Now that Stan Van Gundy is no longer running the ship in Detroit, it sure looks like the Pistons themselves are going to go in a completely different direction following another disappointing season.
This apparently includes Detroit separating head coaching duties from that of general manager. Van Gundy himself struggled in juggling these two roles over the past four seasons. And those in charge want a new philosophy to lead the team to relevance.
According to this one report, that could include teaming former Cavaliers general manager David Griffin up with NBA legend Jerry Stackhouse.
Very preliminary, but David Griffin as GM and Jerry Stackhouse and Mike Budenholzer for coach are potential names to look at with the #Pistons.
— VinceEllis (@AlabamaScribe56) May 7, 2018
After spending almost eight full seasons with the Cavaliers, Griffin and the team “mutually” parted ways last year. It was a divorce that said more about owner Dan Gilbert than anyone else, Griffin included. He’s since received interest from multiple teams as a potential GM hire.
For his part, Stackhouse has been bandied about as a potential head coach for some time now. A two-time All-Star during his 19-year playing career, Stackhouse has been the Toronto Raptors’ G-League head coach since 2016. He played for the Pistons from 1997-2002.
Stackhouse is a widely respected basketball mind and has been for some time now. In fact, there’s a chance he’ll emerge as a candidate for the Raptors’ head coaching job should speculation of Dwane Casey’s ousting come to fruition.
Detroit finished this past regular season 39-43 record and out of the playoffs altogether. That came mere months after Van Gundy traded the farm for All-Star forward Blake Griffin. How this entire situation plays out will tell us a lot about the Pistons’ direction heading into the summer.