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Tom Gores promises changes as Detroit Pistons fight historic streak: 'We do have a plan'

The Detroit Pistons, who are 2-26 overall, have major problems to fix.

Tom Gores is pledging to figure them out.

The founder of Platinum Equity, which has owned the Pistons since 2011, held a conference call with local media on Friday night as the team is in the midst of a historic 25-game losing streak. The Pistons have fallen well short of preseason expectations. Gores, Troy Weaver and the coaching staff all expected a notable step forward after losing an NBA-low 17 games last season.

There were no firings to announce. Monty Williams' job is safe, as is Weavers. But Gores promised big changes nonetheless. And while he didn't dive into specifics on Friday, it's safe to say, based on conversations with decision-makers in the organization, that the front office will be very active in the trade market in the coming weeks and months and will prioritize addressing roster deficiencies and adding veteran talent that complements the young core.

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Gores flew to Detroit on Wednesday and met with not only Weaver and Williams, but several of the team's recent draft picks as well, including Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren. There is hope that, due to the team's cap flexibility, the front office will have the resources available to maneuver the team back on a positive trajectory. There is also still confidence in Williams, who inked a record six-year, $78.5 million contract this offseason.

Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores shakes hands with players at the conclusion of a news conference introducing new coach Monty Williams at the Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center, June 13, 2023.
Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores shakes hands with players at the conclusion of a news conference introducing new coach Monty Williams at the Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center, June 13, 2023.

Here's what Gores had to say. Questions and answers have been edited for clarity and length.

Gores: The thing that’s been on my mind is really to talk to the fans, and what better place to do that than with this group. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time about how to communicate with fans. We owe them a conversation about the Pistons and where we’re at, and also just apologize for the disappointment to our fans. I’m as disappointed as anybody. Speaking to our fans and letting them know what’s happening, it’s critical at this time. It is a pivotal moment, I have a lot of thoughts about it.

Question: Expectations were high. When you spoke with coaching staff and front office, what was the idea pitched for how they wanted this season to look like?

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Gores: We wanted it to be competing. Competing every day, a chance for the play-in, playoffs, our players to grow, and that would’ve been success for us. That’s what we discussed. We knew that we had a lot of growing to do. Those were the expectations, to compete and to grow and be near to the playoffs, somehow. Because that’s how you grow the most. There was no mistake about it, that was the expectation.

Question: Are you considering front office or coaching changes?

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Gores: The thing that probably can’t be seen right now is that we cleaned a lot of stuff up with our player contracts in the last few years. One of the things that’s been on my mind that’s important for the fans to hear, and I actually talked to the players about this the other day, within all the losses here, what we still have is a very good future. Number 1, we have an amazing set of young players. High-character, high talent. This set of players, and I know them individually and I saw them the other day, we’re in a great spot with our young talent. I think seven or eight players are under 22, so they’re young. But Number 1, we have an amazing set of young players. Number 2, we have set ourselves up in the way our contracts are flexible. We had all these contracts that saddled us, we couldn’t be nimble. We are also set up with a lot of cap space, and you know I’m willing to do whatever it takes for this organization to be successful. As much as the vision feels blurry, to me it’s the same feel I had at the beginning of the season of a bright future. I still have that.

We have an incredible city still backing us, and I understand some of them are mad at me, I understand that. I get it, I don’t blame them, but still, it’s a great city with enthusiastic, caring fans. We’re connected to the community. All of the dots there are ready to be connected. We’re just not winning.

Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores watches during the first half against the Chicago Bulls at Little Caesars Arena, Oct. 28, 2023.
Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores watches during the first half against the Chicago Bulls at Little Caesars Arena, Oct. 28, 2023.

Question: Given that there won’t be changes right now, what gives you confidence in this front office, in Troy and what gives you confidence in this coaching staff that makes you believe that this group can get this team out of the rut and turn things around?

Gores: Firstly, I didn’t say there wouldn’t be any changes, you should make sure you don’t hold me to that. We require change. We’re not doing well. As far as where we’re going in getting this set of players and flexibility and all that stuff, I think that stuff and the work to get there is still there. But we have to assess what’s not working here. I’m down to Monty and I talking about rotations. I don’t normally do that. And Monty’s so good, he knows what he’s doing and he’s open to talking about it. We’re down to, how do we fix things? We do have to change something. I can’t tell you exactly what it is, we’re diving in pretty hard. We’re probably two weeks ahead of you guys, the fans, in that our disappointment is catching up with us too. We expected a lot more. But we have to be real in that there are some things that haven’t been working with the makeup of the team and we have to address that.

There’s a lot of accountability that has to be held. There might be additions to staff, but what’s for sure is change is coming. We are not right, right now. We have to either add, delete. We’ll be on it, and we are on it already. We will make changes. We will make them. We haven’t handled exactly what they’ll be yet.

Question: Who shoulders the most blame?

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Gores: It has to be me. I was very optimistic at the beginning of the season. Maybe I missed something in the combinations. If you want to shoulder it on any one, I’d say it’s me and Troy. We made these decisions. What you don't see right now, and the fans don’t see, is the cleaning up of everything. We’re in the most flexible time of our life here, at least in my ownership of the Pistons. But as far as how we’re not performing, I think it has to go on Troy and I. And it starts there. Maybe we underestimated that we need more bench power, I don’t know. We underestimated something. We have seven, eight players 22 and under. That is the makeup of our roster. Maybe we’ve gotta have some plain veterans. But shouldering it, it can’t be Monty. Monty’s been here 20-something games. You can say hey, maybe he could’ve done this rotation, that rotation, it gets you a few more wins. And Monty judges himself every single day. It just wouldn’t be right.

Question: For the front office, if there aren’t moves made between today and the trade deadline, does that hinder how you look at him moving forward beyond this season?

Gores: We have to regroup at the end of the season, we’re already doing it now, but "what happened." We have to do that. I am expecting change. I do expect Troy to come up with change. Because staying exactly the same, I don’t think anyone can be here and say that in any genuine way that change is not required. I expect Troy to find ways to get the makeup of our team and getting us more successful. I do expect him to find ways, and he knows that. And if we did nothing to improve ourselves, I’m going to be disappointed. I’m going to be disappointed. And I think Troy knows. He knows that.

Question: There's a perception that there a lot of voices in the organization. Does there need to be a one-voice mentality, and not necessarily, should we say, agendas in the building?

(From left) Pistons general manager Troy Weaver, owner Tom Gores and coach Monty Williams pose for a photo during a news conference to introduce Williams as the new head coach at the Pistons Performance Center in Detroit on Tuesday, June 13, 2023.
(From left) Pistons general manager Troy Weaver, owner Tom Gores and coach Monty Williams pose for a photo during a news conference to introduce Williams as the new head coach at the Pistons Performance Center in Detroit on Tuesday, June 13, 2023.

Gores: I don’t think so. The voice, it’s Troy and I. We have a lot of people who are good assets and good advisors, and we have been focused on what we call the rebuild. We’ve cleaned all that up in terms of contracts and these young players. It’s really been Troy and I. There’s a lot of people who might want to go in a different direction, but the voice of it all are Troy and I. We’re accountable for where we’re at.

It is an aligned vision and I also understand that vision’s gotta be adjusted. And I think Troy does too. I don’t doubt that he knows that. I don’t know if that answered it, but just like in any company or any situation you can hear everybody and you can listen to them, but that’s just advice. And then you make decisions. And Troy and I are making the decisions. Doesn't mean we may not shift in certain directions, but we’re making these decisions.

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

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tom Gores promises changes amid Detroit Pistons' historic losing skid