Detroit Pistons: With Stan Van Gundy, A Clear Direction

Time flies when you’re having fun. That was how the 2000s felt for the Detroit Pistons and their fans. It feels like an eternity when you’re absolutely miserable, which has been the state of the Pistons franchise ever since, well, the very second that they traded Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson in November 2008.

The story from there is well-known. There would be one more playoff appearance coming, in the spring of 2009, one that’s really not even worth mentioning in all honesty. LeBron James and the Cavaliers eliminated the Pistons quickly and decisively, and gave them the final push off the cliff into a valley of darkness that the franchise is still yet to climb out of, at least completely.

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There are reasons aplenty for the Pistons being in basketball purgatory since 2009. Bad coaching hires, questionable free agent signings and trades, a complete lack of direction and absence of a plan, all among them.

Former GM Joe Dumars catches most of the flak for what the franchise became, and rightfully so. Despite being deeply involved with all three of the franchise’s NBA championships to this point, his name now is mentioned in the same breath as Matt Millen’s among Detroit sports fans.

It’s unfair, sure, and maybe Joe D has become under appreciated in Detroit, but it’s reality for him at the moment.

Dumars simply had no clue how to transition from the Billups-Richard Hamilton–Tayshaun Prince–Ben Wallace era to the next one, repeatedly trying to recreate the success he had in signing unheralded but talented guys by going out and giving healthy contracts to the likes of Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, and Josh Smith.

Those moves would define the latter portion of his tenure as the Pistons GM.

He also didn’t know when it was time to cut the cord to the previous era. He kept Prince and Hamilton around way longer than he should’ve. Going out and signing Billups to a small contract in summer 2013 (Dumars’ last offseason on the job) was pretty inconsequential, but Billups could barely move up and down the court at that point.

The move was symbolic of Dumars’ inability to see that he wasn’t going to recreate the magic of the 2002-08 run.

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In summation, Dumars didn’t have a plan as the second most successful era in Pistons history was clearly reaching its conclusion, and that’s the primary reason the franchise has suffered so miserably since 2009. Not only has there been poor attendance, but fan apathy towards the Pistons has been at an all-time high.

Finally, though, there is hope on the horizon. From day 1, it has just been “different” with Stan Van Gundy. Sure, SVG has already taken his share of lumps, like starting 5-23, but there is accountability within the organization and between players for the first time since the last time the Pistons went to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2007-08, probably.

The losing and toxic culture was so ingrained that it wasn’t going to change overnight, but anyone who suggests that Stan hasn’t already made significant headway in doing that hasn’t been paying attention. Yes, the Pistons won just 32 games this past year, but there was a marked difference in the effort and enjoyment exhibited by the players compared to previous years.

Veterans like Caron Butler (won’t be back next season) and Anthony Tolliver assisted SVG in changing the environment, and the younger players bought in to make for the most visibly unified Pistons team that we’ve seen in years, regardless of what the final score was at the end of a given night.

On draft night the Pistons made a somewhat unpopular selection by selecting Arizona forward Stanley Johnson over Duke forward and national champion Justise Winslow, and while we don’t know who’s going to be better as an NBA player, it appears clear that Johnson is going to fit in seamlessly with what SVG is trying to implement as far as the attitude in the locker room is concerned.

Stanley Johnson wants to be a Piston, and his excitement upon being drafted was certainly genuine.

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Now, SVG faces free agency with a solid amount of cap room and at his disposal, potential pitches to free agents that consist of more than him showing guys a few banners and the Bad Boys 30 for 30 on a loop.

It’s debatable as to whether or not the Pistons’ current young core has enough potential to one day become a contender in the Eastern Conference. Andre Drummond is already among the best centers in the East, but there are legitimate concerns as to whether or not guys like Reggie Jackson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope can be starters on a good team, let alone a contender.

Both will be expected to take considerable leaps this season if the Pistons are going to take that next step to becoming a playoff team, potentially one that lands a top 5 seed in the weak East.

What cannot be debated is that there is finally a plan in place, and everything SVG has been doing is to assist that plan. More importantly, he’s not making knee-jerk decisions to become a little bit better now at the expense of the future, a mistake his predecessor made far too often.

That, along with SVG’s proven ability to coach winning basketball team, should have Pistons fans as excited as they’ve been in a very long time.

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Detroit Pistons: With Stan Van Gundy, Finally A Clear Direction

By David Hughes | Jul 1, 2015