In six-plus seasons, he has won three WNBA titles to go with the two he got as a player with the

Detroit Pistons. But dominance in the WNBA never was going to land Laimbeer the NBA job he

has long wanted.

So Laimbeer did what most would do with a job that hadn't brought him any closer to his

professional goals than when he started: He quit.

Laimbeer is out, and fellow Pistons Bad Boy and Shock assistant coach Rick Mahorn is in as

the new coach. Assistant coach Cheryl Reeve has been elevated to GM.

What's next for Laimbeer, however, remains up in the air. Although he said he doesn't have an

NBA job lined up, his name has been linked with potential jobs throughout the league.

"That's my goal, my passion," Laimbeer said of returning to the NBA . "Hopefully, someday I'll

get an opportunity."

One of the teams most talked about in connection with Laimbeer is Minnesota, who has a coach

- Kevin McHale - who may not be around much longer.

It is that hope of someday being an NBA coach that sparked Laimbeer's decision to quit. As

long as he served as the Shock's coach, he said he never could fully commit to pursuing his

dream of being in the NBA .

"I had to divest myself of one to pursue the other," Laimbeer said.

His resignation also has rekindled the rumors about him joining the Pistons' staff as either an

assistant or head coach.

Laimbeer said he and Joe Dumars, Detroit's president of Basketball operations, have had

discussions about his future. The bulk of those discussions, Laimbeer said, focused on other

opportunities that might exist for him in the NBA .

"He has a staff in place," Laimbeer said. "I'm looking for opportunities elsewhere."

However, Detroit might have an opening on its bench this summer. It is unclear if the Pistons

will renew the contract of assistant Dave Cowens, who is in the running to join the staff of former

Pistons coach Flip Saunders, who recently was named coach of the Washington Wizards.

As much as Laimbeer's resignation is about him wanting a better shot at pursuing his dream, it

also reinforces the belief that the decision-makers in NBA front offices put very little stock in the

success of WNBA teams and their coaches.

If a college men's Basketball coach took over one of the worst teams in the country and turned it

into an NCAA champion a year later, then won two more NCAA titles in the next four years, NBA

teams would be tripping over one another trying to lure that coach to the NBA .

That hasn't happened with Laimbeer, who has accomplished the feat in the WNBA. Even now

that he's available, there's no guarantee any NBA team will bring him in for an interview, let alone

hire him.

There are plenty of NBA coaches, including the Pistons' Michael Curry, who got a shot at

running their own team without having done nearly as much as Laimbeer did in the WNBA.