It has been a rough couple of years for the Pistons. They haven’t had a winning season since 2007. Their last playoff season was 2008 when they had a losing record and were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. Since 2008, the Pistons have had six different coaches. There was a lack of stability. With the hiring of Stan Van Gundy, that should no longer be a problem.
On Wednesday, the Pistons hired Stan Van Gundy to be their president of basketball operations and their coach. He was given a five year contract worth 35 million dollars. Van Gundy has never had a losing season as a head coach in the NBA. He started his career in Miami but resigned during his third season. Pat Riley took over at that point and won a championship in that season.
Following his fallout with the Heat, Van Gundy went to coach the Orlando Magic. He stayed in Orlando for five seasons before being relieved of his duties after a dispute with star player Dwight Howard. Van Gundy has a career coaching record of 371 and 208 which is a win/loss percentage of .641. He was assumed front runner for the Golden State coaching vacancy but opted to go with the Pistons deal which would give him more power.
That power is going to be important if he is going to be successful. Over the last few years, Piston players have been disobedient. For example, under coach John Kuester, Rodney Stuckey refused to re-enter a game. That will not happen anymore. Van Gundy will be able to remove players who don’t fit his mold. He doesnt have to go through Joe Dumars like the previous coaches. He joins Gregg Popovich and Doc Rivers as the only coaches with this kind of control.
In addition to these changes in the front office, the Pistons may see some shifts in its ownership. Isiah Thomas is expected to become a minority owner. Gores and Thomas started talking during the Bad Boys reunion and that blossomed into ownership talks. Thomas would again have a role in a franchise that he helped build.
The Pistons now have an interesting road ahead of them. Van Gundy will have to decide which players will fit his system, His first decision will be about what to do with Greg Monroe. Josh Smith, Andre Drummond and Monroe did not play well together last year. With all that money locked up in Josh Smith we may see Monroe being the odd man out. One thing is for sure, Drummond will be a big part of Detroit’s future.
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