Leon Halip-USA TODAY Sports
Scratch J.B. Bickerstaff from the list of candidates to coach the Detroit Pistons. He may be the most qualified and one of the top picks to take the job, but he’s being nosed out by other stronger candidates who seem to have a more favorable path to the position. There are reports that team president Joe Dumars likes Bickerstaff a lot, but he’s likely to get overruled in this case.
The three top candidates appear to be Maurice Cheeks, Nate McMillan and Brian Shaw, but not necessarily in that order. Shaw is still working with the Indiana Pacers during the playoffs so action won’t take place on him until their season ends.
Detroit has had some discussion with Bickerstaff, who actually might be better suited for the Pistons job than the other three. But it appears Bickerstaff will be drifting to another franchise while the Pistons decide on the final three.
Bickerstaff has been an assistant for the Houston Rockets and also in the past with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Charlotte Bobcats. He obviously has a coaching background with his father, Bernie Bickerstaff, but being 34 years old, Bickerstaff should work well with young teams like the Pistons. He’s obviously worked with several talented players, and he might be able to give the Pistons a newer, more effective approach to taking on the best teams in the NBA.
The other three candidates are the same type of old-school type of coaches as Detroit’s last two coaches, Lawrence Frank and John Kuester. Unfortunately another team is likely to recruit Bickerstaff, mainly because the Phil Jackson influence will most likely tab Shaw as the new Pistons skipper.
