The NBA season is finally coming to an end -- a merciful end for Detroit Pistons fans.
The team has squandered away another season, but this time, they’ve hit rock bottom. The team is on track to finish with the worst record in franchise history, a year after almost doing the same.
Recommended Videos
The last four years have been rough. The Pistons have been in last place since the pandemic hit. And stretching back even further, the team hasn’t won a playoff game since 2009.
The onslaught of misery followed one of the most successful runs in franchise history -- the “Going to Work” Pistons, which resulted in one NBA title, two Eastern Conference titles, and multiple deep playoff runs.
But 20 years since that title, the Pistons have fallen down the well. They’re too far to send a bucket. All you can do is peer over, catch a glimpse, and shake your head.
Another rebuild, drowning in its own water.
As a fan, it’s impossible to look at this season as anything but a disaster. A team that entered the year talking about being in contention for a playoff spot. A head coach who signed one of the biggest contracts in pro sports. A star point guard who returned from injury. And a general manager who promised a brighter future after a terrible 2023 campaign.
There’s a lot of blame to go around. But there’s clearly one person, outside of owner Tom Gores, who needs to be held accountable: Troy Weaver.
The Weaver era that wasn’t
Weaver was hired with much buzz back in 2020. He was one of the top names on the market, lured from the Thunder after more than a decade drafting some of the league’s top talent. Fans were excited.
Weaver’s tenure started with a flurry of draft night trades, resulting in Killian Hayes, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Saben Lee. Bruce Brown and Luke Kennard were sent packing.
That was followed by a bunch of, in hindsight, very strange free agent signings -- Mason Plumlee, Jahlil Okafor, Wayne Ellington and Josh Jackson -- most of which aren’t even in the league anymore. The key piece added was forward Jerami Grant, who would end up leading the team in scoring.
But at the time, it was clear, the Pistons weren’t building to contend -- yet.
We waited, and waited, and boom -- it happened. The Pistons hit the draft lottery, and Cade Cunningham, the basketball savior, would be coming to Detroit. It was an exciting time. Hope was in the air.
Cunningham’s career started with some injury woes, but he soon picked up the pace, and became the clear leader on the floor.
The Pistons were still not ready to compete.
Then came the 2022 draft. The Pistons selected Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, two players who were thought to be (and still might be) key pieces for the future. Weaver also added Bojan Bogdonavic before the season started.
But then, more injury bugs. Cunningham would have to have season-ending shin surgery.
The Pistons were still not ready to compete.
After the 2023 season, Weaver penned an open letter to fans, urging more patience, stating that the future was still on track. He even reportedly convinced Bogdonavic -- who was the center of trade talk involving first-round draft picks -- that he should be happy sticking around. Next season was going to be the one where things turn the corner.
Detroit wouldn’t win the lottery again, despite having the worst record -- they fell back to No. 5, where they drafted Ausar Thompson, and later, Marcus Sasser. They also added Monte Morris and Joe Harris by trade.
The 2024 season started with some buzz -- the Pistons won two of their first three games, but then, injuries. Bogdonavic and Morris had to sit for weeks, while Duren was in and out of the lineup.
The newly integrated Monty Williams rotations were messy, and Jaden Ivey wasn’t getting the playing time. Things looked out of sync, and the losses started to pile up. The team ended up tying the all-time NBA record for consecutive losses with 28. By the time it ended, the season was already over, and fans were left with just despair, yet again.
The Pistons were supposed to be ready to compete. But they weren’t. Not even close.
In four seasons in the front office, Weaver’s teams have a 23% win percentage, and somehow the 2024 season will finish worse than the 2023 season, which was pitiful.
Paging Tom Gores, it’s time to prove yourself
It’s honestly hard to pin all that much blame on Gores. He’s an easy target, and he doesn’t do himself many favors.
Hiring Troy Weaver was hailed around the league as a good move. Hiring Stan Van Gundy to coach and be the GM was a bold move at the time. Dishing out a record deal to Monty Williams was more than fans asked for, but he did it. None of these moves were blatantly bad, or even reckless, from a basketball standpoint.
But if Gores wants fans to see him as a real NBA owner, he has to be okay with saying he was wrong, and moving on from it. Fans deserve accountability.
Plainly said, Gores has to fire Troy Weaver. It’s absolutely necessary for this franchise to move forward.
Forget the 23% win-percentage, or the cursing out of a fan at Little Caesars Arena. It’s all about the fans and the players. Weaver has lost both of them. There is no coming back from it.
There is nothing short of a playoff run or title run that could fix what Weaver has turned the Pistons into in just four years -- a laughing stock, not just in the NBA, but in professional sports as a whole. And I think we all know that’s not happening anytime soon.
This once storied franchise has made one playoff appearance in the last decade, and they got swept. Most seasons they haven’t been close. But under Weaver, they’ve been even further away.
There’s no reason to believe things will get better with Weaver running things. Yes, Cade Cunningham is really, really good. Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey are getting better. Ausar Thompson has shown some flashes. But four years in, there are too many maybes, wasted contracts, meaningless trades, flubbed draft picks, and angry fans for this to continue.
There’s just no reason, other than blind loyalty, for Gores to keep this circus running for another season.
Will a new front office mean another rebuild? Maybe. Will it mean more waiting for success? Possibly. It’s a risk I’m willing to take, because this rebuild is as far off the tracks as it could be. You’d be hard-pressed to find a fan, expert or random person on the street who can argue otherwise.
If Gores doesn’t make the tough decision, he’ll join Weaver in the well, and someday soon, fans are going to stop looking for them.