The Pistons underachieved this season and coach/executive Stan Van Gundy vows that changes will be made this offseason, Rod Beard of the Detroit News relays. “You’re not going to see all 15 guys come back next year, but it’s also not going to be two guys,” SVG said.
While Van Gundy takes the majority of the blame for the lost season, he points to the team’s lack of professionalism. “I will say I’m not totally happy with our professionalism and the way we approach things,” he said.
Adding a veteran this offseason may be a solution for the club. “Yes, we may have to [find a veteran], but some of those guys should be saying that they don’t need a babysitter; I need to do things the right way,”
Van Gundy continued to stress professionalism, pleading for his team to show up next season acting like NBA players.
“[Our approach is] going to have to change and part of that is going to have to come from us being a little bit stricter and tougher with them on things in our expectations and part of it is going to have from them. You’ve been in the league four or five years — let’s take care of yourself better, let’s be more ready, pay more attention to the game plan, get our extra work in, be more dedicated to the lifting. All those things.
“The young part has to go by the wayside as an excuse. You’re a professional and you’re getting paid. If you don’t want that responsibility, don’t come out after one year. If you want to come out after one year, then you decided you wanted to be a pro — be a freaking pro.”
He added that he likes the team’s core, but is disappointed with its overall progress.
“That is the biggest reason we are where we are right now: We did not have enough guys where you can look and say he made a big jump. That’s something we have to address in the offseason as a staff and as players,” Van Gundy said. “We’re at an age where some guys should be making significant improvements and everybody should still be getting better — and we had some guys actually take a step back.”
There were times this season where Detroit looked like a playoff team, but there were also instances where the club appeared destined for the lottery. Identifying players who can contribute consistently will be a key objective this offseason.
“There have to be some changes and we have to make, as a staff, some good evaluations on the guys who can and are willing to make some of those changes,” Van Gundy said. “That means who are the guys we’re going to bet on to make improvements in their game and who are the guys we can bet on their professionalism and commitment on a night-to-night basis?
“We had too many some-of-the-time guys who we couldn’t count on. If we don’t think those guys can change, well then they’ve got to be changed. I didn’t think on a night-to-night basis we were consistent in our approach.”
The Pistons enter the final game of the season owning a record of 37-44. Van Gundy is confident that the team can be better next season, though the status quo won’t produce the desired results.
“This has been a year of misery for me but I still want the challenge,” SVG said. “It’s hard. It does mean you’re going to have to make some changes.”