Detroit Pistons: Nothing can be fixed without fixing ownership

The Detroit Pistons had a disappointing 2018 campaign that ended with their head coach being fired, but they can’t fix anything without fixing ownership first

It had been almost a full month after the end of the NBA regular season when the Detroit Pistons announced Stan Van Gundy would not be returning as head coach. It has been 19 days since then.

In those 19 days, not only have the Pistons failed to make any real announcements regarding who might take up the mantles of President and Head Coach, but the rumor mill has failed to churn up so much as an interview.

I could make this into an article regarding the merits and likelihoods of a number of individuals who could fill these positions, but I honestly don’t believe it matters. Should we really debate if Jerry Stackhouse has done enough in coaching Toronto’s G-League affiliate for one season to take the reins of an NBA team? Or is it Dwane Casey who can come breathe life into a lifeless franchise?

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It doesn’t matter.

Shakespeare once wrote some play called “Romeo and Juliet.” In this little known play, he wrote “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Wouldn’t a dumpsterfire by any other name still smell like burning garbage?

It really is almost poetic. A cardboard cutout of Phil Jackson would be as effective in coaching the Pistons as would Dwane Casey, or Becky Hammon, or Jerry Stackhouse. The coaching is not going to be the issue.

For as much as SVG was the problem in Detroit, SVG was never the real problem. Make no mistake, the cancer of this organization is ownership. No other owner in this league would take 29 days to fire his head coach after the final game of the season. No other owner would then sit listlessly for almost three weeks before announcing so much as an interview.

Sure, we can lament Van Gundy’s front office management. Trading the Pistons out of the draft in exchange for an aging power forward with a $172 million contract wasn’t exactly what some might call smart.

And of course, Van Gundy has the miserable draft record of picking Luke Kennard ahead of Donovan Mitchell, and Stanley Johnson ahead of Devin Booker. In fact, his draft record is so bad I heard some Pistons fans saying trading away draft picks is okay, because he can’t draft right anyway.

Let’s look at the best team in the league – the Golden State Warriors, not the Rockets – and the most promising team for the future (the Boston Celtics). If you’re reading this next part, Tom Gores, pay attention.

These two teams were not built through trades and free agent acquisitions. Sure, you can look at Boston’s signing of Gordon Hayward and the trade for Kyrie Irving, but let’s acknowledge this team sits one win away from the NBA Finals with draft picks Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum leading the charge. This is the new, young core in Boston.

If we go to the Bay, it’s very much the same story. Sure, the greatest team in NBA regular season history added the splashiest free agent in NBA history not named LeBron James, but they only became the greatest team ever because of their draft picks.

The long and short of it is this. If your head coach, President, and GM can’t draft players and develop them, he should be fired. He should not be allowed to trade away your draft picks and assets to bring on a financial time bomb.

This is where the problem lies with ownership. Too often when a dog gets off its leash and causes terror around the neighborhood, we blame the dog for bad behavior. Not often enough do we blame the owners.

It’s already embarrassing enough that Gores allowed Van Gundy free reign of the organization. No owner who is paying attention allows the trades Van Gundy pushed through. No owner cares, or knows, about the NBA spends three entire weeks biding his time to hire a team President, or coach, or GM.

Herein lies the problem with the Pistons. Barring a team sale, I’m not sure it’s fixable. We are well beyond putting a Band-Aid over it. Gores is either not paying attention, or is completely inept, and I honestly can’t decide which is worse.

Van Gundy said shortly before his firing that tanking is “disrespectful to the fans.” Van Gundy should ask fans in Boston and Philadelphia how they feel about tanking. Gores should understand that, while it’s not pretty, it is the most effective way to rebuild teams in the modern NBA. Gores needs a GM and President who will understand this.

Gores also needs to back off. He can not be an influencer in basketball decisions. Leave it up to the big boys. That means he can’t influence a trade for Blake Griffin, and basically throw a parade for the acquisition, and be drunk in the executive sweet making a fool of himself.

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If all of this happens, maybe the Detroit Pistons really can escape the graveyard Van Gundy left them buried in. If not, it will be at least four years before they have a chance at becoming competitive.

No matter what happens, it’s important to direct the blame at those responsible. Van Gundy was bad, yes, but he was a symptom, not a disease. Fans cannot continue to let Gores off the hook.