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for the NBA's 10 millionth point, really the only Motown highlight he's had. Thirty-five times last season, Gordon failed to even reach double-figure scoring. In fact, before scoring 10 on the final night of the season, he had gone nearly a month without breaking that mark.
It all bottomed out during a close loss to Miami in late March when Gordon registered just a single assist in 11 invisible minutes on the floor. Unbelievable when you think about his talent.
"He's the type of guy when he gets healthy and he has his confi- dence, 40 is in the question every night," says Gray.
Other Detroit players complained and rebelled, most famously dur- ing the Feb. 25 practice "boycott." Much of the team besides Gordon didn't show up, reportedly protesting against Kuester.
"There were issues on top of issues last season," says Gordon. "It was just tough for everybody, front office people, players, every single person in the organization had a tough year."
So often this summer, Bynum has found himself alone with Gordon in a Detroit gym, sweating up shots, the two best friends talking out all the team's problems.
"A guy like Ben has so much talent, you know sometimes the littlest things can change a player's mentality and the way they approach things or the way things can happen," says Bynum.
"Nobody can guard him one-on-one. I mean he's gonna be like that no matter what team gets him. But, it's just the opportunity that you have. When you're limited to 15 minutes and every shot you take is critical, it's different. It's different. People are going to perform differ-
coached. It wasn't until Emeka Okafor went down with a back injury late that season that Gordon had to takeover. He finally did, running through the Big East Tournament and all the way to an NCAA title. For all his talent, some believed he wasn't a naturally dominant per- sonality. That's just the way Gordon is, and it has hurt him in Detroit.
"If he could get a consistent amount of minutes with no injury, he could average about 22, 23 points a game if he wanted to," says Williams, who admits Gordon might be the most talented guy he's ever played with. "But I think that's where the shy part plays in – he doesn't really know how good he is. I think he may know but…I dunno what it is. I know that he can put out way more than he has, and he has been great."
Adds Gray about Detroit: "It is hard to play your best basketball when there are constantly distractions surrounding your team."
Yet anyone who believes you can't win with Gordon as one of your best players need only re-watch his junior year at UConn, when he played so well in the Big East Tournament that reporters around the team started calling him Madison Square Gordon. Or re-watch this June's NBA Finals and find another small two guard always stepping up in big moments. Jason Terry is a blueprint…except BG is capable of heights the JET never reached.
"But Ben, he's a young player," says Terry. "He's still good. He's even great at what he does. He just has to get more comfortable in the system they're using him in. He's gonna be effective. He's an All-Star caliber player."
Gordon won't make predictions for next season. While he's strug- gled without a defined role in Detroit, he's hoping to hear differ-
EVERYTHING THAT COULD'VE WENT WRONG, WENT WRONG.
ent, and things will be different. But he's no less of a player than he was a few years ago."
Bynum feels Gordon will learn from this. No other situation could be any worse. Gordon just wants change.
"The last two seasons, we had so much of guys not knowing what their role is or not really having an understanding of what they're supposed to do from the jump," says Gordon. "Everything that could've went wrong, went wrong. So I think Joe and the people in the front office will make sure that the next coach understands that."
Hinrich, who loved playing with BG, remembers it was basically understood in Chicago: Look, in tight situations, the ball is going to Gordon, and he's going to make the decisions.
"He could do whatever he wanted to on the offensive end and we would've lived with it," says Hinrich.
Another UConn product, Rudy Gay, says Gordon is a great player, but added, "It just takes time for people to really accept their roles. It's not easy at all, for obvious reasons it's not easy. But Ben can be one of the greats if he wants to be."
Gordon was so unassuming in college, some around the UConn team say when the junior blew on his fingers after making his fourth trey in an NCAA Tournament game against Alabama, it was the first demon- strative thing they had seen him do in three years. Calhoun wanted him to be great, and signaled him out more than anyone he's ever
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ently from the front office this summer. What he will guarantee is that he could still hang 42 on the Celtics in the playoffs.
"I'm still the same player, can still do the same things, still can make big shots, still can make clutch shots, still can make plays," says Gordon. "On the offensive end for myself and my teammates, I think it's a matter of the system and pretty much the relationship between coach and players."
Gordon's honesty will always stick out. One of the first questions I asked him was whether he was having a good experience in Detroit, bracing myself for the typical cliché answer. Gordon interrupted me halfway through the question and told the truth. Not what you want to hear if you're the Pistons' Director of Public Relations, but it was honest. Everyone knows it's been a bad fit. But Gordon could actually stand up and say it.
He's also excited about the Pistons hiring Lawrence Frank, and is happy to have a new coach. For Gordon, there are still questions. Yes, he plans to find the real Ben Gordon. But at this point in his career, he just doesn't really care how you see it.
"Every year you come out just trying for your best year," says Gor- don. "It might not always happen, but that's always the mindset and the approach. I'm always trying to challenge myself and play up to my capabilities and the standard I set for myself. The past two years? Yeah, it's motivation, but it's about becoming a better player. Getting to the playoffs and those types of things are more of a motivation for me than proving people wrong."