It was pretty well known that when Bill Laimbeer resigned from the Detroit Shock that his intention was to pursue a job as a NBA coach.
After a brief stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves as an assistant coach, Laimbeer has decided to put that goal aside for the time being in favor of the opportunity to get back to doing something he has proven quite good at: managing a team, as reported by ESPN's Mechelle Voepel.
"I left the WNBA because I had a plan for the NBA, and for whatever reason -- it's still unclear to me -- the plan didn't work out," Laimbeer, 55, said. "So I spent the last year here [in Florida] competing against fish and the golf course. I'm a competitive person and like the competition of basketball, so I wanted to get back into it.
"Part of what happened in the NBA will still always stick with me, just because I think I could be very successful in the NBA. But I've made a commitment here, and I think I can be very successful with the Liberty. ... Being in basketball and keeping sharp as far as managing a game and winning games -- that's what I enjoy and what I want to do."
As Voepel writes and others have mentioned, Laimbeer brings with him instant credibility and a sense of hope for Liberty fans but also another exciting personality to the WNBA.
The WNBA became a more interesting league with Bill Laimbeer's return.
— Kevin Pelton (@kpeltonWBB) October 25, 2012