Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pistons’ Chris Smith Undergoes ACL Surgery

March 30th, 2022 at 1:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Pistons forward Chris Smith has undergone an ACL reconstruction procedure on his left knee, the team announced today (via Twitter). The surgery was completed in Chicago on Tuesday.

According to the Pistons (via Twitter), Smith’s left knee injury occurred during a March 8 game in the G League, when the rookie was playing for the Motor City Cruise. Smith will begin rehab immediately and will be out indefinitely, the club added.

Smith’s NBA debut was delayed this season because he was returning from a torn left ACL. The fact that he suffered another ACL injury in the same knee before getting a chance to suit up for Detroit is an unfortunate turn of events for both the player and the team.

Smith, who went undrafted out of UCLA in 2021, signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Pistons last August. He appeared in 18 games with the Cruise, but didn’t seem all the way back to his old self following the ACL tear, averaging 8.7 PPG and 5.3 RPG with a subpar .354/.258/.727 shooting line in 22.5 minutes per contest.

Although he remains under contract for 2022/23, Smith isn’t a lock to remain on Detroit’s roster through the offseason — the team could waive him to open up a two-way slot. Even in that scenario, I imagine the Pistons would make certain resources available to him for as long as he’s rehabbing the knee rather than simply cutting him loose.

Knicks Notes: Rose, Grimes, Randle, Robinson

March 29th, 2022 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Hope seems to be fading that Knicks guard Derrick Rose will play again this season, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. Coach Tom Thibodeau indicated over the weekend that Rose was making progress, but his tone was more pessimistic in a media session Monday night, pointing out that Rose still hasn’t been cleared for contact.

“The main thing is we want him to go step by step,’’ Thibodeau said. “He hasn’t taken contact on. He’s ramped up his conditioning but hasn’t taken contact on. That’s a big thing.’’

Rose hasn’t played since having surgery in December to remove a bone spur from his right ankle. He underwent a second procedure in late February after developing an infection in the surgically repaired area.

With just six games remaining and the Knicks having little chance to qualify for the play-in tournament, they may decide to play it safe with Rose. He’s under contract for two more years, although the 2023/24 season is a team option.

There’s more from New York:

Quentin Grimes had to miss a second consecutive game Monday with pain in his right knee, Berman adds. There may be concerns that he returned too soon after suffering a dislocation in the knee February 25.
Julius Randle played in the second game of a back-to-back Monday despite a sore quad, but he remained on the bench for most of the fourth quarter and finished with just five points on 1-of-9 shooting, Berman writes in a separate story. Randle, who has been engaged in feuds with fans and the media this season, was criticized by MSG Network’s Wally Szczerbiak for not celebrating on the court with his teammates after the game, but Thibodeau came to Randle’s defense. “You can play well when you didn’t shoot well. His 13 rebounds was huge,” Thibodeau said. “A lot of guys wouldn’t be playing. He wants to play. I have great respect for that.’’
Mitchell Robinson had his second straight impressive performance against the two teams that talked to the Knicks about acquiring him at the trade deadline, Berman notes. After blocking five shots Sunday against the Pistons, Robinson posted 16 points and 12 rebounds in last night’s win over the Bulls. Those could be two teams to watch when Robinson enters free agency this summer.

Jerami Grant Done For Season

March 28th, 2022 at 6:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jerami Grant, the Pistons’ leading scorer, will sit out the rest of the season due to a left calf strain, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets. Grant suffered the injury against Washington on Friday. A prime trade candidate this offseason, he has one year remaining on his three-year contract.

Community Shootaround: NBA’s Worst Record

March 28th, 2022 at 2:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Fans of the Magic, Rockets, and Pistons won’t be especially invested in the playoff and seeding races taking place near the top of the NBA’s standings during the last two weeks of the regular season. However, they’ll be closely monitoring their respective teams’ place in the standings for lottery purposes.

Entering action on Monday, Orlando, Houston, and Detroit have identical 20-55 records, meaning they’re all tied for the top spot in the NBA’s draft lottery, as our Reverse Standings show.

Because the lottery format dictates that the league’s bottom three teams all have identical odds for the No. 1 overall pick (14%) and a top-four pick (52.1%), this year’s race to the bottom isn’t quite as consequential as it would have been a few years ago under the NBA’s old lottery system.

Still, since each bottom-three team has a 47.9% chance of falling outside of the top four, its position entering the lottery is crucial — the league’s worst team can’t fall any further than No. 5 on lottery night, whereas the third-worst team could slip all the way to No. 7.

The Magic have played some of their best games of the season in recent weeks, winning home games vs. Minnesota and Golden State and picking up victories in New Orleans and Toronto earlier this month. They’re 4-5 in their last nine games, but have the NBA’s ninth-hardest remaining schedule, according to Tankathon.

The Rockets looked a week ago like the odds-on favorite to finish the season atop the lottery standings, but with three wins in their last four games, that’s now far from a certainty. Their remaining schedule is the league’s sixth-easiest, per Tankathon, and includes five home games, with just two on the road.

The Pistons, meanwhile, are 8-10 in their last 18 games, but just 2-8 in their last 10. Their remaining schedule is the league’s 11th-hardest, per Tankathon, and they have more games on the road than at home.

Of course, we shouldn’t exclude Oklahoma City from this conversation. At 21-53, the Thunder are just 1.5 games ahead of the three aforementioned clubs after losing 11 of their last 12 games. They’ll host the Pistons on Friday in what should be an important game — the winner of that contest could put itself out of the running for the No. 1 spot in the lottery standings.

The Thunder have the NBA’s ninth-easiest remaining schedule, with an equal split of home and road games. Of course, it’s worth noting that two of OKC’s upcoming games are against a tanking Portland team that is probably the NBA’s actual worst right now (even if the Blazers’ full-season record doesn’t reflect that). It would be a little surprising if the Thunder manage to lose both those meetings.

What do you think? Which team will finish the season with the NBA’s worst record and claim the top spot in the draft lottery standings? Will any of these clubs lose the rest of their games? Will there be a tie for the No. 1 spot, necessitating a coin flip?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with yours thoughts on this season’s race to the bottom.

Dwane Casey Confident In Pistons' Frontcourt Potential

March 27th, 2022 at 5:28pm CST by JD Shaw

The Pistons’ centers have serious potential to improve their three-point shooting, head coach Dwane Casey said, as relayed by Steve Kornacki of The Detroit News. Detroit has been playing Isaiah Stewart and Marvin Bagley III significant minutes, but neither player is a good shooter. “They have the ability, too,” Casey said, “and it doesn’t matter which one. Marvin is coming up and setting the screens and Isaiah has the space in the corner. His next evolution in his pro career is that he has to be able to knock that 3-point shot down, and he will. I have no questions at all that either one of them is going to be able to. But we have to have that spacing when they’re in the game together.”

Pistons Notes: Bagley, Jackson, Grant, Cunningham

March 27th, 2022 at 2:52pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

New Pistons reserve power forward Marvin Bagley III, a restricted free agent this summer, is hoping to stick around Detroit on his next contract, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News.

The Pistons, currently the No. 14 seed in the East, are 6-9 in their games with Bagley available. Beard observes that the former No. 2 overall pick has shown his scoring touch in many of those contests, hitting double figures in 13 of his 15 games with his new club. The fourth-year big man, who holds averages of 14.4 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.0 APG and 0.9 SPG across 27.1 MPG for his new team, has been a good fit in Detroit’s offense thanks to his skills as a post scorer, according to Beard.

“I’m telling you, this team is going to be great. We’ve got a lot of great pieces and I’m excited to be here and a part of it, and just building something with this team,” Bagley said. “We’ve got a great team here and we’re going to be something special if we continue to lock in on that and look at the bigger picture and continue to keep getting better every single day.”

Boasting a roster full of high lottery draft selections, including Bagley and 2021 top pick Cade Cunningham, the 20-54 Pistons appear well-positioned to build for the future. Their low standing this season guarantees that they will be able to add another lottery prospect in the 2022 draft.

There’s more out of Detroit:

This past Friday, Pistons reserve point guard Frank Jackson was available for Detroit for the first time in 11 games following a lingering spine issue. Jackson played without any limits on his availability, per Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). “No one [including Jackson] has minute restrictions at all,” Pistons head coach Dwane Casey said ahead of the game, a 100-97 loss to the Wizards. “He went through practice yesterday and shootaround today. We’ll be smart with it and not have him out long stretches just to be prudent. But he should be 100%.” The fourth-year guard is averaging 10.5 PPG, 1.6 RPG and 1.0 APG in 22.2 MPG for Detroit this year. He scored two points in 14:56 minutes of action Friday.
Pistons starting power forward Jerami Grant left Detroit’s most recent contest against the Wizards with a left calf strain and did not return to action, the team announced (Twitter link). He remains sidelined today for Detroit’s afternoon contest against the Knicks, and Bagley is starting in his stead.
Pistons rookie point guard Cade Cunningham has emerged as a late-season contender for Rookie of the Year honors. James Edwards III of The Athletic examines Cunningham’s case for the award. Cavaliers power forward/center Evan Mobley, Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, Magic wing Franz Wagner, and Thunder shooting guard Josh Giddey are the other top candidates. Cunningham’s stellar counting stats of 17.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 5.5 APG are cited, though his inefficient scoring is listed as a detriment. To be fair, an ankle injury forced Cunningham to sit during the team’s preseason and training camp, and his early-season shooting struggles could be credited in part to his not getting that crucial prep time with the team before starting his first NBA season.

Pistons’ Hamidou Diallo Out For Season

March 25th, 2022 at 8:25pm CST by Rory Maher

Pistons swingman Hamidou Diallo will miss the remainder of the 2021/22 season with a left index finger avulsion fracture, the team announced. He suffered the injury against Chicago on March 9.

The high-flying Diallo was the 45th pick of the 2018 draft after a single collegiate season with Kentucky. He spent his first two-plus seasons with Oklahoma City prior to being traded to Detroit last March.

He had a breakout third season in 2020/21, averaging 11.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists on .477/.341/.644 shooting in 52 games (23.6 minutes) with the Thunder and Pistons. Diallo was a restricted free agent last summer and re-signed with the Pistons on a two-year, $10.4MM contract.

In 58 games this season, including 29 starts, Diallo continued to be a valuable contributor. He averaged 11 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.2 steals on .496/.247/.650 shooting. The 23-year-old struggles on threes and free throws, but he’s extremely athletic, a great finisher, and plays solid defense.

The Pistons hold a $5.2MM team option on Diallo for next season, so he could technically become an unrestricted free agent in 2022 if the Pistons decline the option, but I think that’s pretty unlikely since it’s an affordable salary for a solid young player.

Injury Updates On Chris Smith, Isaiah Livers

March 25th, 2022 at 7:32am CST by Luke Adams

Pistons rookie wing Chris Smith, who has spent the season on a two-way contract recovering from an ACL tear, is undergoing another surgery and won’t make his NBA debut this season, head coach Dwane Casey said on Wednesday (Twitter link via James Edwards III of The Athletic). Smith’s two-way deal runs through 2022/23, but that doesn’t guarantee Detroit will hang onto him for next season.
Pistons rookie forward Isaiah Livers entered the NBA’s concussion protocol and missed Wednesday’s game after bumping heads with Luka Garza in practice, per Casey (Twitter link via Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press). While Livers was diagnosed with a concussion and has been ruled out for Friday’s game too, Garza was OK and didn’t have to enter the protocol.

Pistons Notes: Grant, Bagley, Hayes, Brunson, Robinson, Ayton, Draft

March 24th, 2022 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jerami Grant‘s name was prominently mentioned in trade rumors prior to last month’s deadline. More recently, a report from The Athletic claims that the Trail Blazers will make a strong push for the Pistons forward in trade talks this summer.

On that subject, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto and The Athletic’s James Edwards III opined on a HoopsHype podcast that the deal will happen this summer. Grant, who will be entering the final season of his three-year contract, would plug a major hole at power forward for the Blazers. A first-rounder would likely be required in Portland’s package for the Pistons to make such a move, though Scotto isn’t convinced it would necessarily be a high lottery pick this season.

Edwards speculates that where the Pistons land in the lottery will impact their decision on Grant. If they’re able to select Paolo Banchero, Jabari Smith, Keegan Murray, or Chet Holmgren, they’d be more inclined to deal him.

Scotto and Edwards also discussed a number of other Pistons-related issues:

The acquisition of Marvin Bagley III from Sacramento has gone well thus far and Edwards believes both parties are interested in a multi-year deal. Bagley will be a restricted free agent this summer. The Pistons view him as a second-unit standout due to his defensive shortcomings, Edwards adds.
Detroit isn’ ready to give up on point guard Killian Hayes, their 2020 lottery pick, says Edwards. Settling in as a reserve, Hayes has shown progress as a defender and his passing skills are superior.
The Pistons will likely make a push for free agents Jalen Brunson and Mitchell Robinson this summer, according to Scotto. He and Edwards agree that Detroit is less likely to go after top RFAs like Deandre Ayton or Miles Bridges.
Holmgren would probably top the Pistons’ draft wish list with Smith next in line, per Edwards.

Braxton Key Signs 10-Day Deal With Pistons

March 24th, 2022 at 9:12am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

MARCH 24: The Pistons have officially signed Key to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. The deal will run through April 2 and will be worth $53,176.

MARCH 22: Free agent forward Braxton Key is set to sign a 10-day deal with the Pistons, his agent Billy Davis informs JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link). Key was most recently with the Sixers’ NBAGL affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats.

The 19-53 Pistons are locked into the NBA lottery at this point. It makes sense for them to check out intriguing young prospects during this stretch of the season. Detroit will now get a first-hand look at the 6’8″ Key, who has enjoyed a promising season in the G League.

In 31 games with Delaware this season, including 21 starts, Key has averaged 18.9 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 3.6 APG, 2.1 SPG and 1.5 BPG. He also sports shooting splits of .475/.388/.670.

The 24-year-old signed a 10-day hardship exception contract with Philadelphia earlier this season, though he appeared in just two games for the club in limited minutes. He went undrafted out of Virginia in 2020, and latched on with the Delaware Blue Coats during the NBAGL’s Orlando “bubble” season in 2020/21.

The Pistons have an open spot on their 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be required to officially sign Key.