Tom Gores: Pistons "lucky" to have Dumars as GM

The Detroit Pistons released a teaser video about the annual "State of the Pistons" event held for season ticket holders last week. In the video, Tom Gores, Joe Dumars and Lawrence Frank spoke about the state of the team, its future and their aims to right the ship. The video precedes an hour-long special on Fox Sports Detroit at 7:00p.m. on Thursday, where the State of the Pistons event will be shared with a wider audience. In this video, Tom Gores had some praise to share about GM Joe Dumars:

"We might be able to figure out how to win and win big for one year, but that's not the point," Gores said. "The point is how do we deliver something that is genuine, that is real?

"I think we're fortunate to have (Dumars) as a GM, because he wants to deliver that every single day."

If Gores' comments reflect his "genuine, real" opinion of Joe Dumars' job as a GM, it's safe to assume that there won't be any changes at the top in the near future. One year ago, Gores presented fans with a results-driven approach to franchise management and a will to challenge Dumars to "think about every different way he can do something". Yet as soon as free agency opened, the old Dumars came right back to repeat the type of moves that damned the franchise in 2009.

These sales pitch platitudes are tough to swallow, since they signal a genuine pleasure with Joe's body of work one year in, or they suggest that Gores doesn't care much for the win/loss record. If Tom is truly pleased with Joe's "want" to deliver every single day, how can he be pleased with the lack of execution? The alternative might suggest that the "entertainment" wing of Palace Sports and Entertainment is pushing the revenue needle enough that the "sports" wing isn't a priority. It's hard to say that Gores is pushing the Pistons organization as a passion project when one night he's sitting courtside in LA and then he's praising an inactive GM a night later.

My hope is that Gores is doing his best to make nice with season ticket holders while holding Dumars accountable behind closed doors. There's no way of knowing Gores' true opinion on the matter, but if you take these comments at face value, Pistons fans can expect more of the same from this franchise. While new ownership brought with it the promise of change, the only difference under Gores is what happens at half-time, not during regulation.