Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Free Agent Stock Watch: Central Division

January 29th, 2021 at 9:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Throughout the season, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents this off-season. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we take a look at players from the Central Division:

Wayne Ellington, Pistons, 33, SG (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $2.56MM deal in 2020

What has gotten into Ellington? Signed to add some depth at the shooting guard spot, Ellington has emerged as a starter and is on the hottest 3-point roll of his career. He’s knocked down at least four long balls and scored at least 16 points in each of the last seven games. Overall, he’s averaging a career-best 13.4 PPG in 24.2 MPG while making 53.2% of his 3-point attempts. Obviously, he’s not going to sustain this pace but at the least, Ellington has shown he can still help a team with his perimeter shooting.

Andre Drummond, Cavaliers, 27, C (Up) – Signed to a five-year, $127.2MM deal in 2016

Sometimes people tend to dwell on a player’s shortcomings and forget about the positives. The Pistons basically gave away Drummond to a division rival last February to clear cap space. Yes, he can’t shoot from outside and he’s brutal at the foul line but what’s so bad about having the best rebounder on the planet on your side? Drummond is averaging a career-high 18.9 PPG with the aid of two young guards breaking down defenses. With the addition of Jarrett Allen, he’s probably not in the Cavs’ long-term plans. He’s not a max player but Drummond is still one of the league’s top big men and he’ll get a strong multi-year contract despite his flaws.

Tomas Satoransky, Bulls, 29, PG/SG (Down) – Signed to a three-year, $30MM deal in 2019

Chicago has an interesting dilemma with Satoransky following the season if it’s unable to move him in a trade. His $10MM salary for next season is 50% guaranteed. The Bulls would have to eat $5MM in dead money to cut him loose but Satoransky’s status with the organization has fallen. He was once viewed as its potential solution at point guard. Right now, he’s struggling just to stay in the rotation. If he winds up in the free agent market, Satornasky won’t be viewed as more than a second-unit option.

Bobby Portis, Bucks, 25, PF (Up) – Signed to a two-year, $7.4MM deal in 2020

Portis has a $3.8MM player option on his contract for next season. The way he’s playing, he’ll certainly decline it and take his chances on the free agent market. Portis has been a solid addition for a title contender, establishing himself as the team’s sixth man. He’s averaging 10.9 PPG and is second on the team in rebounding (7.7 RPG), while his PER ranks third on the team. Portis’ offensive production has dipped some in the last two weeks but he still had a 21-point outing against Atlanta on Sunday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

And-Ones: Competitive Fairness, Surprises, Olympics, Kuminga

January 29th, 2021 at 11:06am CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA is facing competitive fairness issues stemming from pandemic-related disruptions to the schedule, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. The league has postponed 22 games through the first five weeks of the season, and the effects of health and safety protocols are showing up in the standings.

The Wizards are the most obvious example, holding the league’s worst record at 3-11 after roughly half the roster was forced to quarantine. Washington had just one practice before returning to action Sunday after two weeks off. The result was three straight losses by a combined 57 points. The Heat, defending Eastern Conference champions, are off to a 6-12 start while playing with a depleted roster. The teams at the top of the standings — the Lakers, Clippers and Jazz — have been relatively unaffected by the virus.

The Wizards and Grizzlies both had six games postponed and face a difficult road ahead to reach 72 games. Washington is looking at 39 games in 67 days when the NBA releases its second-half schedule, although the league is trying to alleviate that by moving some games to the first half.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The Pistons‘ Jerami Grant and the Hornets‘ Gordon Hayward are the biggest surprises of the early season, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. Both signed huge free agent deals during the offseason that were questioned around the league, but they have emerged as their teams’ best players. Hayward has gone back to the leader he was in Utah, Hollinger notes, while Grant has taken his game to another level.
FIBA will hold the draw ceremony for this year’s Olympic basketball tournament on February 2, the organization announced on its website. Eight men’s teams have already qualified, including Team USA, and the final four slots will be filled by the winners of tournaments to be played this summer in Canada, Croatia, Lithuania and Serbia.
At least 12 NBA teams have started research on Jonathan Kuminga, a projected high lottery pick in this year’s draft, writes Adam Zagoria for NJ.com. Kuminga, part of Team Ignite, will make his G League debut in the Orlando bubble next month. Ignite coach Brian Shaw compares him to Jaylen Brown and Paul George.
Former Net Josh Boone is the latest player to commit to Team USA for the AmeriCup qualifying tournament, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Boone, 36, plays for the Illawarra Hawks in the NBL and was last in the NBA in the 2009/10 season.

NBA Announces February Schedule Shifts, Moves Four Game Dates

January 28th, 2021 at 7:41pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The NBA has announced several adjustments to its upcoming February schedule, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. Four games will be moved up in the NBA’s schedule. The start times of 16 games have been affected thus far, to accommodate for same-day RT-PCR molecular test results for the novel coronavirus.

The Celtics–Raptors game initially penciled in for February 12 will be moved up one day to February 11. The Celtics’ next contest, hosting the Pistons, will move up from February 14 to February 12.

Finally, Boston’s trip to D.C. for a game against the Wizards – which had been expected to transpire in the second half of the 2020/21 season – has been moved up to an afternoon Valentine’s Day time slot. A Pistons home bout against the Pelicans that had been set for the second half of the compressed year has now also been moved up to February 14.

Fred Katz of The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that, with their rescheduled Celtics game now moved, the Wizards are now set to play 16 games, with five back-to-backs, for the month of February. The club was severely hamstrung by COVID-19 health and safety protocols this month, resulting in six postponements.

Knicks Rumors: Rose, Gibson, Ball, Robinson

January 27th, 2021 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Following up on a Shams Charania report from Tuesday, Marc Berman of The New York Post confirms that the Knicks have interest in Derrick Rose, though he hears from sources that the team hasn’t yet talked to the Pistons about a possible trade.

According to Berman, sources close to Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau believe he would like to reunite with Rose, who played for him in Chicago and Minnesota. Berman notes that Thibodeau “pushed hard” for New York to re-sign Taj Gibson, who was also a member of the Bulls and Timberwolves under Thibs.

If the Knicks do give up any sort of asset for Rose, that would be a strong indication the team believes it would be able to re-sign him when he becomes a free agent during the 2021 offseason, says Ian Begley of SNY.tv. For now, it remains to be seen whether the Pistons will move Rose — or whether New York will make the best offer.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

While a Tuesday report indicated that the Pelicans are open to discussing a Lonzo Ball trade, it’s unclear whether or not the Knicks would have any interest. According to Ian Begley, some people within the organization supported the idea of trading for Ball entering the 2020 offseason. However, a strong early showing from Immanuel Quickley – combined with Ball’s up-and-down play – may have changed that equation. One team monitoring the Ball situation told Begley that the Pelicans still value the former No. 2 overall pick and won’t trade him if they don’t get a strong return.
Noting that Mitchell Robinson deleted a Tuesday tweet that read, “One day they’ll let me play,” Marc Berman wonders if the young center is seeking a larger offensive role. As Berman observes, Robinson is logging 29.6 minutes per game this season, well above his previous career high, so the tweet probably wasn’t about his playing time.
With All-Star voting set to open on Thursday, Julius Randle figures to receive consideration for a spot on the Eastern Conference squad. The veteran big man is averaging 22.5 PPG, 11.3 RPG, and 6.0 APG so far in 2020/21 — those marks would all be career bests.

Clippers, Knicks Interested In Derrick Rose

January 26th, 2021 at 2:51pm CST by JD Shaw

The Clippers and Knicks are among the teams interested in Pistons point guard Derrick Rose, according to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic.

There’s no indication of Detroit’s willingness to include Rose, 32, in a deal before the March 25 trade deadline, though the team did use its No. 7 pick to select guard Killian Hayes in last year’s NBA draft.

Hayes is expected to miss at least seven or eight more weeks due to right hip subluxation, but Rose continues to come off the bench for the Pistons. He missed Monday’s game with soreness, as starter Delon Wright finished with 28 points and nine assists.

Rose is in his second season with Detroit, coming off a campaign that saw him average 18.1 points and 5.6 assists per game in 50 contests. He shot a career-high 49% for the season, mostly playing off the bench in 26 minutes per game.

The Clippers could use another creator alongside Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, having failed to upgrade their point guard position during the offseason. The team did add veterans Nicolas Batum and Serge Ibaka to improve its creation, ball movement and floor-spacing. Rose met with the franchise in free agency after it traded away Chris Paul three-and-a-half years ago.

New York also has some familiarity with Rose, as the former Most Valuable Player spent a full season with the team in 2016/17. Head coach Tom Thibodeau also coached Rose with Chicago from 2010-16 and then again with Minnesota from 2017-19.

Wayne Ellington Making Most Of Opportunity

January 24th, 2021 at 6:53pm CST by JD Shaw

Pistons veteran Wayne Ellington made the most of his opportunity as a starter on Friday, scoring 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from deep, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. Ellington, one of the league’s most underrated three-point shooters, has shot 48% from behind-the-arc in his first 11 games this season after signing with Detroit in free agency.

Details On Rockets' Trade Deadline Offer, Pistons' FA Offer For Wood

January 22nd, 2021 at 1:02pm CST by Luke Adams

At last season’s trade deadline, after agreeing to send Clint Capela to Atlanta, the Rockets pursued a deal for Christian Wood, offering the Pistons a pair of second-round picks and Isaiah Hartenstein in exchange for the big man, according to James L. Edwards III and Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Detroit rebuffed that offer and showed interest in re-signing Wood during the 2020 offseason.

The Pistons’ interest was reciprocated by Wood, and the team made him a contract offer, per Edwards and Iko. However, Detroit was pursuing free agents like Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee and wasn’t in position to use cap room on Wood as well.

Without dipping into their cap space, the Pistons had the ability to use Wood’s Early Bird rights to offer him a contract that started at $10.05MM, and – according to The Athletic’s duo – they didn’t go over that amount. That meant they were outbid when the Rockets presented Wood with a three-year offer that started at $13MM+.

With Wood’s Rockets set to face Detroit on Friday, Pistons head coach Dwane Casey said he’s proud to see the big man enjoying success in Houston, as Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press writes. “We tried to get him here, we just didn’t have enough in the bucket,” Casey said. “He’s a special kid and I think good things for him and wish him well, except for (Friday) night.” Wood has been ruled out for the game due to a sprained right ankle.

Central Notes: Porter, Sexton, Turner, Pistons

January 22nd, 2021 at 8:30am CST by Luke Adams

Having made up their minds last weekend to trade or release Kevin Porter Jr., the Cavaliers found a taker on Thursday night, agreeing to a deal that will send the second-year wing to Houston. Cleveland won’t get anything of value in return, but was at least able to move off Porter’s salaries for this season and next, opening up a roster spot in the process.

Given how high the Cavaliers were on Porter’s on-court potential following his promising rookie season, the move represents a major step back in the team’s rebuild, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. As Fedor writes, the 20-year-old was viewed by many within the organization as the player with the highest upside of any on the roster, and it was only a few months ago that he was considered virtually untouchable in trade talks.

Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, general manager Koby Altman made every effort to make things work with Porter, who has made a series of poor off-court decisions, but ultimately felt like they couldn’t get through to him and decided it was time to move on.

“The organization did everything and more for him,” a league source told Fedor. “They went above and beyond. They gave him more chances than most franchises would have.”

Here’s more from around the Central:

While Porter won’t be part of the Cavaliers‘ rebuild going forward, Collin Sexton – who poured in a career-high 42 points in an impressive win over Brooklyn on Wednesday – continues to establish himself as a cornerstone player for the franchise, Fedor writes in a separate story for Cleveland.com.
After suffering an avulsion fracture in his right hand last Thursday, Myles Turner has missed the Pacers‘ last two games, but he could be back in the lineup as early as Friday. As J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star writes, Turner’s return will come down to how much pain and discomfort he can play through. “There’s really not much you can do for it to heal,” Turner said on Thursday. “No surgery. No time off. It’s just one of those things you’ve got to get used to.”
In his latest mailbag, Rod Beard of The Detroit News explores whether the Pistons should be playing their rookies more, Jerami Grant‘s role in the team’s rebuild, and the possibility of trading Derrick Rose by this season’s deadline.

Killian Hayes Out At Least Eight More Weeks

January 20th, 2021 at 6:15pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The right hip subluxation that has sidelined Pistons rookie lottery selection Killian Hayes since January 4 will keep him off the court for at least the next eight weeks, the club announced today in a press release. Detroit will re-evaluate the 19-year-old point guard and determine a return timeline after that period.

When he first incurred the injury, Hayes was originally projected to miss about four to six weeks should a specialist determine he would not require surgery.

The silver lining to this extended absence, however, is that Hayes will apparently not require a surgical procedure to address the injury, per David Aldridge of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Veteran point guards Derrick Rose and Delon Wright will continue to soak up most of Hayes’ minutes as the rookie continues to recover. Third-year point guard Frank Jackson may get additional run. Forwards Jerami Grant and Blake Griffin will be relied upon for supplemental ball-handling.

Across his first seven NBA games, Hayes especially struggled on offense. He sported an underwhelming slash line of .277/.250/.500.

Pistons Will Consider Sending Players To G League

January 20th, 2021 at 9:34am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons won’t have a G League affiliate of their own participating in the revamped 2020/21 season, but they’ll consider using the flexible assignment option to get some of their young players some regular playing time at a lower level, head coach Dwane Casey said on Tuesday, per Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. “Right now they’re playing (NBA) games when they should be learning the G League, making mistakes and learning from them in the G League instead of our games,” Casey said of the team’s inexperienced youngsters.