Game 75: Pistons (34-40) vs Wizards (41-33) - 7:00 PM EST

[DCintheD]

Man the offense flows a lot better without Blake Griffin in there.

If you take out Griffin, add in a significantly younger stretch 4 who can average 18-20 ppg, and throw in a first round draft pick at the end of the season for good measure our situation would be a lot better. Still wouldn't be good or anything, but there'd be a lot more hope for the future.

But a man can only dream, amirite?

you just made a grown man cry

[ImHeisenberg]

Man the offense flows a lot better without Blake Griffin in there.

If you take out Griffin, add in a significantly younger stretch 4 who can average 18-20 ppg, and throw in a first round draft pick at the end of the season for good measure our situation would be a lot better. Still wouldn't be good or anything, but there'd be a lot more hope for the future.

But a man can only dream, amirite?

Yeah, imagine this team with guys like Tobias Harris at the 4 and Donovan Mitchell at the 2.

Nah, we could never get ahold of talented guys like that.

[ImHeisenberg]

SVG's job looking more secure with every win

That's the worst thing about this "winning" over bad teams.

[Snakebites]

SVG's job looking more secure with every win

That's the worst thing about this "winning" over bad teams.

I’m not yet convinced much matters in that regard.

Gores wants playoffs. Blake hasn’t gotten us there. I don’t know that meaningless wins make SVG’s job safer.

[ImHeisenberg]

SVG's job looking more secure with every win

That's the worst thing about this "winning" over bad teams.

I’m not yet convinced much matters in that regard.

Gores wants playoffs. Blake hasn’t gotten us there. I don’t know that meaningless wins make SVG’s job safer.

Your guess is as good as anyone's. Matt Derry of Detroit sports radio fame, said it best in regards to the Pistons- "sometimes the fish rots from the head." Citing Gores as a completely disengaged owner, having odd relationships with the players that created a power struggle between him and SVG, and his generally abhorrent and irrational decision making for the franchise.

[Crymson]

Your guess is as good as anyone's. Matt Derry of Detroit sports radio fame, said it best in regards to the Pistons- "sometimes the fish rots from the head." Citing Gores as a completely disengaged owner, having odd relationships with the players that created a power struggle between him and SVG, and his generally abhorrent and irrational decision making for the franchise.

I don't know anything about a power struggle, but he has most certainly interfered in the worst sort of way. He seems to think that a popular team can be created by means of cutting corners and taking shortcuts. The actions he's taken along these lines have been disastrous, the Griffin trade in particular; given that it made absolutely no basketball sense AND went in contrast to everything Van Gundy seems to believe about team construction, I'm almost certain that Gores was behind it. The Pistons were, by all accounts, all-in on getting a big name at the deadline. That reeks of a wholly misguided "get me a star so that I can sell tickets!" mentality. Gores's tweet on the matter all but confirms that:

Read on Twitter

It bears a striking resemblance to Mikhail Prokhorov's own words after the infamous Nets trade of 2013, itself made at the foolish instigation of another meddling owner.

Therein lies something that a lot of Pistons fans seem to miss about Griffin's presence on this team. They believe that because the Pistons made this trade, it must have been made for basketball reasons and make basketball sense. But it wasn't, and it doesn't. It was all about a misguided, meddling owner wanting to sell tickets. It made zero basketball sense.

[buzzkilloton]

Yeah thing is I imagine SVG takes the trade ideas to the owner. It's not like Gore's is Fielding calls and debating who goes etc. If SVG was adamantly against it I don't think it's made. He could say the offer is absurd etc its not like Gore's is a Cuban style hands on owner here.

SVG was aware he was on the hot seat, u could tell he was thrilled to get Blake at first. Obv Gore's gores gives the ok but I don't believe for a second that SVG didn't want Blake.The smile on his face the first day he got Blake and body language told u how happy he was.

[ImHeisenberg]

Spoiler:

The Pistons were, by all accounts, all-in on getting a big name at the deadline. That reeks of a wholly misguided "get me a star so that I can sell tickets!" mentality. Gores's tweet on the matter all but confirms that:

Read on Twitter

It bears a striking resemblance to Mikhail Prokhorov's own words after the infamous Nets trade of 2013, itself made at the foolish instigation of another meddling owner.

Therein lies something that a lot of Pistons fans seem to miss about Griffin's presence on this team. They believe that because the Pistons made this trade, it must have been made for basketball reasons and make basketball sense. But it wasn't, and it doesn't. It was all about a misguided, meddling owner wanting to sell tickets. It made zero basketball sense.

I wholly agree with you. Blake's skill set is the antithesis of the type of offense and roster makeup SVG has historically desired in Orlando and Detroit. You see an empty arena that's becoming a running joke, and an impatient owner who demands results every season, even when all evidence points in the other direction.

SVG has made A LOT of mistakes in Detroit, but I won't hang the terrible Blake trade on him.

[ImHeisenberg]

Yeah thing is I imagine SVG takes the trade ideas to the owner. It's not like Gore's is Fielding calls and debating who goes etc. If SVG was adamantly against it I don't think it's made. He could say the offer is absurd etc its not like Gore's is a Cuban style hands on owner here.

SVG was aware he was on the hot seat, u could tell he was thrilled to get Blake at first. Obv Gore's gores gives the ok but I don't believe for a second that SVG didn't want Blake.The smile on his face the first day he got Blake and body language told u how happy he was.

That's certainly a credible possibility. The way Marc Stein put it, Arn Tellum was in the driver's seat for the deal on the Pistons end. Take that for whatever credit Stein has with you.

[buzzkilloton]

Yeah thing is I imagine SVG takes the trade ideas to the owner. It's not like Gore's is Fielding calls and debating who goes etc. If SVG was adamantly against it I don't think it's made. He could say the offer is absurd etc its not like Gore's is a Cuban style hands on owner here.

SVG was aware he was on the hot seat, u could tell he was thrilled to get Blake at first. Obv Gore's gores gives the ok but I don't believe for a second that SVG didn't want Blake.The smile on his face the first day he got Blake and body language told u how happy he was.

That's certainly a credible possibility. The way Marc Stein put it, Arn Tellum was in the driver's seat for the deal on the Pistons end. Take that for whatever credit Stein has with you.

If thats the case and it went down that way then theirs literally no way SVG isnt canned by the end of the year or stepping down. His ego is way to big and his wallet is already to fat to let them just completely go over his head with a Blake trade he didnt want to agree with. He also has a big mouth so if it did go down that way were going to hear about it.

Like I said though my read with SVG's body language coaching and interviews when he got Blake was he was thrilled. Didnt seem like he didnt want the guy to go me.