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Reports: John Beilein Interviewed For Pistons Job
MOVE ALONG NOTHING TO SEE HERE [Marc-Gregor Campredon]
A Wojbomb has struck Ann Arbor:
The University of Michigan's John Beilein interviewed for the Detroit Pistons coaching job on Thursday, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 1, 2018
Wojnarowski's report was corroborated by the Freep's Pistons beat writer, Vincent Ellis, who added some detail:
Initial introductory meeting within past two weeks in L.A. has led to #Pistons interest. https://t.co/oRk6UdJKvY
— NerdOnPistons (@Vincent_Ellis56) June 1, 2018
Woj mentioned a couple other candidates in a quick article posted shortly after the news broke:
Sources told ESPN that Beilein and former Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey met Thursday in Michigan with Pistons officials -- a contingent that included new senior adviser Ed Stefanski and coaching search consultants Bernie Bickerstaff and Jim Lynam.
Detroit also is planning to meet with Miami Heat assistant Juwan Howard this weekend.
I won't lie: this isn't the news I wanted to hear, especially since The Athletic's Brendan Quinn tweeted that "a number of people extremely close to Beilein" were not aware this meeting occurred. Beilein, notably, acts as his own agent. The Pistons are owned by Tom Gores, noted Spartan who's done a not-so-great job of running the franchise since buying it from the family of noted Wolverine William Davidson.
[After THE JUMP: nonnonono]
That said, there's plenty of reason to believe this will end in a nice raise from Michigan for Beilein—and quite possibly his entire staff—when the dust settles. The Pistons are looking at a number of candidates, including one with NBA head coaching experience in Dwane Casey, and a few other names (like TNT's Kenny Smith) have popped up without anything seeming to come of it.
Meanwhile, Beilein has three years left on a deal that pays him $3.37MM annually, second in the Big Ten only to Tom Izzo—but the gap to MSU's coach, who makes $4.4MM a year, is sizable. An extension is being discussed, and athletic director Warde Manuel has made it clear he wants Beilein around for a long time. Beilein is in a strong negotiating position; he's coming off his second national title appearance in six years, the men's basketball program has been easily the most consistently good of the major sports during his tenure, and the money for his assistants doesn't stack up to M's Big Ten competition:
Staff pay is a significant issue.
— Brendan F. Quinn (@BFQuinn) June 1, 2018
Last year's U-M staff ...
Saddi Washington - $250,000 Luke Yaklich - $225,000
DeAndre Haynes - $200,000
Total: $675,000
Other B10 staffs ...
Ohio State: $1.02 million
Indiana: $890,000
At Michigan State: $820,000 https://t.co/kLRJFG5dh0
Manuel passed his first major test at Michigan with flying colors when he hired Mel Pearson to replace Red Berenson, a move that's brought an immediate turnaround for hockey. This may be the one he's ultimately judged on, however.
For everyone's sake, let's hope this moves quickly and results in Michigan firing the money cannon.
This is nothing but Tom Gores trying to stick it to Michigan. Same way Steinbrenner did it to us by signing Drew Henson to a baseball contract when there was no way he was ever going to cut it in majors.
because it makes perfect sense for an NBA team owner to pick a coach for his franchise based on screwing over a rival college... :-)
He interviewed Belein just to screw with us...there is no way that he would ever hire him.
MONEY CANNON AT THE READY
the Pistons search commitee is run by 2 coaches with a combined record more than 150 games under .500 and have no college connection since the 1970s. I'm sure they'll identify the best coach...not Beilein
Not the kind of news I wanted to wake up to. Warde better not fuck this up. Beilein doesn't have that many years left. After what his teams have done of late, negotiations should have taken five minutes, with four of those minutes being the time it takes to write the email with a new contract attached.
With the exception of Jim Hackett, our AD's haven't done much of late that I want to remember.
As well he should. If Beilein were to leave because of a money issue, I doubt Warde would survive as AD.
NOOOOOOOOOOOO
Don't do it Johnny. STay here, we'll go bowling!
I can easily envision him doing the interview strictly as a courtesy to the Pistons' interest in him, as in "It's the polite thing to do."
If he did the interview as leverage because he's been frustrated in prior attempts to get more money for his assistants, then Warde Manuel is very bad at his job.
If he did this because he's sincerely interested in moving to the NBA, that would be the most baffling thing to me. Beilein can retire at Michigan as a legit legend. If he goes to the NBA, the chances are very high he will retire by getting fired.
bring the S.S. Bill Martin into the marina and get the cannon fuses lit. This better be you by Monday morning, bub:
Who knows what exactly that means, but it's a good guess that he had something to do with the interview invitation.
https://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/.element/media/2.0/teamsites/pistons/f…
I don't think it's too likely that a career college coach in his 60s is going to suddenly take an NBA job - though if you're Beilein, why not hear them out? Getting an NBA sales pitch might be interesting.
I think this is probably more about the Pistons picking his brain for thoughts on other coaching candidates. Beilein's made a lot of contacts in his long career.
John Beilein is the most successful M coach in a major sport since at least the '90s version of Red and Lloyd. Across three major sports we haven't had a more successful coach in almost 20 years. This would be a neutron bomb on the program and further reinforce that the administration does not see basketball as a priority despite massive gains in the value of the basketball program. WSJ does a yearly valuation and they have us above MSU and even w/ UCLA. There is no alternative. The assistant salary pool needs to go up between 50+% (to match or exceed OSU) and Beilein probably is looking at a $1million+ raise. If Warde doesn't feel like paying Beilein, I don't feel like paying him.
Ready, aim, FIRE the money cannon! We cannot afford to lose the best coach in the B1G and probably top 7 in the country. He's gotta be doing this for a raise.
I said top 7 because I thought saying the "best coach in the world" would come off as a bit grandiose.
and the Pistons wanted him badly enough, there's no way we could match what they could pay him. Fortunately, I doubt very much that it's about the money with Beilein.
I volunteer to spread mulch next year, if he stays.
Look at Stevens. Both were guys who made their names in college fashioning systems to fit limited talent that led to consistent success. That's the kind of college coach who succeeds in the NBA.
Greasy doofuses like Calipari and Pitino and to a lesser extent Donavon who know less about basketball than Ace but who are good at getting an 18 year old's mama to like them always flop in the NBA, because recruiting accumen doesn't mean squat.
I won't hear it and I won't allow it.
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