Flip Saunders … to Return?!
Flip Saunders may be the only coach in the world whose job security is always (seemingly) on the line, despite the fact that he’s made it to the conference championship round in every year he’s been on the job.
That may no longer be the case, for another season at least.
Somewhat surprisingly, some in the Detroit media are hinting at Saunders being the Pistons’ bench boss next year.
Saunders met briefly with Pistons president Joe Dumars on Saturday and all indications are that he was told he will be back.
Understand that with the Pistons, a coach’s job security can change in an instant, but as of today, the plan is for Saunders to finish out the final year of his contract. He’s already working on next season. He will supervise a workout of draft candidates at the practice facility Wednesday.
Should Saunders keep his job, he can expect Joe Dumars to give him a slightly different roster than the one he’s had all these years in Motown to work with. I’m certain, though, that good ol’ Flip will find a way for them to underachieve, too. It’s sort of his gift.
49 Responses to “Flip Saunders … to Return?!”
Jun.2 at 12:06 pm
Eboy says:
Ha ha.
Jun.2 at 12:18 pm
Krishan says:
Doug Collins getting the Chi gig and flip not getting axed. The supply of available coaches must be a little on the thin side I guess.
Jun.2 at 12:20 pm
underdog says:
Dumars should release Flip, and promote Sheed to head coach. Two problem solved.
Jun.2 at 12:40 pm
TADOne says:
…
Jun.2 at 12:41 pm
thesubwayconnection says:
LOL. Sheed as head coach would be great. There would never be an ESPN “Wired” joint in the Pistons’ locker room.
Jun.2 at 12:43 pm
matt the jazz fan says:
if you put jerry sloan in charge of detroit they’d never be questioned for underachievement.
Jun.2 at 12:54 pm
B. Long says:
Of Course he’s coming back! Who else is gonna allow their Power Forward to jack up 15 three pointers and nothing else in a crucial playoff game. This is part of Flips game plan. You guys didn’t see that part written on the dry-erase board in the background on ESPN’s wired segement?
Jun.2 at 1:10 pm
E. Sneed says:
I really think they should reconsider…Avery Johnson seems like he would be a perfect fit for Detroit’s brand of ball!
Jun.2 at 1:34 pm
Kevin Wilson says:
Head coach Sheed? Well, the assistant better be ready for all the games they’ll have to take over when the coach gets tossed.
Jun.2 at 1:45 pm
TADOne says:
Flip needs to be fired for that horribly ugly tie he wore for game 6.
Jun.2 at 1:54 pm
Jared says:
Hire avery!
Jun.2 at 1:54 pm
Tuomas says:
*Utter loss of words*
Jun.2 at 2:01 pm
Sparker says:
he just never looks like he’s really in charge
Jun.2 at 2:03 pm
Tuomas says:
I was hoping something along the lines “both parties decided to go their own separate ways in mutual understanding, acknowledging that a change would be best for everyone involved. ‘I’ve taken them as far as I could, but they need someone else to get them over the hump. Now it’s time for me to pursue other challenges’, Saunders reflected”.
Jun.2 at 2:23 pm
TADOne says:
First off, let me just say that Flip Saunders is NOT a bad coach. Matter of fact, he is better than about 85% of the coaches in the NBA. The problem is that he is not a championship coach. The man knows basketball inside-and-out. He is a brilliant offensive mind. He knows how to coach X’ and O’s. The problem Flip has is intestinal fortitude. He doesn’t know when to step and challenge his players. He is too afraid of upsetting his team. He is also timid when making changes on the fly in the course of the game, fearing the backlash if his moves don’t work. Granted, he has gotten better with these things as his players have gotten a better understanding of him, and vice versa. But the players have tuned him out a long time ago. Luckily, he has good assistants in Terry Porter and Michael Curry that the players still respect. So, does Flip deserve to be fired? No. Should he be fired? Probably.
Jun.2 at 2:55 pm
Tuomas says:
About a hundred percent’s worth of co-signage from here Tad. I wouldn’t want to go through still another year of the same. I think I’m still tired of watching the fourth quarter of game six.
Jun.2 at 3:06 pm
Diesel says:
TADOne - U just followed an opening sentence of “Flip Saunders is not a bad coach” with about 10 reasons of why he IS a bad coach.
Jun.2 at 3:19 pm
underdog says:
Yes, Flip not a bad coach, but he’s not a good one either, if he isn’t and never going to be able to win a championship.
Jun.2 at 3:23 pm
what says:
Co-sign Tad… I think that speaks to a bigger issue though, which is that most of the coaches in the NBA suck in general. So really if you don’t have one of the five or six NBA coaches who CAN win you a title you are pretty much stuck with trying to find the world’s smartest retard, so to speak.
Jun.2 at 3:24 pm
TADOne says:
Diesel- I actually listed a bunch of positives before the negatives. Also, part of the negative assessment is laid at the players feet as well.
Jun.2 at 3:33 pm
TADOne says:
What: If you was to go all the way back to ‘90-’91, there have only been 5 coaches who have won chips: Pops, Riley, LB, PJax, and Tomjanovich.
Jun.2 at 3:42 pm
Tom says:
I say before you fire flip something needs to be done about Sheed….for all his jawing and talking, he did not show up in this series and his team needed him more than anyone else to come through. You can’t trade him, cause he’s obviously the heart of the team, but maybe reduce his role on the court and find a front court guy for him to take under his wing.
Jun.2 at 3:51 pm
underdog says:
Everybody is talking about Sheed, but I say it’s Tay Prince who was the x-factor. It sucks, because he is one of my favourites, but it’s still true I think.
Jun.2 at 3:59 pm
TADOne says:
Well, this will be Sheed’s last year of his contract, so the best time to trade him would be now. Then again, you could keep him in anticipation of him having a big year in order to get a new deal. You would also have $13.7 million coming off the salary cap then too.
Jun.2 at 4:00 pm
TADOne says:
As for Tay, he did play horribly bad, but Joe D. is not about to trade him, trust me.
Jun.2 at 5:17 pm
Gerard Himself says:
I thought they would Flip-da-Script.
Jun.2 at 5:28 pm
Joel O's says:
They gotta keep Tayshaun, man. I’d trade Wallace and… possibly Chauncey. Mr Big Shot has woefully underperformed for 2 straight playoffs.
Jun.2 at 5:33 pm
Joel O's says:
What’s interesting is that if you take away these guys, the core of the Pistons team, it’s really not likely that they’ll get to the ECF again. But if you don’t, then you’ll be stuck with an increasingly aging Pistons team whose chances of beating the Cavs / Celtics / etc. are diminishing. I say make the change, forget about the next year or two and let their young guns become major players. Maxiell and Stuckey have the potential to be very, very good. Them plus Tayshaun and Rip is a decent enough core.
Jun.2 at 5:53 pm
B. Long says:
They could trade Chauncey and Wallace right now for draft picks and still contend in the east next year. I’m saying this and I’m a Lakers fan so don’t get it twisted.
Jun.2 at 6:52 pm
albie1kenobi says:
like TAD said, there’s only been 6 coahces who won chips in the past 20 years (i’m throwing chuck daly into the mix too). so if your team’s coach isn’t one of them, does that mean he sucks? no, it just mean they aren’t the best. in every business, there can only be a handful of people at the top of the game, otherwise they wouldn’t be called “the best”.
Jun.2 at 8:05 pm
brenden says:
lol, the pistons come so close every year! i dont really like them a whole lot, but a few new players might not be to bad.
Jun.2 at 8:36 pm
Jim says:
Joel O’s…I’m thinking the same way you are. Take one step back in order to take two steps forward. Trade away a starter or two for some combination of cap space/high draft picks/good young players. Give lots of PT to the young guys, especially Stuckey and Amir, who have the most potential in my opinion.
Jun.2 at 8:41 pm
Dacre says:
B LONG…you just want Wallace and Chaunc (who is the real “The Sauce”) in LAL next year for a second year run at the final.
Jun.2 at 10:09 pm
warr says:
if ur not winning championships u better be winning games! He wins game and when you are competing for a title every year thats counts for something that have just played a againgst super stars ( first year shaq and wade, second year lebron , now the big 3).the east has had some powerhouses Detroit should keep their team how it is and play their young players more.
Jun.2 at 10:58 pm
B. Long says:
@Dacre: I respect the hell out of both those guys and Sheed is one of my favorite non-Laker players even though he is kinda one of the arch nemesis from his days as a Blazer and stealing that ring in 04 but I don’t think they’d fit on our team. The great thing for the Lakers is we’re set for the next half decade.
Jun.2 at 11:23 pm
Hursty says:
warr- what you say is correct but what makes you believe that they’ll be able to progress any further if they cant win as a younger, quicker unit with the same experience. They win games and get to the C.F this isnt disputed but they just havent got over that final hump yet and something needs to give, its not an aberration.
Jun.2 at 11:29 pm
Joel O's says:
@Jim: Exactly, man. The Pistons have just become a rites of passage team, the team the Celtics/Cavs/Heat had to go through over the last what, four years or so to get to the Finals. They fielded their deepest, most talented team this year and still couldn’t make it to the Finals, not due to any lack of talent or anything, but ‘cuz they just didn’t have “it” anymore. Hursty is right - something needs to give in order for the Pistons to improve. Dumars has done it before, I’m sure he can do it again. He’s also got ample trade assets, which were on full display this year due to the Pistons’ 10-man rotation.
Jun.2 at 11:49 pm
warr says:
they have to tweak their offense a little and post more. they post their point guard and wing players more than they do their bigs, yes rasheed shoots a lot of 3’s but were chauncey at telling him to go on the block. Think about that year they won the championship the biggest difference from that team and all the other teams that lost real talk mehmet okur. Hold on think about it they lost with larry brown the following year they lost with ben Wallace, joe dumars has never replaced him. sheed used to post more then and okur was the out side big.
Jun.3 at 12:52 am
warr says:
oh yeah my boy corliss williamson too.
Jun.3 at 2:02 am
Trev says:
i think they need to trade rasheed
Jun.3 at 8:46 am
Hursty says:
but Corliss Williamson was a banger, couldnt really shoot.
Jun.3 at 8:46 am
TADOne says:
Joel O: I would disagree that this team was the Pistons deepest team. You could argue that they are the most “talented”, but the ‘04 team was very deep. You had the same core 4 plus Ben in his prime, Okur, Williamson, Hunter, Mike James, and Rebraca (who had to retire because of a bad heart).
Jun.3 at 8:48 am
TADOne says:
Hursty: Williamson was actually a very good mid-range shooter.
Jun.3 at 8:53 am
TADOne says:
As for the future: I honestly cannot say for sure what they should do, but if a move needs to be made, i’m guessing Wallace would be the most obvious target to go coming into a contract year. At this point though, i’m not sure what he could bring back packaged by himself. So does Joe look at sending off Billups or Hamilton with him? What about a package of Billups and Wallace for Maggette and Brand, if Elton is serious about opting out?
Jun.3 at 10:47 am
Ohpityme says:
Pistons need to clean house!
I’d keep Hamilton and Prince but get rid of the rest of the starting 5.
And as for the Billups/Wallace Maggette/Brand I dont think it would happen but its a nice idea…very favourable to the Pistons though.
Jun.3 at 10:50 am
Ohpityme says:
Oh and Flip would be better suited as an assistant coach, like Queiroz at Man Utd.
Hed be the best assistant coach in the business, maybe with somebody offensively challenged like Mike Brown.
Jun.3 at 11:13 am
Donn says:
Flip is gone!!!!
Jun.3 at 11:24 am
iLL wiLL says:
Flip just got flipped out of Detroit. Lates.
Jun.3 at 11:38 am
SLAM ONLINE | » Flip Saunders, fired. Not returning. Not up in the air. says:
[…] After few days of speculation, going back and forth, it’s official. Flip Saunders is out. “Decisions like this are difficult to make, especially with the success we have had throughout the last three regular seasons,” president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said in a statement. “However, at this time, I feel it is necessary to make a change. […]