Pistons fire Maurice Cheeks

c/o Associated Press

The Detroit Pistons announced earlier this morning that they are officially relieving their head coach Maurice Cheeks of his duties with the team after 50 games. This news had been broken first by Y!'s Adrian Wojnarowski.

As per the Pistons' press release:

GM and President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars: “This was a difficult decision for the organization to make but we needed to make a change. We have great respect for Maurice and appreciate his hard work.”

Team Owner Tom Gores: “Our record does not reflect our talent and we simply need a change. 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. The responsibility does not fall squarely on any one individual, but right now this change is a necessary step toward turning this thing around. I still have a lot of hope for this season and I expect our players to step up. I respect and appreciate Maurice Cheeks and thank him for his efforts; we just require a different approach.”

Detroit is currently 9th in the Eastern Conference at 21-29 a half-game behind Charlotte for the final spot in the postseason.