like Bagwell (his injury really set the team back) and Carlos Lee (his eating really set the team back) would be enough to keep the team competitive.

 

hasnt done a good job according to what standards, having an owner die and then his widow telling the GM, not to make any major moves or spend any major money while she tries to sell the team for 3 years.
Or the fact that the NBA is now set up for big market teams?
Or the fact that he put together a team that beat a Phil Jackson team with Shaq, Kobe, Karl Malone and went to 6 eastern conference finals.
Or the fact that no big name free agent wants to come to a city that has been in ruins for the past 5 years with scandals and bankruptcy.

 

No one is questioning his accomplishments. The key statement is 'in the past half dozen years' and that's according to the standards of Detroit's record. The NBA was set up for big market teams when Detroit beat the Lakers in the finals, so that's not a valid argument. And, part of a GMs job is to convince FA to play for your team, regardless of the circumstances. Really, the only valid argument I see is the owner's wife preventing him from spending money or making major moves, but I can't really speak to that because it's the first I'm hearing of it. It's a really dumb move, if you think about it because the better the team is, the higher the value. And if he's handcuffed like that, why has he stuck around?

Anyway, I like Joe Dumars and I'm pulling for him to put another contending team together, whether it's with Detroit or somewhere else.

 

im closer to the situation then you think, trust me on that.
The NBA was not set up that way during those years, the commish hated the fact that Detroit and San Antonio where running the league during those years, thats a direct quote from his mouth. He wasnt stopping or orchestrating trades behind the scenes during those years. I know alot more I have a valid argument, but you are right, it is a GMs job to convince big name players to play for a team and city.

He stuck around because thats the team that drafted him and he won championships with as a player and GM, he had offers from Orlando, Brooklyn Nets and other teams, that i know for a fact, he was loyal to Detroit and has been.

The ownership situation is just the opposite, no prospective groups want to buy a team thats bogged down in long term huge contracts. Look at the contract Minnesota gave Garnett, it set them back years, no one with any financial sense would buy a team in that shape.

 

I never said you weren't. Sorry if I somehow implied that.

I get that he's loyal to Detroit because of his history with the team, but it's got to be tough if ownership is not putting him in a position to succeed year after year. Kind of like having a cheating girlfriend. How long are you going to stay if it keeps happening repeatedly?

Who's saying anything about being bogged down in huge, long term contracts? Is that the only way to win in the NBA? If so, then it's a catch-22. The only point I was trying to make is that your team is more valuable when you're winning, but if ownership is just looking to liquidate and not get top dollar for the franchise, then I guess what they're doing doesn't matter, in that regard.

Again, I'm a Dumars fan. I think he's a class act and I loved those Bad Boy teams of the 80s. That's why I'd like to see him go somewhere else if current Piston ownership continually handcuffs him from putting a contending team together.

 

I bet Joe Dumars wouldn't take 5 hot minutes to send Scott Brooks packing. I'm not saying Sam Presti isn't a good GM, hell he is probably one of the best in the business but something HAS to be done about Brooks. He is hamstringing this team with his inability to make an adjustment.