It only took 25 straight losses, but Detroit Pistons fans are finally hearing something other than silence from the team’s owner.
Tom Gores, a billionaire businessman who has owned the team since 2015, spoke to a group of reporters on Friday, a night after the Pistons lost their 25th straight game, one loss away from tying the single-season NBA record.
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Since taking over as owner, Gores’ Pistons have the worst win percentage for any NBA franchise, amounting zero playoff wins, despite several lottery picks.
Gores said entering the season, the expectation was to try and compete for a playoff spot. Clearly, at 2-26, the Pistons won’t be doing that this year.
“One thing that’s been on my mind — and I think it’s important for the fans to hear, and I actually talked to the players about this the other day — within all of the losses, what we still have is a very good future,” Gores said in the interview via The Athletic. “No. 1, we have an amazing set of young players who are high character and high talent. This set of players — and I know them individually, I saw them the other day — we are in a great spot with our young talent.”
Gores also pointed to contract flexibility and cap space and said he’s “willing to do whatever it takes for this organization to be successful.”
Despite this optimistic outlook, Gores said change is needed.
“I was very optimistic at the beginning of the season about what this team could do and felt that it had a bright future. I still feel that way. But, do we need to change some things? Absolutely. We can’t sit around and say we shouldn’t. We have to change some things. We’re sitting around and doing a lot of reflecting,” Gores said.
“We have to assess what’s not working. I’m down to Monty and I talking about rotations. I don’t normally do that. Monty is so good and knows what’s he doing, he’s open to even talking about it. We do have to change something. I can’t tell you what it exactly is. We’re diving in pretty hard. We’re probably two weeks ahead of you guys. Our disappointment is catching up to us too.”
It’s an incredible admission from Gores, who says he’s talking to the head coach about player rotations. He did back his general manager Troy Weaver and head coach Monty Williams in further comments about allegedly coming change.
“Change is coming. I’m just saying that in terms of Monty, Troy, all of that stuff … they will be in place, but I’m all over them. They’ll tell you that too. There’s a lot of accountability that needs to be held. There might be additions to staff and all of that stuff. What’s for sure is that change is coming. We’re not right, right now. We have to add and delete. We’re on it already. We will make changes. We will make them. We don’t know exactly what they’ll be yet.”
Gores added that if anyone is to blame for what has happened, it’s him and Weaver. “In terms of how we’re not performing and so on, I think it has to go on Troy and I. It starts there. … We underestimated something. We have seven or eight players who are 22 and under. That’s the makeup of our roster. Maybe we need more playing veterans.”
Gores didn’t give a timeline on changes, but said shifting strategy is the only way forward. “The ship is not sinking, but we have to right the ship. Something’s not exactly right. We have to be honest enough with ourselves and not be stuck in a strategy.”
After the team’s loss to Utah in Detroit on Thursday, fans were heard chanting “sell the team,” loud enough to be heard on the broadcast. Gores said he thought it was ridiculous.
“They can say what they want, but that’s ridiculous. Other than winning — and we should win more games — we do a lot in the community. Players, the organization, we do a lot in the community. If you put aside winning, we’ve made a very big difference in the community. That means a lot to me. I understand that’s only going to mean a lot to people if we win, but the underworking of what’s happening and with our community, over all these years, is there. We’re doing multibillion-dollar things outside of (basketball). I understand the fans being upset, but it’s a ridiculous thought,” Gores said.
The Pistons will try to snap the losing streak again on Saturday night vs. Brooklyn. If they lose, they’ll tie the all-time single-season record for most consecutive losses.