Love Joe Dumars

[SenorSpur]

There's no question that Joe Dumars was a stud on the court for the Pistons. Now he's a stud in the Pistons front office. I absolutely love his candor and his "no excuses" approach toward why they "didn't get it done". Flip Saunders was the first head to roll, but it sounds as though there will be more. Here he pulls no punches as he answers a myriad of questions about his clubs performance, retooling his club and finding another coach.

Here is the link to his recent press conference, following the Flip Saunders firing:

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-32-263/First-Cup--Tuesday.html


the video of Dumars' press conference

[1Parker1]

:lol Except of course for the fact that he passed up on DWade, Carmelo, Bosh, etc to get Darko.

[xtremesteven33]

i hear also hes looking to trade Hamilton. hmmmm....maybe a package deal for him for the spurs eh? throw in Udoka, Bonner and maybe a draft pick for sitll a young Hamilton who can score and defend?

[slowchild25]

:lol Except of course for the fact that he passed up on DWade, Carmelo, Bosh, etc to get Darko.

In defense of Dumars (he graduated from the same college as me gotta get his back!) no one saw DWade going that high, I remember a lot of people ripping the Heat for taking him 5th so if Dumars took Wade over Melo, Darko and Bosh he would have really put his neck out there. Not to mention that Larry Brown would have did the same thing to Carmelo and Bosh that he did with Darko, immediately glue them to the bench.

[fitzgerald]

i hear also hes looking to trade Hamilton. hmmmm....maybe a package deal for him for the spurs eh? throw in Udoka, Bonner and maybe a draft pick for sitll a young Hamilton who can score and defend?


Udoka and Bonner for Hamilton? They can get way better. He is a proven player that has good all-around game. Bonner is nothing so it is basically Udoka for Hamilton. I don't think so.

[jack sommerset]

Its the Pistons not the Grizzles. You may have to give a little more to get Hamilton.

[bdubya]

I absolutely love his candor and his "no excuses" approach toward why they "didn't get it done".


Then you should dig this interview:

http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/2008/06/joe_dumars_on_wdfn_we_didnt_ge.html

(scroll down for the audio)

Joe D is the MAN.

[baseline bum]

he did get Stucky! and Carmelo is a little bitch, plus having his huge front it made sense to pass on Bosh at the time; no one knew how great Bosh would have become.

You pass on Chris Bosh because you have Ben Wallace and Mehmet Okur? I don't think so.

[dbreiden83080]

:lol Except of course for the fact that he passed up on DWade, Carmelo, Bosh, etc to get Darko.

Really the only one of those guys i'd want is Bosh. Melo is a head case and Wade is always hurt.

[JamStone]

Wow people still talking about the Darko pick...

It was a bad pick, the wrong pick. It has already been realized, acknowledged, and accepted as the bad pick. That's why the Pistons got rid of Darko. Yes, it was a mistake. And, yes they wish they had selected Chris Bosh instead.

In retrospect, obviously both Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade were the better players. Everything in hindsight becomes much clearer. Mistakes happen in the draft. No one can predict the future of prospects in absolute, not even LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, or Tim Duncan were absolutes. Better bets? Sure. But not absolutes.

Joe Dumars took a gamble on Darko Milicic, and obviously it was a huge gamble. And, it didn't work. He wasn't the only one wrong about Darko. The majority of scouts and NBA GMs pegged Darko as a can't-miss prospect as well. But, since Joe Dumars is the one who drafted him, he's the one who gets the heat for making the bad pick. Many if not most GMs would have selected Darko over Carmelo as well. And, those who would not have would have selected Darko third after LeBron and Carmelo.

It was a bad pick. At the time, it was viewed as a good draft pick.

NBA GMs and scouts are wrong all the time. Some don't have the initiative or humility to try to correct their mistakes. Joe Dumars did.

[baseline bum]

Wow people still talking about the Darko pick...

It was a bad pick, the wrong pick. It has already been realized, acknowledged, and accepted as the bad pick. That's why the Pistons got rid of Darko. Yes, it was a mistake. And, yes they wish they had selected Chris Bosh instead.

In retrospect, obviously both Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade were the better players. Everything in hindsight becomes much clearer. Mistakes happen in the draft. No one can predict the future of prospects in absolute, not even LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, or Tim Duncan were absolutes. Better bets? Sure. But not absolutes.

Joe Dumars took a gamble on Darko Milicic, and obviously it was a huge gamble. And, it didn't work. He wasn't the only one wrong about Darko. The majority of scouts and NBA GMs pegged Darko as a can't-miss prospect as well. But, since Joe Dumars is the one who drafted him, he's the one who gets the heat for making the bad pick. Many if not most GMs would have selected Darko over Carmelo as well. And, those who would not have would have selected Darko third after LeBron and Carmelo.

It was a bad pick. At the time, it was viewed as a good draft pick.

NBA GMs and scouts are wrong all the time. Some don't have the initiative or humility to try to correct their mistakes. Joe Dumars did.

Most people here (except Ducks) knew (at the time) Dumars was crazy to pass on Carmello Anthony for Darko.

[JamStone]

Most people here are not NBA GMs or NBA scouts.

[bdubya]

Most people here can spew all the horseshit they want, with five years of hindsight in their favor....

[Ocotillo]

Wow people still talking about the Darko pick...



People still rag on Portland for taking Sam Bowie. I would imagine the Darko pick will be brought up years from now.

[baseline bum]

Chad Ford being in love with Darko should have been enough to raise the red flag in any GM's mind.

[Marklar MM]

People still rag on Portland for taking Sam Bowie. I would imagine the Darko pick will be brought up years from now.

Yes. But will Melo be considered the greatest player ever to play the game?

[ducks]

melo is not turning out to be all that
he is on the block!

[JamStone]

Chad Ford being in love with Darko should have been enough to raise the red flag in any GM's mind.

99% of NBA GMs and scouts feeling at the time that Darko was a top 3 prospect in that draft class counters that red flag.

One can argue that Carmelo should have been the pick. But, no one else, NBA GM, scout, analyst, or anyone else had Darko lower than third along with LeBron and Carmelo. So when people talk about Dumars passing up on Bosh and Wade, it's moot. No one was picking Wade or Bosh over Darko.