Tom Gores Discusses Pistons' 25-Game Losing Streak: 'I Am Expecting Change'

Detroit Pistons governor Tom Gores is trying to find answers for his team amid their 2-26 start to this season, including their ongoing 25-game losing streak.

In an interview with The Athletic's James L. Edwards III, Gores acknowledged that changes have to be made but trying to figure out exactly what that will be is unclear at the moment:

"We have to regroup at the end of the season. We're already doing it now. 'What happened?' I am expecting change. I do expect (general manager Troy Weaver) to come up with change. Staying exactly the same … I don't think anyone can say in any genuine way that change is not required. I expect Troy to find ways to change the makeup of our team and find ways to be more successful. I do expect him to find ways, and he knows that. If we do nothing to improve ourselves, I'm going to be disappointed. That's nothing new to Troy. He knows that."

While the first change most teams in this situation would look to make is at head coach, that's a complicated issue for the Pistons. Monty Williams was hired in July after signing a six-year, $78.5 million deal that made him the highest-paid head coach in NBA history at the time.

Gores did note that Williams and Weaver "will be in place," but he's "all over them" and "there's a lot of accountability that needs to be held."

One point of emphasis Gores made was expressing optimism about the long-term future because of how young the Pistons roster is and how much cap flexibility they have:

"This set of players—and I know them individually, I saw them the other day—we are in a great spot with our young talent. I think seven or eight players are under 22. They're young. No. 2, we have set ourselves up in a way that the contracts are flexible. You guys know, we had all these contracts that really (handicapped) us with a certain vision, and we couldn't be nimble. We are also set up with a lot of cap space, and you guys know I'm willing to do whatever it takes for this organization to be successful."

At the end of Thursday's game against the Utah Jazz, which gave the Pistons their 25th straight loss, fans at Little Caesars Arena could be heard chanting "sell the team."

Gores told Edwards fans "can say what they want," but the idea he would actually sell the franchise is "ridiculous."

"Other than winning—and we should win more games—we do a lot in the community," he added. "Players, the organization, we do a lot in the community. If you put aside winning, we've made a very big difference in the community."

The Pistons' loss to the Jazz came in a game when Utah didn't play Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson or Talen Horton-Tucker. That trio combined averages 51.3 points, 14.7 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game. Detroit was actually favored at tipoff when it came out the Jazz were resting multiple key starters.

Instead, the Pistons wound up giving up 119 points to a starting unit that included Kelly Olynyk, Kris Dunn, Collin Sexton, John Collins and Simone Fontecchio.

The 25-game losing streak for Detroit is the fourth-longest in NBA history. If the Pistons lose their next game, they will tie the 2010-11 and 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers for the second-longest streak.

Detroit will play a home-and-home series against the Brooklyn Nets starting on Saturday at Barclays Center.

The Pistons have made two playoff appearances and have had one winning season since Gores became the sole governor of the franchise in September 2015.