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The Pistons' head coaching search has narrowed, with the former favorite to secure the job now apparently out of the running. Avery Johnson was perceived as the leading candidate for the position, considering the fact that Joe Dumars had said that after the Michael Curry debacle, he wanted someone with more experience to run the team this time around. But after two days of negotiations, ESPN is reporting that contract talks have broken off, and now two assistant coaches are believed to be the front-runners for the job in Detroit.
Cavaliers assistant coach John Kuester is now believed to be Dumars' first choice, while Celtics assistant coach and defensive coordinator Tom Thibodeau has been mentioned as a possibility as well. But Kuester's familiarity with the franchise -- he was an assistant under Larry Brown with the Pistons during their championship run back in 2004 -- seemingly has him as the favorite at this point.
Back to Avery Johnson, who was said to be asking for a guaranteed four-year contract when the Pistons (looking for their sixth coach in the last 10 years) were said to be only willing to offer two years, with a team option for a third.
I'm sorry, but four years? Are you kidding me?
Johnson was run out of town in Dallas by his players; remember the whole Josh Howard birthday party thing during the playoffs in 2008? The only reason he got the Mavericks' job was because he was already embedded within the team, and had endeared himself to Mark Cuban during his time there as an assistant coach.
Despite being named the 2005-06 NBA Coach of the Year, Johnson still has some work to do to prove himself as a top-notch NBA coach. With that in mind, it seems ridiculous for someone with his limited resume to be demanding four years guaranteed -- especially from a team like Detroit that has had problems retaining a successful head coach for any significant length of time in the last decade.
The Pistons' offer to Johnson was more than fair, especially when you remember that they paid two head coaches last season, and that they're on the hook for $5M to Curry over the next two seasons. With a four-year contract as a prerequisite, Johnson won't be back as a head coach in this league anytime soon.
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