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NEW YORK (AP) — Joe Dumars is back in the game.
The Hall of Famer joined Independent Sports and Entertainment to run its basketball division. The sports agency has NBA clients such as New Orleans Pelicans star DeMarcus Cousins.
"I look forward to beginning this new chapter in my career with ISE," Dumars said Tuesday. "It has always been an honor and immense pleasure to work closely with players to help guide them in all stages of their careers and this position will allow me to step into this role in a longer term and much more impactful and meaningful way."
Dumars was hired to run the basketball division's business, not to be an agent.
"He's experienced on both sides of the negotiating table," ISE President and CEO Hank Ratner said, "has served as a role model and mentor for players at all levels and understands the preparation and dedication required to excel as a player and then make a successful post-career transition. A decorated NBA player and front office executive with relationships across the globe and an impeccable reputation as a leader and man of great integrity, we are proud to have Joe join ISE."
The New York-based agency has more than 300 clients in the NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball.
Dumars won consecutive NBA titles as a shooting guard and defensive stopper for the Detroit Pistons in 1989, when he was voted NBA Finals MVP, and 1990. He was known as a good guy on a team known as the Bad Boys, leading to the league annually awarding the Joe Dumars Trophy for sportsmanship.
Dumars led the franchise to its third NBA title as president of basketball operations in 2004, a year after he was named NBA Executive of the Year. He guided the Pistons through a successful stretch that included six straight trips to the Eastern Conference finals, assembling a team without a superstar .
The Pistons, though, did not renew Dumars' contract following the 2013-14 season. He has traveled the world since then, evaluating career options in and out of basketball.
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