The real Junk Bond King, who went to prison, was named Michael Milken. He did giant deals for redwoods. In real time, we were confused. It took a couple of decades to realize how misplaced the fight was between loggers and tree-sitting environmentalists. The real battle was everyone who depended on a swath of California, its water, oxygen, stability and economy versus a financing scheme designed to screw almost everyone. Now Milken a much-emulated investment god, and the nexus of many an NBA billionaire. Everyone from James Corden to Joe Dumars takes the stage at his annual conference. He got one of Trump’s first pardons. His most ardent acolytes are known, approximately, as the private equity industry. (That’s a joke, but not far off—you can draw a line from Milken to a shocking percentage of the industry’s biggest movers.)
Joe Dumars Rumors
Billups had long been set on a front office position in the NBA, stemming from his respect for and connection to former Detroit Pistons executive Joe Dumars, who built the championship team that Billups led as a point guard. “I felt like I learned from Joe D. what it takes to be a champion — from a personnel standpoint and personality standpoint — not only on the teams I was on and the way he built them, but the personality he has in really connecting with people,” Billups said. “I felt I could be really good at that job. Really good.”
Horst, by all accounts, was not a star player on his college basketball team. He rarely played at what was then called Rochester College. And while riding the bench wasn’t always easy for Horst to accept, Pleasant couldn’t have been more appreciative of his attitude. So, when he got that call in 2006 asking if anyone on his roster would be suitable for an internship, Horst was the player that Pleasant picked to recommend. The call was from Joe Dumars’ office, the offer was from the Detroit Pistons, the salary was approximately $0. Horst took the gig.
“After the Floyd murder (in May 2020) and all the things that were going on, I reached out to my players and (special advisor to the general manager) Joe Dumars and said, ‘What can we do? … how can we be helpful?,” Ranadivé, the Kings’ chairman, said in a phone interview. “I marched for Black Lives Matter,” he continued. “I said BLM is not enough; we need to do more. Black education matters. Black internships matter. Black schools matter. And the people here said, ‘You know the governor. You know the people in the White House. You know the attorneys general. You need to use that platform to affect real change and access to power.’”
Rod Beard: Some reactions to Ben Wallace’s selection to the Hall of Fame, from #Pistons team owner Tom Gores, vice chairman Arn Tellem, former team executive Joe Dumars and former coach Larry Brown.
