When head coach Maurice Cheeks was shown the door in Motown, it wasn’t a very popular decision in the Detroit Pistons’ locker room. According to the only voice that truly matters here, owner Tom Gores, it was the right move, and he feels “good about it”. Per the Detroit Free Press:
Q: Why the sudden termination of Cheeks?
Gores: “It was the right thing to do. I feel good about it. It’s a very young team so we have to put them in a position to do well as much as possible. I felt they were not in a position to grow as much as possible so I feel good about it.”
Q: Has the team responded the way you hoped it would to the move? (The Pistons are 4-15 since the firing).
Gores: “The team is better than their record. They just are. They’re better than their record so I wouldn’t say they didn’t respond. They’re doing their best right now. I believe in these guys. I believe in this team.”
Q: Do you get the sense they had some difficulty with the decision or they understood it?
Gores: “I think they appreciate me being involved. I think they appreciate that, I think they appreciate the fact that we care. These guys, everybody wants to put it on the players and we have a great environment. John is doing a great job. John Loyer is doing a great job.”
Q: You were pretty blunt about the expectations this season. With the underperformance, where do you go from here?
Gores: “First of all, I’m not giving up. It’s not possible. We just got to keep building. We have great building blocks right now. We have young guys so I’m not going to give up. We got a lot to do. You know that no way anything great happens without tough times. That’s the way it goes. I’m comfortable.”
Q: Are you prepared to talk about the status of (GM Joe Dumars) and Loyer? (Dumars is in the final season of his contract to run the Pistons).
Gores: “We got to finish the season. We’re gonna get it done. We’re going to finish the season and then we’re gonna regroup and we’re going to reflect. But I’m not giving up on Detroit. I’m not giving up on our guys.”
