In the midst of it all, Gores offered some hints to the future.
He did not endorse Joe Dumars, the president of basketball operations, or Maurice Cheeks, the head coach. He did not condemn them, either. This is the news people want to know about, the leadership of the team, with Dumars in the final year of his contract and Cheeks still with two more years guaranteed.
Gores has a couple ways he can go in that dynamic. He hasn't come to that fork in the road yet but made it clear he understands the divergent paths when asked about his top basketball personnel, Dumars and Cheeks.
"Right now I'm patient," he said, "but I want to make sure we make adjustments if we have to make adjustments."
Asked specifically about coaching, and its role in the Pistons' 19-27 record as he sees it, Gores offered some owner-speak about how he's dissatisfied with everyone's performance, including his own.
But there was a telling nugget in there, too.
"I feel like our job is to make sure that they are at their maximum and I don't think they're at their maximum," Gores said of his players.