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The Pistons have invested big into Cunningham, going far beyond the rookie-scale max extension (five years, $269 million) he agreed to in summer 2024. For team owner Tom Gores, the qualities he saw in Cunningham during the organization's record losing streak in 2023-24 only reinforced that decision. "When we were at our lowest, the man didn't blink," Gores told ESPN. "He continued to work, continued to pat his players on the back. That's when I knew this guy's character was something special. "You learn the most from anyone in life during the tough times. The way I saw him functioning, [behaving] when things were emotional, what he did when we were down."
Omari Sankofa II: (Pistons owner) Tom Gores pregame: “It’s been a decade, really, trying to get to where we are today. It’s taken a lot of patience and a lot of hard times. It feels great. I feel like we’re set up to be a machine … set up to be a sustainable winner. But I’m also nervous, we have to win.”
Tom Gores has many of the spoils you’d expect of a self-made private equity billionaire: an NBA team, a Los Angeles mansion and a glitzy Beverly Hills office where he can throw parties for his friend Leonardo DiCaprio. But it’s that ownership of the Detroit Pistons that may be nearest to the heart of this proud son of Michigan. Back in May, as the team was ending its best season since 2008, he praised supporters for sticking by them through the bad times. “It wasn’t that long ago I was apologizing,” the Platinum Equity founder said. “I want to thank the fans for hanging in there. I think the team needed them.”
Platinum’s $10 billion fifth flagship fund, which closed in 2020, cut its expected internal rate of return to about 11% at the end of last year, documents seen by Bloomberg show. Roughly three quarters of other funds of the same vintage are doing better. The fund had to cut the unrealized value of its companies by about 8%, according to the documents and a person with knowledge of the matter. Several investments, including portable toilet provider United Site Services and chainsaw maker Oregon Tool, were slashed to zero.
"I am happy where I am," Bickerstaff said. "For us as coaches, we are trying to figure out, 'What is my job? What are the expectations? And how do I continue to move those expectations forward?' The best organization in this league is the team that is the most consistent. When things get rocky, they hunker down on the things they believe in, the people they believe in and the players they believe in. ... I am truly blessed to be where I am with Trajan Langdon and Tom Gores. They are the type of people who, when things get tough, have my back and have shown that."
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As one rival team executive said earlier this week, the “no. 1 job” of the Pistons front office now is “to convince [owner] Tom Gores that they’re not knocking on the door. Don’t rush it. Don’t go doing something stupid just because you had a good year. Otherwise, you end up like Atlanta.”
Eric Woodyard: #Pistons owner Tom Gores holds an impromptu press conference ahead of Game 6. Says he anticipated the team being good, but not this good. He thanked the fans. “Our urgency is not gonna stop,” he said. pic.x.com/xzLcRnr8mO
One of Detroit's biggest sports fans is interested in joining the city's bid to land a WNBA franchise. Eminem, the 15-time Grammy-winning rapper, has had discussions about joining the high-profile investor group that already includes Pistons owner Tom Gores, Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Lions quarterback Jared Goff, Fab Five legend Chris Webber, former Piston Grant Hill and Denise Ilitch, among others.
Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores submitted a bid for the city to receive a WNBA franchise, sources told Yahoo Sports. The Detroit Shock were a big part of early WNBA history, winning championships in 2003, 2006 and 2008 before moving to Tulsa in 2010 — and before being rebranded as the Dallas Wings. The Shock set single-game records for attendance in the 2003 WNBA Finals as 22,076 fans filled the Palace of Auburn Hills to see Game 3 against the Los Angeles Sparks, and they matched that mark again in the 2007 Finals. Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever set the single-game regular-season record against the Washington Mystics this past season with 20,711.
The potential Detroit franchise would be expected to play at Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit, sources said, which is where the Pistons have been since the 2017-18 season. The Pistons also have a practice facility and headquarters two miles from the arena that was built in 2019, and it’s expected the WNBA franchise would also have its own facility and headquarters as well, should the bid be accepted.
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Omari Sankofa II: Tom Gores is sitting courtside tonight. Was here Wednesday as well
Tom Gores' purchase of a 27% stake in the Los Angeles Chargers was approved by NFL team owners on Tuesday during the league's fall meetings in Atlanta.
Two weeks before the start of his 14th season at the helm of his hometown team, Tom Gores feels the Pistons have finally turned the page amid their grueling rebuild. "We're really running like a business, not just a business of basketball," Gores said during the Pistons' 105-97 preseason loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night at Michigan State's Breslin Center. "I feel very good about it. But Trajan and I know there's still a lot of work to do. We have to do the work and hope the results come. But I feel like the right work's getting done."
"I feel really good about the veterans we've added," Gores said. "Tobias Harris, whom I've known for a long time. We've got Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr, and Paul Reed coming in. I feel very good about the offseason with the veterans. I think Trajan Langdon did a good job bringing the right people in, but still keeping flexibility."