Arn Tellem plans to have ownership stake in Detroit Pistons

Arn Tellem was brought in to report to Tom Gores and "as a representative of ownership" to have broad responsibility -- not only with the Detroit Pistons, but also with PS&E and the city of Detroit. The quote is directly from the press release. Tellem told Tom Walsh at The Detroit Free Press recently that he plans to have an actual stake in the ownership by the end of the year:

"I'm coming here to make a difference," Tellem said of his move from Los Angeles, where he was a star with Wasserman Media Group, a sporting and entertainment marketing outfit. "If it was just limited to basketball, it would not be enough of a motivation to come and do it, but to have an involvement from an ownership level in basketball and the business and the community and see where we can make a difference and contribute to what's going on here in Detroit and Michigan" is what convinced him. [...]

"That was part of the plan when I came in," Tellem said. "My hope is now that by the end of the year, we're going to hopefully have a piece of the action. Tom's desire is to have this team long-term for him and his family and to really accomplish a lot here — not only winning basketball games, but to make a difference in the community here."

Gores reportedly gobbled up the 49 percent Platinum Equity owned, so there's plenty of 'stake' to go around now. Tellem has big ambitions, so it makes sense Gores would throw Tellem a piece of the overall pie as part of the deal in getting Tellem to leave his cushy agent gig at Wasserman Media Group.

Also in that link worth mentioning is a bit about Tellem exploring ideas that could include the Pistons playing some games in Detroit. That said, there are still no plans to join the Red Wings in the new arena being built downtown. That arena is set to open in 2017, so plans could certainly change before then.

Now your thoughts.