FanShot

Mitch Albom calls out Tom Gores

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This is a feel-good column about Joe Dumars, so maybe Albom just wants to deflect criticism onto somebody else. But this is pretty rough talk from a guy like Albom who isn't known for being negative. "Finally that new buyer, Tom Gores, arrived, and he has been, quite frankly, one long cringe. Outside of dancing, placing himself in the middle of spotlights, shoving Phil Jackson embarrassingly into the mix and insisting Mo Cheeks be fired after 50 games, what has he contributed? Dumars apparently warned Gores’ group early that you can’t treat an NBA team like a private equity investment — stripped, polished and sold off in five years. It requires a winning culture, an atmosphere that guides personnel. San Antonio has it. For a long time, Boston and the Lakers had it. And yes, Detroit had it. But you can’t create it from a mansion in L.A., you can’t do it by chasing glitzy names (heaven help us if Isiah Thomas returns to the front office), and you can’t do it by issuing public ultimatums — all of which Gores has done."