The Head Coach Says Bye After Four Seasons

The Detroit Pistons organization announced today that they have let go of head coach and president of basketball operations, Stan Van Gundy, after just shy of four seasons with the team. Granted, those season were very anti-climactic, so when it was announced that Van Gundy was fired, it didn’t come as a shock to many. Pistons’ owner, Tom Gores, released a lengthy team statement regarding the ending of Van Gundy’s career with Detroit:

“We have decided that this change is necessary to take our basketball organization to the next level,” Gores said. “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.”

According to the Detroit Free Press, it seems overpaying for free agents and injuries to point guard Reggie Jackson were the main factors in Van Gundy’s demise. Two of the players said to have been overpaid free agents were Jon Leuer (four years, $42 million) and Boban Marjanovic (three years, $21 million), both back in 2016. The Pistons have decided to go in a new direction, and it will be interesting to see who makes the cut.