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DETROIT - The Detroit Pistons’ courtship of Avery Johnson is over.
Joe Dumars, the Pistons’ president for basketball operations, said Tuesday that he’s still looking for a head coach after failing to reach an agreement with Johnson, the former Mavericks coach who’s currently an analyst with ESPN.

“At our present stage, we just feel it’s important that we continue to make decisions that are best for our team,” Dumars said.
The Pistons are clearly in a rebuilding mode, revamping their team from a veteran-laden one to a franchise counting on players in their mid-20s.
Johnson, who was fired last year by the Mavericks with a lot of money left on his contract, can afford to wait to find the right fit to resume his coaching career. He didn’t find it after discussing the Pistons’ situation with Dumars.

“I looked at it, I was interested in it, but I was only interested in it if we could agree on a vision for the team going forward,” Johnson told ESPN.
Dumars wanted to hire a veteran coach after firing Michael Curry following his only season as a head coach, but he might end up with Cleveland Cavaliers assistant John Kuester or Boston Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau. Doug Collins withdrew his name from consideration last week shortly after Curry was fired.

Detroit’s fifth coach in nine seasons — following Curry, Flip Saunders, Larry Brown and Rick Carlisle — will have an interesting choice to make if the roster remains intact.
The Pistons are expected to sign free agents Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to five-year contracts Wednesday, essentially plugging them in for Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace. Gordon is 26 and Villanueva turns 25 next month, potentially entering the prime of their careers, after Billups and Wallace were at their best when Detroit won the NBA title five years ago.

Although the 6-foot-11 Villanueva can easily slip into the depleted frontcourt, the 6-3, 200-pound Gordon does not seem to have a spot because he’s a natural shooting guard, as is Richard Hamilton.
Gordon was voted the NBA’s top reserve in 2005 and if he accepts that role again, the Pistons would have an intriguing three-guard rotation with him, Hamilton and 23-year-old Rodney Stuckey.
Gordon or Hamilton may have a problem with coming off the bench and Detroit’s next coach could have to deal with poor chemistry, as Curry did.