Who Got Mo Cheeks Fired?
Last Saturday evening, sports columnist Peter Vecsey tweeted:
Source reveals Cheeks was doomed when Josh went 2 Dumars & wanted Mo fired & Billups went w him. Denials f Love, Flip & Minny media at 11
— Peter Vecsey (@PeterVecsey1) February 22, 2014
This opened up a flood gate of rumors, as to who received credit for getting Mo Cheeks fired before the All-Star break.
Did Josh Smith and Chauncey Billups actually approach GM Joe Dumars, which led to Cheeks’ firing? I do believe they met, but it was NOT the reason for the firing! (If Billups didn’t go with Smith, it would have just looked like Smith was a poor sport because his name is currently dirt among Pistons fans. Billups brings some serious credibility to the situation, since he is eyeing a front office job in the coming future. This was extremely smart on Smith’s part. Who knows, it may also be the reason why Smith is still on the team.) This is why. It was owner Tom Gores who took the credit of firing Cheeks, not Dumars. How did Gores find out about how things were going with team?
It was reported by NBC Sports about two weeks ago that center Andre Drummond and Gores are very close, and that they talk occasionally.
Just how does a coach with a multi-year contract get fired just 50 games into it? This is how some Pistons fans could easily deduct as to what happened after reading various media reports, which is only speculative at this time:
- Drummond gets benched 11 seconds into the second half of a loss to the Mavs on January 26 and didn’t care for it. He also refuses to discuss it with the media, despite showing his unhappiness.
- The sports media sends out articles of how Gores and Drummond chat occasionally.
- Smith and Billups approach to Dumars about Mo Cheeks.
- The next time Drummond and Gores talk, the owner gets an earful of what is really happening.
- Gores approaches Dumars, who wants to give Cheeks more time, since he is Mr. Sportsmanship.
- Gores reviews everything and discusses the situation with multiple sources and proceeds with firing Mo Cheeks.
What is your take?
What do you think happened?
Who do you think actually runs this show (Dumars, Drummond, Smith, Gores)?
What is the next step that will be taken?
Share your thoughts!
