Who wins the stare-down over the Pistons front office?
Stan Van Gundy may have to make some front office changes if he wants to stay with the Pistons.
It’s obvious that Stan Van Gundy and Tom Gores are hard at work trying to find a way to keep the coach in Detroit for one more season. However, the organization almost certainly will require Van Gundy to give up some front office power for that privilege.
According to reporting by ESON, Gores clearly wants Van Gundy back next year in some capacity. The two men have an excellent professional and personal relationship. The challenge is figuring out exactly what Van Gundy’s job responsibilities are going to be.
Currently he serves as the team’s coach and also manages all of the team’s personnel decisions. The ability to lead the Pistons’ front office was a major factor in Van Gundy’s decision to take the job in Detroit. Unfortunately, his personnel moves haven’t inspired a ton of confidence.
His move last season to acquire Blake Griffin from the Clippers at the trade deadline was a gamble, adding an enormous talent but severely limiting the team’s flexibility moving forward. Griffin’s brief time with the Pistons yielded very mixed results. His acquisition wasn’t enough to get Detroit into the playoffs, but they also played without point guard Reggie Jackson for most of that stretch. Optimistic Pistons fans can point to the team’s 8-4 record with both stars on the court as reason for hope.
Van Gundy’s tenure in Detroit seems doomed no matter how his power struggle with Gores turns out. If, somehow, he remains in control of the team’s front office he still won’t have the ability to significantly change the team. Griffin’s addition leaves the Pistons with insufficient cap flexibility to make any significant changes. As such, Van Gundy really doesn’t have a chance to change anyone’s perception of how he functions as a front office executive. The Pistons would need to suddenly emerge as a 50+ win team to change the perception of his time as a de facto GM.
If Van Gundy comes back exclusively in a coaching role he has even less to gain. No one around the NBA legitimately questions whether or not he’s a good coach. His time in Orlando clearly proves he’s well above the league average in that regard.
Even if he were to elevate the Pistons into a top seed in the Eastern Conference it wouldn’t drastically change anyone’s opinion of him on the bench. Van Gundy would still end his contract with the Pistons with several viable options around the league. He could even get the opportunity to extend his coaching run in Detroit if he were willing to accept that sort of offer.
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The ultimate point here is that Stan Van Gundy is unlikely to ever get another opportunity to function as coach and GM in the NBA again. No matter how his probable last year turns out in Detroit the league has already made up its mind that he can’t function in that setup. All Van Gundy can do this year is make the best of a bad situation in Motown.