Guardians of Grail

cheapbag214s · Posted: Fri 9:27, 29 Nov 2013 Post subject: via MLive.comI think both of them

Pistons owner says he expects playoffs next year; quiet on Dumars, Frank
It’s not hard to see some serious potential in Detroit — rookie Andre Drummond is the real deal and paired with Greg Monroe could form the best front line in basketball in a couple years. Add in some young backcourt guys like Brandon Knight and Kyle Singler who could have a role, and you’ve got the start of something.Pistons owner Tom Gores wants to go from the start closer to the finish line fast — he expects the Pistons to make the playoffs next season.Actually, he expected to make the playoffs this season and is disappointed, which means the jobs of GM Joe Dumars and coach Lawrence Frank are not safe. Here is his quote directly, via MLive.comI think both of them,[url=http://www.yubikeys.net/]true religion jeans outlet[/url], including ownership, has to be accountable for the year, Gores said. We have to be accountable for the results of this year.I expected to be in the playoffs. So I'm disappointed by that. When I said that last year, I meant it. I'm very excited about what we have going. We have a lot of room financially. In basketball operations,[url=http://www.kbcrussia.com/]true religion jeans outlet[/url], we've set ourselves up. So I'm very excited about the future. But I'm not content about how we performed this yearWe want to win a championship, we want to get into the playoffs, he said. We want to do all of those things. This is an extra important year. We are prepared to spend and we are prepared to do what we have to do to get this franchise forward. And make no mistake, we want to win.The Pistons only have $35 million on the books for next season (and that figure can be lowered if they buy out Rodney Stuckey). That will leave them about $25 million under the new salary cap, and while some of that money likely goes to re-signing Jose Calderon the Pistons will have money to chase free agents.We’ll see who he has doing the chasing. When asked directly about Frank he simply dodged the question, other than to say any decisions would be made soon after the season ended.However, Gores also needs to be a little bit patient — you don’t want to be the team that spends the money just because they have it. This summer’s free agent class has some unreachable guys for Detroit (Chris Paul) and some guys you don’t want to overspend on (Josh Smith). It’s better to hold that powder until the summer of 2014 (a deeper free agent class) and get someone good than to spend it just because you can.But make no mistake, the Pistons are ready to spend.