PistonPowered
Fansided

Detroit Pistons will no longer be going to Orlando for summer league basketball

By Braden Shackelford

DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 4: Detroit Pistons and head coach Stan Van Gundy shouts out instructions during the fourth quarter of the preseason game against the Charlotte Hornets at Little Caesars Arena on October 4, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images). Charlotte Hornets defeated Detroit Pistons 108-106.
DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 4: Detroit Pistons and head coach Stan Van Gundy shouts out instructions during the fourth quarter of the preseason game against the Charlotte Hornets at Little Caesars Arena on October 4, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images). Charlotte Hornets defeated Detroit Pistons 108-106. /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Detroit Pistons have been attending the Orlando Summer League for years, including all three offseasons with Stan Van Gundy as head coach. In wake of the news that Orlando will be closing its summer league, Stan Van Gundy is disappointed.

The Detroit Pistons have been supporters of the Orlando Summer League, even with the Las Vegas and Utah Summer League’s growing in popularity over the last several years.
Part of the reason the Pistons have stuck with the Orlando Summer League is Van Gundy’s ties to Orlando, having coached there prior to joining the Pistons. Or, it might by that it’s an easy commute for Van Gundy and his dad, who is almost always in attendance for the Pistons’ summer league games.
However, none of that matters to Van Gundy, at least not as much as the developmental component that he believes is second to none in the Orlando Summer League.

Van Gundy via Detroit Free Press:

"“It’s disappointing,” Van Gundy said before the Pistons faced the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night.“I’ve always liked that league. Played at it in all three places I’ve coached and I think it’s the best atmosphere for developing young players. We’ll miss it, but it’s hardly a major issue at this point.“But I thought it was a very good atmosphere.”"

I am saddened by the news too. The Orlando Summer League was part of my childhood. I used to go over to my grandparents’ house and watch the Orlando Summer League with my grandpa each summer.
While I will forever cherish the Orlando Summer League, I have often wondered how much longer it could keep afloat.
With the growing popularity in NBA summer league festivities, the often crowded, and exclusive attendance Orlando Magic practice facility hardly seemed like venue to accommodate the new age of summer league basketball.

I’m not sure the Pistons can’t get the same level of development at other summer league venues like Van Gundy suggests, that is, unless the attendance levels impact player’s focus and desire to perform well, versus working on weaknesses—in which case I can see why Van Gundy feels the way he does.
For me, the Orlando Summer League reminded me of high school basketball in the summer, playing in small, rickety floor, and absent of any kind of air conditioning. In short, there was nothing like it, and it was the last of its kind.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as the Las Vegas and Orlando Summer Leagues have been very entertaining to say the least.

Home/Pistons News