Pistons Blog

Coaching search open again

Don't lock Avery Johnson in as the new head coach just yet. It is not, in any way, a given that he's going to be the next coach. In fact, Joe Dumars this morning said the search was still wide open, though he would not name any other candidates.

Cleveland assistant John Kuester was on Dumars' original short list, but as of Friday morning, the Pistons had not asked for permission to speak with him.

Charlie V''s tweet

In case you care about this stuff, here are Charlie Villanueva''s latest twitter postings:

"Deeeeeeetrooooooiiiiittttttt basketballllllllllllll"

"Only 3 hour away from my family in Burlington Ontario, and Toronto, Love you CJ"

"Well I''m a Piston, long day yesterday, but got it done, God is good"

There you go, tweeter heads. Who says I am old school?

Tying up loose ends

I have seen some crazy reports across the world wide Web the past 48 hours or so.

I have seen Ben Gordon''s contract offer from the Pistons reported as high as $60 million. Unless there are some incentive clauses I don''t know about, the total value of the deal should fall just short of $55 million. He will start at $9 million next season.

Charlie Villanueva''s deal will start at $6 million and is for $35 million over five years, not $40 million.

Also, I saw a report that the Bulls never made an offer to Gordon. That is true, technically. Here''s what happened: The Pistons made their offer Wednesday and before agreeing to it, Gordon''s agent, Raymond Brothers, went back to the Bulls. Presumably, he asked if they wanted to match the offer and got an immediate answer of no. The Bulls couldn''t clear that much money. So, yes, there was no offer from Chicago, but it was given a chance to get back into the bidding. Not a big deal, but facts is facts, as they say.

About Doug Collins: Man, there has been a ton of misinformation out there. There is absolutely no way Collins ever, ever, ever contacted Joe Dumars about the coaching job before Michael Curry was fired. I promise you, on my kids'' trust funds (good luck finding those), Collins never would do that. He wouldn''t do that to a coach he didn''t know let alone a guy who he considers his son. Remember, it was Collins who brought Curry into the league and gave him his first guaranteed contract. Collins has been a mentor and friend to Curry''s since 1995, if not before that. So, for him to campaign for Curry''s job while Curry still had it -- nope. Never.

Last thing: I am sitting here wondering how ESPN is claiming it broke the news on Collins withdrawing his name from consideration for the Pistons coaching job. I know you guys out there don''t really care who breaks stories, but my lord. Detnews.com posted my story before midnight. The ESPN story went up, best I can tell, around 3 a.m. I had quotes from Collins, so obviously, I talked to him. So, if we had it up three hours earlier, how is the news "according to ESPN?" It''s a mystery.

Collins out; Johnson in

Well, it's now apparently a one-man race for the Pistons' coaching vacancy. Doug Collins, late Wednesday night, withdrew his name from consideration.

Collins was the first choice, that much is certain. And in my opinion, knowing him well for the past 15 years, knowing what a brilliant basketball mind he has, knowing what a powerful leader he is, knowing how driven he is to succeed -- he would have been the perfect coach for this team at this time.

That is not a knock on Avery Johnson, the former Mavericks coach who now remains as an almost lock to get the job. I don't know Johnson as well, obviously, but I know he was 220-90 in four seasons in Dallas. I know of his passion and conviction. I don't doubt for a minute that he will get the Pistons back on track in a hurry.

But Collins is special and it's a shame this didn't work out. As usual, Collins handled this with class.

Here's what he told me: "I had a great talk with Joe (Dumars) and I appreciate being considered for the job, but I've decided to take my name out of the running. I am honored to have been given the opportunity. I have great affection for the Davidson family (owner Karen and late husband William), great affection for the whole organization and for the fans in Detroit.

"At this time, however, I feel it's best that I not pursue the job."

Collins was tortured a bit because of his relationship with Michael Curry. Collins was the coach who first brought Curry into the league, the first guy to give him a guaranteed contract. Theirs is a father-son type relationship, and to take the job in the wake of Curry's abrupt dismissal would have been tough for Collins.

That wasn't the reason he backed away, but it weighed on him.

Collins badly wants one more coaching job, one more chance to compete for a championship. But he doesn't need it. He is, in the opinion of many, the best NBA analyst in the business. His work on TNT is both rewarding and fulfilling for him, keeping him in the league while leaving plenty of time to enjoy his ever-expanding family. So when he accepts his next coaching job, it's going to be a situation that he deems perfect. For reasons Collins will keep to himself, the Pistons job at this time wasn't.

It's our loss.

Category: Free agency

Dumars isn't waiting around

It's amazing how different the Pistons' outlook is from just two days ago. There wasn't much buzz way back then; Michael Curry was still the coach and the team was looking for a new direction with potential free-agent targets Carlos Boozer and Ben Gordon.

Time has a way of changing things. Sort of.

The Curry era is now a memory and it appears that Gordon -- along with Charlie Villanueva, not Boozer -- have agreed in principle to contract terms. And now, the Pistons, who have been known as a veteran, crafty team, aren't that anymore. There will be a new -- presumably veteran -- coach assuming the helm. Whether it's the names bandied about, Avery Johnson or Doug Collins, it's a departure from the turbulent season with Curry.

Applaud Dumars for recognizing what he perceived as flaws and taking quick action. Staying pat with the team he had obviously would have been the easy choice and fans would have had to suffer through whatever next season would hold. Dumars is a better team president than that, though.

He proved that by going out on the first day of free agency and grabbing two of the best players on the market. This is the benefit that fans and critics didn't see when Dumars traded Chauncey Billups earlier in the season. So, only time will tell -- quickly or otherwise -- whether all his decisions will pay off.

Villanueva done

How's that for fast work. In one day, Joe Dumars got both of his primary free agent targets. After Ben Gordon agreed to a five-year deal worth more than $50 million, Charlie Villanueva agreed to a five-year deal worth $35 million.

If my math is correct -- not a safe bet, there -- the Pistons could still have close to $4 million to offer Antonio McDyess.

Gordon a Piston

The Pistons have offered Ben Gordon a five-year contract worth more than $50 million and according to sources close to the negotiations, he has accepted.

The deal took a little more time to close than expected, presumably because Gordon's agent, Raymond Brothers, gave the Chicago Bulls one last chance to retain Gordon. The Bulls obviously didn't make a counter offer. Thus, Gordon joins fellow U-Conn grad Rip Hamilton in the Pistons' backcourt.

Dumars was still negotiating with free agent forward Charlie Villanueva.

Still waiting

Nothing yet from the Ben Gordon-Charlie Villanueva visits. But I found it curious that Joe Dumars has spoken to Avery Johnson but not Doug Collins. Now, it could be just a timing thing. Obviously, Dumars has had his hands full today. But if Collins was the first choice, which I was led to believe he was, it's odd that Dumars hasn't reached out to him yet.

Waiting and waiting

The Pistons are not allowing any media around the visits of free agents Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, so I can't tell you what's going on yet. It is, obviously, a positive sign for the Pistons that they were both willing to fly here and meet with Joe Dumars.

Gordon, from what I can gather, came here with the intention to commit. Most likely, he has been offered a five-year deal worth $50 million. That's probably a little less than what he hoped for, but he understands how the economic landscape has changed. Just have to wait and see what happens.

Interesting, though, with Gordon, Villanueva and Rip Hamilton, Dumars might have to hire Jim Calhoun to the coaching staff and give this team a complete UConn look. That's a joke, by the way. Don't confuse that with all the chatter about Bill Laimbeer being a candidate for the Pistons' job. He's not. Dumars isn't likely to replace a rookie coach with another rookie coach. Doug Collins and Avery Johnson are still the top candidates. It is my understanding that Dumars spoke with both Tuesday night.

Just some housekeeping: The Pistons invited Grosse Pointe native Michael Bramos to play on their summer league team. Also, the Pistons, as we said, officially waived Fabricio Oberto.

Boozer opts in

Carlos Boozer got a quick lesson in modern economics. He fully believed he would easily get a new deal starting at more than the $12.6 million he was to make in his final year in Utah. Wasn't going to happen, as he finally realized, and he has picked up his option to return to Utah.

That doesn't mean, however, that he will stay there. The Jazz will have to re-sign Paul Millsap and Mehmet Okur, and with Boozer's $12.6 million back on the books, it's going to be tough. So, the Jazz may pursue trade options for Boozer.

The Pistons could get into that mix, but it appears they won't use Richard Hamilton in that deal. Joe Dumars has said on several occasions that he doesn't expect to trade Rip, and that seems especially true now that he's pulled the plug on Michael Curry.

Sam Mitchell's name has come up as a possible candidate to replace Curry. From what I am hearing, Mitchell's camp is the one putting his name out there. He is not on Dumars' short list. Again, that list is Doug Collins, Avery Johnson and John Kuester -- probably in that order.