Detroit Pistons

Stan Van Gundy's Identity Crisis In Detroit

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:15 p.m. ET

Fansided, Simon Smith/FanSided via Hoops Habit

Now in the midst of his third season in the Motor City, Stan Van Gundy is in unfamiliar territory with his Detroit Pistons.

Nov 9, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy in the fourth quarter against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

In his days in charge of the Orlando Magic, Stan Van Gundy was seen as setting the trend for what is now common place throughout the NBA. His Magic teams were perennially among the league leaders in three-point shooting, both in volume and accuracy. This strategy, combined with having superstar Dwight Howard down low, propelled the Magic to the Finals in 2009.

So it was met with much anticipation and excitement when Van Gundy agreed to terms with the Pistons in 2014. The caveat this time was that he was in charge of the franchise both on and off the court. Named the teams’ president of basketball operations as well as being the head coach, this didn’t just bring additional dollars for Van Gundy; it brought additional responsibility.

With the new title under his belt, Van Gundy was given total autonomy to shape the team as he saw fit. And as can be seen, the current team is unrecognizable from the one he inherited when appointed. Now in his third season in Detroit, it’d be reasonable to expect that the Pistons would be resembling the kind of team he envisioned.

But thus far this season, things haven’t gone as planned.

Jan 4, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy bites on a pen cap before the game against the Orlando Magic at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons win 115-89. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Contrasting Numbers

The 2009-10 season was the last time Van Gundy led the Magic deep into the playoff race. A 59-33 regular season preceded an eventual loss in the Eastern Conference Finals to the veteran-laden Boston Celtics. Most synonymous with Van Gundy’s best Magic team was its distinct inside-outside style of play.

With Howard dominant beneath the rim, combined with a plethora of perimeter shooting, the Magic transformed the way the game was played. Among the most significant numbers from that season are the following:

The disparity in these numbers to the Pistons’ this season is staggering. Van Gundy was ahead of the curve with the style he utilized in Orlando to great effect.

Of course, the personnel he had at his disposal made this style possible and successful. And with the added responsibility of personnel decisions, moulding his team to his liking was a huge attraction in Van Gundy landing in Detroit.

Feb 27, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy talks to his team during overtime against the New York Knicks at The Palace of Auburn Hills. New York won 121-115. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Taking The Reins

Van Gundy took over from a Pistons team that compiled a 29-53 record the previous season. From the team that took the floor on the opening night of Van Gundy’s tenure, only center Andre Drummond remains from the starting lineup. The first significant move made by Van Gundy was the release of forward Josh Smith via the stretch provision. The details of this move can be found here.

The move was very bold as Smith still had two years and $26 million remaining on his contract. But with a frontcourt consisting of Drummond, Smith and Greg Monroe, there were simply too many big bodies for this to work. The team responded extremely well following the decision, winning 12 of their first 15 games without Smith.

The first major trade was made just a couple of months later with the acquisition of point guard Reggie Jackson. Jackson wanted out of Oklahoma City and Van Gundy pounced on the chance to acquire his services. The following offseason, Van Gundy signed Jackson to a five-year, $80 million contract.

On top of releasing Smith, Van Gundy also let Monroe walk as a free-agent in the summer of 2015. As an old-school low-post performer playing alongside Drummond’s inside presence, this completely contradicted the style that Van Gundy wished to implement. In anticipation of Monroe’s departure, Van Gundy made a separate move to acquire a perimeter-orientated power forward in Ersan Ilyasova.

Van Gundy rounded out a busy offseason with the acquisition of small forward Marcus Morris from the Phoenix Suns. This was another opportune move by Van Gundy, with the Suns’ pursuit of LaMarcus Aldridge resulting in them ridding themselves of Morris, essentially as a salary dump.

Second Season

Van Gundy now entered his second season in charge with a team more closely resembling the one he desired. Despite having won just games in his debut season, the team responded following the early season upheaval involving the Smith departure. But sitting at 27-27, Van Gundy was still not satisfied. He packaged the aforementioned Ilyasova and backup point guard Brandon Jennings to the Orlando Magic in exchange for forward Tobias Harris.

Following this move, the Pistons ended the season with a 44-38 record, only to be swept in the first round of the playoffs by the eventual NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite the sweep, the expectations were that the team were ready to take the next step the following season.

Nov 3, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy reacts during the third quarter against the Indiana Pacers at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Indiana 94-82. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Below Expectations

The starting lineup for the majority of the season has been the following:

As detailed earlier, Jackson, Morris and Harris have been acquired via trade since Van Gundy took control. Caldwell-Pope and Drummond were drafted prior to his arrival.

The Pistons are currently 18-24 and placed 11th in the Eastern Conference standings. It has been an incredibly inconsistent season, featuring some impressive wins but also some horrendous losses. The Pistons have now lost 12 of their past 17 games. During their last two games, the Pistons have lost by a combined 53 points on the road against the Golden State Warriors and the Utah Jazz.

After their latest loss to the Jazz, an exasperated Van Gundy noted:

“We can’t stop anybody, we just can’t. For the first 21 games we were the second-best defensive team in the league and now we are one of the worst. I am frustrated not with our players, I am frustrated with myself that I can’t figure this out. We literally can’t stop anyone ever.”

In what is quite a contrast to his days with the Magic, here are some important numbers for Van Gundy’s Pistons this season:

Next: What's Their Identity?

Nov 21, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy yells out against the Houston Rockets during the fourth quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Rockets won 99-96. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Identity Crisis

Van Gundy can harp on all he wants about the teams’ recent struggles on the defensive end. For the season, it’s the offensive end that is clearly killing them.

As both the head coach and president and basketball operations, Van Gundy has had the final say on the players currently on Detroit’s roster. And it is clear from the overall content of the roster that he’s been trying to emulate what he had at his disposal in Orlando. But at this stage it looks as though he’s completely chosen the wrong players.

During the 2009-10 season, Van Gundy had some of the elite three-point shooters in the league at his disposal. Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter had proven track records, whilst J.J. Redick and Ryan Anderson were coming into their own as outside marksmen. Throw in Mickael Pietrus and Jameer Nelson and his Magic teams were primed surrounding superstar center Dwight Howard.

This contrasts vastly to the current season. Van Gundy certainly has players capable of hitting from deep, but none you could class as an outright sharpshooter. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has impressed this season hitting at 40.4 percent from behind three, but the remaining threats have proven to be fairly mediocre.

Furthermore, it’s been the combination of a lack of both volume and accuracy that has let Detroit down. As touched on earlier, Orlando led the league in three-point attempts in 2009-10 with 27.3 per game. This years’ Pistons are attempting just 22.8 per game this season, a mile behind the 39.9 per game attempted by the league leading Houston Rockets.

Van Gundy made yet another move this offseason to shore up his perimeter shooting with the addition of Jon Leuer. Whilst Leuer has proven to be a stretch-4, he has never been a volume three-point shooter. And this season, his return has been just 31.9 percent on 2.5 attempts from behind three.

Whilst Leuer is by all means a solid player, it appears this could be yet another player who seemingly doesn’t fit the Van Gundy blueprint.

Dec 2, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy talks to guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) during the game against the Phoenix Suns at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Detroit won 127-122 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

The Road Ahead

From the outside looking in, it would appear Van Gundy is attempting to mold an Orlando 2.0. He has a dominant big man presence in the middle in Drummond. He has an exciting point guard running the show in Jackson and a group of versatile forwards who have the ability to score in a variety of ways.

In Van Gundy’s defense, some of the moves he has made have been quite shrewd. Jackson, Morris and Harris were all acquired without giving up a great deal to the other party. And while they’re all good players in their own right, the fit just doesn’t seem to be working.

Morris is hitting on just 32.6 percent from behind three, Harris is at 34.3 percent and Jackson is at 36.5 percent. Having acquired several key players via trade, it meant Van Gundy in his front office role had less cap room to work with unless further moves were made. The four-year, $42 million deal afforded to Leuer last summer resulted in the Pistons having the sixth highest payroll for the current season.

As we have seen this season, players were available this past summer who have made a significant difference on their new teams. The Rockets’ signing of Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson, combined with a new coach in Mike D’Antoni, have transformed the Rockets. Gordon and Anderson are shooting 40.9 and 40.1 percent from behind three respectively on a combined 16.1 attempts per game. The Pistons are averaging 22.8 attempts per game as a TEAM.

Mid-Range

The problem with this is the Pistons’ are taking a higher volume of shots from less efficient areas of the court. Here is an example of where they have focused their offense (and their league ranking):

The high volume of shooting from these areas is indicative of the strengths of their leading scorers. Therefore, it’s not the fault of the players for this high volume. It’s Van Gundy and his recruitment of the wrong type of player to suit the modern-day NBA.

During his Orlando days, Van Gundy was regarded in the upper echelon of head coaches. But combining the demands of being an NBA head coach with front office duties can certainly reduce the impact he can provide on his players on a daily basis.

And not just that, but the decision making required to bring in the right type of player can also be compromised. The Rockets have one of the best in the business with their general manager Daryl Morey. And we have seen what he has accomplished in recent seasons.

Therefore, it’d best for all involved for Van Gundy to concentrate of what he does best – coaching. Leave it to the rest of the front office and the scouts to determine the players they’re going to target moving forward.

And hopefully from there the Pistons can be more reflective of what a Van Gundy outfit looks like.