On Brink of NBA Infamy, Pistons Owner Adamant He Won’t Sell Team

The Detroit Pistons are playing for a record on Tuesday night. They hope they don’t achieve it.

Detroit will host the Brooklyn Nets, the same team that beat them on Saturday to give the Pistons their 26th straight loss, tying the NBA record for successive futility. Whether or not the Pistons make it 27 losses in a row, significant damage has already been done to franchise morale.

Pistons center Isaiah Stewart called the losing streak the “hardest thing” he and many others on the roster have ever dealt with professionally. “We had a lot of tough breaks this year,” said Monty Williams, the Pistons’ head coach, who this offseason signed a then-record $75.8 million contract. 

At the most recent home game, fans in Little Caesars Arena chanted for Detroit owner Tom Gores to sell the team. In 2011, Gores paid $325 million for the Pistons, who are now worth $3 billion (ranking 23rd out of the NBA’s 30 franchises), according to Forbes. While Gores admitted that blame for the losing streak must fall on him “at some level,” he pushed back on selling the franchise. 

“They can say what they want, but that’s ridiculous,” Gores said. “Other than winning—and we should win more games—we do a lot in the community. … We’re doing multibillion-dollar things outside of [basketball]. I understand the fans being upset, but it’s a ridiculous thought.”

Hope for the Future?

Heading into Tuesday’s game, the Pistons are tied with the 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers and the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers, each of which also suffered 26-game losing streaks. Those 76ers ended up taking Joel Embiid, now the reigning NBA MVP, with the third pick in the 2014 draft, while the Cavs selected Kyrie Irving with the first choice in 2011. Both of those franchises still have the same ownership groups in place.