But dominance in the WNBA never was going to land Laimbeer an NBA gig which he has wanted since, well, forever.

So Laimbeer, 52, did what most would do with a job that hadn't brought you any closer to your professional goals than when you 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.

Of all the changes announced by the Shock on Monday, the only one most fans cared about -- what's Laimbeer going to do now? -- was the only one completely up in the air.

Although Laimbeer 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 in Kevin McHale who may not be around much longer.

After a string of bad coaching hires as the Timberwolves' general manager, ownership forced McHale to become the team's coach in December. His possible return to the GM job officially ended with the hiring of David Kahn. Although McHale has had moderate success as the Timberwolves coach, Kahn might look to add a lead assistant to eventually replace McHale, or simply hire a new coach outright.

Bringing in Laimbeer in any capacity would immediately fuel talk of him becoming the team's next head coach.

It is that hope of someday being an NBA head 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. But 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 coach Dave Cowens, who is in the running to join the staff of ex-Pistons coach Flip Saunders, who recently was named head 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 turn 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.

Regardless of his reputation from his days as a player, Laimbeer hopes his success in the WNBA is rewarded.

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.

Laimbeer is looking to get his turn.