Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Seven Pistons Exit Protocols, Nuggets’ Monte Morris Enters

December 31st, 2021 at 7:09pm CST by Rory Maher

Cade Cunningham, Killian Hayes, Josh Jackson, Cory Joseph, Saben Lee, Trey Lyles, and Rodney McGruder have all exited the NBA’s health and safety protocols for the Pistons, James Edwards III of The Athletic relays (via Twitter).

All seven players are listed as out for Saturday’s contest against San Antonio due to reconditioning. The Pistons’ next game after Saturday will be Monday against the Bucks, when several of the players could return to action. Second-year big man Isaiah Stewart is now the lone player still in the protocols for Detroit.

In other COVID-related news, Nuggets point guard Monte Morris has become the fourth Denver player to enter the protocols in the past two days, joining Jeff Green, Bones Hyland, and Zeke Nnaji, per Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link). Morris has started all 32 of his games this season (30 MPG), averaging 12.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 4.3 APG on a .479/.380/.783 shooting line.

The Nuggets signed Davon Reed to his third 10-day hardship contract Thursday, and reportedly plan to sign Rayjon Tucker to a deal as well.

Pistons Sign Jaysean Paige To 10-Day Contract

December 31st, 2021 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

12:45pm: The Pistons have officially signed Paige to his 10-day contract, the team announced this afternoon in a press release.

7:01am: The Pistons have reached a deal to sign point guard Jaysean Paige to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, agent Dean Hadley tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link).

Paige, who went undrafted out of West Virginia in 2016, has spent this season so far with the Maine Celtics, averaging 16.9 PPG on .455/.366/.870 shooting in 14 games (26.2 MPG) for Boston’s G League affiliate.

Prior to this season, Paige has played for teams in Germany, North Macedonia, England, Hungary, and Puerto Rico. He also had a previous stint with Maine during the 2019/20 campaign.

The Pistons have experienced plenty of roster turnover this month, with eight players currently in the health and safety protocols. They’ve already signed seven other players to 10-day hardship deals, so Paige is on track to be the eighth.

Frank Jackson Out At Least 7-10 Days With Ankle Sprain

December 30th, 2021 at 2:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Pistons guard Frank Jackson has been diagnosed with a lateral ankle sprain after undergoing tests on his right ankle, the team announced today in a press release. Jackson injured the ankle in the second quarter of Detroit’s loss to New York on Wednesday.

According to the Pistons, Jackson will be reevaluated in about seven-to-10 days, at which point an update on his status will be provided.

Jackson is averaging a career-high 10.7 PPG this season for the Pistons in 33 games. His 22.7 minutes per game are also a career high and his role has only increased recently due to a series of COVID-related absences and injuries. He was in the starting lineup for Detroit’s last three games.

The Pistons’ options at the point guard spot will be extremely limited in the short term, with Jackson, Cade Cunningham, Cory Joseph, and Saben Lee all either injured or in the health and safety protocols. Hardship additions Derrick Walton and Justin Robinson figure to take the lead on ball-handling responsibilities until the team starts getting some of its regulars back.

Pistons Sign Micah Potter Via Hardship Exception

December 29th, 2021 at 3:10pm CST by Luke Adams

3:10pm: Potter’s 10-day deal with the Pistons is now official, according to the team (Twitter link). It’ll run through January 7, covering Detroit’s next five games.

12:39pm: The Pistons are signing rookie forward/center Micah Potter to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Potter, 23, went undrafted out of Wisconsin earlier this year and competed in training camp for a two-way contract with the Heat. He was waived before the regular season began and caught on with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League team.

In 11 games (all starts) for the Skyforce in 2021/22, Potter has averaged a double-double, with 14.4 PPG and 10.6 RPG in just 26.3 minutes per contest. He has also exhibited an ability to stretch the floor, knocking down 39.5% of his three-point tries (15-for-38).

The Pistons, who have eight players in the health and safety protocols, haven’t been shy about auditioning replacement players on 10-day contracts — the team already has six players on hardship deals, so Potter is on track to be the seventh.

Isaiah Livers Suspected Pistons Would Draft Him

December 29th, 2021 at 9:01am CST by Luke Adams

After growing up in Kalamazoo and playing his college ball at Michigan, Isaiah Livers appreciated the opportunity to stay close to home with the Pistons and tells James L. Edwards III of The Athletic that he had a sense entering this year’s draft that Detroit would try to land him. “(General manager) Troy (Weaver), we were talking. A lot of the pre-draft, he was very interested,” Livers said. “He told me straight-up that he was interested in me and talked about what I could bring to the table, to the team. Once he told me that, he was one of the few GMs to say that to me. I thought he was definitely going to grab me if he had the chance. I was ready.”

Pistons Sign Justin Robinson, Trayvon Palmer To 10-Day Contracts

December 28th, 2021 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have signed guard Justin Robinson and wing Trayvon Palmer to 10-day contracts using hardship exceptions, the team announced today in a press release.

Robinson began the season on a two-way contract with Milwaukee and appeared in 17 games for the team, averaging 2.8 PPG and 1.2 APG on .316/.270/1.000 shooting in 11.6 minutes per contest. After being waived by the Bucks, the 24-year-old signed a 10-day hardship deal with Sacramento and logged 15 total minutes across three games with the Kings before his contract expired on Sunday night.

Palmer, 27, is a former Chicago State standout who had been playing for the Motor City Cruise in the G League this season. In 14 NBAGL contests (34.0 MPG), he averaged 11.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 2.3 APG on .496/.418/.800 shooting.

The Pistons, who have eight players in the health and safety protocols, now have six players on 10-day hardship contracts.

Central Notes: DiVincenzo, Love, Vucevic, Pistons

December 28th, 2021 at 2:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Donte DiVincenzo missed two early layups in his return to action on Saturday, but that didn’t take away from his joy at being back on the court for the first time since May, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. It has taken seven months for the Bucks guard to work his way back from a torn ligament in his left ankle that he suffered in the first round of the playoffs.

Milwaukee’s first championship in 50 years was more remarkable considering that it was accomplished without DiVincenzo, who became a starter last year in his third NBA season. He had been scheduled to return December 15, but was forced to wait 10 extra days after entering the league’s health and safety protocols.

“I was telling Jrue (Holiday) afterwards, it kind of felt like rookie year,” DiVincenzo said. “I had those little butterflies in my stomach, anxious being on the court, just running around, I was like, ‘I’m back!’ So, it took me a little while. Obviously, it’s going to take a while. I haven’t touched a ball in a little while and just trying to get a rhythm. I’m just happy that I’m back. You can’t do anything unless you have your health on the court, so that’s all I’m thankful for, and I’ll keep building off of that.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

Brian Windhorst of ESPN looks at how the Cavaliers have found success by defying the league’s trend toward smaller lineups. In the space of less than a month, Cleveland drafted Evan Mobley, gave a $100MM extension to Jarrett Allen and traded for Lauri Markkanen. The Cavs have also benefited from a happier Kevin Love, who has accepted playing 20 minutes per night in a reserve role. “We’ve got a good thing going and I’m having a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s going to be great watching this young team develop.”
Nikola Vucevic has looked like a different player since the Bulls returned from their week-long break due to postponements and he credits advice from coach Billy Donovan, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “One thing that when I spoke to Billy that has stuck out and helped me is he knew I was frustrated with shooting the ball and he was like obviously as a player you want to shoot the ball well,” Vucevic said, “but his main thing was I shouldn’t let that affect the rest of my game.’’
With eight players and three assistant coaches in protocols, the Pistons are enjoying the advantages of having a G League team close to home, observes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. The team has called up Cheick Diallo, Derrick Walton, Cassius Stanley and Deividas Sirvydis, along with Motor City Cruise coach DJ Bakker.

Deividas Sirvydis Signs With Pistons On Hardship Exemption

December 26th, 2021 at 3:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons, who have been hit hard by COVID-19 in recent days, are signing forward Deividas Sirvydis from their G League affiliate on a 10-day contract via the hardship exemption, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The signing has been confirmed by a team press release.

Sirvydis has appeared in 14 games (eight starts) this season at the G League level for the Motor City Cruise. He’s averaging 12.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 2.1 APG in 25.7 MPG.

The 21-year-old Sirvydis was drafted in the second round by Dallas in 2019 and his rights were forwarded to the Pistons. He appeared in 20 games with Detroit last season.

Detroit has eight players in league protocols and two other prominent players, Jerami Grant and Kelly Olynyk, sidelined with long-term injuries.

COVID Updates: Joseph, Jackson, Murray, Johnson, Okeke, Rondo, Ball, Maxey

December 26th, 2021 at 12:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The league continues to be ravaged by COVID positives with an increasing number of players entering the league’s health and safety protocols. Here are the latest updates:

The Pistons, who already had six players in protocols, added guards Cory Joseph and Josh Jackson to the list, James Edwards III of The Athletic tweets. The Pistons are scheduled to play the Spurs on Sunday night. San Antonio will be without Dejounte Murray, who also entered protocols on Sunday, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
The Magic, who already had a handful of players in protocols, won’t have B.J. Johnson and Chuma Okeke available against Miami on Sunday after they joined the list, the team’s PR department tweets. Moritz Wagner has exited the protocols but is going through a reconditioning period before returning to action, per the team (Twitter link).
Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo has entered protocols, joining three other Lakers, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register tweets.
Two-way player Jose Alvarado became the third Pelicans players to enter protocols, Andrew Lopez of ESPN tweets.
Bulls guard Lonzo Ball has entered protocols, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The Bulls, who have experienced major COVID issues this month, also have Alfonzo McKinnie and Tony Bradley in protocols, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic tweets. McKinnie just signed a standard contract and he can be replaced via the hardship exemption, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Chicago has seen 14 players enter protocols this month.
On the positive side, the Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey was spotted at shootaround after exiting protocols, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.

COVID-19 Updates: Osman, Lyles, Maxey, Kings, Aldridge, Mavericks

December 25th, 2021 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

If the Cavaliers are able to host the Raptors Sunday afternoon, both teams will have a shell of their normal lineups. Cavs forward Cedi Osman has become the team’s eighth player in the league’s health and safety protocols, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. He joins Jarrett Allen, Ed Davis, Evan Mobley, RJ Nembhard, Isaac Okoro, Lamar Stevens and Dylan Windler.

Toronto’s roster is even more strained, with 10 players currently in protocols. Khem Birch, Isaac Bonga, and Justin Champagnie were placed in the protocols earlier today, joining Precious Achiuwa, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Malachi Flynn, Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr. and Fred VanVleet. Toronto will have to finalize 10-day hardship contracts with at least one more player before game time to reach the league roster minimum of eight.

There’s more COVID-19 news from around the league:

Pistons forward Trey Lyles entered the protocols Saturday, becoming the team’s sixth player this week to do so, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. Lyles is coming off his best game since signing with Detroit in the offseason, posting 28 points, eight rebounds and four blocks Thursday night. Sankofa expects rookie Luka Garza and possibly Jamorko Pickett to see more playing time while Lyles is unavailable.
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has also been placed in the protocols, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Maxey has taken over as point guard in the absence of Ben Simmons and has started 28 of the 29 games he has played in his second NBA season.
Kings forwards Marvin Bagley III and Louis King have cleared protocols and should be available Sunday, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Terence Davis has been cleared as well, Anderson tweets.
Nets coach Steve Nash said veteran big man LaMarcus Aldridge has either exited the protocols or is close, but will need time for conditioning before he can resume playing, relays Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link).
Josh Green has joined his Mavericks teammates in Utah after clearing protocols, but won’t be active for tonight’s game, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). He’s expected to be able to play during the rest of the team’s road trip.
Mavericks assistant coach Kristi Toliver tweeted on Christmas that she contracted COVID-19.