Isiah Thomas may no longer be on the radar as a potential general manager of the Detroit Pistons, but he could still be in the team’s future plans. According to Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News, Thomas is close to becoming an investor in the Pistons’ ownership group.
Pistons majority owner Tom Gores is reportedly interested in partnering with Thomas in some fashion, and he began brainstorming with him after Joe Dumars stepped down as team president at the end of the regular season. The exact percentage of the team that Thomas would purchase has not been agreed upon.
“Not a ceremonial piece, but a respectable piece,” a source reportedly told Goodwill.
Thomas is said to have “jumped at” the opportunity to invest in the team. He won two NBA championships with the Pistons and is still beloved by the Detroit community. He was also supposed to buy a stake in the team before his retirement in 1994, but Thomas and then-owner Bill Davidson had a public falling out after news of the partnership leaked.
If you’re a Pistons fan, you should probably be rooting for Thomas to become an owner. Experience would tell you he can do much more damage as a general manager or basketball operations person.
