0305140505
DETROIT FREE PRESS
030514
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
METRO FINAL
1D
MITCH ALBOM FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
Copyright (c) 2003, Detroit Free Press
TIME TO CELEBRATE A LIFE IN LONG PANTS
When F. Scott Fitzgerald said there were no second acts in American lives, he
could have been talking about pro athletes. Rare is the sports star who comes
anywhere close to achieving in his slow years what he did in his fast ones.
Joe Dumars is different. He always was. Blessed with an athletic body, he
wasn't afraid to use his brain. You could often find him by his locker,
reading novels. On the road, he'd talk politics. Once, in a champagne-soaked
locker room, I told him that winning the NBA Finals MVP award would mean "the
end of your anonymity."
Most players would ignore such a comment, douse themselves in the bubbly and
scream like a banshee. Dumars came back a minute later, looked at me
curiously, and said, "What does that word mean? Anonymity?" I told him, and he
said -- as his teammates partied around him -- "Good word. I'm gonna remember
that."
So it should surprise no one that the multi-tasking Dumars, 39, once an
All-Star on the court, is receiving recognition tonight for the "long pants"
part of his life. At the Palace, before Game 5 against the 76ers, Dumars, the
Pistons' president of basketball operations, will be named NBA executive of
the year.
"You know why this means a lot?" Dumars said Tuesday. "This is the first award
I've been given not for how I played, but for how I think."
Joe Office.
How to build a playoff contender
What's funny about this honor is that Dumars, early on, didn't see himself in
this sit-down job for long. His vision of post-basketball life always had been
traveling the globe, checking out sporting events. "I thought this would be a
good transition into the business world," he said.
But something happened along the way: Dumars got good at it. Upon taking the
job in 2000, his first directive from his boss, owner Bill Davidson, was to
re-sign Grant Hill, the reigning superstar. It didn't happen. Hill wanted
greener pastures, and Dumars' executive baptism became a salvage operation.
Get what you can. Instead of losing Hill to free agency, Dumars got Orlando to
trade for him, sending Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins to Motown.
As of now, there's no question who got the better deal.
After that, Davidson wanted Dumars to purge. Get rid of spectacular salaries
on unspectacular players. He did that with the acumen of a Filene's Basement
shopper. He cut. He traded. What he did to the Mavericks should be outlawed.
Dumars got Dallas to take Christian Laettner, Terry Mills and Loy Vaught, all
of whom were overpaid, none of whom is still there.
He also got Washington to take the soon-could-be-a-free-agent Jerry
Stackhouse. For that, Dumars acquired Richard Hamilton, who has been the
Pistons' leading scorer.
Meanwhile, Michael Jordan reportedly bragged that Washington had picked Joe's
pocket in getting Stackhouse. Instead, Jordan wound up with a malcontent who
bad-mouthed him at the end.
Oh. And Michael got the boot.
Which only proves these second acts rarely work. Many players try the
broadcast booth, but are gone after a few years. Others try owning a business,
but often lack the experience -- or advisers who aren't sycophants -- needed
to make it a success.
And front-office positions? Well. Let's just say Jerry West doesn't come along
very often.
All the right moves, eventually
"Worst move you made in this job?" I asked Dumars. He hesitated, not wanting
to insult anyone. "If I could have the ninth pick in the 2001 draft again, I'd
like to."
That was used on Rodney White. It didn't pan out. Neither did Mateen Cleaves,
Joe's first-round pick in 2000. But to Dumars' credit, he didn't frame his
mistake in gold. If the guy wasn't working, he dumped out, first-round pick or
not.
Meanwhile, he also managed to: 1) Hire Rick Carlisle, voted coach of the year.
2) Acquire Corliss Williamson, given the sixth man award. 3) Sign Chauncey
Billups, the straw that stirs the drink. 4) Get Tayshaun Prince and Mehmet
Okur in the draft -- with late picks. 5) Keep the payroll down -- so the
Pistons can sign a lottery pick, likely coming this summer from Memphis.
He also built a team in his image: hardworking, defensive-minded, low-key and
aversive to controversial headlines.
"Biggest lesson you learned on this job?" I asked him.
"At the beginning," he said, "I thought it was just about acquiring players. I
found out acquiring them is only the beginning."
The rest is the kind of things people will never see. You can measure
victories or attendance, but you will never be able to measure the intangibles
Dumars brings to this job, the quiet respect, the tone that is set, the
goodwill from around the league, the rapport between him and Carlisle. And the
humility it takes for a guy with two rings and a sterling career to appease,
cajole and compliment players who are 10 years younger and have done much
less.
"At least you're not sweating for a living," I said.
"Oh, I'm still sweating," Dumars said, laughing. "I'm sweating a lot during
these playoffs."
You won't see it tonight. He'll walk out there, without a number on his back,
and accept what is bound to be the first of many awards honoring his intellect
and insight. Hat's off to Joe Office, who's wearing long pants now. His second
act is just getting started.
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