Stan Van Gundy Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

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.

Pistons’ Gores, Van Gundy Meet Monday Night

April 23rd, 2018 at 6:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons owner Tom Gores and coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy will meet this evening to begin discussions on the franchise’s future, including Van Gundy’s job status, Vince Ellis of Detroit Free Press tweets.

This will be the first of what will likely be several meetings between Gores and Van Gundy, Ellis adds.

The Pistons have failed to qualify for the playoffs in three of the four seasons with Van Gundy running the show. Gores could opt to stick with the status quo regarding Van Gundy’s coaching and front office duties, bring in another executive to run the show while retaining Van Gundy as head coach, or let Van Gundy go and seek a new direction.

The mid-season acquisition of Blake Griffin from the Clippers could work in Van Gundy’s favor, as the Pistons didn’t have the services of point guard Reggie Jackson at the time. The Pistons are hoping that the trio of Griffin, Jackson and the NBA’s top rebounder, Andre Drummond, can lead them back to prominence. They only played four games together after Jackson returned from a high ankle sprain, as Griffin missed the last eight games with a bone bruise on his ankle.

Gores told reporters during the team’s final home game that he would meet with Van Gundy after the season to determine what changes, if any, would be made. Van Gundy has one season remaining on his five-year, $35MM contract.

The Pistons finished 39-43 this season, ninth-best in the Eastern Conference.

Central Notes: Cavaliers, Thompson, Pistons

April 20th, 2018 at 8:51pm CST by Austin Kent

The Cavaliers didn’t get much out of their supporting cast through the first two games of their first-round playoff matchup. That couldn’t come at a worse time, Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes, given that LeBron James could leave for greener pastures via free agency this summer.

In those first two contests, which the Cavaliers split, James accounted for 62% of the team’s baskets either directly of via assist. That’s the highest total of his playoff career by a considerable margin. Notably, the next highest on that list came back in the 2009 postseason months prior to his infamous Decision to leave Cleveland.

Another concern that could linger for the Cavaliers if not rectified in Game 3 (underway as of publishing) is on the defensive end of the ball. While James carrying the offense could be justifiable if the team was a vaunted defensive force as they were back during his first stint with the franchise, this rendition ranked 29th in the NBA in defensive efficiency.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

After seeing just two minutes of action in the first two games of the Cavaliers‘ first-round matchup, Tristan Thompson is expected to see more action, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes.
The Pistons don’t have financial flexibility heading into the offseason but head coach Stan Van Gundy doesn’t view that as an impediment to improving the roster. Van Gundy tells Keith Langlois of the team’s official site that there are benefits to returning so many key rotation players and that they’ll always have options in terms of trades when the time comes.
The Bucks haven’t made it out of the first round in 17 seasons. Down in their 2018 first-round tilt with Boston, they have plenty of work to do, but Genaro C. Armas of The Associate Press writes it would do wonders for business as the franchise prepares to move into a new arena.

Stan Van Gundy To Meet With Pistons Ownership To Discuss Future

April 19th, 2018 at 8:39pm CST by marksuleymanov

Pistons head coach/president Stan Van Gundy and owner Tom Gores will meet next week to discuss Van Gundy’s future with the organization, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Van Gundy has one year left on his contract.

Van Gundy, 58, has been at the helm as head coach and president since 2014 when he replaced interim coach John Loyer. As the head coach, Van Gundy has led Detroit to a 152-176 record in four seasons. The Pistons have made the postseason just once in four years under Van Gundy, losing in the first round in 2016 after a 44-38 regular season.

Gores spoke to reporters earlier this month and said he would meet with Van Gundy before making a concrete decision on his future.

“We’re not winning. It’s just that simple,” Gores said. “Whatever mistakes we’ve made or why we haven’t won, we have to evaluate that. I see value in the front office and the coach being connected.”

And-Ones: Tanking, Henderson, Revenue Sharing

April 14th, 2018 at 3:51pm CST by clarkcrum

Despite the actions taken by NBA commissioner Adam Silver this season, tanking still seems to be an issue throughout the NBA, as the system rewards teams for finishing as low as possible in the final standings. Asked about the problem yesterday, Silver stated, “I find it an incredibly difficult issue,” reports Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press.

And while Silver hopes that new rules implemented next season will take some of the incentive of tanking away – the three worst teams will all have a 14 percent chance at the top pick – Silver realizes that the new rules may very well fall short of their intended purpose.

“We recognize that our goal is to put the best competition on the floor and it’s balanced against legitimate rebuilding of some teams. But I know we’re not there yet… I recognize that the incentives are not aligned right now that there’s a huge incentive to increase your chances in the draft lottery especially in the old system. As I’ve said we’re switching the system for next year we’ll see how much of an impact that has.”

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Stan Van Gundy echoes the sentiment that tanking is a serious issue, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. “We have about 10 teams that have gone out of their way to try to ensure they have a better chance to lose,” Van Gundy said. “To me, the essence of sports is two teams playing against each other trying to win… To me, it’s a lack of integrity in your league and lack of respect for your fans.”
Former lottery selection Gerald Henderson plans to make a return to the court next season after a hip injury sidelined him for the 2017/18 campaign, reports Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype. Now over seven months removed from surgery, Henderson says he is cleared for all basketball activities and is working himself back into shape.
During yesterday’s NBA Board of Governors meeting, the board voted to extend the league’s current revenue sharing plan, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. And while the tweaks are complex, the changes will only end up affecting one or two teams in a significant manner, adds Zach Lowe of ESPN.

Central Notes: Pacers, Van Gundy, Pistons, LaVine

April 11th, 2018 at 12:27pm CST by Luke Adams

Victor Oladipo is the strong frontrunner for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, and his play this season may indirectly result in another award landing in Indiana. As Dakota Crawford of The Indianapolis Star writes, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard has a strong case for Executive of the Year, in large part due to how his much-criticized trade for Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis has worked out.

Here’s more from around the Central division:

Pistons owner Tom Gores is scheduled to meet after the season with president and head coach Stan Van Gundy. While Gores is still said to be mulling Van Gundy’s future, the Pistons owner has treated Van Gundy as a partner during his time in Detroit, and figures to give the veteran coach an opportunity to make his case to stick with the team, says Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Ellis wonders if Gores and Van Gundy could agree to bring a new voice into the front office to help with salary cap management, since the Pistons have had a habit of overpaying role players in recent years.
Although the Pistons fell short of the postseason this year, Blake Griffin believes the club has the talent to “make a run” in the East in 2018/19, per Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
Bulls guard Zach LaVine may not have the leverage to land a maximum-salary contract this offseason in restricted free agency, but he wants to continue to work toward being a “max player.” Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago has the details.
Don’t expect a whole lot of roster turnover for the Bulls this summer, writes Mark Schanowski of NBC Sports Chicago. As Schanowski observes, it’s still probably too early in the club’s rebuilding process to make a big splash in free agency.

Pistons Owner Still Mulling Van Gundy’s Status

April 9th, 2018 at 9:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons owner Tom Gores is still undecided whether he’ll retain coach and team president Stan Van Gundy for the final year of his contract, Rod Beard of the Detroit News reports.

Gores met with the media during the team’s home finale on Monday night. The team has failed to make the playoffs in three of four seasons with Van Gundy running the show. Gores reiterated he would make the final decision after a postseason meeting with Van Gundy.

“We’re going to meet next week and discuss what’s going on. At the same time, he’s dedicated the last four years and Stan and I are partners,” Gores told Beard and other media members. “There’s no way I would make a decision without talking to Stan and he’s been really busy with the season. That’s a decision Stan and I make.”

Gores vowed to make some changes, even if Van Gundy is retained. But Gores still likes the idea of having a coach with personnel power.

“We’re not winning. It’s just that simple,” he said. “Whatever mistakes we’ve made or why we haven’t won, we have to evaluate that. I see value in the front office and the coach being connected.”

Knicks Notes: Van Gundy, Hernangomez, Thomas, Burke

April 1st, 2018 at 11:03am CST by Arthur Hill

Jeff Van Gundy has been mentioned as a possible candidate if the Knicks make a coaching change, but his brother wonders how serious their interest is, relays Al Iannazzone of Newsday.

After his Pistons defeated New York Saturday, head coach Stan Van Gundy noted that the organization has only recently begun to acknowledge Jeff on the jumbotron when he comes to town to broadcast its games. He coached the Knicks for nearly seven seasons and took them to the NBA Finals in 1999. Stan compares Jeff’s situation to Patrick Ewing‘s.

“I used to walk in here and Patrick would be sitting next to me on the bench [as an assistant in Orlando] and they would put him up on the jumbotron and everyone would clap and then he could never get an interview for any freakin’ job they had,” Stan said. “That’s sort of fake appreciation in my opinion. I don’t know what it is in Jeff’s case. If it’s genuine appreciation then that’s great. If it’s just a way for them to appease their fans, a little bit different.”

There’s more today out of New York:

The Knicks will regret trading young center Willy Hernangomez for a pair of second-round picks, Iannazzone writes in a separate story. Hernangomez got a measure of revenge this week with 12 points and five rebounds in 17 minutes against his former team. “He’s been so much better,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “What I’ve talked to him about is the team part. Everybody views player development as the shot, the post move, the one-on-one ‘iso’ play. None of that matters if the team can’t function when you’re out there.”
Another 50-loss season is taking its toll on Lance Thomas, notes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Thomas, who was acquired in a January 2015 trade, has been with the Knicks longer than anyone on the current roster. He’s also a native New Yorker who grew up in Brooklyn. “I hate losing,’’ he said after Saturday’s game. “Anyone who has God-given ability to make it to this level hates losing. Myself being the long-tenured Knick here, I’ve been part of some losing teams and it doesn’t sit well with me. I want to find a way to turn it around. I lose sleep when we lose.”
Trey Burke‘s connections with Knicks GM Scott Perry helped him earn another shot at the NBA, writes Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Perry is a Detroit native and former assistant coach at the University of Michigan, where Burke played two seasons. They bonded over their Michigan connections while Burke was preparing for the 2013 draft and Perry was an executive in Orlando, so Burke reached out to him earlier this season when he was looking for a G League contract. “I knew that he would give me a fair shot, fair opportunity to reinvent myself,” Burke said, “to come in and go through a process where I would have an opportunity to play consistent minutes at the highest level.”

Pistons Have Interest In Billups For Front Office Role?

March 20th, 2018 at 12:55pm CST by Luke Adams

12:55pm: In the wake of Stein’s report, Billups said he’d “never push for a job with any NBA franchise that is not open,” while Pistons ownership and Platinum Equity spokesman Mark Barnhill simply called the report “false” (Twitter links via Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated and Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press).

That’s no surprise, since – as Billups notes – those front office jobs aren’t currently open, so the team isn’t about to confirm its interest in other candidates.

12:05pm: The Pistons have expressed interest in hiring former All-Star guard Chauncey Billups for a basketball operations role, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). According to Stein, Detroit is mulling the idea of having Billups work in tandem with Arn Tellem in a “totally revamped” front office.

Currently, Stan Van Gundy serves as both the head coach and the president of basketball operations in Detroit, with Jeff Bower handling day-to-day operations as the Pistons’ general manager. Tellem, a longtime agent, is the team’s vice chairman.

However, with the Pistons almost certain to miss the playoffs despite making a big midseason splash for Blake Griffin, a front office shakeup could be coming this offseason. There have been rumblings about the possibility of Tellem moving from the business side to the basketball side, and Billups would be a logical target to work with him, given his history with the Pistons as a player.

While Billups’ résumé for a top front office job may be somewhat lacking, he’s viewed as a future executive, and a pairing with an industry veteran like Tellem might be a nice fit. Billups nearly landed in Cleveland last summer when the Cavaliers targeted him as David Griffin‘s replacement. He ultimately withdrew from consideration for that GM job, with a below-market offer reportedly playing a part in his decision.

If the Pistons are to shake up their front office, it’s not clear whether Van Gundy would remain with the organization. Last year, Doc Rivers and Mike Budenholzer continued to coach the Clippers and Hawks, respectively, despite having their president of basketball operations titles removed. Theoretically, the Pistons could do the same thing with Van Gundy in the hopes that he could get better results from the club when he’s focused exclusively on coaching. It’s not clear if both sides would be on board with that arrangement though.