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Tom Gores spoke to Detroit media on Monday and didn't mince words: Tom Gores expected more than he got from his franchise this season, and he's willing to make whatever changes are necessary to move the franchise forward.
We got bits and pieces of Gores' conversation with the media as it happened thanks to Twitter. You can check out our recap here.
It didn't take long for an official story to emerge on Pistons.com, and it's worth a full read.
For those who don't click through, here are the highlights:
Tom Gores is prepared to make thorough but quick decisions:
We're assessing everything fast...It's a very important time, a critical time for the franchise. We're fortunate enough to have a good young group of people, so we'll do it fast, like we did when we came in and bought the team. We're going to do this very, very quickly, but thoroughly.
Gores expected the Playoffs - which I read as more rhetorical than literal.
I expected to be in the playoffs, so I'm disappointed by that. When I said that last year, I meant it. I am very excited about what we have going. We have a lot of (salary cap) room. We've set ourselves up financially and basketball operations set ourselves up, so I'm excited about the future. But I'm not content about how we performed this year.
Will Dumars and Frank be back next season?
We're assessing it right now. Both of them, including ownership, has to be accountable for the year.
Gores will do what it takes to take the next step, including opening the checkbook.
We want to win a championship. We want to get into the playoffs. We want to do all those things. It is an extra important year... We are prepared to spend and we're prepared to do what we have to do to move this franchise forward. We want to win. You can tell the world: We're ready to spend.
We could go back and forth about whether or not spending large in free agency this summer is a good thing (and I'm sure we will), but even if it isn't, I'd argue it's always a good thing to have an owner who will spend what it costs to build a winner.