The power of social media is pretty obvious when millions of people know something before a core group of 12 players do.
That happened Sunday morning when the Detroit Pistons fired its head coach Mo Cheeks. Players were confused and unaware of the situation so they took to Twitter to figure out what was going on.
Wait what
— BRANDON JENNINGS (@BrandonJennings) February 9, 2014
Is it true?
— Charlie Villanueva (@CV31) February 9, 2014
I’m personally shocked players weren’t informed about their coach before the news broke.
Very odd timing to fire Cheeks, his club coming off back-to-back lopsided wins against two good teams in the Brooklyn Nets and Denver Nuggets.
The 21-29 Pistons were expected to do great things this year. After acquiring Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith in the offseason, some thought they would be good enough to compete for home advantage in the playoffs (I wasn’t on that bandwagon).
But currently the Pistons are fighting for playoff life, sitting a half game back from the eighth spot.
“Our record does not reflect our talent and we simply need a change,” said Pistons owner Tom Gores. “We have not made the kind of progress that we should have over the first half of the season. This is a young team and we knew there would be growing pains, but we can be patient only as long as there is progress. The responsibility does not fall squarely on any one individual, but right now this change is a necessary step toward turning this thing around. I still have a lot of hope for this season and I expect our players to step up. I respect and appreciate Maurice Cheeks and thank him for his efforts; we just require a different approach.”
Even though it’s been a rough ride in Detroit, Jennings had kind words for his former coach.
I will like to thank Mo Cheeks for everything, thank you for helping me become a better person & player. I’m still learning
— BRANDON JENNINGS (@BrandonJennings) February 9, 2014
Pistons ownership was increasingly frustrated with the mediocre play and felt change was necessary.
General manager Joe Dumars saved his job for now, but if he can’t get the team turned around and find a coach for the longterm future, it’s only a matter of time until he’s sent packing. Since he became GM, eight different coaches have been with the team.
Yahoo is reporting John Loyer, who currently serves as an assistant, is the frontrunner to land the interim head coaching position.
The longterm answer in Detroit could very well be Lionel Hollins, who is rumored to already be on the Pistons’ radar.
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Brett Poirier is a contributor to Sheridan Hoops. Follow @BrettNBA