The Top 10 Most Important Detroit Pistons Moments of the Decade

3. Pistons Hire Stan Van Gundy as Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations

At the time of the hiring, Stan Van Gundy felt like a godsend. The Detroit Pistons string of coaches before SVG’s arrival was a murderer’s row of team murderers; Michael Curry, John Kuester, Lawrence Frank, Maurice Cheeks, and John Loyer. Dark times!

Van Gundy was a household name in the NBA. He had led the Dwight Howard Orlando Magic past LeBron James and into the NBA Finals. He had never had a losing record in his 8 seasons as an NBA coach. The Pistons felt like a team without direction for the first half of the decade, so the idea of a known commodity like Van Gundy, not only coaching the team but acting as President, was welcomed.

Without the Presidential duties, it was likely that Van Gundy would’ve chosen the Golden State Warriors, who were also courting him, over the Pistons.

Van Gundy’s tenure with the Pistons didn’t go as planned; he signed a 5-year contract but only lasted 3 before being let go. Despite this, there’s no doubt that Van Gundy left the team in a better place than he found it.

He slowly improved the roster in his three years through downright robbery like the Reggie Jackson trade or trading a 2nd round pick for Reggie Bullock, Danny Granger, and Marcus Morris. Not to mention made bold maneuvers like trading a pile of assets for a star in Blake Griffin, shaping the roster this decade more than any other executive.

He even managed to lead the team to its first playoff appearance of the decade. The idea that Van Gundy would lead this team to relevancy was partially realized – he made the Pistons an interesting yet flawed team, instead of the mediocre mess they had begun the decade as.