If Joe is being genuine, does that mean that Flip is definitely staying? Aren't many (most?) of the criticisms Joe expressed an implicit criticism of Flip?

I'm glad Joe's running this thing. You can tell he was pissed about LeBron's dunks and layups. God, that makes me feel good. Some subtle jabs at Tayshaun "Big Softie" Prince, too.

sssshhhhhh

I didn't expect to hear anything tangible in these interviews. I really wanted to get a grasp on Joe's attitude. Was he just fine and dandy with coming up short? Was he going to sweep it all under the rug?

But what seems to have happened is that his bubble has been broken. It's painfully obvious that he didn't expect this much outside criticism, and I think you can hear the faith the Pistons have, shaking in his voice.

It's clear that everyone is watching him, waiting for leadership from the front office on the future of the team. The last few offseasons, excepting the Larry Brown soap opera, he's been able to smile and hide.

He's pretty much painted himself into a corner with the "stand pat" approach.

I'm interested to see how we get started with the draft and free agency.

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I don't think he was mentioning Tay. If you listen carefully, Joe wouldn't talk about anyone in particular and wouldn't discuss anyone's game. At the same time Tay never asked for the minutes. Flip was keeping him in to defend against other team's #1 scoring option (Deng, LBJ, etc.). I think the jab was at the starting unit as a whole.

Seems the finger is being pointed at Mr Will D. Let us not forget: it is not unreasonable if the mandate has been made. If he has said to Joe: we are not paying for another coach with LB and Flip being paid.

Joe D HIRED Flip. It was his choice . And now he has to live with it. To fire him now would be to admit that he made the wrong choice. And besides, two straight trips to the ECF is hardly a bad job done. Now Joe is not afraid to admit a mistake. He traded Darko and admitted as much. But he waited it out before wiping the slate clean. So he's sticking with Flip for the moment.

But again, what other coach is out there that would guarantee a home run? I have made my preference for JVG in another post, but what do I know. Joe knows what he is doing. I hope.

I just got done driving 400 miles since listening to this interview and something really odd stands out.

1. Joe said he wanted the minutes down last summer.
2. Joe must have told Flip he wanted the minutes down.
3. The minutes don't go down.
4. Joe tells us how unhappy he is that his core played all of those extra minutes.

In my world, if I tell my boss to shove a direct order (assuming there was one) I would be looking for new work - real fast.

The more I tried to read between the lines (what else was I going to do, listen to sports radio talk about the finals?) I think Joe was telling us just how unhappy he is with Flip. Fired? There is no reason to put a guy on a short leash and try to be successful with a mid-season change...unlesss our GM was willing to move to the bench (and we know he doesn't want that).

Or maybe Joe is tired of watching other coaches screw up his team?

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I recall a couple times the last few seasons where it was reported that Tayshaun complained about being taken out of a game.

This is what i don't understand at all. It's like me listing things i hate about my boyfriend, but phrasing it "I hate when guys do whatever,etc." instead of using his name and then proceeding to say there's no reason for us to break-up

Anazlyizing this is giving me a headache. It's just easier to accept the fact that maybe Joe D is on some sort of drugs.

All I can say is we will see what happens. It's hard to put a grasp on everything he is saying. Is he bluffing or not? We'll see.