As long as there’s been Pistons basketball, there’ s been Tom Wilson. No, he wasn’t there for the team’s founding, but he was there for the team’s rise to success in the 1980’s, the move to the Palace, the purchasing of the Lightning, etc. He was as much of a staple in the front office as Jimmy Devellano has been for the Wings. Now comes word that he has left as CEO of Palace Sports and Entertainment for an “unspecified, new journey.”
The Detroit sports scene one year from now will be completely different from its current climate – it has to. The Pistons are up for sale, the Red Wings are in search for a new home, the Tigers can’t decide between saving money and spending it. Wilson just sees the writing on the wall, or at least in the papers where Karen Davidson mentions the latest state of the Pistons. It’s so sad to think where the team has fallen to with the loss of Mr. Davidson, and I only believe we have hit the first rungs on the way down.
Wilson was a pioneer, and there is no doubt in my mind that he isn’t just leaving the job to take a break. He will find another position soon and hopefully it will be somewhere in this town where he can add his 30-plus years of sports executive knowledge.