Detroit Pistons: Michael Curry Hiring, Firing Marks End of Pistons' Run

Well that didn't take long.

About a year ago, after another disappointingly premature playoff exit, Joe Dumars vowed to shake things up.

He did so in two ways. First, he traded Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson. Second, he fired Flip Saunders and hired Michael Curry.

Unfortunately for Joe D and the Pistons, both moves proved to be disasters.

I could almost understand why Dumars went for the trade. Iverson was supposed to energize the team and bring a new dimension to the offense.

What he didn't count on was AI's inability to be a true point guard, or at least the point guard Detroit needed.

Meanwhile, Billups brought some much needed leadership and maturity to the Nuggets, who came a few plays away from competing for the NBA Championship.

Strike one.

But the really inexplicable move was hiring Michael Curry.

Frankly, I had no problem with him whacking Flip. The man is good enough to take a team to the playoffs, but his coaching ability will not win games or playoff series for a team (not like his Piston predecessor, Larry Brown).

But bringing in Curry was a ridiculous idea, and here's why.

Most of the big name players (Sheed, Rip, McDyess, etc.) PLAYED with Curry before.

How could Dumars expect Curry to command the respect of guys he used to play with?

On top of that, Curry was a marginal player at best. How many times do you think Wallace posterized MC in practice? And you expect Sheed to turn around and listen to this former scrub?

Strike two.

In this case, it might be two strikes and you're out (although you could definitely make the argument that drafting Darko is another strike against him).

The team is getting very long in the tooth and doesn't have much in the way of young talent (besides Rodney Stuckey, of course).

When we think back about the incredible run the Pistons had in the 2000s, I don't think it will be remembered as incredible.

I think the Pistons will always be viewed as the team that couldn't quite get it done, except for the year they beat LA. It wasn't a dominant run, just a nice run.

And hiring Michael Curry marked the beginning of the end of that nice run.