One of the most frustrating parts of the Detroit Pistons' losing streak has been the silence emanating from the front office and ownership.
That ended yesterday when owner Tom Gores sat down for a Q&A with the Pistons' beat writers.
The Pistons haven't won a playoff game under Gores and have only enjoyed one season with a record above .500. The last time it happened, Kobe Bryant was still in the NBA.
Even though I don't particularly like Gores for reasons that have nothing to do with basketball, I will defend him for just a second. He spends money and clearly wants to win. He has opened his checkbook every time he's been asked, splashed out on big-name coaches and hired smart basketball people who were coveted by other teams.
He's mostly stood aside and let them do their jobs, for better or worse, and does do a lot in the community.
That said, results speak louder than anything, and he hasn't gotten them as owner of the Detroit Pistons, at least on the court.
Gores spent the first part of the Q&A talking about how "nimble" the Pistons are (seriously, he used the word "nimble" more times than if he were describing the mischievous fairy Puck in "A Midsummer Night's Dream") and how they were in a much better place financially.
This gets annoying, as we've been hearing about "financial flexibility" for years now but have yet to see it translated into a better roster. Are the Pistons better off financially than they were when Blake Griffin was on the books? Yes. Has it mattered? Nope.
He then went on to talk about "change," but was careful to parse his words. You can read the entire interview here in The Athletic (SUBSCRIPTION).
Tom Gores talks about change for the Detroit Pistons
Gores initially said that he had no immediate plans to make changes to the front office or coaching staff, but then later added:
"Change is coming. I’m just saying that in terms of Monty, Troy, all of that stuff … they will be in place, but I’m all over them. They’ll tell you that too. There’s a lot of accountability that needs to be held. There might be additions to staff and all of that stuff. What’s for sure is that change is coming. We’re not right, right now. We have to add and delete. We’re on it already. We will make changes. We will make them. We don’t know exactly what they’ll be yet."
Wow, that's really comforting. What I can take from this is that the front office isn't going anywhere and it's far more likely that some lowly staffer who had nothing to do with this gets a pink slip on Xmas.
It also doesn't inspire confidence that the owner knows there needs to be change but not "exactly what they'll be yet." Take your time, Tom.
It was good of Gores to come out of the shadows and speak to the media and fans, but he didn't do much to inspire faith that this is going to be turned around or changed anytime soon. It was just more of the same. "Have patience, we are in a good place, don't worry."
The Detroit Pistons will try to avoid tying the longest single-season losing steak in NBA history against the Nets, but don't worry, they're nimble.