Joe Dumars’ contract expires after next season

Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press:

"Dumars’ contract expires after next season."

The Pistons have an impatient owner who said the they ‘better’ make the playoff this season and refused to give Joe Dumars an immediate vote of confidence when they didn’t.

Considering initial reports after Gores bought the team said Dumars had three years to prove himself, and then Dumars traded Ben Gordon just to get cap space a year early, the upcoming season really seems like a make-or-break year for Dumars.

Of course, Dumars’ contract could always be extended or he could always be fired in the middle of it, but if Gores is looking to dump Dumars after this season, not renewing his contract could be an easy way to do it. There has been speculation Gores has trepidation about alienating fans by firing an all-time great in franchise history, and if that’s the case, he’s wrong to assume many fans would be outraged by Dumars being fired. But if Gores could say Dumars contract wasn’t renewed, that could be easier to spin that a firing and avoid a perceived problem.