Regime Change for Detroit Pistons? Bring Back Bill Laimbeer!

Someone brought to my attention recently that Detroit Pistons articles are beginning to become repetitive and boring. To me, this is a clear reflection of the current squad playing in Auburn Hills.

This team is boring, and without a clear understanding of the direction of the team, it has become an alarmingly repetitive lesson in futility.

The real problem, as everyone with a basketball pulse can see, is that this team was not built to succeed from the very beginning of the season. Add to that the fact that team president Joe Dumars has had his hands tied while ownership sorts itself out, and you have a recipe for repetitive disaster.

On a nightly basis, we are subjected to a team that is inadequately built, and woefully run.

If this team were at least competitive on most nights, some fans would give the team the benefit of the doubt. But instead, this is a terrible team that in no way resembles what Pistons fans have come to appreciate from their once sterling franchise.

This is a team that can not play defense against even pedestrian teams. This is a team whose two main free agents over the last two years, Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon, are bench players that are little more than role players at this point of their Pistons careers.

This is also a team that has no clear direction, giving this season a purgatory-like feel.

From day one, it was clear that this team was ill-equipped for a successful season. But still, we gave management the benefit of the doubt and hoped that they would at least develop the young guys and we would have something to show for a lottery-bound season.

On the one hand, rookie Greg Monroe has surprised many with his rebounding ability and desire to improve his game. Personally, I had no clue he could play with toughness. He has been a pleasant surprise, and is the best building block moving forward.

However, everyone else on the roster has been a disappointment, and management needs to take the blame.

What exactly do we have in Austin Daye? We continue to be promised that we have the next Tayshaun Prince in the young forward, but in many ways he has regressed as a player.

What about Rodney Stuckey? Besides being unable to get along with the coach, the only thing we know for sure is that he is not a viable option at point guard.

No matter how you look at it, the problem with this team comes back to management.

Ownership has held the state of Michigan hostage while squabbling over the sale price of the team.

Dumars, despite the restrictions placed on him by said ownership, still has been eerily silent throughout this tumultuous season, and has missed out on opportunities to improve this team. Why exactly did he opt to keep Tayshaun Prince, an unrestricted free agent that is likely gone after this season, when Dallas was offering an expiring contract and a first-round pick? Instead, Prince will walk away and we will have nothing to show for him except maybe a trade exemption.

Sure, this is a fairly weak draft, but wouldn't two first-round picks be better than one? I'm serious, folks, why did he skip out on this deal?

But the biggest reason for the utter disaster that this season has become is coach John Kuester.

Kuester has feuded with nearly all of his players, has zero respect from those players, is quick to throw his guys under the bus, and has yet to show a coherent understanding of how to put forth a competitive team.

Sure, the players are easy targets to blame. They are millionaires that have been petulant at best, insubordinate at worst. They are easy to hate. They are playing a kid's game and earning more than you and I will ever see in our lifetimes.

But they also have a pretty good track record when it comes to winning. They know what they are doing. Can you say the same for Kuester?

Kuester only had one other head coaching gig in his life, and he was a train wreck at the college level.

Since then, he has toiled on NBA sidelines as an assistant coach under some very good basketball minds.

But the problem is that just because you had a good teacher, doesn't mean that you will be a good teacher. Sometimes, people just have that "it" factor that separates them from the frauds. And sometimes, people just don't have what it takes to be an effective coach.

Has Kuester done one single thing to make you believe in his ability as a coach?

Personally, Kuester may be the worst coach I have ever seen in any sport.

Let's take a look at what Kuester had to say when he was introduced as head coach two years ago:

"We'll do things the right way."

"Championships are won playing defense. We will be a grind-it-out team."

"Communicate, help and trust will be the three keys."

"Hamilton and Prince are high character and I trust them."

What a difference a couple years make.

Looking at this team today, these quotes sound like punch lines.

The "do things the right way" mantra was all Larry Brown, and this is as far from a Larry Brown team as possible. Brown teams almost always struggle at first and then improve markedly due to the respect that the players have for him, and his ability to teach and coach up those players.

Nobody on this team respects Kuester, and none of the players have improved under his watch.

"Championships are won playing defense. We will be a grind-it-out team."

This is not only laughable, but sad at the same time. As of March 30, 2011, the Detroit Pistons are giving up the worst field goal percentage in the league at 48 percent. Let that sink in for a second, the Pistons have the worst defense in the game.

"Communicate, help and trust will be the three keys."

If by that you mean "do not communicate, do not help, and do not trust anyone" then you might be on to something. This is a fractured team, solidified only by their distrust and disdain for their coach.

When he was recently ejected from a game, his players clapped. His players have no idea what is expected of them, and they know that their coach will not trust them to play through slumps or bad decisions that are going to happen during the course of an NBA season.

"Hamilton and Prince are high character and I trust them."

This one is almost too good to be true. Of all the players that have had issues with Kuester, these two are the biggest critics. All season long, these two "high character" guys have openly questioned Kuester, to the point that both have been benched at points throughout the year.

Not exactly a trusting relationship.

By any standard of measurement, this team has gotten worse over the last two years, and Kuester has obviously failed miserably at his job. He must be let go after this season.

Who's Next?

With Kuester obviously done in Detroit, the next question becomes who will replace him?

In order to figure this out, we will have to know whether or not Joe Dumars is retained as team president.

Personally, I would let him go and bring in a proven NBA executive such as Kevin Pritchard or Steve Kerr.

That being said, Dumars' name still holds some cachet, and he could just as easily be brought back.

If Dumars returns, the replacement coach will need to be vetted by the ownership.

I have a feeling that the new owner will want to make a splash with his first coach. You can expect rumors of Jerry Sloan, Jeff Van Gundy, and even a return of Larry Brown.

You can expect Dumars to try to discourage all of these picks. Dumars may not have a lot of ego, but a veteran general manager doesn't want a power hungry head coach, and each of these men exemplify that trait.

Additionally, Sloan is likely done as a coach, Van Gundy likes announcing too much, and Brown is likely heading back to the college ranks.

The next group of prospective coaches will focus on hot shot assistants or re-treads. Again, the new owner will want to make a splash, so this will bring to the fore-front a name that will make all Pistons fans united in their delight.

Bill Laimbeer.

For years, Pistons fans have debated whether or not Laimbeer would make a good coach. He has already been a head coach and a winning one at that, but of course that was with the other gender.

That had been the biggest knock against the former Pistons center.

However, for the past year, Laimbeer has been an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves and while that team has struggled mightily during his tenure, Laimbeer has already won some acclaim from one player: Kevin Love.

During a recent appearance on Dan Patrick's nationally syndicated radio show, he spoke highly of Laimbeer, even claiming that the former Piston had given him pointers on rebounding that had improved his numbers.

These are the types of tangible stories that resonate with players.

Furthermore, Laimbeer commands respect. Check out this excerpt from an article by Lewis Dawson on Sports Report 360:

"Bill Laimbeer has a gift. Laimbeer is an excellent assistant coach. Laimbeer knows how to pull strings and push buttons to get the most potential out of players. Laimbeer and Love communicate well with one another. Laimbeer is helping Love improve each game. Laimbeer should be hired as a head coach in the NBA sometime over the next couple of seasons."

Who better than Laimbeer to repair the Pistons, and what better fit would the former star have for his first NBA gig than his home away from home?

Furthermore, what selection would make more of a splash for the new owner than to return a hero back to his former stomping grounds?

John Kuester was right about what it would take to make the Pistons a winner again. The problem is that he just isn't equipped to make those things happen.

But what Kuester lacks, Laimbeer has in spades.

This is a no-brainer pick for the Pistons, and this decision could shape the next decade of this once-proud franchise.