Detroit Pistons owner on Stan Van Gundy's future: 'Not winning enough'

Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores was noncommittal Friday night on the future of team president and coach Stan Van Gundy past this season.

He made it clear that this underachieving season is unacceptable.

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“We talk every week,” Gores said. “We just want to win, but honestly that’s what he discuss, how we’re going to get this team to win. That’s been really important to us. We know we’ve disappointed the fans.

“We haven’t won enough, but I can tell you this team works really hard and Stan works really hard. He’s been here four years, dedicating his whole life. I’m not giving up on Stan, I’m not giving up on this team.”

When asked directly about Van Gundy’s status for next season, Gores simply said he would discuss the situation with Van Gundy when the season is over.

Gores made his comments at halftime of Friday night’s Pistons win against the Chicago Bulls at Little Caesars Arena.

The rumor mill is swirling over the status of the Pistons president and coach, who is in Year 4 of the five-year, $35-million deal he signed in May 2014.

Several reports have suggested that Van Gundy’s job is in jeopardy unless the Pistons (30-36) reach the playoffs.

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Gores said no such ultimatum has been given to Van Gundy.

Entering Saturday, they were five games behind the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat for the eighth and final playoff spot with 16 games remaining.

“If we make the playoffs that would be nice, but at the same time if we don’t, we have a good core,” Gores said.

The Van Gundy era started with promise.

After a 5-23 start to the 2014-15 season, the franchise finished .500 the rest of the way at 32-50.

The team reached the playoffs the following season with a roster built around point guard Reggie Jackson and center Andre Drummond.

But Jackson was bothered by left knee tendinitis last season and the team fell to 37-45 and didn’t reach the playoffs.

The Pistons started this season 14-6 and were sitting in good shape at 19-14 when Jackson went down with a severe right ankle sprain.

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But the team cratered.

The Pistons went 3-12 immediately after Jackson’s injury. They are 7-10 since acquiring Blake Griffin on Jan. 29.

Van Gundy has had bad luck with Jackson’s injuries and, like most NBA teams, struggled without his starting point guard.

But Gores remains confident in a core.

But critics point to Van Gundy’s draft record where he passed over promising talents Devin Booker and Donovan Mitchell.

But the draft is a gamble.

A more problematic issue is expensive contracts given to role players like Jon Leuer (four years, $42 million) and Langston Galloway (three years, $21 million).

No matter Van Gundy’s fate, there likely will be change in the offseason,

The only other person under contract on the coaching staff and in the front office for next season is assistant coach Rex Walters.

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