Stan Van Gundy must be wondering “what if?”
The former Detroit Pistons head coach revealed Monday his biggest disappointment about his firing as head coach is he never had the chance to work with Blake Griffin and the revamped roster for a full season. The Pistons acquired Griffin in January in a blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, but he played just 25 games and missed the last eight due to injury. His arrival didn’t propel Detroit into the NBA playoffs, and the Pistons parted ways with Van Gundy on Monday due to their lack of success.
Van Gundy told The Detroit News’ Rod Beard hours after his departure things might have been different if he was able to work with the new-look team for another season.
SVG: "I’m disappointed that I don’t get to go a full year and coach them with Blake and hopefully with better health. To me, that was the most disappointing thing from a coaching standpoint. I really wanted to see that group together and wanted the opportunity to coach them."
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) May 8, 2018
Van Gundy also said he understands why the team decided to let him go. The Pistons’ record during his four-year tenure was a 152-176, and their 2016 first-round elimination from the playoffs was their only postseason appearance under his leadership.
#Pistons SVG tells The Detroit News: "What it really comes down to is 37 wins and 39 wins and missing the playoffs twice. You can talk about a lot of other things, but if we’re in the playoffs, we’re not doing any of this and we’re moving on. We just didn’t win enough games."
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) May 8, 2018
The Griffin trade ultimately represents the Pistons’ last big gamble of the Van Gundy era. Having lost on their opening roll, the team decided against doubling down and duly changed course.
