The question posed to Stan Van Gundy was whether the Detroit Pistons will look for some outside shooting before Thursday's 3 p.m. NBA trade deadline.
But the team president/coach's answer gave a window into what he's really thinking about.
"It's not always the straight line you want it to be," Van Gundy said. "It can be, from my standpoint, frustrating, but at the same time, I don't think you want to panic and blow up your roster because you're not quite where you wanna be."
The Pistons had high expectations coming into the season, but coming out of the All-Star break, they are three games under .500 at 27-30. Still, they hold the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot, have won six of their last nine games and have what appears to be an easy schedule over the last 25 games.
So it might not be the time for drastic change. Maybe, Van Gundy said, this season is just part of the growing pains of a young roster.
Trade speculation has surrounded center Andre Drummond and point guard Reggie Jackson, and Van Gundy admits that there have been discussions with other teams about every player on the roster.
But it sounds like he wants stability over the last 25 games.
"Even though we're three games under .500, I still like our roster. I don't think there's significant holes," Van Gundy said. "We've just gotta play better.
"It hasn't been what I would like it to be, to this point, but we still have a lot of young guys with room for improvement, guys coming into their prime and the whole thing. Sometimes it's not the straight line you like it to be."
