Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores: 'We got to make some changes'

A decision on Detroit Pistons president and coach Stan Van Gundy won’t come immediately following Wednesday’s season finale at Chicago.

Pistons owner Tom Gores told reporters Monday night he will decide a path forward after meeting with Van Gundy next week.

He isn’t leaning one way or another as Van Gundy nears the end of Year 4 of the five-year, $35-million deal he signed in May 2014.

But he made it clear that missing the playoffs three times out of four isn’t acceptable. And he said the organization wasn’t going to use point guard Reggie Jackson’s absence for 37 games with a serve right ankle sprain as an excuse.

“We got to make some changes,” Gores said in the owner’s bunker suite at Little Caesars Arena. “I’m just not sure what they are and he’s been working the whole season so I need to hear from Stan. I can tell you he’s an extremely dedicated man so I think he’s been good for our franchise.

“That I know for sure.”

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The Pistons carried a 38-42 record into Monday night’s home finale against the Toronto Raptors. The Pistons rolled to a 14-6 record to start the season and were sitting at 19-14 when Jackson went down. The team went 12-25 without him — even with the acquisition of star power forward Blake Griffin on Jan. 29.

“Reggie got hurt and that’s difficult, but people get hurt,” Gores said. “Players get hurt during the season so we have to be prepared for that.”

Griffin has missed the last six games with a right ankle bruise. The Pistons were 3-1 with Griffin and Jackson in the lineup and the team has played well down the stretch.

Gores called it a “small sample,” and it likely wouldn’t impact his decision.

“Blake has been a great addition, he’s been a real leader,” Gores said. “But I don’t think I will take this small sample, these last 10, 12 games and make it our future.

The Pistons appeared to be on the rise after the 2015-16 season — Van Gundy’s only playoff appearance and the franchise’s only postseason appearance since Gores completed the purchase of the Pistons in June 2011.

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But Jackson has had two straight seasons interrupted by leg injuries (a sore left knee forced him to miss the first 21 games of the 2016-17 season).

Two straight seasons of missing the playoffs have followed.

Van Gundy has said he is OK with whatever direction Gores wants to go.

“It’s fine, I have no problem,” Van Gundy said before the game. “Our record is what it is, we’re 38 and 42 and two to go and you’ve got to accept that and the judgment that goes with that.”

“The only thing I’ve said is looking forward I have great confidence that this can be a good basketball team when you’ve got Blake, Andre and Reggie. We had the together for four games this year, we probably need a few more games of them all playing at the same time if we’re going to be good, but I have great confidence the team will be good, but you still got to own the 38 wins right now.

“You can’t run from that.”

Gores was very respectful of Van Gundy throughout the eight minutes he spoke with reporters.

“Stan and I are partners and there’s no way I would make a decision without talking to Stan,”

Follow Vince Ellis on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.