For years, Tom Gores owned a proud franchise, and a losing team. He finally owns a winner.
The Pistons are headed back to the playoffs after one of the greatest year-to-year turnarounds in NBA history, fueled by three important moves by Gores last summer: He fired GM Troy Weaver after four seasons of relentless losing, then swallowed $65 million to buy out head coach Monty Williams, who was as guilty as anyone for the embarrassment of last season, at times as distant from the team as Gores himself.
And then Gores hired Trajan Langdon as president of basketball operations for the Pistons. Langdon in turn hired J.B. Bickerstaff, now one of the favorites for Coach of the Year, and the two of them transformed an NBA punching bag into a team that's swinging back. The Pistons might just land a knockout blow in the playoffs against the Knicks.
Gores was sitting courtside Friday night for Detroit's final home game of the regular season and watched as they went blow for blow with the Bucks, who ran the Pistons out of the gym in their last playoff appearance six years ago. The sweep was so clean in 2019, it felt like the Pistons were never even there. Gores acknowledged that this year feels different.
"Got a great base," he said.
In other words, something to build on. The Pistons are positioned to keep pushing higher, led by Langdon, Bickerstaff and a 23-year-old star in Cade Cunningham. On the heels of signing a five-year, $225 million extension last offseason, Cunningham has blossomed into one of the best players in the game. All along, said Gores, the Pistons "knew who he was."
"He just had to show it, and he has. It’s exciting to see, and we got him for a while," Gores said.
In the final stages of his interview process with Langdon, Gores asked him two questions: "One, do you have a stomach for pain? And two, are you ready to be an executive? Not just a basketball person." The answer in both cases was yes, though Langdon's stomach hasn't been twisted to the degree that either he or Gores envisioned.
The Pistons are the first team in NBA history to triple its win total over two 82-game seasons. They have exceeded even Langdon's wildest expectations -- he didn't dare dream of the playoffs in year one -- "but I'm not surprised," said Gores, "given the core men, and we brought in some great veterans."
Langdon gets the credit for that, bolstering a young roster with the additions of Malik Beasley, Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Dennis Schroder at the trade deadline. Gores does deserve credit for putting Langdon in place, and eating the bill on Williams -- erasing his own mistake -- to allow Langdon to hire Bickerstaff after he was let go by the Cavs on the heels of a successful rebuild. If he created the mess, Gores also cleaned it up.
"The thing J.B. did right away is he started investing in the guys, getting to know them," said Gores. "And he didn’t come in with a system that he thought was right. He wanted to hear them out. He’s been tremendous. He’s a gift to us in Detroit. We got him last minute, but man, we are blessed to have him."
Gores was raised outside Flint and went to Michigan State. He purchased the Pistons in 2011 and became sole owner in 2015. They have the most losses in the NBA over his tenure, which has been stained by dysfunction at the top and several failed regimes. To finally get the right leaders in place for a team with a storied past -- a past that he knows well -- "it's gratifying to see this kind of basketball," said Gores.
"It means a lot because of the way this city is reacting," he said. "All the stuff we do for the community is so much better when you win. To see it all, kids, grown adults, getting excited -- we represent a comeback."
Asked what it means to him personally, Gores said, "Honestly, it's a little emotional, understanding what it’s taken our team, our city to get here. And our men. Our players have done this all, so I feel really lucky to have those young men."
"But we’re not done," said Gores. "This story just started. We started with a no-limits attitude and urgency, and that’s what these guys have done."
The playoffs start next weekend. The Pistons have a chance to win not just a game but a series for the first time since 2008. They have an opportunity to make some noise after being hushed for decades.
"Making noise sounds great to me," said Gores, hollering at halftime over the thump of the Pistons drum line. "And I think we can."