The Detroit Pistons have fired Maurice Cheeks just 50 games into his tenure as the team's head coach. The Pistons announced their decision Sunday in a statement released by the team. "This was a difficult decision for the organization to make but we needed to make a change," Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said. "We have great respect for Maurice and appreciate his hard work." Sources briefed on Detroit's thinking said Sunday that assistant coach John Loyer will be formally named interim coach before Detroit's home game Monday with San Antonio. But NBA coaching sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that former Memphis Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins has emerged as one of the primary contenders for the job, having interviewed with the Pistons last summer when Detroit unsuccessfully tried to convince Hollins to join Cheeks' staff as an assistant. Read more http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10427260/maurice-cheeks-fired-detroit-pistons-head-coach
