HoopsHype.com Rumors

One coach who may be out the door this summer is Lawrence Frank if the Pistons’ new owners decide to make major changes. The club is running in quicksand, playing a combination of prospects and players who won’t be there at the end of their contracts. It’s not making for a successful mix, and it could also mean the end of Joe Dumars’s tenure as president of basketball operations. Boston Globe

Detroit Pistons, Coaching, Joe Dumars, Lawrence Frank 

The Detroit Pistons have committed to returning to the Orlando Pro Summer League this year, president of basketball operations Joe Dumars confirmed Monday. The Pistons had been regular participants in the Las Vegas Summer League until last year, when they shifted and became one of the eight teams in Orlando. Booth Newspapers

Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Summer League, Joe Dumars, Las Vegas 

Why I like how Joe Dumars and Brandon Knight do their jobs: Dumars, talking to Knight about contesting DeAndre Jordan's dunk (which became a sensation among those impressed by a 7-footer crushing a dunk on a 6'3" guard), told Knight, "I'm proud of you and I'd expect nothing less." Knight's response: "If I had the chance to do it again, I would." Sulia

Detroit Pistons, Joe Dumars, Brandon Knight 

I've said since the beginning of this season that no one will get fired this year. Obviously, if you're the owner, you have to evaluate everything that has transpired -- and that means since you bought the team, not going back to time immemorial and paying for the sins of others -- including whether you're satisfied with player acquisition, development and on-court cohesiveness, and whether each individual assessed has been given adequate tools to succeed. And finally, you factor in the one element that only one person in charge of hiring/firing knows: Do you still believe in your original decision to hire the individual or have you come to believe you be better off without him or her? Booth Newspapers

Detroit Pistons, Coaching, Joe Dumars, Lawrence Frank 

He therefore said he regards Calderon as having a greater value than just the expiring contract he brings to Detroit, which frees up another $10.5 million in salary-cap space when the eighth-year guard becomes a free agent after this season. "This is someone that we would have some interest in staying going forward," Dumars said. The last time the Pistons saw Calderon, he was dropping 17 assists -- nine in the first quarter alone -- against just two turnovers during a Raptors win Dec. 19 in Toronto. "When you sit there and you watch a guy drop (17) assists on your team, and you see what it does for their team, you look at that and you envision your team having something like that," Dumars said. Booth Newspapers

Detroit Pistons, Free Agency, Jose Manuel Calderon, Joe Dumars 

Vincent Goodwill: Deal is official league approved Twitter @vgoodwill

Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors, Trade, Rudy Gay, Ed Davis, Jose Manuel Calderon, Joe Dumars, Austin Daye, Hamed Haddadi 

Vincent Goodwill: Source: "They free up money and Prince wasn't moving that train forward. Got a good PG they can resign at a good number if they like." Twitter @vgoodwill

Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors, Trade, Jose Manuel Calderon, Joe Dumars, Tayshaun Prince, Austin Daye 

Vincent Goodwill: Joe D: "Trading a player like Prince, who has meant so much to our organization&contributed to our championship success, is never easy" Twitter @vgoodwill

Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies, Trade, Joe Dumars, Tayshaun Prince, Austin Daye 

Vincent Goodwill: Dumars: "We want to thank Tayshaun for his professionalism and contributions over the last 10 years." #Pistons Twitter @vgoodwill

Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies, Trade, Joe Dumars, Tayshaun Prince 

Vincent Goodwill: Dumars: "We also appreciate everything that Austin Daye has done for our team both on and off the court over the past three-plus years." Twitter @vgoodwill

Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies, Trade, Joe Dumars, Austin Daye 

Peter Vecsey: This makes 3d vet Joe Dumars promised he wouldn't deal--Billups, Hamilton, Prince (whom I advocated trading 2 weeks ago) & did so soon after Twitter @PeterVecsey1

Detroit Pistons, Trade, Joe Dumars, Tayshaun Prince 

Palace Sports & Entertainment put the eight days between Pistons home games to good use. The corporation dedicated the Matt Dobek Press Room before Sunday's game against the Boston Celtics to honor the late Pistons vice president of public relations. More than 10 members of Dobek's family were on hand to watch the ceremony featuring comments from Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, Palace president Dennis Mannion and longtime NBA public relations executive Brian McIntyre. Pistons play-by-play announcer George Blaha presided. Detroit Free Press

Detroit Pistons, Joe Dumars, Brian McIntyre, Matt Dobek, Dennis Mannion 

Q: Are you engaging in trade talks currently? Joe Dumars: "If you're a GM in this league, I don't think that part of your job ever turns off. I don't care if it's offseason, I don't care if you're in the middle of a playoff series. The conversations are neverending. Ever. Never ends. That's one thing I can tell you for sure about this position is that never turns off. Ever. That phone rings at any time and you have to be prepared and ready to talk. You have to be prepared and ready to dive in and see if something's there. And that's 12 months out of the year." Booth Newspapers

Detroit Pistons, Trade, Joe Dumars 

Q: What are your expectations of yourself then, over the next couple of years? Do you have some framework in mind, when Pistons fans ask, 'We know the worst is behind us but where are we going from here?' what an outline of your vision would look like? A: "The reason you allow it to unfold in front of you is because when it starts unfolding in front of you, it's going to tell you the guys who are going to be here long term, it's going to tell you the type of guys you need to bring in. The framework is always laid out in front of you. This is not a situation where it's really hard to figure out. You'll know who's going to make the cut, long term. You're going to know exactly the pieces that you're missing. That's why you let it play out in front of you because you don't want to get ahead of yourself. You've got to watch these guys play, and you sit there, and you watch them, and you go, 'This is exactly what we need. ... We don't need that.' It plays out in front of you. You can't predetermine everything about your team until you see them play. The game is going to tell you exactly what you're missing and what you need." Booth Newspapers

Detroit Pistons, Trade, Joe Dumars 

For all the winning the Pistons have done, Dumars absorbed the shots of the inevitable rebuild and held onto the belief that he could do it again. For all the tough times these past three years, the toughest of all – the losses of his brothers – turned out to be shrouded with a final gift from them: a perspective that he desperately needed during times that tried him to his personal and professional core. "It was so good for so long, and here was this three-year stretch where everything kind of hit at one time: the economy, Mr. Davidson [dying], my brothers, the team turning over. Everything. "During that point, I just remember thinking to myself: 'Well, you can't walk away because it's the tough times. You've got to see this though. You can't walk away now that it's tough.' Yahoo! Sports

Detroit Pistons, Joe Dumars 

"From 2000 to 2009, it was pretty good. I just couldn't see throwing in the white towel because we had to go through some rebuilding years to get it back right. I've been vested in this organization for a long time. This wasn't just a stop along the way for me where when things got tough I'd just say, 'Oh well, I'll move on.' "This is been home since 1985. I've never needed to go anywhere else – not as a player, and not in this job. That's never changed." Yahoo! Sports

Detroit Pistons, Joe Dumars 

Detroit Pistons were collaborating with Panathinaikos for the past seven seasons through Dimitris Itoudis and now it’s the right time for the next step. Legendery Serbian coach Zeljko Obradovic and his longtime assistant, after taking a year off from coaching a team, will travel to USA in order to attend the training camp of the NBA team, seven exhibition games and the first official match of the new season. The most successful coaching duo in Europe for the last decade will spend almost a month in Detroit and Dimitris Itoudis talked to Eurohoops.net about this new experience. “I have been in three summer leagues, but for the first time I will take part in the training camp. Together with coach Obradovic we will participate in the coaching stuff of the team and it will be a great experience for us, a chance to see different things. The Americans want to have ties with Europe and want also to learn from us”, he said and elaborated on his personal relation with the NBA team: “I feel at home in Detroit. We have created a very special relationship, specially with GM Joe Dumars and we have a very fruitful collaborations”. EuroHoops.net

Detroit Pistons, Coaching, Joe Dumars, Zeljko Obradovic, Dimitris Itoudis 

Next week Zeljko Obradovic will be also on board on the plane heading to the USA. It’s a first for him, since many times he has stated his indifference towards the NBA, even when he was there on the fall of 2007 in order to face San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets on the bench of Panathinaikos. Things this time are different, as Itoudis explains: “It’s the perfect timing for us. We don’t have any contractual obligations right now, we accepted the invitation of Joe Dumars and decided to travel together to Detroit, to attend the training camp and exchange ideas and views about basketball. It’s a very good chance for Zeljko and me”. EuroHoops.net

Detroit Pistons, Coaching, Joe Dumars, Zeljko Obradovic, Dimitris Itoudis 

And if things improve on the floor, he could have other opportunities, like those that developed for predecessors John Hammond (Bucks GM) and Scott Perry (Magic assistant GM). But those thoughts aren't dominant. "It would be a goal of mine to eventually do it, but I can honestly say that if the rest of my career path is simply being the No. 2 person to Joe Dumars, in a lot of ways I can honestly tell you that would be a complete career," David said. Detroit Free Press

Detroit Pistons, Joe Dumars, George David 

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