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The Pistons must have liked David's report because they signed Kravtsov to a three-year, $4.5-million deal in July. But his trip from that airport is probably one of the zaniest stories of the Farmington native's career with the Pistons -- one that began when he was hired in 1996 as the video coordinator fresh out of college and has continued on to his promotion as assistant general manager in July. In his 15-plus years with the organization, David, 39, has typically gone beyond what is asked of him. He has stood out because of an ability to solve problems and impress with his laid-back demeanor -- even when wayward Ukrainian drivers flip the script. David grew up worshipping the Pistons, like many in the Detroit area, but for one huge difference -- his dad was the Pistons' director of concessions. Detroit Free Press

Detroit Pistons, Joe Dumars, George David 

Clippers guard Chauncey Billups, the 2004 Finals MVP when the Pistons won their last title, recalls a night when the team was on the road and an ice storm hit the Detroit area. Worried about his family, Billups got a call from David asking if he needed anyone to check on his wife and daughters. Billups, who has played for seven teams in 15 seasons, said that kind of stuff is rare. "It is rare because he was a scout," Billups said. "It wasn't like he needed to scout me. I was already on the team. "Really we could have went along my whole six years there and not even really spoke or have a relationship because I was already on the team. Everything he did was out of the kindness of his heart -- just trying to make sure people enjoyed their experience while they were there." Detroit Free Press

Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, Chauncey Billups, Joe Dumars, George David 

The Detroit Pistons have promoted George David from director of player personnel to assistant general manager, the club announced today. David, who is entering his 15th season with the Pistons, will be in charge of dad-to-day basketball operations and will assist president of basketball operations Joe Dumars. He will continue to handle personnel issues while assisting in roster development and coordinating league and company-wide administrative duties. Booth Newspapers

Detroit Pistons, Joe Dumars, George David 

Larry Lage: Joe Dumars says the #Pistons expect to sign Kyle Singler July 11. Detroit drafted him last year & he chose to stay in Spain after lockout . Twitter

Detroit Pistons, Joe Dumars, Kyle Singler, Transactions 

Vincent Goodwill: I asked Joe Dumars about Ben Wallace possibly coming back. "I talk to Ben every other day." then intimated he has until Oct. 1 #Pistons Twitter

Detroit Pistons, Free Agency, Ben Wallace, Joe Dumars 

"I could give a dissertation on that," Dumars said shortly after selecting Drummond. "After I drafted Darko, from that point on, the amount of background we do on every single player that you see us draft is ridiculous. We do as much or more background than any other team in the NBA because of that. "The background on (Milicic) was about 20 percent of what we do now. I look back on it now and realize you didn't know half of the stuff you needed to know." Booth Newspapers

Detroit Pistons, Draft, Darko Milicic, Joe Dumars, Andre Drummond 

Cunningham smiled when asked what he recalled most about his workout with the Pistons. "Just getting to meet Joe Dumars and Scott Perry, they're great people, great guys," he said, referring to the Pistons' top two personnel men. "A lot of good feedback that I heard from them. It was a great time." Booth Newspapers

Detroit Pistons, Draft, Joe Dumars, Scott Perry, Jared Cunningham 

Joe Dumars loves length and John Henson is sort of a Anthony Davis light in the length category. Pairing Henson with Monroe would be interesting as their skills would likely mesh well. HoopsHype

Detroit Pistons, Draft, Joe Dumars, John Henson, Anthony Davis 

The Detroit Pistons have released a promo video from their State of the Pistons event with season-ticket holders last week. An hour of the event will air on Fox Sports Detroit at 7 p.m. Thursday. In the teaser video, team owner Tom Gores says the Pistons are "lucky" to have Joe Dumars in the front office. "We might be able to figure out how to win and win big for one year, but that's not the point," Gores said. "The point is how do we deliver something that is genuine, that is real? "I think we're fortunate to have (Dumars) as a GM, because he wants to deliver that every single day." Detroit Free Press

Detroit Pistons, Joe Dumars, Tom Gores 

Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars would like to have power forward Jason Maxiell return next season. But as he put it at his season-ending media availability last month, the decision is up to Maxiell, who has until June 30 to let the team know whether he will pick up his option of $5 million. Detroit Free Press

Detroit Pistons, Jason Maxiell, Joe Dumars 

"It's a player option so that's totally in his hands," Dumars said. "Obviously we'd love to have Max back. "I think clearly this was his best year. He was in the best shape of his life. He looked great." Detroit Free Press

Detroit Pistons, Jason Maxiell, Joe Dumars 

Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars has been in Spain watching 2011 second-round pick Kyle Singler. Singler, a forward from Duke selected by the Pistons with the 33rd overall pick, scored just three points in 10 minutes for Real Madrid in an 86-83 loss to Regal Barcelona on Thursday. He rebounded Sunday by scoring eight points on 3-for-6 shooting with two free throws in 21 minutes in a 95- 82 victory over FIATC Joventut. Singler has averaged 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in eight games for Real Madrid in the Euroleague and 7.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 24 games for Real Madrid in the Spanish League. Real Madrid next plays May 17 against Cajasol in the Spanish League quarterfinals. Detroit Free Press

Detroit Pistons, Real Madrid, Joe Dumars, Spain, Kyle Singler 

Meanwhile, several other potential candidates who are held in high regard and could be interested in the position didn't turn up any other requests for permission by the Blazers. As of Saturday, Portland had not requested to speak with Rockets assistant general manager Sam Hinkie, Pistons assistant GM Scott Perry (or GM Joe Dumars, who was atop the Blazers' list a year ago but has not shown interest), Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk (or former GM Larry Riley, who was named director of scouting because of Bob Myers' promotion to general manager), or Nuggets front-office advisor Pete D'Alessandro. SI.com

Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Joe Dumars, Larry Riley, Bob Myers 

Jordan's struggles in the front office aren't unique. He joins a long list of ex-NBA superstars who were somewhat less-stellar executives. The Wall Street Journal examined the careers of 10 NBA Hall of Famers who went on to careers in management, ranking them by their career win percentages. Only three have cumulative records above .500 in their management roles. Jerry West leads the pack with a .629 winning percentage. He won four championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. Joe Dumars, a former Detroit Pistons player, led the team to a title from the front office in 2004. Wall Street Journal

Charlotte Bobcats, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, Michael Jordan, Jerry West, Joe Dumars 

Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said Friday at US Airways Center that no deals presented themselves. Plus, he didn't feel compelled to move anyone because no one is being disruptive. "For the guys who aren't playing, we don't have any headaches here, any guys who are causing issues here," Dumars said. "For other teams, I don't know if that was their issue but it's not for us." Detroit Free Press

Detroit Pistons, Trade, Charlie Villanueva, Will Bynum, Joe Dumars, Austin Daye 

You gonna make me guess? Joe Dumars: There are two I wish I could take a mulligan on. Because we all make mistakes in this business. Q. OK, Darko (Milicic) is one. Joe Dumars (Dumars slaps table affirmatively). I'm gonna leave it there. Detroit News

Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves, Darko Milicic, Joe Dumars 

Q: What is the likelihood that you find something attractive? Joe Dumars: “We're open. We're talking to everybody, man. What are the chances? That's like asking me what the other 29 teams are going to do. I know what we'd like to do. But making a deal, it takes one or two more teams, and I can't tell you where they are. What are their imperatives? We have some things that are imperative for us to get done. But I don't know what other teams' imperatives are. That's why that question's always so hard to answer, because whatever percentage you give, you're speaking for some other organization. You know that you would like to continue to build your team, and you're open to doing that.” Booth Newspapers

Detroit Pistons, Trade, Joe Dumars 

Dumars shares a similarity with former rival Danny Ainge, who is trying to determine when to officially end the Big Three Era. Dumars perhaps hung on too long to Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace but eventually had to move his aging veterans and spend a couple of years in the draft lottery. “Probably around ’09 is when I started to see it,’’ Dumars said. “You started seeing us slow down, and we knew we’ve got to rebuild the foundation and start getting a younger base of guys because those teams had a tremendous run. “Once you see the run starting to fray and lose its legs, then you have to face the reality. We went to six straight conference finals, and there’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that, and I was fine with acknowledging that. Boston Globe

Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Danny Ainge, Joe Dumars 

“The people in the trenches probably know before anybody else knows. Just little things that start happening. Toward the end of our run [in the 1990s] we weren’t as good in back-to-backs. I saw that in ’08 and ’09 as well. “You start seeing little things like that but you know you are not as good. It’s the reality of facing that it’s coming to an end and, how do we want to deal with this? “And my thing is, you’ve got to rebuild the foundation. That’s what we’re doing now. And we’ll keep adding pieces until we get it back.’’ Boston Globe

Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Danny Ainge, Joe Dumars 

Team president Joe Dumars long enjoyed the support of the Davidson family, and he remains an icon of the franchise. But with new owner Tom Gores, whose influence was exerted early with the hiring of Frank over Dumars' preference, Mike Woodson, Joe D. is in a tough spot. CBSSports.com

Detroit Pistons, Joe Dumars, Tom Gores