The Roller Coaster ride of Detroit Pistons

Detroit Pistons

Detroit Pistons, once a powerhouse in the East, have now fallen to the bottom of the NBA. They have had a roller coaster ride for the past 3 decades and have now bottomed out.

What exactly caused one of the most exciting and dominating teams in the league to be reduced to a mere shadow of it’s former glory?

However, before we get into that, a little history lesson is in order so that we understand why the Pistons were such a great team.

The Bad Boys era (1981-1994)

After struggling for decades, The Motor City dominated the league during the late 1980′s and the early 1990′s, commonly known as the bad boys era, when the team was studded with superstars like Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, and Vinnie Johnson who formed the core of their team for about a decade. They had put together the trio through a series of drafts and transfer beginning in 1981. They added Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman to their roster in 1986.

The team was ready to launch it’s championship run.

The Pistons faced off against none other than the mighty Los Angeles Lakers (for the 2nd time in a row) in the 1989 NBA finals. The Lakers were led by Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and James Worthy. The Pistons swept them 4-0 and won their first NBA Championship that year.

They successfully defended their title in 1990 when they defeated the Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls in the conference finals. They matched up against the Trail Blazers in the NBA finals, which they won 4-1.

After these successful years, the Pistons’ fortune changed for the worse. Isiah Thomas injured his wrist and had to undergo surgery on it before the 1992 playoffs. They were swept by their rivals, The Bulls, in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Following this, the team went through a period which they like to refer to as “transitional” which in reality, was nothing but a downhill ride. Their stars either retired or were traded of to other teams. Laimbeer and Thomas retired in 1993 and 1994 respectively. Edwards, Johnson, Sally and Rodman were all shipped off to other teams.

The team bottomed out in the 1993-94 season, finishing 20-62 in the regular season.

The Grant Hill era (1994-2000)

Since they bottomed out in the 1993-94 season, they got the opportunity to draft Grant Hill, a promising Small Forward and Co-Rookie of the Year.

Hill should have been the core of their team for the near future. However, they failed to build a team around him and the rebuilding fizzled out. Their front office also made a lot of questionable decisions when it came to a change in personnel. They lost free agent Allan Houston to the New York Knicks. They signed washed up free agents like Christian Laettner, Loy Vaught, Cedric Ceballos, and Bison Dele.

There was no consistency even at the head of the organisation. They continuously changed head coaches, going through 4 coaches in an eight year span. A revolving system of coaches is definitely not a team “in transition” needs.

The Return (2000-2008)

The return of the Pistons to championship contention began in 2000, with the signing of Joe Dumars as the team’s President of Basketball operations. He worked out a sign and trade with Orlando Magic which brought Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins to Detroit in exchange for Grant Hill. Both of them solidified their positions as starters pretty soon.

Dumars didn’t stop revamping the roster there. He fired head coach George Irvine and hired Rick Carlisle. Carlisle coached the team through to their first 50 win season since 1997, and their first playoff series win since 1991.

Dumars continued to revamp the roster by signing Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton. He drafted Tayshaun Prince from Kentucky in the 2002 offseaon. The Pistons posted back to back 50 win seasons and advanced to the conference finals this time. But they were swept away by the New Jersey Nets (Now Brooklyn Nets).

Joe Dumars Introduces Chauncey Billips

While things were taking a turn for the better, Dumars fired Carlisle and hired Hall of Famer Larry Brown. This move was attributed to a lot of reasons, the most important ones being that Carlisle was too conservative, didn’t get along with key players and was reported to be interested in the Pacers head coaching job. After he was fired, Brown took over the reins at Detroit while Carlisle moved to Indiana, which surprised no one.

The Pistons just needed one more thing to make them a Championship team – a big man who could pose a threat from all parts of the court. They found him in Rasheed Wallace. Wallace was a leader, a motivator and a hothead.

History repeated itself. Wallace and Billups led the Pistons to a title in 2004 against the mighty and strongly favoured Lakers who started a star studded team with Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton and Karl Malone.

From 2005 through 2008, the Pistons underwent numerous changes in personnel. In addition, their head coach, Brown was replaced by Flip Saunders. Despite these changes, they made it to the playoffs every year till 2008. They made it to the eastern conference playoffs for the sixth straight season in 2008, but failed to win a championship, yet again.

At the end of the 2008 postseason, The Pistons announced that Saunders will not be returning as head coach for the next year and the downhill ride began once more.

Failure at rebuilding (2008-11)

In November 2008, the Pistons traded Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess for Allen Iverson. The next season was marked by injuries and the Pistons barely made it to the 2009 playoffs. Iverson left them at the end of the season.

They signed back their former centre Ben Wallace with hope that he would take them back to their former glory. However, the team continued it’s downhill journey and the Pistons ended with a 27-55 record.

Next season, things didn’t really improve and the Pistons ended with a 30-52 season. Their then coach John Kuester was fired at the end of the 2011 season.

New Ownership, New Direction (2011-present)

In April 2011, the Detroit Pistons reached a long awaited agreement to sell the NBA franchise to billionaire Tom Gores.

The 2011-12 season was an improvement from previous years for the Pistons, although they still posted a losing record. They managed to finish a lockout-shortened season with a record of 25-41. The team continued to build its young core consisting of Rodney Stuckey, Jonas Jerebko, rookie Brandon Knight and talented sophomore Greg Monroe.

They struck gold last season, when they drafted Andre Drummond, one of the most promising sophomores to look forward to next season.

The Pistons are focusing on rebuilding their team, and this team, they’re at it for real. They had 5 rookies in their roster last season. They signed 3 prominent free agents this off season: All Star Power Forward Josh Smith, former player and veteran Chauncey Billups and talented Point Guard Brandon Jennings. The team looks refreshingly youthful and finally seems to be headed in the right direction.

However, the most interesting changes occurred in the front office. Their new head coach is Maurice “Mo” Cheeks, former NBA Champion and 4 time All-Star as a player. They hired Rasheed Wallace, former player and team captain as assistant coach. Cheeks coached Wallace when he played at Portland. So, the two already have a good chemistry.

When you factor in these changes, their team looks promising. They have a team that could make it to the playoffs if they utilise the resources at their disposal. The team has been rebuilt and will continue to improve over the next few years. The Pistons are back as one of the most exciting teams to look at in the NBA.