Pistons and Stan Van Gundy agree to 5-year, $35 million deal

In a heist job, snatching the biggest fish in the sea away from the Golden State Warriors, the Detroit Pistons have landed their guy as they have agreed to a 5-years, $35 million deal with Stan Van Gundy.

Just 24 hours ago it was a foregone conclusion that Stan Van Gundy would be headed to the Bay Area to secure a head coaching position with the Golden State Warriors. But in a quest for more power and job insurance, the Detroit Pistons stepped in ready to give him everything he wanted. Unlike the Warriors, the Pistons, as mentioned in Marc Stein’s tweets, gave Van Gundy front office power a la Doc Rivers in Los Angeles and Gregg Popovich in San Antonio. And you can’t blame them.

Coming off a disappointing season where the club finished 29-53, it’s evident Stan Van Gundy has a lot to work with. First and foremost he has to find a way to hone in both Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings, two players who weren’t given clearly defined roles last season. Trading them will be an option, but Van Gundy will likely want to define roles for the players going into the season to see how things can work before opting to move a guy. He will also have to focus on what the team will do with agent Greg Monroe as he enters restricted free agency this summer. Extend him? Give him the max? Move while the volume is high to open up room for Josh Smith at the four spot. And then there’s the potential of Van Gundy turning Andre Drummond into a Dwight Howard-esque player over the course of the next five seasons.

One thing is for certain is that there’s an immediate upgrade at the coaching position with SVG here and that’s what matters the most. There will be questions about what he can do in a front office position as the role is unfamiliar with him, but for now, the Pistons get the relish in the possibility of improvement after a great grab. The days of obscure mediocrity may be over in Detroit.