John Kuester Looks to be the Next Pistons Head Coach
Posted by detroitsportsandmore on July 8, 2009
John Kuester’s name has been on the list from the start, well depends on whose list you were looking at. I knew he was on the Pistons radar but assumed he was further down the list perhaps. After Collins pulled out of the running, Johnson must have thought he was a good position to negotiate, apparently not. Dumars didn’t want to pay Johnson or give him a long term deal it appears, which is not a surprise with his record at Dallas.
Kuester has an impressive background, as an assistant, including considerable time with Larry brown. He was here for the 2004 championship and is acquainted with Detroit Basketball. Considering an offensive mind(much like Flip Saunders, gasp!), he has been credited with running Cleveland’s offense.
Kuester has about 15 years of assistant experience, certainly more than Michael Curry, and is widely respected in the NBA as a solid coaching candidate. The only drawback is we haven’t seen the results as a head coach.
It could be a situation where he’s a great assistant and a lousy head coach, or he could be due this opportunity and excel with it. Only time will tell. Either way the team is upgraded, the coaching appears upgraded, and we should be in for a solid season.
Detroit is still a player away from being considered an elite team right now, but winning changes everything.
Expect an official announcement very soon.
Detroit Sports and More 
mceezy said
Are Detroit fans really that optimistic about this guy? I wrote about this hire too (http://doin-work.com) albeit with a more negative outlook. But I’m from Northern California, and to me this just reminds me of when the Warriors (and then Kings) turned over the head coach spot to Eric Musselman. Didn’t work out too well in either city.
detroitsportsandmore said
I haven’t taken a negative outlook but I haven’t taken a positive one either. This is a very “wait and see” move. Kuester has a nice resume in some regards but his value is not truly known right now. The candidates were dropping like flies, it seemed, and it will be interesting to see how good this guy is.
He has a much more solid background than Curry did.
Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t, each head coach had to have their first chance right? Maybe he’s the next Pops, maybe he’s the next Musselman. Time will tell. The roster is interesting and will determine more than the coach will. I’m still waiting for the Rip trade or a trade that takes on an expiring contract in exchange for one of the lower contracts, Maxiell, Afflalo, etc. A big presence in the front court would make this team at least very competitive, not favorites, but very competitive. Probably could battle for the 3 or 4 spot in the East with the right guy.
I think the future is bright, we have two young players who are coming into their own now combined with one project, Stuckey, that shows promise and two veterans that are fairly consistent, Rip and Tay.With an upgrade at center, this team could be very difficult, back to the balanced days of old, 5 guys that are a threat at all times is difficult to defend. They have some potential here. I think 2-3 years from now we may be in really good shape.