This was a tough weekend for NBA insiders. Former Detroit Pistons media relations director Matt Dobek was found dead at his home late Saturday, at age 51. Though an official cause of death has not been revealed, several sources within the league confirmed that the longtime Pistons official took his own life.
Regardless of cause of death, this is terribly sad. Matt became Pistons media director the same year (1981) I started covering the league as a beat writer, and I believe I speak for a lot of us who held him in the highest regard. He was one of those NBA p.r. types who worked ridiculous hours and effectively straddled the line between being protective of players and coaches, and understanding that, in the NBA, personality and exposure sells tickets.
Accordingly, the Pistons were always a blast to cover, particularly during the Bad Boys run in the late 1980s. Bill Laimbeer was cranky, Isiah Thomas mercurial, and Dennis Rodman, uh, eccentric, but they were professional, accommodating, forthcoming, and continuing through the Doug Collins, Grant Hill, Larry Brown eras, nothing short of fascinating.
Dobek, who was essentially married to the job and particularly close to longtime coach Chuck Daly, also accompanied the handful of us journalists covering the original Dream Team during its travels to Portland, La Jolla and Monte Carlo prior to the 1992 Barcelona Games. Yes, he grumbled that Isiah was left off the roster. Yes, he wondered what Christian Laettner was doing on the team. But he managed to deal with it, and most importantly, helped ensure tremendous access to Magic, Bird, Jordan, Barkley, etc.
In a surprise to just about everyone withing the league, Matt was fired by the new management group in May - allegedly for leaking information to potential owners. While I can't profess to know what that was all about, I do know the Pistons ownership/management has been an absolute mess since Bill Davidson, the man known as "Mr. D," died in 2009. Alas, my final recollection of Matt is a fond one: While covering the Monarchs-Detroit Shock WNBA Finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills in 2006, he offered to show up early and give me a tour of the building. He was eager to show off the millions of dollars Davison had spent in renovations. (The facility was built the same year as Arco, but for twice the price, and constructed to last decades). Afterward, Matt watched the game in the owner's suite with Joe Dumars, then came down to the media room to see if anyone needed any of the writers needed anything. Typical.
Sincere, sincere, condolences to the family.
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