Joe Dumars has been a name that has been floated around as someone that could lead the front office of the Atlanta Hawks? How could he help?
The Atlanta Hawks are in search of an executive to lead the front office and potentially take the Hawks to the next level.
Several names have been tossed around during this search. One of the first names that were mentioned was Hall-of-Fame player, and former president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons, Joe Dumars. And he has said publicly that he would be interested in the job, and that he is “one of the names” in the running.
League sources say Joe Dumars and David Griffin are expected to emerge as candidates in the Hawks' search for a new lead front-office voice
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 5, 2017
Dumars served as the president of the Pistons from 2000-2014 and was the architect of the improbable 2004 NBA Champion team in Detroit. He is noted for banding together a bunch of role players that had not found their niche with other teams. And Dumars was very successful in doing this. Not only did Detroit win it all, they made six straight trips to the Eastern Conference Finals from 2003-2008.
But despite all of his success, Dumars had his downfalls as well as an executive.
He, notably, selected Darko Milicic with the second pick of the 2003 NBA Draft, over other names like Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. He also struggled to continue his success after the mid-2000’s. Dumars signed Josh Smith to a large deal to play out of position for the Pistons. He also traded Khris Middleton in a package for Brandon Jennings.
When Dumars stepped down, the Pistons were a mess with an unbalanced roster and no stability at the head coaching spot.
But that does not mean that Dumars can’t do well for Atlanta.
If the Hawks refuse to tank, it becomes more, and more, unlikely that the team will ever land a superstar. So, Dumars could be the guy that could assemble pieces around some good players to make the team worthy of Conference Finals appearances.
He did this very well during a lot of his time in Detroit and, despite the Milicic disaster, made some solid draft picks. Dumars picked Andre Drummond ninth overall and regardless of what one might think of Drummond, he was an excellent value at that spot. He also picked Middleton in the second round and Tayshaun Prince in the late-first.
This guy, clearly, has an eye for some talent. Yes, he got a bit crazy with his ideas in Detroit trying to group Smith, Drummond, and Greg Monroe into the same frontcourt. But Dumars would be surrounded by Mike Budenholzer and Wes Wilcox, other guys who have shown to have a nice eye for role players.
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Dumars is not the sexiest name that the Hawks have, reportedly, targeted. They could swing for the fences with someone like David Griffin or Troy Weaver. But Dumars has shown to have an eye for what Budenholzer has had success with in the past. And his ability to assemble a team of players that fit well together might be the best the Hawks can do.