AUBURN HILLS -- It was a sight few would have ever imagined.
Bill Laimbeer, the baddest of Detroit’s Bad Boys, on the same bench with former Laker Kurt Rambis who is the coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“A Laker and a Piston on the same bench; that’s kind of different,” said Laimbeer, who is now a Timberwolves assistant. “He’s a good guy. He’s demanding. He’s a Laker, so I give him a little bit of credit.”
Laimbeer, who guided the now-defunct Detroit Shock to three WNBA titles as the head coach and general manager, returned to the Palace of Auburn Hills for the first time since leaving the franchise in May.
At the time, Laimbeer said he wanted to step away in part to improve his chances of eventually becoming an NBA head coach.
He moved one step closer to making that happen when Rambis added him to his coaching staff.
“It’s a lot of work; there’s no question about it,” Laimbeer said of being an NBA assistant coach. “It’s been very enlightening. I’ve learned a lot.”
His return comes just days after it was announced the Shock are being relocated to Tulsa.
“It’s unfortunate,” Laimbeer said. “I feel bad for everybody involved. A lot of people put a lot of hard work into the Shock over the years. I understand the times, especially in the Michigan market. It’s very difficult. It’s hard to get ticket sales up to make a profit.”
Laimbeer acknowledges that there are significant differences between coaching women versus coaching men.
“It still comes down to the same thing,” he said. “You have to play hard and play together.”