The NBA coaching ranks are filling up with vacancies as the season comes to an end and the 2018-19 campaign moves to the forefront with teams seeking new players and new sideline leadership. The Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons all have head coaching vacancies and several coaches are reported to be on the hot seat.
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Where does the newly open Pistons job rank among the most desirable head coaching positions? https://t.co/ZJEIm7oFIz
With the David Fizdale hiring in New York, the NBA has seven African-American coaches and if Detroits new GM pulls the trigger on Jerry Stackhouse he would be another hire of color and the perfect fit for Motown according to NBA insider @champsportsguru who is born and bred in Detroit and well versed on all things pertaining to the culture of Michigan sports.
This is basically his plea to the Detroit Pistons franchise to hire former Pistons star Jerry Stackhouse as new coach to replace Stan Van Gundy who was fired after four seasons as head coach and President of Basketball Operations.
Detroit Free Press on Twitter
Ex-@DetroitPistons star Jerry Stackhouse viable head coach candidate https://t.co/c1LF1rwtuz
Champ: It starts with whos going to be the President of Basketball Operations and what direction the Detroit Pistons want to go into. Joe Dumars was able to put a roster together that beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA Championship. That Pistons team went to six straight conference finals with three different head coaches in Rick Carlisle, Larry Brown and Flip Saunders during that stretch.
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Sure, it may sound like belly-aching, but Kobe Bryant provides some good analysis as to why the #Pistons beat his Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals. https://t.co/Ue56xL6Wql
But that stretch started when Jerry Stackhouse was traded or Richard Hamilton from Washington. If you look at it now, the situation has come almost 360. Stackhouse is a former lottery pick out of the University of North Carolina. He was an NBA All-star that averaged over 20 points a game in three of his four seasons with the Pistons from 1998-99 to 2001-02. Hes been a coach for quite some time now…its in his bloodline.”
Stackhouse is a hot coaching commodity for any open NBA gig. Hes already interviewed for the Knicks job, and rumors are circulating that the Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic plan to interview him for their coaching vacancies as well.
After some time underground honing his coaching acumen, Stackhouse is about to step back into the glare of the national spotlight. Stackhouse became a rising prospect as an NBA coach after winning the G-League championship in 2017 and taking home the Coach of the Year award. Stack navigated Raptors 905 to the championship in just its second season as the Toronto Raptors minor-league affiliate. The former Tar Heel had a historic season for a rookie sideline stalker, finishing with the second-most wins in league history at 45-12.
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One for the 905! @Raptors905 caps its second season with the NBA D-League title! #DLeagueFinals
Why would he be the right choice to lead the Pistons?
Champ: The NBA has really become college basketball plus. What I mean is because of the one-and-done and how AAU basketball has grown over the years… A lot of former NBA players like Stackhouse have gotten their own personal AAU teams and they have relationships with these players growing up and they develop them so when they get to the NBA or collegiate level it gives the coaches and front office execs an edge in familiarity.
The NY Knicks brought Fizdale in because they feel as if he has the relationship with the players and he can persuade stars that he knows to come to NY through free agency.
People forget that before the LeBron run, the Detroit Pistons were the darlings of the Eastern Conference. They stopped a historical fourth ring in five years attempt by Shaq and Kobe and they did it with guys like Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace They put a nucleus together that was team oriented and nobody wanted to play them on a night in and night out basis.
2004 Detroit Pistons Tribute – Welcome 2 Detroit (NBA Highlights)
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Stackhouse brings the same things to the table that a lot of New Yorkers felt Mark Jackson would have brought. Hes a guy who understands Detroit from a player’s standpoint, he was one of the best players on the Pistons when he was here. He has relationship ties with a lot of players in the NBA. So when you look at that, it’s more than just basketball but from a coaching standpoint, you’re going to get a no-nonsense guy. When you look at the Toronto Raptors… their second unit was all the guys coached by Stackhouse in the G-League that won a title and played for another one this year.
Stackhouse Is Hot Like Fish Grease
If Toronto goes in a different direction I’m sure hed be a top candidate to replace Dwane Casey. Somebodys going to land Jerry Stackhouse and when you look at it, hes the perfect fit for the Detroit Pistons.
There will be other candidates, but they come with a lot of ifs. Is (Michigan State coach)Tom Izzo tired of coaching college basketball? Will the Pistons give him full control? Or will they go back and give Isiah Thomas the reign of President of Basketball Operations and let him pick the coach?
Me personally, I’m taking Chauncey Billups as President of Basketball Operations and offering Stackhouse a five -year contract as coach. I really believe the Pistons can turn this thing around and make a push to be a legit player in this new era in the Eastern Conference that we are on the cusp of.
Chauncey Billups denies report that Pistons are interested in him for front office | The Jump | ESPN
The Jump’s Chauncey Billups denies reports that the Detroit Pistons are interested in him for the front office.
Billups denied these reports, but that was before Van Gundy got the boot.
“The day LeBron James decided to become a free agent in 2010 and test the water and put these superteams together with stars in their 20s rather than their late 30s, it changed the landscape of the NBA, so you can’t just sit on talent and think draft picks and not free agency is gonna help you win championships.
You have to be creative and a guy like Jerry Stackhouse who’s not that far removed from a player and is a very intense basketball coach can do an outstanding job in Detroit. I believe that the Detroit Pistons with Stackhouse become a playoff team and then once you become an attractive location …anything can happen.”
The Rise of Detroit
According to a 2017 detroit.curbed.com article, in the last seven years, Cleveland Cavs owner and real estate mogul Dan Gilbert and his real estate company Bedrock have made a huge impact on downtown Detroit. Hes renovated vacant buildings, proposed new skyscrapers, broken ground on massive residential projects, and taken advantage of a lot of tax incentives. He was even called upon to lead the charge to bring Amazon to Detroit.
Billionaire Dan Gilbert: Reclaiming Detroit | Forbes
Billionaire Dan Gilbert sits down with Forbes’ Joann Muller to discuss his historic effort to rebuild the Motor City. Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1 Stay Connected Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbesvideo Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbesvideo More From Forbes: http://forbes.com Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
Champ: “The city is thriving. It’s a destination place that people would want to come live and visit and have a great basketball team because Detroit has great tradition. As much as people love the Chicago Bulls and love the NY Knicks and Philadelphia, Detroit’s tradition is better than all three.The Bulls only had the MJ Era, the Knicks have not won since ’73 and the Philadelphia 76ers haven’t won since 1983. So this is ready to win again and I think it starts at the top. Whoever becomes GM should make Stackhouse the coach.
If I had Pistons owner Tom Gores’ number I would call him on the phone and say, You don’t need to look any further, Jerry Stackhouse is your basketball coach. End of discussion. Give him a five-year deal for $25 million guaranteed, no restrictions and let’s go. Theres nothing to talk about.
As the NBA stars of the 80s and 90s and early 2000s begin to blaze careers as coaches and executives, there will be increasing pressure from fans and owners to hire young former players with progressive ideas and sometimes that player doesnt fit the direction the team wants to go in, but in this situation Stackhouse is a young, coach who understands the culture and can grow with the franchise.
