Central Notes: Pistons, Tolliver, Bucks, Parker

Executive/coach Stan Van Gundy and GM Jeff Bowers made it a priority this offseason to add depth and now the Pistons have a bevy of options at the forward positions, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. Van Gundy sees advantages in the diverse range of skills that players at those positions possess.

“It’s just a very, very hard position to guard,” said Van Gundy, the Pistons’ president of basketball operations. “They’ve got to guard so many different kinds of people. There’s not as many of the big, strong, post-up fours – there are some – but then you’re going to have to guard more three-men type guys who are fours who can stretch it out to the 3-point line and put the ball on the floor and all of that.”

The Pistons struggled with spacing the floor and shooting from behind the arc last season, which is something that newly-added forward Anthony Tolliver should help with, Langlois adds in the same piece. Tolliver, who played for Detroit under Van Gundy back in the 2015/16 season, shot 39% from 3-point range last season in Sacramento.

Here’s more from around the Central division:

• Having examined the Pistons‘ forwards, Langlois also took a closer look at the club’s wings, where Van Gundy has great expectations for the defensive potential of Avery Bradley and Stanley Johnson.
• Six months into the recovery process following his latest ACL injury, Jabari Parker still can’t do much more than dribble or shoot, but people in the Bucks organization have been impressed with his “approach, progress, and positivity,” writes Matt Velazquez of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Parker is eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason, though it would be somewhat surprising if he and the Bucks strike a deal while he’s still on the shelf.
• The Kyrie Irving trade between the Cavaliers and Celtics is now complete, but even if it had been voided, it’s not clear if the Bucks would have been a major player for Irving. A source who spoke to Velazquez downplayed Milwaukee’s involvement in those talks.
• Earlier today, we rounded up a few Cavaliers notes in the wake of the Irving deal, and passed along the latest on Cameron Payne‘s foot injury.

Chris Crouse contributed to this post.