The Detroit Pistons are in need of some serious changes, as they are currently on their way to a sixth straight losing season. Isiah Thomas is returning to Auburn Hills at the end of March to help the team acknowledge the 25th anniversary of its first championship team, and one report says he may be there to stay.
Mitch Lawrence of the NY Daily News, who has been spot-on with a number of reports this season, cited sources on Saturday who claim Pistons owner Tom Gores may be thinking of hiring Thomas as the team’s next general manager. Current GM Joe Dumars, who has fired eight head coaches since 2000, is not expected to be re-signed when his contract expires after the season.
“Gores is definitely looking at Isiah to replace Joe,” a source reportedly told Lawrence.
The Pistons are probably the only team in the league whose fans would be excited to welcome Thomas. He led the team to two NBA championships during his 14 seasons as a player in Detroit. However, Thomas’ resume when it comes to assembling an NBA roster is hardly impressive.
In 2003, the New York Knicks hired Thomas as their president of basketball operations. He proceeded to spend a ton of money and trade away draft picks while assembling some of the worst teams in Knicks’ history.
Lawrence also speculated that Mike Woodson could become a candidate to coach the Pistons next year, as he could very well be fired before the end of the season. Thomas and Woodson were teammates at Indiana and are close friends.
Personally, I don’t understand how Thomas would ever find a front office job in the NBA again given the disaster in New York. But if any team was going to hire him, I guess the Pistons would make sense.
