Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Now that Phil Jackson is giving Tom Gores special advise on how to fill the Detroit Pistons coaching job, one must wonder what’s left in Joe Dumars‘ job description as president.
Many observers in Detroit are taking Gores’ announcement from Thursday, that Jackson is advising in the search, as a slap in the face to Dumars.
Well, they’re right, it is a slap in the face.
But it’s a question of whether or not you think Dumars deserves it.
While there’s still a lot of respect for Dumars as a former Piston and architect of the 2004 championship squad, some are getting tired of his endless number of errors in trying to build the team.
No one has ever really questioned Dumars’ hiring of coaches. It’s his firing of them every two years that might be causing more concern than anything else. He has yet to define what he’s looking for in a coach, especially as it relates to the type of players the Pistons are assuming they’ll have this season.
No one is for sure what it all means, but it’s assumed that there’s more to the Gores-Jackson relationship than being reported. But it’s anyone guess. It could be Gores is setting things up for some type of role for Jackson in the Pistons organization, perhaps to eventually take Dumars place.
If not, then the appointment of Jackson as an advisor simply to help out the coaching search makes little sense. Gores didn’t buy the Pistons just to have a hobby. He doesn’t want losing seasons any longer. That’s why Jackson may eventually have more of a role in the organization.
