Woj: Pistons Begin Search for New General Manager

[Snakebites]

Stefanski is getting ready to recommend himself again after another meticulous search.

Lol.

Remember, Dick Chaney was the head of George W. Bush's committee to find a Vice Presidential pick.

In this case I think Stefanski probably wants to scale back his responsibility- at the same pay, of course. He probably initiated this.

[440BB]

I expect it's going to end up being Malik Rose but only after going through the motions of a search.

[DCintheD]

So the plan is for Ed to essentially hire a “GM” that answers to him. Wtf? Sounds like a glorified scapegoat while Tellem and now Ed maintain their roles in upper management indefinitely with no official titles - sick gigs.

No talent in their right mind would accept this bs role.

Sounds like they’re looking for someone to replace Malik Rose after realizing he’s been jerked around the past couple years.

[Mr Peanut]

This is somewhat confusing to say the least. As mentioned by others, the GM will have limited power and is really just the fall guy when Gores gets impatient that we're not winning in a couple of years. It only really makes sense if the new GM is being groomed to take over when Stefanski's initial three year contract runs out at the end of next season (I had thought this was going to be Malik Rose but perhaps not).

[DBC10]

So the plan is for Ed to essentially hire a “GM” that answers to him. Wtf? Sounds like a glorified scapegoat while Tellem and now Ed maintain their roles in upper management indefinitely with no official titles - sick gigs.

No talent in their right mind would accept this bs role.

Sounds like they’re looking for someone to replace Malik Rose after realizing he’s been jerked around the past couple years.

Tellem and Ed must have some good blackmail on Gores if they're basically doing all the required roles for the executive but none of the fallbacks like getting axed early. All the benefits of a GM but none of the downsides.

Truly a sick gig indeed.

[coordinator0]

I think the reporting to Stefanski thing is a little blown out of proportion. Ed is the president of basketball operations even though he doesn't technically hold that title. There's little doubt he's anything less. Most GMs report to the president of basketball operations for their team.

[pistonsbball]

Wow this whole thing seems pretty out there - the Pistons actually having a GM?!

To be serious we've waited this long we may as well wait it out for Morey, I think something's gotta give in Houston.

[ducler]

What's funny is that during 2 years we had multiple Assistants GM, but no GM, so who did they assist?

To me, Stefanski has done a correct job during his tenure getting rid of long term money, preparing the rebuild.
Our team payroll is a lot healthier (expect for Blake but anyway) and we have started to go younger.

But, now I'm scared to see what will be done with the little flexibility we have.
Stefanski is old. Casey is old. Even Tellem is old. Both will not want to wait till their 70's to be able to compete. And Gores being drunked half the time and obsessed with making the Playoffs for the sake of making them is not helping to put the team in the right direction. That's where I start to be afraid.

IMO, we should go full rebuild and be patient with it. And that starts with drafting well in 2020 and 2021. If we pick 2 or 3 nice prospects on both Drafts, everything can go faster: FA may start to find Detroit more attractive suddenly, and the team will be more interesting to watch/follow.
But I don't think our current front office/owner will be patient enough for that process. So our rebuild should start with going younger in the front office, give full reigns of basketball operations to a younger guy with new ideas like Sean Marks for the Nets (even if I'm not sure about the Kyrie/KD signings), and sign a coach like Atkinson to make everyone grow together.

Now wait and see. The good is that the team is in a better shape for a GM to work with compared to 2 years ago. The bad is that Gores wants to keep Stefanski as decision maker, and that is quite bad.

[Invictus88]

What's funny is that during 2 years we had multiple Assistants GM, but no GM, so who did they assist?

To me, Stefanski has done a correct job during his tenure getting rid of long term money, preparing the rebuild.
Our team payroll is a lot healthier (expect for Blake but anyway) and we have started to go younger.

But, now I'm scared to see what will be done with the little flexibility we have.
Stefanski is old. Casey is old. Even Tellem is old. Both will not want to wait till their 70's to be able to compete. And Gores being drunked half the time and obsessed with making the Playoffs for the sake of making them is not helping to put the team in the right direction. That's where I start to be afraid.

IMO, we should go full rebuild and be patient with it. And that starts with drafting well in 2020 and 2021. If we pick 2 or 3 nice prospects on both Drafts, everything can go faster: FA may start to find Detroit more attractive suddenly, and the team will be more interesting to watch/follow.
But I don't think our current front office/owner will be patient enough for that process. So our rebuild should start with going younger in the front office, give full reigns of basketball operations to a younger guy with new ideas like Sean Marks for the Nets (even if I'm not sure about the Kyrie/KD signings), and sign a coach like Atkinson to make everyone grow together.

Now wait and see. The good is that the team is in a better shape for a GM to work with compared to 2 years ago. The bad is that Gores wants to keep Stefanski as decision maker, and that is quite bad.

I agree with a lot of this wholeheartedly. However, this is the second or third time in this thread that I've heard mention of Stefanski still being in the picture as being straight up bad. Am I the only one who remembers just how awful things were before he got here?

I don't necessarily buy the sentiment that just because of his age that he will be against a rebuild. There's a reason he didn't officially become GM up until this point. I think a lot of that has to do with the full knowledge from the start that the team was in such awful shape that there was no way he would be able to see things through himself. The idea of finding a successor has always been the plan. And I think it's obvious to even the casual observer that the only direction to take from here is a full rebuild.

[Kilo]

I wonder if it's COVID related. Possibly Stefanski being in the danger zone age group doesn't want to go into the office each day and be around a lot of people. He's 66-67yrs old, and outside a vaccine the NBA is going to be very different for awhile.

[rmfc]

Stefanski is getting ready to recommend himself again after another meticulous search.

[Mr Peanut]

I wonder if Morey leaves Houston whether another NBA team will pick him up. He is undoubtedly talented at his job but maybe teams could be scared off by the China fiasco and possible loss of revenue by association.

Morey would want full control of the front office and not have to report to Stefanski though.

[blueadams]

The Athletic reported..

Bryson Graham (NOP Ast. GM)
Wes Wilcox (ex-ATL GM)
Justin Zanik (UTA GM)
Mark Hughes (LAC Ast. GM)
Troy Weaver (OKC VP of BO)

as the lead candidates.

Not knowing a ton about them ^... I'd be pulling for Mark Hughes. Jerry West, I think, is the best in the business period. Hughes has been his right-hand man since '17. He was also a member of UofM's 1989 National Championship team.. and actually knows the game, in-person scouting. He's not just an ex-agent, or a stat-nerd. And he's seen first hand how nothing gets built into a front-runner with the LAC.

Being a bad team for the next two yrs.. and getting a high pick in the 2022 "double draft" featuring hometown hero Emoni Bates.. I think, is how a rebuild should go. And I think that John Beilein would be the perfect developmental coach to get us from here to there and perhaps later. Whether it be as our HC, as an Ast. GM, Head of Scouting, whatever.. getting John Beilein an office in the building, I think, would be a great idea. And I wonder if Hughes' UofM connections would help that. Have to imagine Gores and he know each other through LAC connections as well.

[coordinator0]

That's not a terrible list. At least it's devoid of the usual retreads.

[BJK1]

Yeah, that’s actually a pretty solid list. Given the fact that Shane Battier essentially turned down the Chicago job to stay in Miami, I’m assuming he’s already let the Pistons know that he’s not interested in being considered (again).

[NYPiston]

Uh, I thought they had a GM already and/or that Rose was being groomed to be the next GM or...
This organization continues to baffle.

On another note, I haven't been on here in a while. I hope everybody is doing well.

[Mr Peanut]

Troy Weaver and Justin Zanik seem like the most intriguing choices there.

[Kilo]

Weaver, Hughes, Zanik all sound good to me. Not sure why Zanik would leave Utah to come here on a horizontal move. Hughes has local connections, but West West isn't going to be around in LAC forever. Whoever is the heir aparant isn't about to move on - not saying it's Hughes, I don't know their hierarchy. Weaver's VP of Basketball Operations seems higher than GM, so would be a demotion to come here - especially when Stefanski and Tellum got their fingers in everything still. If Detroit was offering virtually full power it might be one thing.

I don't think we'll get any of these guys. Gores is a clown and the structure has too many cooks for anybody with potential to sign on to sink their career here.

[Canadafan]

Just give me Billups. Need a little nostalgia on my life

[BJK1]

Weaver, Hughes, Zanik all sound good to me. Not sure why Zanik would leave Utah to come here on a horizontal move. Hughes has local connections, but West West isn't going to be around in LAC forever. Whoever is the heir aparant isn't about to move on - not saying it's Hughes, I don't know their hierarchy. Weaver's VP of Basketball Operations seems higher than GM, so would be a demotion to come here - especially when Stefanski and Tellum got their fingers in everything still. If Detroit was offering virtually full power it might be one thing.

I don't think we'll get any of these guys. Gores is a clown and the structure has too many cooks for anybody with potential to sign on to sink their career here.

I think that if the Pistons want Hughes, they could get him. The LA Clipper hierarchy starts with our old buddy, Lawrence Frank, who is the team president. Their GM (reporting to Frank) is Michael Winger. Hughes is the assistant GM under Winger. Jerry West works closely with both management and ownership, but his title is technically “Consultant.”