Joe Dumars' We need new voice

Joe Dumars’ statement was straight to the point, pretty much like his playing career, which was a study of economy of motion. It was three sentences worth – and if you had to pick out the key one among them to sum up the logic behind Flip Saunders’ firing even more concisely, it would be this phrase from the final sentence: “ … it is time for a new voice to lead our team.”

Dumars knows he has some work to do before the 2008-09 NBA season tips off, but it’s fair to assume he saw flawed chemistry as part of the reason the Pistons – for the third straight season – will be agitated spectators when the NBA Finals tip off later this week.

The Saunders era will be remembered for several things – the wildly successful 64-win 2005-06 regular season, among them – but, perhaps, mostly for the three straight Eastern Conference finals exits when the Pistons had difficulty responding to the increasing levels of urgency each round of the playoffs assumes.

Against a hungry Miami team in 2006, against the ferocity of LeBron James’ drive in 2007 and against the radically reconstructed Boston Celtics just last week, the Pistons couldn’t offer the necessary resistance to turn back momentum once it started going against them.

The way the Pistons were eliminated by Boston was the most dramatic – and, to Dumars, perhaps the most alarming – evidence yet that it was time for a new driving force at the wheel. Ahead by 10 points early in the fourth quarter of Game 6 – at home, no less – the Pistons suffered collapses at both ends of the floor and lost going away. In 18 offensive possessions after taking the 10-point lead, the Pistons shot 4 of 14 – 2 of 12 if not for Jason Maxiell’s efforts – with five turnovers. And in the 13 defensive possessions after taking the 10-point lead, Boston scored 25 points on 8 of 9 shooting and 6 of 7 foul shooting.

Dumars will talk further about the decision to fire Saunders this afternoon. No word yet on a successor to Saunders, though it would be at least a mild surprise if it wasn’t going to be Michael Curry. A former teammate of Dumars in the ’90s, Curry was brought back to Detroit as a free agent at the urging of Dumars in his one-year transition period from player to president when Rick Sund was general manager. Dumars brought Curry back to the team last summer as an assistant coach after Curry had spent two years working for the league office.

Though it would normally seem risky to hire a first-time head coach – especially one with just one year as an assistant under his belt – as the leader of a title-contending team, Curry would assume the job under difference circumstances. Not only is he deeply respected by the current players – Curry, as an NBA role player, rose to president of the Players Association – but Curry is eminently steeped in Pistons culture.

Check back later today on Pistons.com for Dumars’ thoughts and more on the coaching situation.