Pistons owner Tom Gores has a new perspective as team enters

When a team loses track of its identity, bad things usually happen.

Isiah Thomas, the pro basketball legend turned businessman, perfectly explained the consequences. And Thomas’ words have extra significance given the latest sports team that lost its identity is his former club, the Detroit Pistons.

“Two things happen – you get your ass beat, and your fan base 100% rejects you,” said Thomas.

The NBA begins its 75th anniversary season on Oct. 19, a time for teams to start their yearly reset to produce a winning product and attract more business. The once iconic Pistons are the latest sports franchise attempting to emerge from a rough cycle, which saw the team’s brand and culture decline.

The Pistons once ruled the NBA and created some of the most feared teams during the “Bad Boys” era of the 1980s. And from 2003 to 2009, it was one of the top NBA teams for attendance, averaging roughly 889,945 fans per season during that span. But the franchise abandoned its foundation and suffered for it over the last decade, only making the playoffs twice in the last 12 years and sitting at 25th or below in attendance.

In sports, teams can lose sight of identities and it hurts their brand. The Oakland Athletics and New York Knicks are two of two examples former sports executive Andy Dolich used. The A’s stadium issues continue to plague their brand.

“And the Knicks of today are not the Knicks of the 70s, 80s, or 90s,” said Dolich, the former A’s executive and National Basketball Association team president. “Players don’t last forever and you don’t win a championship every year. But when you lose connection — that’s the heart and soul that a team has in any sport as it relates to its community,” Dolich added.

The Pistons want to rule again and return to their culture with the help of a new roster that includes the 2021 NBA first overall draft pick. But it’s a daunting task. The East is stacked, starting with the defending champs Milwaukee Bucks and its league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Also, repairing a brand doesn’t come over night.

It’s why the Los Angeles Lakers or Yankees don’t touch their showtime “go big, or go home” brand Dolich added. And the San Antonio Spurs structured their culture around team, family, and discipline. It’s helped the Spurs become one of the winningest franchises in sports with five NBA championships.

“Teams lose their way with their heart and soul whether its because of ownership, management, the players, the venue that they play in,” Dolich said “You don’t push a button and get that back, just like you don’t push a button and lose it.”

And in Detroit, “there is a fan base that says, ‘This is the standard of play and commitment that we expect,'” Thomas said. “And they measure it against…