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Pistons Notes: Stackhouse, Budenholzer, Armstrong, More

May 7th, 2018 at 7:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jerry Stackhouse and Mike Budenholzer are two of the prominent names to look out for in the Pistons’ coaching search, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press tweets. Detroit parted ways with coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy on Monday. Stackhouse is a former Detroit player and served as the Raptors’ G League coach this past season. Stackhouse met with the Knicks before they hired David Fizdale and also surfaced as a candidate for the Magic and Hornets’ jobs. Budenholzer, the former Hawks coach, is arguably the top experienced head coach on the market. Former Cavaliers GM David Griffin is another name to watch as the Pistons seek a new front office leader, Ellis adds.

Former Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, ex-Warriors coach Mark Jackson and ex-Pacers and Magic coach Frank Vogel could also be coaching candidates. Rod Beard of the Detroit News writes. Chauncey Billups has previously been mentioned as a possible front office candidate, Sean Deveney of the Sporting News notes. Spurs assistant James Borrego and former Cavaliers coach David Blatt are among the other names to watch in the coaching search, Deveney adds.

In other news involving the Pistons-Van Gundy split:

  • Player agent and former Bulls executive B.J. Armstrong could be a candidate for a front-office position, Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. Armstrong has strong ties to Pistons chairman Arn Tellem and is a Detroit native. Goodwill adds.
  • Point guard Reggie Jackson was blindsided by the news of Van Gundy’s departure, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. Jackson told Beard he was “stunned by the whole thing…it’s difficult right now to take the whole thing in.” Fellow point guard Ish Smith told Beard he would miss Van Gundy, adding that “he was really instrumental to my growth as a player.” (Twitter links)
  • Van Gundy’s coaching replacement needs to build the attack around the skills of Blake Griffin, Kevin Pelton of ESPN argues. His front office replacement will have to come up with creative ways to upgrade the roster around him despite salary-cap restraints, Pelton adds.
  • Griffin had some positive things to say about Van Gundy earlier Monday before the news of his departure broke. He made the comments during a podcast, which were relayed by USA Today’s Andrew Joseph. “He’s actually a very cool guy. Very nice guy. Funny. And actually genuinely cares about people. That’s kind of rare.”
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Pistons Seek Experienced Exec To Replace Van Gundy

May 7th, 2018 at 5:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former NBA agent and current franchise chairman Arn Tellem will be involved in the process and could have an expanded role in business operations but is not a candidate to replace Van Gundy as president or Jeff Bower as GM, Wojnarowski continues. Bower’s continuing role was apparently the main point of contention between Gores and Van Gundy, with Gores pushing for front-office changes and Van Gundy offering resistance.

Bower, who has run the day-to-day operations since Van Gundy took over, met separately with Gores last week, Wojnarowski adds. Like Van Gundy, he was also entering the final year of his five-year contract.

Brent Barry, currently a broadcaster with TNT, is a candidate for a front office role but it’s unlikely he would be hired to run the show, given Gores’ desire to hire a more experienced hand, according to Wojnarowski. The Warriors were interested in hiring Barry to a front office position last summer but his TV commitments prevented him from making the move, ESPN’s Zach Lowe reports. Once Barry’s TV obligations are fulfilled, the Pistons will have competition for his services, Lowe adds (Twitter link).

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Pistons Part Ways With Stan Van Gundy

May 7th, 2018 at 12:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have decided to move on from head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy, a source tells Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). The team will immediately initiate a search for a new head coach and a new head of basketball ops, Ellis adds (Twitter link).

A report last week hinted at this move, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski indicated at the time that Pistons owner Tom Gores wanted to bring back Van Gundy as the team’s head coach, but with changes to the front office. Van Gundy was said to be resisting that change to his basketball operations position, and it seems the two sides couldn’t find common ground on a compromise. Gores and the Pistons have confirmed the move in a press release.

“We have decided that this change is necessary to take our basketball organization to the next level,” Gores said in a statement. “This was a very difficult decision and we did not come to it lightly. I am grateful to Stan for everything he’s done for the Pistons and for the City of Detroit. He rebuilt the culture of our basketball team, re-instilled a winning attitude and work ethic, and took us to the playoffs two years ago. He went all-in from day one to positively impact this franchise and this community. But over the past two seasons our team has not progressed, and we decided that a change is necessary to regain our momentum.”

Hired by the Pistons in 2014, Van Gundy had a 152-176 (.463) regular season record during his four years with the club. The club only earned one postseason berth during that stretch, and was swept out of the first round during that lone playoff appearance in 2016.

Van Gundy’s job security had been a source of speculation for much of the 2017/18 campaign, with his contract set to expire in 2019. After posting a disappointing 37-45 record in 2016/17, the Pistons only improved marginally this season, finishing at 39-43 and missing the postseason for a second consecutive year.

At season’s end, Van Gundy and some Pistons players expressed confidence that the club is capable of taking a step forward next year if it can get healthy seasons from Reggie Jackson, Blake Griffin, and Andre Drummond, but it appears another coach – and head of basketball operations – will ultimately determine whether that’s the case.

According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the Pistons will conduct separate searches for a new head coach and head of basketball operations, as those positions will no longer be shared by one individual. Detroit is the third team to go in that direction within the last year or so — in 2017, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers and Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer had their president of basketball operations titles removed.

Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that Brent Barry is expected to receive strong consideration for a role in Detroit’s revamped front office. As ESPN’s Zach Lowe notes (via Twitter), Barry was an Arn Tellem client when he was a player and Tellem was an agent — Tellem now holds a top position on the business operations side of the Pistons’ organization, and will have a significant say in the team’s search for a new coach and head of basketball ops, tweets Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago.

It’s not clear yet how far the Pistons’ changes will extend beyond Van Gundy — GM Jeff Bower reportedly met with Gores last week, but it remains to be seen whether or not he’ll be back.

The Pistons will become the fifth NBA team actively searching for a new head coach, as we detailed earlier today.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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2018 NBA Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Detroit Pistons

May 6th, 2018 at 10:00pm CST by Luke Adams

A midseason blockbuster for Blake Griffin didn’t lead to immediate results for the Pistons, but the team will look to the Pelicans as a reason for hope going forward — New Orleans’ trade-deadline acquisition of DeMarcus Cousins didn’t really pay dividends until year two. With a nucleus of Griffin, Andre Drummond, and Reggie Jackson, there’s some reason for optimism in Detroit heading into 2018/19 — as long as those stars can stay healthy.

Here’s where things currently stand for the Pistons financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2018:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents

  • None

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Projected Salary Cap: $101,000,000

Projected Cap Room: None

  • With or without Griffin’s mammoth salary on their cap, the Pistons wouldn’t have had any space this summer, since the contracts for Tobias Harris and Boban Marjanovic run through 2018/19. With Griffin on the books though, Detroit projects to be way over the cap, with a total team salary starting at $114,468,178 — that accounts for the Pistons’ nine guaranteed contracts, plus cap charges for three empty roster spots.

Footnotes:

  1. Bullock’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after July 15.
  2. Moreland’s salary becomes guaranteed for $750K after July 8. There are additional partial guarantees of $250K apiece after September 1 and after the first game of the regular season.
  3. Buycks’ salary becomes fully guaranteed after September 1.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Any Pistons Shakeup Should Come Soon

May 5th, 2018 at 5:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

If the Pistons are going to make changes to their coaching staff or front office, they will probably happen in the next 10 days, writes Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Preparation for the draft begins to intensify with the lottery on May 15, followed by the opening of the combine two days later. The Pistons will want to have their management issues resolved by then, even though their first-rounder is headed to the Clippers without some lottery luck.

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Stan Van Gundy, Pistons Should Part Ways

May 3rd, 2018 at 10:56pm CST by marksuleymanov
  • The Pistons would like to bring back Stan Van Gundy, but with an adjusted role. After missing the playoffs for the past several seasons, it may be time for both sides to part amicably, Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News opines.
  • There were 12 teams that had the chance to draft Donovan Mitchell before he fell to the Jazz and had a historically great rookie season. Looking back, the Pistons not selecting Mitchell is right up there with the Darko Milicic blunder from 2003, Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press writes.
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Pistons’ Stan Van Gundy Resisting Adjusted Role

May 1st, 2018 at 3:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Pistons owner Tom Gores would like to bring back Stan Van Gundy as the team’s head coach for the 2018/19 season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. However, Wojnarowski reports that Gores would like to make structural changes to the front office, and Van Gundy is “resisting” those adjustments for the time being.

As Wojnarowski notes, Van Gundy isn’t just the Pistons’ head coach — he also holds the title of president of basketball operations, giving him full authority over player personnel and staffing decisions.

In recent years, we’ve seen multiple coaches with those dual titles have their responsibilities dialed back, including Doc Rivers with the Clippers and Mike Budenholzer with the Hawks last offseason. However, Van Gundy doesn’t appear to be entirely on board with that idea.

It’s not clear what sort of specific structural changes Gores would like to make, but he and Van Gundy have been discussing a way to move forward together for the last couple weeks, Wojnarowski writes. Some of those conversations have centered on the future role of GM Jeff Bower, who is scheduled to meet separately with Gores this week, sources tell Woj.

While Van Gundy has one year left on his contract with the Pistons, several of his assistants – along with Bower – are currently in the final year of their deals, so the team will have plenty of decisions to make on who will and won’t be back.

After posting a disappointing 37-45 record in 2016/17, the Pistons only improved marginally in 2017/18, finishing at 39-43 and missing the postseason for a second consecutive year. At season’s end, Van Gundy and some Pistons players expressed confidence that the club is capable of taking a step forward next year if it can get healthy seasons from Reggie Jackson, Blake Griffin, and Andre Drummond, and it appears Gores would like to see Van Gundy return to coach that core. However, it remains unclear whether the two sides will come to an agreement on possible changes to the front office.

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Chauncey Billups: Pistons Rumors In ‘Bad Taste’

April 29th, 2018 at 10:50am CST by Arthur Hill

Former Pistons star and current ABC analyst Chauncey Billups doesn’t want to be associated with rumors involving Detroit’s front office while the current management team remains in place, writes Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press.

The first report came in March from Marc Stein of The New York Times, who tweeted that Billups might be brought in to run the organization along with former agent Arn Tellem. Billups denied the rumor at the time, and owner Tom Gores responded with the word “False.”

Billups repeated his stance Saturday at an autograph session in the Detroit area.

“I think that was in bad taste,” he said. “Everybody knows that I have the desire to run a team at some point, but I would never discuss or talk about a job that’s not open. That’s not my character. That’s not how I am, so I was a little angry about the report that came out. The timing of it was bad. It was false.”

Rumors of a shakeup are gaining steam again after this week’s meeting between Gores and coach/executive Stan Van Gundy. No results have been leaked from that session, but there is speculation that Van Gundy may be asked to relinquish his coaching or front office role.

Billups remains a natural choice to run the Pistons given his track record as a player there and his expressed desire to be an NBA executive. He turned down a similar offer from the Cavaliers last summer.

“It’s easy to link Chauncey Billups with Detroit,” he said. “I’m always going to be a lifetime Piston and people know my desire, but it’s also not fair to a guy like Stan who is the president and the coach and he’s current. It’s not fair for him to hear things like that and I don’t want to be the bull’s-eye on that because all that stuff is false.”

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Pistons Notes: Van Gundy, Ennis, Tolliver, Griffin

April 27th, 2018 at 10:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

For all the coaching news that has been made since the season ended, things have remained quiet in Detroit, notes Ansar Khan of MLive. Coach/executive Stan Van Gundy was scheduled to meet with owner Tom Gores this week in Los Angeles after missing the playoffs for the third time in his four years on the Pistons’ bench, but no update has come from those talks. Gores said he plans to evaluate Van Gundy’s coaching and front office roles separately, and there is speculation he could be asked to relinquish one or the other.

The delay may be a positive sign for Van Gunday, Khan wrote earlier this week, as teams tend to act quickly when making a coaching change to give themselves a shot at the best candidates on the market. Van Gundy, who has a 152-176 record in Detroit, has one season remaining on a five-year, $35MM contract.

There’s more tonight out of Detroit:

  • The Pistons like free agents James Ennis and Anthony Tolliver enough to try to bring both of them back next season, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com in a mailbag column. Ennis was a part-time starter after being acquired from the Grizzlies at the trade deadline and averaged 7.5 points in 27 games with Detroit. Tolliver, a veteran defensive specialist who signed with the Pistons last summer, can be had at or near the veteran’s minimum, Langlois adds, and Detroit’s front office will probably have time to evaluate its other moves before deciding whether to offer him a contract.
  • It’s still too early to gauge whether the Pistons gave up too much to acquire Blake Griffin, Langlois contends in the same piece. The price tag was Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic and a pair of draft picks. The Pistons were willing to accept Griffin’s injury risk on top of a massive, newly signed contract, but Langlois states the gamble will be worth it if he can stay relatively healthy.
  • Don’t be surprised if the Pistons target a point guard in this year’s draft, Langlois adds. Ish Smith will be a free agent next summer and Reggie Jackson is under contract for two more seasons, so that could quickly become a position of need. However, because its first-round pick went to the Clippers in the Griffin trade, Detroit’s only selection is at No. 42.
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Pair Of Former First-Rounders Face Crucial Offseason

April 24th, 2018 at 8:34pm CST by ChrisCrouse
  • Both Luke Kennard and Henry Ellenson are entering a crucial offseason as they hope to be a part of the Pistons‘ long-term future, Ansar Khan of Mlive.com writes. Coach/executive Stan Van Gundy previously said that the team hasn’t decided if the pair of former first-rounders will play in the summer league.
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