New owner plus new coach means Pistons are out of old excuses

The operative word around the Palace is relief. They're breathing easier in Auburn Hills because after three years of uncertainty and instability, there's no longer an owner detached from the necessary daily maintenance of an NBA franchise.

Tom Gores might succeed. He might fail.

But at least he's engaged in every detail of making the entire Pistons product a more enjoyable customer experience. The early reviews are favorable. There are cosmetic changes at the Palace. Platinum Equity put almost $10 million into facility upgrades. There will be changes in the game-day presentation. It appears they've finally - and thankfully - abandoned the blast fires and annoying sonic booms during the player introductions.

It's a different kind of "Goin' To Work," the long time Pistons marketing mantra that was in dire need of a face-lift.

"Work In Progress" would be a more appropriate slogan.

It'll take time getting the Pistons back to where they were four years ago, when the Palace stayed packed on most nights. The public was turned off by an aging playoff contender and a disastrous ownership transition that left the Pistons in limbo. When anger subsided, it was replaced with something even more dangerous - apathy.

This was the worst possible year for an NBA lockout as far as the Pistons were concerned. Not many people missed them - not with the Tigers just missing the World Series, the Lions clinching their first playoff appearance of the millennium, Michigan State and Michigan enjoying comparable success in both football and basketball and, of course, the Red Wings being . . . the Red Wings.

"The biggest story for us for this year was getting a new owner," Ben Gordon said. "That might not excite a lot of people because you might not immediately see the results on the floor like you wanted. But we keep talking about having a clean slate and starting fresh. That's what getting new ownership and seeing how excited he is about getting started is like. It's a fresh start."

At some point blaming the overmatched head coach is no longer an acceptable excuse for poor execution on the floor and equally poor attitude off it. The Pistons are there now.

Charlie Villaneuva told reporters recently that former head coach John Kuester either didn't know how to or didn't care to use him properly, strictly using the 6-foot-11 forward as a perimeter three-point launcher.

Gordon rendered his first two years here an unbearable nightmare from which he's finally - and happily - awakened, adding that he didn't think anybody was used to his respective strengths the last two years.

That's not inaccurate, but if they're serious about a "fresh start," they must start holding themselves more accountable for performance struggles rather than simply dumping on Kuester's head coaching legacy here.

This isn't Lawrence Frank's first NBA head coaching circus. He isn't a novice like his two immediate predecessors: Kuester and Michael Curry. He enjoyed success in New Jersey. And though everybody's already had more than their fill of Piston player lip service the last four years - and three previous head coaches - there does appear more genuine appreciation for Frank's knowledge and his ability to best communicate that knowledge.

Players aren't stupid. They knew that Kuester was hired two summers ago because then-owner Karen Davidson didn't want to invest big money in an experienced head coach with the franchise on the selling block. That instability only made a poisonous environment even more toxic .

A new owner won't immediately translate into more victories, but at least the Pistons can now move forward.

Source: http://www.islandpacket.com/2011/12/25/1907307/new-owner-plus-new-coach-means.html

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