Detroit Pistons Drama

It is time for the Pistons and Rip to go their separate ways

The Detroit Pistons have been dealing with a lot of drama lately and it is getting ridiculous.  The past few seasons players on this team always seem to have some problem with the coach.  The player who always seems to be in the center of all the drama is always Rip Hamilton.  He has gone from a fan favorite to one of the most hated players on the team in a very short amount of time.  He always has a problem with something whether it is the coaching style, or the amount of minutes he is playing.  Now he was apparently one of the players who organized the recent player boycott of the team shoot-around before the game against the Philadelphia 76ers.  The boycott took place after the trade deadline.  It is now being reported that the Pistons had a trade in place with the Cavaliers that would send Hamilton to Cleveland but after he declined a 16 million buyout from the Cavs the deal fell apart.  It is also reported that if he was bought out a contending team would of signed him quickly to help with a playoff run.  The fact that Hamilton didn't accept the buyout is extremely surprising to me considering the fact that he has been benched for the past month and half already because he was fighting with coach Kuester during a practice.  I think it would of been good for Rip to get out of here well he could, but instead he decided to stay here and start more trouble with the team and sit on the bench.  In my opinion Hamilton needs to be bought out right now or traded during the offseason.  I don't see a way for him to be on this team for another season after all he has done to ruin his reputation with the front office and the fans.
Now I want to comment on the boycott situation which is quite possibly one of the most embarrassing things to ever happen to this franchise.  No matter how players feel about their coach there is a never a time when boycotting a practice or shoot around is acceptable.  It is their job!  When someone who works in an office doesn't like their boss they can't just decide not to go work.  If they did this they would lose their job.  I feel that the players involved in this incident should not be allowed to play in another game until they apologize to the front office, the coach, and especially the fans.
I also believe that coach Kuester does need to be fired at the end of this season.  He is a good guy but just doesn't cut it as a head coach.  I think the Pistons should hire Bill Laimbeer.  The man I thought they should of hired after they fired Michael Curry.  He is a coach that had a lot of success while he was the head coach of the Detroit Shock of the WNBA.  He has been a assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the past two seasons.  If he was the head coach there is no way he would let the players get away with what they are doing right now.  He is a tough coach that expects a lot from his players and is someone that I think all players will respect and play hard for.  I hope that the Pistons start to make some changes soon that will make for a better atmosphere in the locker room.  They need to clean out the players that are only starting problems and find some who are total team players and players who won't be starting a problem with the coach every season.