AUBURN HILLS, Mich. Eliaquim Mangala France Jersey . -- Stan Van Gundy introduced his new general manager Wednesday and then tried to quell any concerns over how the Detroit Pistons would distribute power within their front office. "I think the final decision thing gets overblown," Van Gundy said. "What we want is a collaborative process with a lot of hard-working, intelligent people, who are thinking, and then use the process to come to a decision." Jeff Bower is now the teams general manager, after Van Gundy was hired as coach and team president last month. They both appeared at a news conference, then were available for more informal interviews afterward. Van Gundy was surrounded by reporters almost immediately, and its clear that hes still the face of the franchises next big effort to return to relevance. But Bower brings plenty of experience at the NBA level to his new job. He was the coach at Marist College last season, but hes been a general manager and coach in the pros with New Orleans. "Hes done almost everything at the NBA level," Van Gundy said. "Hes been an assistant coach, hes been a head coach, hes been a scout, hes been an assistant general manager, hes been a general manager, so hes got an experience that really allows him to know the NBA on every level of what goes on in terms of basketball operations." Bower said his coaching experience helps shape the way he evaluates talent. "Being able to see how players change and the impact that you can have on a players game -- always kind of kept that thought process in mind, that you can improve players, and that players can get better," Bower said. Bower was the general manager of the Charlotte-New Orleans Hornets from 2001-03 and again from 2005-10. He also coached the team in 2009-10, going 34-39. Bower has also been an assistant coach at Penn State and Marist. Van Gundy said their relationship dates to when Bower was an assistant at Marist and Van Gundy was an assistant at Fordham. "Ive always had a tremendous respect for people who have really had to work their way up the ladder," Van Gundy said. Detroit went 29-53 last season, missing the playoffs for a fifth straight year. That disappointing performance helped lead to the end of Joe Dumars tenure as team president. Van Gundy said he felt the players could have performed better last season, and Detroit does have a young standout to build around in big man Andre Drummond. Greg Monroe is a restricted free agent, so much of the off-season outlook may depend on whether he returns to the Pistons. Detroit does not have a first-round draft pick. That selection was lost because of a trade made by the previous front office, but Bower is hopeful the Pistons can improve themselves in the draft anyway. "The 38th pick can be a pick of value," Bower said. "Although its not a first-round pick, we would hope to be able to dig in and find a prospect that can provide value to the team and to the organization." Gyasi Zardes Los Angeles Galaxy MLS .S. Cellular Field on Saturday night, hell not only be returning to where his career began. Stefano Sturaro Juventus . They did take one chance on a free agent-to-be however, and it didnt pay off. Rory Kohlert, selected by the Redblacks in the expansion draft from Winnipeg, has signed as a free agent with the Blue Bombers. SEOUL, South Korea -- The head of the organizing committee for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang resigned Monday, saying new leadership and a "stronger system" is needed to complete preparations for the games. Former provincial governor Kim Jin-sun was elected president of the organizing committee in late 2011 after Pyeongchang won the right to host the first Winter Olympics in South Korea. He was re-elected last year for another two-year term. "PyeongChang 2018 is at a turning point for the latter half of its games preparation, which requires more detailed planning and execution," Kim said Monday, according to a committee statement. "At this critical juncture, I believe that PyeongChang 2018 needs new leadership and a stronger system that will effectively carry out various games-related projects," he said. The organizing committee did not comment on the process for replacing Kim or his likely successor. Kim, former governor of the eastern Gangwon province which includes Pyeongchang, led the South Korean towns two unsuccessful bids for the 2010 and 2014 Olympics. In 2010, he stepped down as governor and had since served as an ambassador to Pyeonchangs bid committee for the 2018 games. Kims tenure was to officially end in October 2015 and it is not known what exactly caused his early departure. International Olympic Committee officials who visited Pyeongchang recently expressed no major concerns about preparations for 2018. Gunilla Lindberg, who led the IOC co-ordination commission on a threee-day inspection visit, said a large amount of work had been achieved since the panels previous visit in June last year. Lucas Biglia SS Lazio. "The 2018 games are on the right track, but it is clear that much work remains," Lindberg said. "With only four years to go until the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games begin, it was important for the commission to be able to survey the progress being made on the different venues. We are pleased to see that work on key sites like the sliding centre and coastal Olympic Village has begun." IOC President Thomas Bach visited Pyeongchang earlier this month and downplayed concerns about tight construction schedules. "It is not new that when it comes to the organization of games that, in one or the other project, there are some delays in comparison to the previous plans, so theres no reason right now to become nervous," Bach said. He said the IOC remains confident that Pyeongchang can organize "excellent" games. The IOC thanked Kim on Monday for "his hard work and excellent commitment" to the organizing committee, known as POCOG. "We held our last project review meeting with POCOG at the end of June and developed with them a clear roadmap of activities until the end of the year," the IOC said in a statement. "We have full confidence that these activities will be delivered by the POCOG team in a timely manner and using their existing processes. We continue to work closely with them on their preparations for the games." cheap nfl jerseyscheap jerseys ' ' '
