The Roller Coaster ride of Detroit Pistons

Joe Dumars Introduces Chauncey Billips

While things were taking a turn for the better, Dumars fired Carlisle and hired Hall of Famer Larry Brown. This move was attributed to a lot of reasons, the most important ones being that Carlisle was too conservative, didn’t get along with key players and was reported to be interested in the Pacers head coaching job. After he was fired, Brown took over the reins at Detroit while Carlisle moved to Indiana, which surprised no one.

The Pistons just needed one more thing to make them a Championship team – a big man who could pose a threat from all parts of the court. They found him in Rasheed Wallace. Wallace was a leader, a motivator and a hothead.

History repeated itself. Wallace and Billups led the Pistons to a title in 2004 against the mighty and strongly favoured Lakers who started a star studded team with Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton and Karl Malone.

From 2005 through 2008, the Pistons underwent numerous changes in personnel. In addition, their head coach, Brown was replaced by Flip Saunders. Despite these changes, they made it to the playoffs every year till 2008. They made it to the eastern conference playoffs for the sixth straight season in 2008, but failed to win a championship, yet again.

At the end of the 2008 postseason, The Pistons announced that Saunders will not be returning as head coach for the next year and the downhill ride began once more.

Failure at rebuilding (2008-11)

In November 2008, the Pistons traded Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess for Allen Iverson. The next season was marked by injuries and the Pistons barely made it to the 2009 playoffs. Iverson left them at the end of the season.

They signed back their former centre Ben Wallace with hope that he would take them back to their former glory. However, the team continued it’s downhill journey and the Pistons ended with a 27-55 record.

Next season, things didn’t really improve and the Pistons ended with a 30-52 season. Their then coach John Kuester was fired at the end of the 2011 season.

New Ownership, New Direction (2011-present)

In April 2011, the Detroit Pistons reached a long awaited agreement to sell the NBA franchise to billionaire Tom Gores.

The 2011-12 season was an improvement from previous years for the Pistons, although they still posted a losing record. They managed to finish a lockout-shortened season with a record of 25-41. The team continued to build its young core consisting of Rodney Stuckey, Jonas Jerebko, rookie Brandon Knight and talented sophomore Greg Monroe.

They struck gold last season, when they drafted Andre Drummond, one of the most promising sophomores to look forward to next season.

The Pistons are focusing on rebuilding their team, and this team, they’re at it for real. They had 5 rookies in their roster last season. They signed 3 prominent free agents this off season: All Star Power Forward Josh Smith, former player and veteran Chauncey Billups and talented Point Guard Brandon Jennings. The team looks refreshingly youthful and finally seems to be headed in the right direction.

However, the most interesting changes occurred in the front office. Their new head coach is Maurice “Mo” Cheeks, former NBA Champion and 4 time All-Star as a player. They hired Rasheed Wallace, former player and team captain as assistant coach. Cheeks coached Wallace when he played at Portland. So, the two already have a good chemistry.

When you factor in these changes, their team looks promising. They have a team that could make it to the playoffs if they utilise the resources at their disposal. The team has been rebuilt and will continue to improve over the next few years. The Pistons are back as one of the most exciting teams to look at in the NBA.