When Michael Jordan emerged in the National Basketball Association as an executive, it was proven early on that his talents on the court meant absolutely nothing about his perception of an athlete’s ability during recruitment. While we would love to praise Jordan for being every and anything to basketball, as an owner, the mogul has fallen short of glory, as has Joe Dumars.

Joe Dumars will always be a staple in the Detroit Piston’s history. As a player, Dumars had one of the greatest individual careers in the history of the league and was also one of the best defenders in the league when he was active. He was a part of both the ’89 and ’90 championship teams as a Detroit Pistons’ player and was the ’89 Finals MVP. His early career as a Piston’s executive has not been too shabby either.

His recruitment of Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince (in the draft), Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace primed Detroit for one of the best teams the town has ever laid eyes own. He was primarily responsible for bringing in the men to bring a championship to Motown and no one has forgotten his contributions to the city. But, maybe that is the problem.

Darko Milicic was drafted in the 2003 draft as the second overall pick directly behind LeBron James, who had been drafted to the Cleveland Cavaliers. There were players such as Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh sitting in the crowd waiting for their names to be called, but unfortunately the Pistons’ front office saw more potential in Milicic, because of his size, than they did in the present-day, coming-of-age superstars in the league.

That is only one in a long laundry list of miscues that Dumars has subjected this organization to. (more…)