Nearly 15 years after purchasing a majority stake in the Pistons, Tom Gores won his first playoff series as team owner this postseason. With the Pistons experiencing a rebirth of the team’s brand in Detroit and coming off a Game 7 victory with the second highest attendance in Little Caesars Arena history with over 20,000 fans, the question now is how far this version of the franchise can go.
Gores sat down with SBJ to chat about the franchise’s comeback, the evolution of the Pistons’ brand and what he believes this run -- led by GM Trajan Langdon, coach J.B. Bickerstaff, President of Business Operations Melanie Harris and All-Star G Cade Cunningham -- says about the future. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: What did you tell the team going into this season, coming off last year’s playoff berth?
Gores: The message was that there are no limits. I’m a kid from Flint, and I’ve seen how people try to put limits on you. I told them we weren’t going to do that here. No excuses, no ceilings and no complacency just because we’d made the playoffs. Both summers we had team dinners at my house and talked very directly about what success looks like and how we’re going to get there. I shared some of my business experiences because the players are curious about that, and it gives them a different lens on what it takes. From there, it’s been about culture. J.B. has done a tremendous job making this a cohesive, unselfish group -- starting with Cade. I can give all the speeches I want, but he has to coach it and the players have to feel it.
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Q: You’ve said you really get to know people in times of pain. What did you learn about this group, players, coaches and maybe even the front office, during the stretch when you were down 3-1?
Gores: You learn a lot about people when their back is against the wall and our group never blinked. They never quit. They never panicked. They never lost faith. They kept believing in themselves and each other. That’s the kind of character this organization has and it’s a reflection of the culture we’ve built, from top to bottom across basketball and business. I’m so proud of the way they kept fighting, refusing to let this great season end. The comeback was hard, but I also think the experience made us better. It showed what we’re capable of and now our group really knows what it takes. I’m excited about the next series. We have to come out with that same sense of urgency every night.
Q: What feels different inside the organization now compared with two years ago?
Gores: The biggest difference is alignment. Two years ago, different parts of the organization weren’t always pulling in the same direction. Now the front office, the floor and the business side are really connected, and that creates real momentum. I’m naturally someone who worries about what can go wrong, but what excites me about this group is the sustainability. This doesn’t feel like a couple of lucky years. We’ve built a core that’s here to last.
Q: Where do you see the Pistons’ brand relative to the rest of the league now?
Gores: We’re in great shape. To me, brand is about walking the talk, and right now we’re actually living the things we say we care about -- excellence, grit, all of it. We’re a storied franchise, which is a big advantage, but we’ve also made a lot of progress in how we present ourselves and connect with people. With the momentum we have, I couldn’t be happier with where the Pistons brand sits and the position we’re in to keep building on it.
Q: How do you reflect on when you weren’t winning and things didn’t look as promising as they do now?
Gores: You’ve got to go through some pain to get somewhere. Looking back, I’m proud and grateful for where we are, but those years remind me that you win by doing the basic work over and over. In this turnaround, that meant being demanding in the searches -- interviewing everybody, asking every candidate for a work product, really pushing to see if they were made for it. With Trajan, for example, I met with him six or seven times for hours. When I finally decided, I called him late at night and said, “We’re going to go through some hard times. Do you have the stomach for it?” He said yes. I told him to text me his top 20 action items in the morning, and he did. From there, he’s done a great job recruiting the right people and getting our front office in tremendous shape. When I reflect on those years, it’s all those little things, the boring, basic work, that made the difference.
Q: You’ve been the owner since 2011. Over those nearly 15 years, what has worked and what hasn’t on the business side?
Gores: On the business side, the biggest change has been the caliber of people we’ve brought in to run it. We’ve always tried to get excellence to Detroit with coaches, executives, everybody and I’d give us an A for effort, even if we didn’t always get it right. Where we fell short was communicating how committed we were to the community. We were all‑in on Detroit, but when the on‑court product was bad, that didn’t always come across, and people wondered if I might move or sell the team. The lesson for me is you never stop trying. If something doesn’t work, you adjust and keep going, because at the end of the day fans care about both: what you do in the community, and whether you win.
Q: What’s next for you and for the Pistons, broadly?
Gores: On the floor, we’ve got a group that’s having success and believes in itself. Organizationally, I feel like we’re built to last. The leadership is in place with Trajan, J.B. and Melanie, and I don’t know if you’ll find many franchises in a better position than we are right now. For us, it goes back to the same idea: no limits. That’s how I see the future for this group.
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