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The Tom Gores Appreciation Thread
Posted: Sat Jun 6, 2015 1:05 am
by ElectricMayhem
Tom Gores. If you would recall, it was approximately a year ago that the general sentiment on him was vastly different. He kept Joe Dumars around so he's a dunce who doesn't know how to operate a basketball team. He cheered passionately for his team in a preseason game which means he knows nothing about the game. He didn't use the amnesty clause because he's a money-hugging cheapskate. A substantial portion of our board disliked him and a few posters had almost a comical hatred of him. It was absurd then and looks even more absurd in retrospect.
Letting Joe Dumars remain at the helm for a few years: This was absolutely the right move. Under normal ownership circumstances, Dumars put together the pieces to create a championship team. It was not only fair, but prudent for Gores to return those conditions to Dumars and see what he could do. Dumars failed to show he could repeat the act and stumbled again over signings and coaching hires, so he was fired at the appropriate time.
Gores spent for a coach that we pretty much all thought was out of our league. Lots of outsiders questioned the money we gave SVG. They were probably even angry about it as it was Gores who redefined the salary that coaches expect nowadays. They also questioned the power we gave him, but it was necessary. Gores was willing to spend more to get this team back into contention.
Josh Smith. This move, once and for all, shattered any illusions that Tom Gores is a cheapskate. It's like he bought the most expensive video game system (a neo geo?) for his kid, along with all the games and accessories, the kid starts getting terrible grades, and he makes a youtube video where he hammers it in front of the crying kid. Then he goes out and spends even more money on educational software.
Arn Tellem. Who knows how much this is costing him? Whether this ends of filtering over to basketball decisions or not, he brought a brilliant mind over at a high cost. Tellem mentioned in the SI article that Gores is the one who came to him with the offer. This is outside-the-box thinking and a move that takes balls to do. Gores is like the guy who continues to tries to date girls out of his league and yet somehow finds a way to get them.
Tom Gores is one of the top owners in the league. He may or may not ever end up delivering more championships to Detroit, but it won't be for a lack of investment or innovative thinking. He's taken the right steps in building a winner.
Finally, Tom Gores has one pose. He knows its a killer pose, so he does it whenever a camera is trained on him. It's his 'Look, I don't really know how to be casual, but I'll prop my elbows upon my knees and stare into the camera like I'm John Stamos' pose. And it's boss.
Re: The Tom Gores Appreciation Thread
Posted: Sat Jun 6, 2015 1:15 am
by DETermination
Thank you Gores!
Re: The Tom Gores Appreciation Thread
Posted: Sat Jun 6, 2015 3:37 am
by kurtis48239
As owners go,especialy new ones,iam happy with him.It took him a minute to relize it wasant going to be as easy as he thought,but he did man up in the end and didnt waste more time going the cheap route,he relizes its going to take money,having a legit coach,and making decisions that might hurt now,but in the long run help wayyy more.Gores has done hes part for now,its time for stan to prove he was worth his contract and prove he can put a good team on the floor that can win,all the preasure is on him now.
Re: Re: The Tom Gores Appreciation Thread
Posted: Sat Jun 6, 2015 12:09 pm
by Pharaoh
kurtis48239 wrote:As owners go,especialy new ones,iam happy with him.It took him a minute to relize it wasant going to be as easy as he thought,but he did man up in the end and didnt waste more time going the cheap route,he relizes its going to take money,having a legit coach,and making decisions that might hurt now,but in the long run help wayyy more.Gores has done hes part for now,its time for stan to prove he was worth his contract and prove he can put a good team on the floor that can win,all the preasure is on him now.
SVG proved that last season despite the roster turnover!
A lesser leader would have struggled to adjust time and time again but SVG took the pieces available to him (after removing Smith) & conjured up some damn fine basketball.
THAT is what he gets paid for!
Any clown can win with enough studs. The measure of a real coach is how they adjust when they don't have their best players.
No BJ? No problem.
No Monroe? No problem!
One could argue those 2 were THE top 2 pieces offensively when SVG was hired - we kept on trucking
Re: The Tom Gores Appreciation Thread
Posted: Sat Jun 6, 2015 2:12 pm
by ImHeisenberg
I had a dramatically different opinion of him 15 months ago. Hiring SVG has been a masterstroke thus far.
Re: The Tom Gores Appreciation Thread
Posted: Sat Jun 6, 2015 3:29 pm
by whitehops
teams that sustain long-term success are the ones that have good management from top to bottom. making SVG coach and president was a brilliant (albeit risky) move, and hiring tellem shows innovation.
this all starts with gores and being willing to pay the price to get some of the best basketball minds (SVG on the basketball side, tellem on the business side) in his organization. it's already started to trickle down, as bower has done a good job as GM (SVG credited him with the trade for reggie Jackson) after doing a good job in New Orleans.
i think the future is very positive, and Gores' should get a chunk of credit for bringing in the right people and 'not getting in their way'. it might sound silly to credit someone for doing that but an important part of managing people is trusting them to do the job.
Re: The Tom Gores Appreciation Thread
Posted: Sat Jun 6, 2015 5:58 pm
by MrBigShot
I appreciate Tom Gores for being a passionate owner. He may not be be as basketball-savvy as Mark Cuban, but he's smart enough to know if he surrounds himself with proven people (like Stan) he can succeed.
Re: Re: The Tom Gores Appreciation Thread
Posted: Sat Jun 6, 2015 9:45 pm
by kurtis48239
Pharaoh wrote:kurtis48239 wrote:As owners go,especialy new ones,iam happy with him.It took him a minute to relize it wasant going to be as easy as he thought,but he did man up in the end and didnt waste more time going the cheap route,he relizes its going to take money,having a legit coach,and making decisions that might hurt now,but in the long run help wayyy more.Gores has done hes part for now,its time for stan to prove he was worth his contract and prove he can put a good team on the floor that can win,all the preasure is on him now.
SVG proved that last season despite the roster turnover!
A lesser leader would have struggled to adjust time and time again but SVG took the pieces available to him (after removing Smith) & conjured up some damn fine basketball.
THAT is what he gets paid for!
Any clown can win with enough studs. The measure of a real coach is how they adjust when they don't have their best players.
No BJ? No problem.
No Monroe? No problem!
One could argue those 2 were THE top 2 pieces offensively when SVG was hired - we kept on trucking
Stan still has a ways to go,he needs to build this team into at least playoff contenders.I thought it was obvious ,but iam not faulting anything he has done so far,its whats hes about to do that will define him.
Re: The Tom Gores Appreciation Thread
Posted: Sat Jun 6, 2015 9:47 pm
by Snakebites
I was singing this song when he amnestied Josh Smith.
I'm not sure if its that we were always wrong about the guy, I actually think its more that it took him some time to get to understand the business of the NBA, and that he's grown a lot as a leader of the organization.
He kept Dumars because he didn't understand how much the league has changed and how significant his losing streak in terms of moves and hires really was, and wasn't familiar enough with the situation to confidently make his own move and put his mark on the team. He didn't use the amnesty clause because he didn't understand just how valuable first rounders are relative to cold hard cash. Etc. Etc. All of that is understandable. He wasn't a basketball guy.
Those who said he didn't get it at the beginning were right. Luckily for us he's adapted and learned, and been willing to re-evaluate previous decisions.
Re: The Tom Gores Appreciation Thread
Posted: Sun Jun 7, 2015 5:04 am
by mercury
Ok I'm on board the Gores train...
"Arn knows the Ilitches," Gores said Friday night in a telephone interview with the Free Press. "We have great respect for the Ilitches, and one of the first conversations we'll have — and have Arn coordinate — will be with the Ilitches on what they're thinking. ... Whatever form that takes, we just think partnering with the Ilitches to help Detroit is just a positive thing."
Asked about playing games downtown, Gores replied, "Not discussed (yet), but we're certainly not against it. I think we have to be open to anything. Our big picture is how do we help Detroit and the state of Michigan."
Re: The Tom Gores Appreciation Thread
Posted: Sun Jun 7, 2015 9:05 pm
by Laimbeer
He cost us a first round pick in 2014 because he was too cheap to pay Gordon (could have been amnestied). Keeping Joe around on a "make the playoffs or else" edict was a mistake. He should have had his full confidence or been let go. Joe made mistakes as a result (Smith, Jennings for Middleton & Knight).
Those things are offset by SVG, I suppose. It's been a mixed bag.
Re: The Tom Gores Appreciation Thread
Posted: Sun Jun 7, 2015 9:39 pm
by hoophabit
Laimbeer wrote:He cost us a first round pick in 2014 because he was too cheap to pay Gordon (could have been amnestied). Keeping Joe around on a "make the playoffs or else" edict was a mistake. He should have had his full confidence or been let go. Joe made mistakes as a result (Smith, Jennings for Middleton & Knight).
Those things are offset by SVG, I suppose. It's been a mixed bag.
Gospel, every word. I remain undecided about him as an owner, but I remain hopeful. I've come to think he's sincere, and not just looking to flip the team for a profit. Need more time to draw conclusions about whether he's a great owner, but thinking he's sincere is an endorsement to some degree.
Re: The Tom Gores Appreciation Thread
Posted: Sun Jun 7, 2015 11:23 pm
by Blkbrd671
i am hoping that the Pistons make wigs of Gores hair and pass them out to fans.
Re: The Tom Gores Appreciation Thread
Posted: Mon Jun 8, 2015 3:51 pm
by Kilo
Gores launches "Project Big Math" with hiring of Tellem last week, who's first task will be to study the economics/viability of moving Pistons downtown Detroit - most likely into new Red Wing arena. Palace would still stay open, but would be a special event, concert venue only. I'd guess that part of the move downtown with the Ilitches would be if Olympia would pass on concert/events at their new Arena - allow all those to go out to The Palace in return for the Pistons providing the new Arena a guaranteed 41 dates a year (plus playoffs). Another much longer shot possibility mentioned is to move to current Wayne County half completed jail site and build a stand alone arena with Dan Gilbert - this would likely have to be completely privately financed and would also likely have Gilbert have to sell off the Cavs both of which are not bloody likely.
Project Big Math is not about the Pistons, but about the city and the State and is about working with Ilitches, Gilbert, Penske and all the big business movers and shakers in the city. Talked about in the News article here -
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports ... /28667419/Tom Gores: "It is a huge project. We are dealing with tons of history. We have to pull everybody together." (Photo: Paul Sancya, AP)
Blacks versus whites, city versus suburbs. Business leaders wouldn't cooperate. One of the biggest divides in sports featured former Pistons owner Davidson and current Red Wings and Tigers owner Mike Ilitch.
Now Gores wants to bridge the divide and work together with Gilbert and the Ilitch family.
"As the new guy on the block it is incumbent upon us to make that happen," Gores said. "We have spoken to the Ilitches and they have been very nice. They are quality people and there is more that Dan and I can do. It is incumbent for us to bring it all together. I do believe we can. Sometimes it helps to be the new kid on the block because there is less history. We can't be in the same house working against each other."
Gores wants Tellem to have a boots-on-the-ground mentality. He plans to meet with power brokers, community leaders and small business owners to get a lay of the land.
"There is so much detail and that is why, quite honestly, we need someone in charge of that," Gores said. "It is a huge project. We are dealing with tons of history. We have to pull everybody together. When you look at downtown, there is a jail in the middle of everything. There are things that don't make sense. Our focus with Arn is we want to dig in. We need to affect change and the only way we can do that is if we have somebody on the ground every day pounding their hands on the table. How are we going to make change? Arn is going to help us on the strategic side to pull all these things together."
Gores' Platinum partner Mark Barnhill said history could be made. No city in America has been as devastated as Detroit. There are huge plots of abandoned land and crumbling buildings. The right vision can turn this city around.
"This is an unprecedented opportunity," Barnhill said. "There is nowhere in history with an opportunity like this in this kind of urban area. We love a good turnaround story. That is what we do. Now that we are in the middle of this we see this as a great opportunity. Tom is a High Math kind of guy. He has the ability to see something bigger here and he has the opportunity to move in a massive scale to not just participate and turn around a company but to turn around a city and affect hundreds of thousands of lives. That is a high responsibility and high inspiration to be able to plunge into this."
Gores knows mistakes might be made. He might be criticized for certain things. But he is eager and willing to put both feet into this project.
"I could not live with myself if I did not do this," Gores said. "I want to deliver. I don't know when it is going to be good enough, but I want to deliver and one way to do that is to bring great people and ideas to the city. We can't do it alone. We have to bring people in that believe in Detroit. And I assure you that I won't let you down."
Re: The Tom Gores Appreciation Thread
Posted: Mon Jun 8, 2015 4:48 pm
by dVs33
I've always liked Gores.
I don't blame him for Dumars' mistakes. Dumars is a local hall of famer that had built a championship team as a GM and Gores isn't a basketball mind. Dumars did some stupid things and he was let go. Looking back he was there too long, but Gores I think Gores needed to keep Dumars when he first bought the team.
I don't think Gores refused to amnesty Gordon. I think Dumars was convinced the team was a playoff team and the pick we lost was going to be a late 1st rounder. Looking at the money gores has paid to SVG, to waive Smith, to renovate the Palace, to community services... he never seemed cheap to me. That's all speculation though.
