Pistons fire head coach Cheeks in half a season

NEW YORK: The Detroit Pistons have fired head coach Maurice Cheeks after barely half a season in charge of the National Basketball Association team, the club announced on Sunday. Cheeks became the first NBA head coach fired this season. “This was a difficult decision for the organization to make but we needed to make a change,” President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars said in a statement. The Pistons are ninth in the Eastern Conference this season at 21-29, though they have won their past two games. “Our record does not reflect our talent and we simply need a change,”said Pistons owner Tom Gores.

“We have not made the kind of progress that we should have over the first half of the season. This is a young team and we knew there would be growing pains, but we can be patient only as long as there is progress.” Cheeks, 57, was appointed coach in June on a two-year deal. An NBA point guard for 15 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia 76ers where he was part of the 1983 championship-winning team, Cheeks previously served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and 76ers. “The leadership and player development qualities he brings as a former player and coach blends nicely with the roster we are building for the future,” Dumars said at the time of the hiring.

“He’s won an NBA championship, coached in two NBA Finals as an assistant coach and mentored some of the top young players in the NBA.” —Reuters