Dumars Says His Job Was Never In Question
By Ashley Dunkak
Joe Dumars said the status of his job as president of basketball operations never came up during off-season discussions about how to turn around the Detroit Pistons, a franchise that has won 30 or fewer games in five straight seasons and missed the playoffs in the past four.
Dumars, who is entering his 14th season as the president of basketball operations, was adamant that he and team owner Tom Gores did not even broach the topic of whether the team needed new leadership at a level higher than that of head coach.
"No," Dumars said. "Not at all. Wasn't even a subject. Never came up."
Dumars said his responsibility is to turn around the team versus worrying about the length of his tenure with the Pistons.
"You can do the speculation thing, but that's not for me to stand here and do," Dumars said. "My responsibility is to get it right."
Dumars sidestepped any notion of being offended when Gores brought in NBA coaching great Phil Jackson to consult on the coaching search.
"If I was easily insulted, I wouldn't be standing here with some of these people right now," Dumars said with a grin and a laugh, "but I'm not easily insulted. I roll with it. K-I-M … Keep it moving."
Gores did not attend the introductory press conference for new Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks Thursday, but Dumars said he is perfectly clear on the expectations of the owner.
"He wants to win," Dumars said. "He's never wavered on that. He wants to win, and what I've said to him is, 'Look, we're going to try to start winning and turn it around as quick as possible.'"
