Billionaire Tom Gores is now the official owner of the Detroit Pistons: NBA News
Tom Gores is now the official owner of the Detroit Pistons. The billionaire completed the deal with the former owner Karen Davidson on Wednesday. This deal was approved unanimously by the National Basketball Association board of
governors and a day before the sale agreement was concluded, NBA commissioner David Stern said that in his statement after the voting.
According to the franchise the pact also includes the sale of Palace Sports and Entertainment along with the Pistons. Gores agreed to acquire the Pistons back in April this year.
Terms of the pact were not disclosed, but according to reports it could be anywhere from $300 million to $400 million. Karen Davidson’s spokesperson Michael Layne told that Davidson family can keep a minor stake in the franchise.
Davidson is satisfied with the deal and said that Gores is the right person, who can run this organization with the same passion that Bill Davidson had.
Gores issued a statement on Wednesday in which he said, “I am very excited at the opportunity to lead this great franchise into the future. The passion and commitment of Pistons fans is legendary, and our goal is to meet every
one of their expectations. That starts with the hard work and values necessary to compete for championships. It also includes being a real partner in the community, and we intend to do that as well.”
Gores is the owner of the firm called Platinum Equity and serves as the Chairman and CEO of the Beverly Hill based company. In 2010, he was rated among the 400 richest people in United States of America, while Forbes ranked him
153rd.
After managing the franchise for almost 37 years, Karen Davidson eventually sold it to Gores. William Morse well known as Bill Davidson and Karen’s husband became the majority owners of the team back in 1974, but Bill’s death and
the declining performance of the team made her sell this franchise.
Gores said, “I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Davidson family and what has been built here. Palace Sports and Entertainment and the Detroit Pistons have enjoyed a great tradition of success and have been committed
to being a positive influence in the community. Our mission is to continue that legacy and do it the right way.”
Soon after finishing the deal, Gores went to see Detroit’s game at home, but the Pistons disappointed him as they lost to a deprived Cleveland Cavaliers and in addition to the defeat Detroit’s forward Charlie Villanueva received
ejection over a skirmish.
Since the Pistons failed to register a berth in the playoffs for two consecutive seasons and their head coach John Kuester’s future is also looking gloomy, it’s going to be really tough for Gores, as he have to come up with a new
strategy to put his franchise back on the winning track.
For the last the two seasons the Pistons failed to show the spark which they depicted earlier. Pistons won 27 games and lost 55 in 2009-10 and in 2010-11 they won just 30 and lost 52. This poor performance made them less attractive
for their followers and arena seats were often found empty in most of their home games. The increasing disputes between coaches and players, added salt to the injury.
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