Read the debate intro and Sports Geek’s argument that signing players without a coach is not smart.
“When fate hands us a lemon, let’s try to make lemonade.” – Dale Carnegie
“Desperate times call for desperate measures.” – Anonymous
“If you want the rainbow, you’ve gotta put up with the rain.” Do you know which philosopher said that? Dolly Parton, and people say she’s just a big pair of… never mind, you get the point!
These quotes all have one thing in common – they all talk about how people need to make the best out of a bad situation. That’s exactly what Detroit Pistons General Manager Joe Dumars has done by signing free agents Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva.
But first, let’s play a game…
Imagine that you are 16-years-old. You don’t have your driver’s license YET, but your test is next week. As you are studying for your test you come across an ad for the “perfect” car. It’s in your price range and has all the features you are looking for.
The problem is that you’ve heard your neighbor talking about that same car, and they already have their license. What do you do? Do you let the car go because you don’t have your license yet, or do you still buy the car WITHOUT the license, knowing you WILL have it sometime next week?
I would buy the car, YOU would buy the car, and based on his actions last week, Joe Dumars would buy the car.
Dumars made a decision that some are calling unconventional. He signed Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon as free agents, but was still without a head coach. Some people questioned the decision because they didn’t understand how a team could sign players without knowing who would the coach the team.
I don’t see what the big deal is. Both Gordon and Villanueva are talented scorers, a skill the Pistons need next season considering several expiring contracts which include Rasheed Wallace and Allen Iverson (those two are freeing up nearly $20 million in cap room). Combining inactivity, with need AND available money, would have been as good as suicide.
When free agency opened for the 2009 NBA season, Dumars had to make the most of his coachless situation. To expect Dumars (or ANY general manager) to remain inactive when everyone else in the league is trying to get stronger is just BEGGING for trouble, head coach or not.
Consider that Villanueva was being courted by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who just happen to be the Pistons’ division rivals. If Dumars fails to act just because he doesn’t have a head coach he runs the added risk of seeing him on the opposite side of the court many times throughout the season – and possibly in the postseason. Instead, he stole talent from one division rival (getting Gordon from a still interested Chicago Bulls team) and prevented that talent from going to another. I’d call that a successful move!
The critics (such as Sports Geek) will argue that Dumars is running the risk that Villanueva and Gordon won’t fit into the new coach’s scheme, or that there may be conflict between the eventual coach and players. But, the knowledge of who your head coach is doesn’t mitigate that risk. Coaches and players may or may not get along or fit into a system REGARDLESS of whether or not the coach has been named. Picking players is an inexact science, and general managers have to make the best decision for their team based on the situation in front of them.
For Joe Dumars, the choice was a simple. He could have no head coach AND no free agents, AND lose Wallace and Iverson, AND have unused salary cap room. Or he could have no head coach, BUT bring in two talented free agents to build the organization.
That sounds like a no-brainer to me. Joe Dumars took the desperate measures he had ended up sitting in his new car, sipping lemonade while watching a rainbow!
