Detroit coach Van Gundy doesn’t care about geography

Stan Van Gundy may not be working as a broadcaster anymore. But that doesn’t mean he’s done talking.

The new Detroit Pistons coach defended his team against comments made by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert that the Pistons, who play in the suburb of Auburn Hills, drop the “Detroit” from their name.

“Dan Gilbert has some selfish interests for saying what he said,” Van Gundy said on 105.1 FM in Detroit. “I think we know what those are. Finally I think he has enough to worry about with his own team than worrying about us.”

Gilbert’s comments came on another radio show, where he said: “Detroit doesn’t have an NBA team, because they’re somewhere 30 miles north of here, right? They’re in Auburn Hills, right? Now that Sacramento is building an arena downtown, they’re the only one not in an urban core. The only one. It’s really not good business. An arena in the middle of a field is not an ideal thing.”

Perhaps Mr. Gilbert can use a history lesson on his own team. The Cavs once played at the Richfield Coliseum, which was literally in the middle of nowhere.

Van Gundy got the last word, saying: “There are teams all over the place that carry the name of the city but represent an entire area. Where we play isn’t that much relevance.”