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Detroit Pistons: Stan Van Gundy has too big an ego to stay

By Ash Thompson

DETROIT, MI - DECEMBER 22: Head coach Stan Van Gundy reacts from the bench during the second half while playing the New York Knicks at Little Caesars Arena on December 22, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - DECEMBER 22: Head coach Stan Van Gundy reacts from the bench during the second half while playing the New York Knicks at Little Caesars Arena on December 22, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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The Detroit Pistons need to move on. If Stan Van Gundy is not on board, he needs to find a pink slip immediately. Otherwise, the 2018-19 season is lost.

It’s been three weeks since the Detroit Pistons season ended. Team owner Tom Gores has decided that he wants to keep Stan Van Gundy. What the owner wants to do is restructure the front office in a manner where a real general manager is in charge of player acquisition, and Van Gundy’s role is diminished off the court. There has been speculation that Gores would like the team’s vice chairman, Arn Tellem, to control the personnel, while Van Gundy deploys them.

I believe that this is a bad idea. I do not believe that Van Gundy should retain control of personnel. He has made far too many mistakes off the court to retain control. However, is the guy negotiating the contracts at fault? As the organization stands right now, “general manager” as it is applied to Jeff Bower’s position is a toothless title. He has done very little wrong. It is not the minutia that is the problem with the Pistons, it is the broad strokes decision making, and that is all on Van Gundy. Bower runs the day to day and leads negotiations with agents, but he receives his marching orders from Van Gundy.

The problem is that there has to be a negotiation with Van Gundy at all. The only way retaining him could work is if he was on board. If he wanted to do this it could work. He has a career of evidence that points toward him not being a bad coach. He does not want to give up control, however. That means that whatever situation comes into play will be a power struggle, and that is never a scenario that works out well for any team.

There are a million things that can derail a franchise in a season. A general manager without his own coach has only half the job. A head coach who has given up personnel control can be effective if he has realised it was the right call. It is clear that Van Gundy has clearly not come to that conclusion. Everyone else on the planet has.

Next: Why trading up to get Da'Shawn Hand was a good move

The Detroit Pistons are about to throw away a year. Van Gundy should simply be fired if he is not on board with the owner’s vision. Van Gundy had his chance to implement a plan. The result has been consecutive seasons without playoff berths. Gores and Van Gundy have been in talks for two weeks. This should have been a conversation that lasted two minutes.

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