The Detroit Pistons haven’t won a playoff game in 10 years, and have just missed the playoffs for the third out of the last four years with Stan Van Gundy as the team’s president and head coach.
And it doesn’t appear as though he’ll be vacating either role any time soon.
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For the past two weeks, Van Gundy and team owner Tom Gores have been meeting and discussing ways to move forward, and apparently those plans will be including Van Gundy. According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Gores wants Van Gundy to continue in his current role next season, but with some changes to the front office that allegedly involve Jeff Bower.
Sources: Detroit owner Tom Gores wants president/coach Stan Van Gundy back for final year of his contract — with changes to front office. Talks are ongoing. ESPN Story: https://t.co/2V30SjDjuW
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 1, 2018
Bower, who runs the day-to-day operations of the team’s front office, is scheduled to meet with Gores at a later date. He’s also in the final year of his contract. Meanwhile, Van Gundy has one year left on his original five year contract worth $35 million. He’s owed $7 million this upcoming year.
A Detroit Free Press report last week indicated that Van Gundy isn’t quite on the same page as what Gores wants to do, stating:
“Gores has suggested changes that, so far, Van Gundy is resisting, league sources said.”
Gores stated that there needed to be changes after the Pistons finished 39-43 and outside of the playoffs looking in, though didn’t specify exactly what those changes would entail.
“We got to make some changes,” Gores said near the end of the season at Little Caesars Arena. “I’m just not sure what they are and he’s been working the whole season so I need to hear from Stan. I can tell you he’s an extremely dedicated man so I think he’s been good for our franchise.”
Detroit’s only playoff berth with Van Gundy came in 2016, when they were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference.
