When the Suns let go of GM Lance Blanks last week, coach Lindsey Hunter became a dead man walking in terms of keeping his job. Technically Hunter — who took over mid-season for Alvin Gentry in an effort to play their youth more — is still the coach in Phoenix but once the new GM is hired he is gone. Everybody knows it.
Including Hunter, which is why he’s asking out to interview for another job, reports Matt Dery, a well-connected broadcaster host in Detroit.
Source: Lindsey Hunter has asked #Suns for permission to interview for #Pistons HC vacancy. It will likely be granted soon.
— Matt Dery (@DerySpeaks) April 24, 2013
My question isn’t “why does Hunter want to interview for another job?” because that is pretty obvious.
My question is “why are the Pistons interested?”
Let’s say there wasn’t universal love for Hunter in Phoenix. The Pistons reportedly are looking for an experienced coach and have reached out to Nate McMillan for one. Granted, Hunter did bring in more structure and rules for a young Suns team that needed it (even though that didn’t show on the scoreboard because he played the youth on the team more) and he’s known for his player development. But the Pistons — with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond as a young core up front not to mention a great fan base — are a tempting landing spot for a number of top coaches on the market. They should have their pick of quality names.
We will see how this goes, but apparently Hunter is going to get an interview.