Building the Bad Boys
https://www.nba.com/pistons/news/badboys_080325.html March 24, 20086:37 PM EDT Jack McCloskey has been off the job for 13 years . Not that you’d know it to talk to him. Eighty-two years old and enjoying a quiet retirement in Georgia ? Perhaps until the phone rings. It’s not long before Trader Jack is on the line. “ No one in the business makes panic moves ,” McCloskey says firmly over the telephone. His statements are certain, closed to interpretation. You get the impression he could break down every trade, every draft pick he made in 12 seasons as general manager of the Detroit Pistons and leave you absolutely convinced, yes, it had to be done. This is how you build a champion. How could you trade a franchise legend your second month on the job? “It really wasn’t a big problem with me…” How could you trade your leading scorer in midseason? What about chemistry? “…Our chemistry was not good.” McCloskey, hired from the Indiana Pacers’ coaching staff on Dec. 11, 1979, closed a chapter in