Speaking to Jabari Young of CNBC, Tom Gores admitted that he made a mistake early in his tenure as the owner of the Pistons by trying to take shortcuts to contention instead of being willing to be patient and endure some losing seasons while building the right way.
“I should’ve been better about the idea that you can’t always win, and you don’t win fast,” Gores said. “I think I’ve grown from that perspective. I’m not sure I understood the magnitude of the responsibility when you own a sports team in a town that is looking to you for inspiration.”
After spending several years in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference, Gores has embraced what general manager Troy Weaver calls a “restoration” of the franchise in the last couple years. The Pistons’ 20-52 record last season was their worst mark since 1993/94, but the team was able to add potential cornerstone Cade Cunningham to a promising young core this offseason, creating optimism for the future.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- The Bucks are on track to be a taxpayer for the second consecutive season in 2021/22 and could face some tough roster decisions a year from now, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who notes that Bobby Portis, Donte DiVincenzo, and Grayson Allen are all on expiring contracts and will be in line for raises on their next deals.
- Following the trade of Edmond Sumner, there’s a clearer path to a regular season roster spot for Pacers wing Kelan Martin, but he’s not taking anything for granted, as David Woods of The Indianapolis Star writes. Martin has twice agreed to push his salary guarantee date back in the hopes of making Indiana’s 15-man squad.
- Former 15th overall pick Troy Brown, who was traded from Washington to Chicago at last season’s deadline, is hoping to claim a bigger role with the Bulls in his first full season with the team, writes Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. “I feel like me and Coach (Billy Donovan) have a good dynamic in the sense of me being like a Swiss Army Knife,” Brown said. “Whatever he needs on the court, that’s what I go do — whether it’s playmaking, rebounding, playing defense, hitting 3s. I feel like that’s my job on the team, and I just try to accept that role and do it as best as I can.”
The Pacers basically sold a quality backup in Sumner to make a place for Kelan Martin.
Martin is aiming for “3+D” while Troy Brown on the Bulls for “swiss army knife”(versatility). Who will succeed?— Martin. Brown should be aiming for the soft spot, the 4. The presumed starter had a good year for a rookie, at the 3. That is not likely to translate in a new win-now environment in Chicago.
Donovan likes scrappy players, Brown is just trying to show he is a team player. He will likely get minutes only due to injury, this is a much deeper team than last year. He is NOT going to get starting minutes regardless of the situation, unless there is a massive wave of injuries, he is no better than 3 at any of the positions he plays – so his approach is, “put me in, coach” wherever they have a need. He is probably 11 or 12 in the rotation right now as he isn’t big or a great shooter or a great leaper. Those “specialty” roles are filled by others, so he is just trying to be something like what Leury Garcia did for the White Sox this year.