Detroit, MI
Stan Van Gundy: Detroit Pistons must be urgent in offseason retool to help Cade Cunningham
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Former Detroit Pistons president/head coach Stan Van Gundy believes the team will have a sense of urgency to get better fast this offseason because they are lagging behind other young teams in the NBA.
Van Gundy, in an interview on the WXYT-FM “Restore the Floor” podcast hosted by Mike Stone and Evan Jankens, said the Pistons will have to be aggressive with the roughly $60 million in cap space available this summer because the young core that produced a 14-68 record in the 2023-24 season is not good enough.
“The problem I would think from Detroit’s perspective is what are you going to do with that cap space now?” Van Gundy said last week. “When are you going to try to win? My guess is (owner) Tom Gores wants to get this thing going quickly, they’re not going to sit around and just wait on a young core.
“And I think that’s probably the right approach because Orlando is as young or younger than they are and they’re better than Detroit, San Antonio’s got a brighter future, Oklahoma City is the youngest team in the league by minutes played and they’re the number one seed in the West. So, you might like your core, but it’s clear its not the best young core in the league or even one of the top two or three.”
PISTONS MAILBAG: Breaking down the front office, and how the new president will fit
The Pistons announced Monday they are starting a search for a president of basketball operations — a position vacant since Van Gundy was fired in 2018.
Van Gundy said guard Cade Cunningham, the former No. 1 overall pick and Pistons’ leading scorer, is a “really good player” to lead the team, and said the idea of trading him was absurd. But he added the caveat he wasn’t sure if Cunningham was a “superstar.” He also said the roster needs to be upgraded because the other young players on the roster around Cunningham are fourth or fifth starter-level.
“You’re going to have to supplement it as you go along,” Van Gundy said. “I think they got other good pieces. I think (Jalen) Duren is certainly a very good rebounder. (Ausar) Thompson can defend. I personally really like Marcus Sasser. Jaden Ivey I like. But those guys are all either I think low-level starters, fourth or fifth starters, or rotation pieces. They need two other guys, at least two other guys to put with Cade Cunningham to have a chance to get better.”
[ MUST LISTEN: Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Detroit Pistons podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) or watch live/on demand on YouTube. ]
Van Gundy then said the moves are easy to point out from an outside perspective. The hard part will be figuring out how to actually get it done, because he thinks it is imperative to upgrade the roster around Cunningham as soon as possible.
“The hard part is figuring out how to get that done and add two really good pieces around Cade Cunningham,” Van Gundy said. “But I think they’re making a mistake if they think any of those other guys are good enough to be second or third players on a contending-type team.”
ANALYSIS: How long will Pistons stay in the weeds? That’s up to Tom Gores, and a little luck
Van Gundy spent four years with the Pistons from 2014-18, leading them to the playoffs once and a 152-176 record. He went 31-41 in his lone season coaching the New Orleans Pelicans in 2020-21, and currently serves as a game analyst for the NBA on TNT.
On the podcast appearance, Van Gundy said misses in the draft coupled with impatience with the timeline and the resulting moves were the ultimate reason for failure during his Pistons tenure as president and coach.
“I think we did more positive things than we got credit for but you’re there to win and we didn’t put enough together to get that done,” Van Gundy said. “And I’ve gotta take the full responsibility for that.”
The Pistons have a crucial offseason ahead after completing the worst season in franchise history, despite amassing a collection of lottery picks leading the team. The Pistons’ pending incoming president of basketball operations will oversee the path forward, and help decide the fate of general manager Troy Weaver and head coach Monty Williams.
Longtime Detroit sports radio host and columnist Pat Caputo has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, he announced Monday.
Caputo, a host on Detroit’s 97.1 The Ticket, last published a column on Nov. 7. On Monday, he explained the reason behind his absence.
“For those wondering where I’ve been: I have been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, commonly referred to as a “death sentence” and had two other serious ailments which put me in ICU for several days,” Caputo wrote in a post to X. “It was sudden. I’ve literally been on my back for weeks. Bless you all.”
Caputo, 66, became a well-known personality in Detroit sports media during his time as an award-winning columnist for The Oakland Press from 1983-2020, according to the Detroit Free Press. He also was previously part of WXYT’s “Evening Sports” broadcast, and is an official voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame and college football’s Heisman Trophy award, according to his X bio.
Caputo is nicknamed “The Book” for his impressive memory retaining sports stats and information, according to FOX 2 in Detroit, where he has been a regular guest on its “Sports Works” broadcast.
Caputo’s social media announcement regarding his health drew support from fellow sports media professionals, including Brad Galli, sports director at WXYZ Detroit, and ESPN’s Dan Wetzel and Dave Pasch.
“Pat, we’re praying for [you],” Galli wrote. “Awful awful awful to read this, man. God bless you.”
“Legend. Stay strong my friend. So much support out here for you,” Wetzel posted.
“Book, praying for you my friend. So sorry to hear this,” Pasch wrote.
DETROIT (WXYZ) — Desmond Burks’ murder trial starts this week. On Monday, he attended his pre-trial hearing. Burks faces first-degree murder, felony murder and larceny charges in the death of Dr. Devon Hoover.
The prominent Detroit neurosurgeon was found dead in his attic in April 2023 after Detroit police performed a wellness check. Investigators said he had been shot twice in the head and his body was wrapped in a blood-soaked carpet.
Watch Darren Cunningham’s video report below:
Trial set to begin in Dr. Devon Hoover murder case
At the pre-trial, Judge Paul Cusick set the tone for how he expects the trial to go. It could last several weeks, according to court administration.
“Obviously, there’s always been respect shown to this court by the defendant and attorneys in this case, and all of the witnesses need to show the respect that is going to be required. There will be no outburst from any witnesses or anyone else during the proceedings,” the judge said.
Cusick discussed scheduling for the trial, starting with jury selection Wednesday and outlined restrictions for news media.
“Media is prohibited from showing and/or publishing the faces of any civilian witnesses not employed by the government,” he read.
WXYZ
Those same restrictions were in place during the preliminary hearing.
At the prelim, a number of people testified that they were former lovers of Desmond Burks.
Those men and women described Burks as a hustler and said he would send them money from an unknown Cash App and then have them send the money back to his Cash App.
Watch our coverage of the third day of the preliminary hearing below:
Day 3 concludes in Desmond Burks’ preliminary hearing in murder of Dr. Devon Hoover
Burks is accused of stealing more than $30,000 from Hoover via credit card and fraudulent bank transactions, and Burks allegedly used other people to execute his plan.
Investigators said text messages revealed Burks had an intimate relationship with Hoover and was sometimes paid for sexual services.
Watch our coverage of the second day of the preliminary hearing below:
Mystery backpack focus of testimony during day 2 of Hoover preliminary hearing
Testimony from the prelim also revealed that authorities zeroed in on Burks, in part, through cellphone records and surveillance footage involving Hoover’s stolen truck.
During the trial, we may hear from a close relative of Burks who identified him in surveillance footage during the prelim. The footage allegedly shows Burks walking away from Hoover’s stolen vehicle.
Watch our coverage of the first day of the preliminary hearing below:
Preliminary hearing begins for man charged with killing Dr. Devon Hoover
The jury selection process is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
A situation believed to involve a barricaded suspect in Ypsilanti has resulted in evacuations for some neighbors and shelter-in-place orders for others as authorities attempt to bring an end to the standoff.
Police were seen inside the home Monday morning, but the suspect involved has not left the building.
Neighbors told CBS Detroit the circumstances began with a wellness check around noon Sunday. Since then, multiple law enforcement vehicles, including a SWAT team, have been in the area.
The street is closed to traffic in the meantime.
CBS News Detroit has a crew on scene. Additional details will be provided on air and online when they are available.
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