Trade Deadline Deals Show What Stan Van Gundy Wants To Do

If you’re a Pistons fan you haven’t seen good basketball in nearly a decade. The Pistons franchise was dead and it was ready to be buried. The massive mess that Joe Dumars left was more than a dilemma it was like he stripped the house for the scrap and left the furniture. It was going to take awhile for the Pistons to even be remotely close to the team’s glorified by Pistons fans.

Stan Van Gundy came into a dire and toxic situation, he came into Detroit with no 1st round pick, the contract of Josh Smith and one of his main guys in his lineup was an upcoming free agent and a below average bench. It wasn’t going to be easy and he knew he wasn’t going to be easy.

The Pistons started the 2014-15 season like most imagined it would. Josh Smith just wasn’t working well in the lineup with Greg Monore and Andre Drummond leading Stan Van Gundy to waive the veteran. A move that has them playing more like a team.

After waiving Josh Smith, the Pistons started to set their eyes on the playoffs and playing at the top of their game. That was until, Brandon Jennings ruptured his achilles. But even with that injury SVG has the Pistons just 2 games out of the final playoff spot.

The fact that he has taken a bad team and made them better with missing pieces to the puzzle speaks volumes for Stan Van Gundy.

Today, Van Gundy showed the ability to imporve his team on the fly while prepping it for the future. This team isn’t Championship material yet (not even close) but they took a big step toward the playoffs.  That is a place this team hasn’t been in a very very long time.

In sports, mainly professional sports, no one cares how many times you get to the playoffs. Its all about how many times you win in the playoffs? Todays moves give them a shot winning a few games if they qualify for the second season.

The trade for Reggie Jackson is stellar the 24 year old made his name in Oklahoma City playing with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. It was clear Jackson wanted to make his name somewhere else. Somewhere he was made the vocal part of the offense and game.

Yes, Jackson is a RFA this summer, but that’s a great thing. There’s no doubt the Pistons will look to sign Jackson long term. People are going to say it was just a move to get in the playoffs… Bogus. This move was for the future and Stan Van Gundy is looking to build the team around Andre Drummond.

The rumors of the Pistons perhaps signing Draymond Green in the offseason, speaks just what this trade was truly about it’s not about this season. It’s about next year.

Yes, I understand Van Gundy isn’t saying they want to miss the playoffs however he’s thinking long term.

Drummond is a soon to be Superstar and when he takes off is going to depend on the team he has around him. When looking at past, Van Gundy teams have always had a very good big man, and really good players around.

Looking long term, Van Gundy could make Jennings a 6th man or SG or maybe even make Reggie Jackson a shooting guard. It’s not clear what Van Gundy wants or what he’ll do.

To think this trade was just a trade for now is foolish. SVG knows what he has to do to make this team a Championship contender and with the current roster that wouldn’t happen this team isn’t deep enough on the bench to be a Championship contender yet.

I am loving what I’m seeing because unlike Joe Dumars in his later years, Van Gundy isn’t thinking short term. Often times the future is where the treasure lies.