The Top 10 Most Important Detroit Pistons Moments of the Decade
5. Joe Dumars Steps Down as President
Joe Dumars may be the most important figure in Detroit Pistons history. He played integral roles in all three of the franchise’s championships. First, as the starting shooting guard for the back to back champions Bad Boys, then as the architect of the 2004 Detroit Pistons. Both of those teams were only undone because they happened to run into the two best players in NBA history: Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
Needless to say, Joe Dumars is an absolute legend. So, the decision to move on from Dumars was not a joyous occasion and an end of an era for a man that had spent the past 29 years of his life with the team, as a player then executive.
Working out of the free-agent desert that is Detroit, the Pistons often had to resort to unconventional means or find players not being properly utilized to remain competitive. When you look back at the 2004 Pistons, the starters were a hodge-podge of cast-offs and misfits, until they came to Detroit.
Dumars tried to work the same magic in the early 2010s but that type of management is a high-wire act, which results in Rasheed Wallace sometimes and Charlie Villaneuva other times.
Also. When will the Pistons unleash their prospects?. light
Though Dumars did not get to oversee the final half of the 2010’s decade he did lay the groundwork. One of his highlights was the 2012 draft, where he managed to end up with Andre Drummond with the 9th pick and Khris Middleton with the 39th. What made this even more impressive is that looking back, the 2012 draft was underwhelming. If you were to redraft the 2012 draft class, Drummond and Middleton would go in the Top 6.
Despite the highs, Dumars’ tenure as President during the 2010s was a mixed bag. The team often operated as if they were one piece away; signing Josh Smith, trading a 1st round pick for Corey Maggette, or trading away young prospects like Brandon Knight and Khris Middleton. The team never really committed to a rebuild or even hired a solid coach.
Dumars’ departure opened the door for Stan Van Gundy’s arrival, Tom Gores’ first President of Basketball Operations. A signing that Pistons fans hoped would be the first step towards relevancy.