WDFN’s Sean Baligian interviewed Joe Dumars on WDFN 1130 AM. Joe talks about the whole “nobody’s safe” comment, the EFC collapse, why he didn’t make the big trade, the whole Carmelo rumor, and the prospects for the future. The interview is on Sean Baligian’s Podcast page or the direct link to the interview right here. I had a problem streaming it live so I included the audio in the page for you just in case you had the same problem.
I was never really in favor of the shakeup, but once Mr. Dumars said he wan’t coming back with the same core, I thought it was critical that he did the shakeup. Coming back with the same group shows a sign of weakness on his part.
I wish he would have made some sort of move, if only to not have his words be empty..
I don’t really think his words were empty. He just said it again in the interview that if he wasn’t going to get what he thought was a good deal he wouldn’t do it. So him not doing anything just tells me that he didn’t see anything that really made us better. Personally, I still think the team will look different by the trade deadline of this season. But that’s just me.
Dumars is too buddy buddy with these guys, this org is too worried about being a family rather than a business, he wants all good guys in the locker room..what the hell u thinks gonna happen?? they r all gonna become friends and cry when one leaves, its gonna be 24:7 tea party up in that bitch, they all cried when mo evans left imagine a core player, they will cry and not play 100%, not a good way to run a business, as u all know cuz of me, a little evil or a moody chip on the shoulder player would balance this team. at least in my eyes..
i know u all think THESE R MY GUYS 4 EVER WE ARE BFF PISTONS WOO HOO!!
U need to let go jus like dumars, this showed how weak and overrated this org is..i still love em but they need balls.
woah michael curry has no problems calling out the guys… and identifying specific individuals
he recently said pistons need to get in better shape, and said sheed specifically:
http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/54446/20080919/curry_rasheed_pistons_need_to_get_in_shape/
Oh, Steve it’s always something.
Mo Evans is a solid player and a likeable guy. Of course his teammates were sad to see him go. Raheed is about as close to a moody player with a chip on his shoulder as you’re going to get. Particularly in terms of talented players.
I also don’t see what’s weak about Dumars standing by his words and not making a move just for the sake of making a mood. I’d say that gambling your elite franchise just for the sake of making a change would be ‘weak’.
The Fludics said its a sign of weakness and u go after me? i think ur in love with me or somthin man.
Mo Even and Javis are big time chokers.
The fact that Joe Dumars waited 3 seasons to finally feel angry about this team’s performance is already a sign of weakness.
My gut feeling is Michael Curry is going to make a surprisingly big impact on our team. But every single word Billups said during this off season makes me sick, I really wish he was the one we let go.
Gmac what was Mr.Big Choke saying?
Dumars hasn’t made a move because nobody has made the right offer. Dumars looked weak when he said that shaking up the team and moving some players was next on his list, not the fact that he hasn’t made any trades. Not making any trades or moves is what should tell you how strong of a gm he is! This team will look different by seasons end for sure, but making a move just for the sake of making one will most times not work in your favor. Mr. Dumars has the respect of every player that has ever wore a piston jersey, no question! He will make a move and we will all be happy he did because it will be the right move!
In Joe we trust
I mentioned the sign of weakness thing in a seperate paragraph, Steve. Recent development in blogging technology has allwed us to allude to more than one person per comment.
(At this point in this comment I’m no longer refferign to Steve)
GMAC, what did Chauncey say that has you upset? From what I’ve read in his two part interview on pistons.com a couple months back he was upset about losing, felt that everyone needed to take responisibility and was anxious to start the new season. did he say something else recently?
Well,he plays ‘buddy buddy’ (as steve put it) with everyone. And he was supposed to be our leader the big shot down the stratch. (didn’t see much the past few seasons) Frankly I think Chauncy is the most complacent guy on our team. He thinks this team is still alright , still one of the best. He also said we don’t need to make any change … just stuffs like that. Lets face it, ppl say Rasheed some times lacks heart… Flips first year, he was hurt during playoff. two seasons ago, he played the hardest in the playoff, and I was totally on his side when he got tossed in gm6, because if everyone else play like him we would be fine. ( IMO, Joe should’ve been as mad as sheed two years ago instead of one more year of the same). this past season sheed played really hard from the regular season, cuz he got chip on the shoulder from the gm6.(the weight lose, change of position, etc..)
When you look at our team, Rip is always solid, no complain from me. Sheed — stated above. Dyce ALWAYS plays hard. Tay plays hard, just didn’t have much improvements over the years. I don’t think we have any problem with the zoo crew. Billups has a vets’ smarts but I just can’t say he plays hard, or puts all star performance night in and night out. I don’t buy the, we don’t need him to score, he just needs to turn in on in the 4th qt shit.
That’s my beef!
Maybe I’m just mad as Joe D, maybe I just want to find one person to dump all my anger. Billups is my guy for now.
Well I’d say that for the most part you have a decent point, Gmac. I don’t exactly see it that way, but I can understand why you do. The way I see it, Chauncey’s “complacencey” comes from the fact that he is a relaxed player. He uses finese and basketball IQ more than athleticism and power. Compare him to a Jason Maxiell, or Tyress Thomas and sure you’re going to say that those guys “play harder”. However, it’s Chauncey’s “smooth” style of play that give him the ability to consistantly lead/run the team on the floor and as far as I’m conserned, he’s still Mr. Big Shot. Just because someone has the repuation for making big shots doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen in every game. A. Not every game calls for it and B. When a game does call for it, the ball’s just not always going to fall your way. However, I like seeing the ball in his hands when we need a play down the stretch because of his talent and ability to keep his cool in an intense game. Nothing agaisnt Rasheed, but he’s the exact opposite and it results in huge inconsistencey. When Rasheed get’s emoitional we don’t know if we’re going to see the “in the zone” Rasheed or the “calls for the ball but can’t make a bucket” Rasheed. Chauncey is always on the level down the line and that’s why he’s Mr. Big Shot. I personally consider him smooth, not complaced.
I agree with some of what is being said about Billups. He’s still a really good player but he does need to drive the lane more and get foul calls. Didn’t he shoot like something crazy like 91% from the free throw line last year. If you shoot good you NEED to get to the line and capitalize. The other thing that drives me crazy is his shot selection. I remember when Flip first became coach and they talked about how Billups always had a green light to shoot the 3 ball. Let’s hope Curry puts an end to that crap. He’s a good 3 point shooter but that doesn’t mean you should just jack of 3’s all day. (Same goes for Sheed now that I think about it) These guys just have to be coached to start using the talents that they have not fit into Flip’s so called awsome offense that they played which always seemed really simple and predictable to me. All I can say is yeah, I would have liked a change this past summer but hopefully a new coach will make these guys seem like different players. And lets hope and pray that we see more of our bench this year and they actually get a chance to prove themselves more than 3 minutes a game. I don’t know about everybody else but I’m excited to see what this season will bring.
I totally agree with you guys. Billups under Larry Brown was such a different player, though. Just because he can play ‘relaxed’/with less urgency doesn’t mean he should talk like it as a leader. Our other players carries on the energy level of his. That’s why we need a coach to keep them in check. Which is why I think Curry is going to make a big enough difference.
Anyone notice, when we loss big games, it’s always Flip and Billups talking about ‘we just had a bad game, we missed a lot of shot…’ and all that BS.
Listen to what McDyess was saying instead.
How often do you see Popvich taking Ginobili or tony parker out of the game in the first half just because he throw up a crazy shot or didn’t execute the RIGHT play? That’s ALL we need to change, since some of our players obviously aren’t hungry enough.
Flip’s offense was a joke. It’s not that hard to get an open shot in NBA and call it good offense. It’s what you do in the playoff when everyone picks up the intensity and locks you down. He’s got nothing on that. And over the years, our players has gotten used to just jacking up shots, they don’t know how to grind a game out anymore.
I really don’t care about us not making a move this off season. If we had replaced flip last year, I think we would be ok. Another disappointing season later though, I just don’t know if we have enough change to get Joe’s message across.
I don’t consider this last season to be a disapointment. The team played well in the regular season, got the #2 spot in the east, made it to the ECF AGAIN, lost to the eventual champions and were the only team to beat them on their home court in the play offs.
Is Joe disapointed? Yes. Are the players disapointed? Yes. It’s literally their jobs to be disapointed if they fall short of anything other than winning it all. As a fan, however, I’m pleased with the effort they players gave and I can only hope they do that well on any given year. I also agree that getting rid of Flip will be a good adjustment.
Wow!! Richie, you must have a good temper.
To say ‘disappointed’ is an understatement. I’m actually really pissed about our lack of effort during the playoffs. How can you be pleased with their effort in the playoff???
Every year we lose to a lesser team! I still believe we were better than all those teams in the ECF we lost to.
‘eventual champions’, do you really wanna give them that much credit for beating us? Can you imagine our team getting all the way to the ECF without winning a single road game?
Yes, I do have enough of a temper to understand that sports are enterainment to be enjoyed, not to get mad about. Boston was a better team. They are stacked inside and out- there’s nothing wrong with admitting that. The same thing happened when we lost to the Heat a few years ago- Shaq was unstopable inside at the time, and Jason Williams lit us up in the final game of that series.
I saw a lack of results, but not a lack of effort. All players on the court gave me some positive memories and I’m able to enjoy the fact that they got so far and did some damage to Boston, who beat us and the Lakers. Thye played better, KG sunk shot after shot, Paul Peirce played great offence over good defense, Ray Allen came out of his shooting slump just in time, and Rondo played well. That’s all there is to it. It’s okay to lose- it happens to one team every game.
Happens to ALL but one team every year. You have got a level head Richie, you probably really enjoyed the season too.
Yessir, I did. Looking forward to this season too!
This is why Joe D. is one of the best GM’s in the game, period. No need to shakeup an already great core if the deals that were put on the table do not improve your team. That is a panic move made by weaker teams. I like Curry and I like his mental makeup and believe he will fix the complacency of the team. Stuckey is a stud and Amir has had a chance to watch and grow and should be ready for a biiger role this year. Maxiell is a straight up energy monster and Arron Afflalo is Hunter 2.0, the new version. If Walter Sharpe can come in and give Tay his needed rest and play solid, we are still one of the top teams and I don’t se that changing anytime soon.