Debate: Should Stan Van Gundy be fired after this season? (Brenden Welper’s Take)
Stan Van Gundy is in his fourth season as the president and head coach of the Detroit Pistons. Should he be fired after this season? Here’s my response in the debate with fellow PistonPowered writer, Ku Khahil.
It’s now or never for Stan Van Gundy.
With 25 games remaining, the Detroit Pistons are on the outside looking in. They’re a game and a half behind the Miami Heat for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
According to Basketball Reference, the Pistons have a 35.1 percent chance to extend their season.
Eastern Conference playoff odds:
— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) February 22, 2018
1. #Raptors - 100%
2. #Celtics - 100%
3. #Cavs - 99.5%
4. #Sixers - 98.1%
5. #Wizards - 97.9%
6. #Pacers - 95.0%
7. #Bucks - 91.4%
8. #Heat - 79.5%
9. #Pistons - 35.1%
10. #Hornets - 3.3%
11. #Knicks - 1.1%
All other teams at 0
A playoff berth should be expected by now. Anything less is unacceptable, and should result in Van Gundy’s dismissal.
His decision to trade for Blake Griffin was a win-now move. Whether or not the Pistons were in a position to make that move is beside the point. It happened. Now the pressure is on Van Gundy to prove that it was the right decision.
In addition to gambling away a 2018 first round pick, Detroit owes Griffin $132 million in guaranteed money over the next three seasons. When healthy, the 28-year-old power forward is worth every penny. But he hasn’t played more than 61 games since 2014-15.
Detroit is 5-3 with Griffin in the lineup, who is averaging 20.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.1 assists as a Piston. Those numbers are exceptional considering he was thrown into an offense that doesn’t emphasize isolation.
But the arrival of Griffin meant that a departure of depth was imminent. Tobias Harris and Avery Bradley were key rotation players, while Boban Marjanovic provided an alternative to Eric Moreland as the backup center.
Now those three are gone, and the Pistons’ overall lack of depth has been exposed. Not to mention that Reggie Jackson‘s return is still unclear. Detroit has been without their starting point guard since Dec. 26.
Reggie has been cleared to begin light running, shooting and continued ankle strengthening exercises. No timeframe has been set for a return to practice or game action. https://t.co/oZ6BdR55IZ
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) February 21, 2018
But injuries are a part of the game. You have to play through them. As important as Jackson is to this team, there’s still no excuse for them to miss the playoffs.
Not when you have the NBA’s leading rebounder (15.7 per game) in Andre Drummond. Not when you have the ninth-easiest schedule remaining in the Eastern Conference. And certainly not when you pull off a blockbuster deal for one of the league’s more explosive players.
If not now, when? Van Gundy is running out of answers.
If he’s not careful, the Griffin trade could be his last.
Make sure to check out Ku Khahil’s response to the question in this debate (link). Comment below with who you agree with more.