Detroit Pistons mailbag: Breaking down the front office, and how the new president will fit

Finally, the offseason has arrived.

The Detroit Pistons have a very important summer ahead following a 14-68 season, the worst in franchise history. The team is hiring a new head of basketball operations, and Tom Gores has promised change.

It’s going to be a busy offseason, as the Pistons have significant cap space and a top-five draft pick to remake their roster. This mailbag dives into all of that.

What is the actual Pistons org chart? So hard to know who is influencing what even before a POBO. — @brgulker

Does the new POBO hiring mean that Stefanski, Tellem and co. will automatically have their decisional powers reduced? Otherwise it doesn't make sense to hire one. Do we know their future with the franchise? — @Baalbaki21

SHAWN WINDSOR: How long will Pistons stay in the weeds? That's up to Tom Gores, and a little luck

There’s been a lot of confusion within the fanbase on who is actually calling the shots for the Pistons (and apparently, some within the organization as well). Here’s a brief rundown:

Arn Tellem, vice chairman: Involved in all matters involving the Pistons’ business, basketball and community initiatives. Led the team’s move from Auburn Hills back to Detroit in 2017. Reports directly to Gores.

Troy Weaver, general manager: Leads all basketball operations.

George David, associate general manager: No. 2 in basketball operations behind Weaver. This is his second stint with the Pistons; he previously served as assistant general manager (2012-14), director of player personnel (2007-12) and director of scouting (2002-07).

Ed Stefanski, senior advisor to Gores: Once operated as the team’s de facto general manager, but has been in an adversarial role following Weaver’s arrival in 2020. No longer a top decision-maker within the organization.

It’s Weaver’s front office, but Tellem has also had some influence on the basketball side. And that’s not inherently problematic. No front office is a one-person show. General managers lean on everyone within the organization — the job requires it. And team owners will always have the final say. They own the team, after all.

The Pistons’ issue, quite simply, is that their collaborative approach has not worked. Weaver’s taken swings and gone against groupthink in his evaluations, but hasn’t had enough wins to fully earn ownership’s trust. Last summer, he lobbied for Kevin Ollie to be the team’s head coach after their first choice, Monty Williams, said no. Ollie’s lack of professional coaching experience was a hump he couldn’t overcome, sources said at the time, and Gores eventually circled back to Williams. You know the rest.

You need multiple cooks to run a kitchen. Four years into a full rebuild, the Pistons still haven’t come up with a good recipe. That’s why they're bringing in a new head chef, or in this case, a head of basketball operations.

The goal, according to sources, is to unify a front office that has clearly hit a significant stump, to say the least, in its ongoing remake of the team. The head of basketball operations will become the new top dog in the hierarchy, over Weaver. All front office and coaching staff decisions will be left up to them — hirings and firings.

It is, in everything but name, a reset. Weaver remains the team’s general manager, but his standing as the rebuilds architect now has an expiration date.

Do you see a change in philosophy this summer or will it be more of the bring in a guy through the draft and play it safe with free agent signings? Also, I know people have been wagering on them trading their first but is there a market for it to your knowledge? — @theDayhasEnd3d 

WHO'S THE GUY: 5 candidates Pistons could consider for president of basketball operations

what does an ideal pistons offseason look like? i dont even know what the big picture direction should be right now. — @Deimos75

I see a change in philosophy. It’s too early to know what direction Detroit’s new signal-caller will pursue, but the franchise has the tools available to build a competitive roster sooner rather than later. Following a conservative offseason that set up a failure of a season, the new head of basketball operations (HOBO?) will have a top-five pick and $60 million in cap space available for roster additions.

It’s tough to envision Gores ever risking enduring a season like this again. It’ll ultimately be up to whoever is hired, but I expect more urgency compared to past offseasons.

Assuming a 10 man rotation next year, and you’re placing odds, where would you place over/under of how many of next year’s rotation players aren’t currently on Detroit’s roster. Spoiler: I’d put the O/U at 3.5. — @jaxgregory

I’m taking the over. Here are Detroit’s leaders in minutes played last season, in order, only counting players who finished the season on the roster: Jaden Ivey, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Stewart, Marcus Sasser, James Wiseman, Evan Fournier, Simone Fontecchio, Troy Brown Jr.

Even if we include Quentin Grimes, who only played six games due to knee soreness, that just won’t cut it. Detroit can’t justify bringing back the exact same core rotation, with the addition of Fontecchio, coming off of the worst season in franchise history. There are three players listed, minimum, who won’t be back next season. I would set the O/U at 4.5.

Omari, does the organization still think that Cade and Ivey can play together? If not, would they look to trade Ivey or have him come off the bench with a more defined role than the mess they experimented with earlier in the year? Thanks, Omari. — @swood25

[ MUST LISTEN: Make "The Pistons Pulse" your go-to Detroit Pistons podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) or watch live/on demand on YouTube. ]

This is one of the key questions the new head of basketball operations will eventually have to make a judgment call on. Cunningham is coming off of his best season, establishing himself firmly as a building block as the Pistons approach extension talks with his camp this offseason.

But Ivey finished the season with an extended shooting slump, knocking his efficiency down. The second-year guard, at times, dazzled with his downhill speed and command of the game. But his shooting splits didn’t measurably improve from his rookie season, and he didn’t make the needed strides as a playmaker and defender.

He and Duren will be extension-eligible next summer, giving Detroit’s new president a series of financial commitments to navigate following a 14-win season. Roster shakeups will be necessary, but exactly what that entails will be up to who is hired.

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons mailbag: How new president fits into front office