Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks, Wizards Among Teams Interested In Jerami Grant

January 10th, 2022 at 11:14am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks and Wizards are among the many teams in pursuit of Pistons forward Jerami Grant, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Charania also reiterates that the Trail Blazers and Lakers have interest in Grant, which he first stated last month when he reported that Detroit was open to the idea of moving the 27-year-old.

Grant has been tasked with more offensive responsibilities in Detroit and has responded by averaging 21.6 PPG in 78 games (33.7 MPG) across his two seasons with the organization. Of course, many teams eyeing him as a trade target may value his defensive ability and versatility even more highly than his contributions on offense.

The Knicks and Wizards are two teams that could use a solid frontcourt defender like Grant. New York ranks 19th in defensive efficiency this season after placing fourth in 2020/21. Washington has been ever worse this season, coming in at 23rd in defensive efficiency.

Attaching draft assets to Knicks swingman Evan Fournier ($17.1MM) or Wizards forward Davis Bertans ($16MM) would perhaps be the most logical way for the two Eastern clubs to construct offers that would match Grant’s $20MM salary. However, both teams have the flexibility to include other players in their respective offers if Detroit doesn’t want to take on long-term money — Bertans and Fournier are both owed guaranteed salaries through 2024.

Central Notes: Stephenson, Sabonis, Karnisovas, Pistons

January 9th, 2022 at 12:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lance Stephenson‘s return to the Pacers has helped boost Domantas Sabonis‘ scoring numbers, including a career-high 42 points Saturday night, writes James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star. Sabonis, who topped 32 points for the third time in the four games that Stephenson has played, had a thunderous dunk in the fourth quarter Saturday on a pass that Stephenson delivered in a pick and roll.

“We took it back because you know me and Domas, we was in the second unit the second time I came back here (in 2017/18), and me and him used to do the pick and roll and it used to be like showtime,” Stephenson said. “So I just felt like it was a flashback like, ‘Oh, man! I just know he gonna be there!’ And you know I had to put my little twist on it.”

Stephenson, whose 10-day contract will expire on Monday, is expected to be signed for the rest of the season. He has been impressive since joining the Pacers, averaging 14.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 22.8 minutes per game.

There’s more from the Central Division:

Bulls executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas pointed to the team’s chemistry when asked about the trade deadline during a radio interview this week, relays K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “I think we’d like to see how this group works together, and we’ve got to be really sensitive to any changes, if any, we will have,” Karnisovas said. “Like I said, these guys have a great locker room, a great vibe. They like each other. It’s a joy to watch what they’re doing on the floor. But of course, there’s room to improve as a group and I’m looking forward to watching them.”
The Bulls have the best offensive rating in the league during their nine-game winning streak and have been able to score without relying heavily on three-point shots, notes Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. Coach Billy Donovan said he wouldn’t mind seeing the team shoot more from long distance as long as they’re high-quality shots.
Pistons coach Dwane Casey hopes his team used its COVID-19 outbreak as a learning experience, per Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. Detroit had nine players enter the health and safety protocols since December 22 and used eight G League players to replace them. “Our medical staff, coaching staff, everybody learned what you can do and how much you can go and still be functional through those two games,” Casey said. “Maybe it was too quick. Maybe you need more time for conditioning. But we learned and moved on. I think the whole league is learning.”

Pistons Sign Cassius Stanley To Second 10-Day Contract

January 8th, 2022 at 3:43pm CST by JD Shaw

The Pistons have signed guard Cassius Stanley to a second 10-day contract using the COVID-related hardship allowance, the team announced (via Twitter). Stanley’s first 10-day hardship deal with the club expired on Tuesday.

Stanley averaged 10.7 points in his three games with Detroit, shooting 48% from the floor and 44% from downtown. In 12 G League games with Motor City this season, he’s averaged 10 points, 4.2 rebounds and 23.6 minutes per contest.

The Pistons own the second-worst record in the league at 7-30. Along with Stanley on a 10-day deal, the team’s current backcourt rotation includes Killian Hayes, Cade Cunningham, Saben Lee and Rodney McGruder.

Paige Let Go Before 10-Day Ends

January 8th, 2022 at 12:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons terminated the 10-day contract of Jaysean Paige a couple days before it expired, Keith Smith tweets. The Pistons used the hardship exception to sign Paige but their players have returned from protocols. Early terminated 10-day deals still pay the player the full 10-day amount, as Smith notes.

COVID Updates: Gobert, Holiday, Jackson, Moon, Mykhailiuk

January 6th, 2022 at 5:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rudy Gobert has entered the league’s health and safety protocols. The Jazz center returned two rapid negative tests on Thursday but his PCR test overnight came back positive, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter links). Of course, Gobert’s COVID-19 positive in March 2020 led to postponements and cancellations across the sports world. The big man is having another fine season, averaging 15.5 PPG and 15.1 RPG.

We have more on players entering or exiting the health and safety protocols:

Bucks point guard Jrue Holiday has entered the protocols, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. Holiday, who was also in protocols last season, joins teammates George Hill, Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton.
After eight teammates exited protocols this week, Pistons guard Frank Jackson entered the protocols, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. Jackson is currently sidelined with an ankle injury.
Clippers guard Xavier Moon has entered the protocols, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Moon signed a second 10-day contract under the hardship exception on Tuesday.
Raptors swingman Svi Mykhailiuk has cleared the protocols and is available for Friday’s game against Utah, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets.

Central Notes: Matthews, DiVincenzo, Olynyk, Rondo

January 5th, 2022 at 9:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Veteran Bucks reserve shooting guard Wesley Matthews is making the most of his second stint in Milwaukee, writes Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Madison, Wisconsin native, a Marquette alum, made it clear that he wanted to return to the reigning champs. In 11 contests with the Bucks, the 35-year-old wing is averaging 5.6 PPG on a .511/.419/600 shooting line across 16.6 MPG.

“This is what I wanted, this is where I wanted to be,” Matthews said of his Bucks reunion. “I knew in my heart this is where I wanted to be and I felt that from the team, from the organization top-down and now we’re here and I can’t be more excited and happy for it.”

Matthews joined the Bucks on a non-guaranteed contract last month. The team will have to make a decision on whether to keep him around for the rest of the year by the league’s Friday deadline.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Just three games into his return from ankle surgery during the 2021 postseason, Bucks shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo suffered a mild ankle injury. He has already resumed on-court workouts, and Milwaukee will have a better sense of a timeline for his return to action next week, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link). Playing 16.7 MPG in his three games this season, the 6’4″ wing out of Villanova is averaging 7.3 PPG and 5.7 RPG for the Bucks.
Pistons big man Kelly Olynyk, who has been out for Detroit since suffering a Grade 2 MCL sprain two months ago, has begun working out at the team’s practice facility, per Rod Beard of the Detroit News (via Twitter). Beard adds that the Pistons do not yet have a timeline for Olynyk’s return to game action.
New Cavaliers point guard Rajon Rondo is hoping to have a bigger role in Cleveland than he did with his most recent club, the Lakers, writes Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. “I’ve always been the underdog my entire career,” Rondo said. “I love the expectations of being ‘done’ or not expected to do things. That’s what I kind of pride myself on, doing the impossible and doing the unthinkable. This group has the talent to do it. I’m looking forward to making some noise.” In 16.1 MPG across 18 games for the Lakers this season, the 35-year-old veteran point guard averaged just 3.1 PPG, 3.7 APG and 2.7 RPG.

COVID-19 Updates: Wizards, Budenholzer, Celtics, Nance, Duarte, More

January 5th, 2022 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards are on the verge of replenishing their point guard depth, with Spencer Dinwiddie and Aaron Holiday now out of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). Both players will remain sidelined for at least one more game, however, as they work on their conditioning.

Here are more protocol-related updates from around the league:

Mike Budenholzer has become the latest head coach to enter the health and safety protocols, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Darvin Ham will serve as the Bucks‘ acting head coach in Budenholzer’s absence.
Aaron Nesmith has exited the health and safety protocols, but another Celtics player – Payton Pritchard – has entered them, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
Trail Blazers big man Larry Nance Jr. entered the COVID-19 protocols on Tuesday, but it’s possible he’ll be able to clear them quickly. According to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (Twitter links), head coach Chauncey Billups said Nance registered an inconclusive test, so if he can return two consecutive negatives at least 24 hours apart, he’ll exit the protocols.
Pacers rookie Chris Duarte has cleared the protocols, though he’s doubtful to play in Wednesday’s game vs. Brooklyn, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.
Cory Joseph, who was the last Pistons player in the protocols, has exited them, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Joseph remains unavailable for Wednesday’s game in Charlotte due to return to competition reconditioning.
Rookies Marko Simonovic (Bulls) and Brandon Boston Jr. (Clippers) were at their respective teams’ practices today and are no longer in the protocols (Twitter links via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago and Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times).
Other players who have cleared the protocols include Spurs forward Devontae Cacok and Mavericks rookie JaQuori McLaughlin. Cacok is out vs. Boston on Wednesday due to return to competition reconditioning (Twitter link via Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News), while McLaughlin is no longer on Dallas’ injury report.

COVID-19 Updates: Raptors, Thunder, Stewart, Freedom, Strus

January 4th, 2022 at 1:51pm CST by Luke Adams

After briefly having no players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols for the first time in weeks, the Raptors placed Svi Mykhailiuk and Yuta Watanabe in the protocols today, tweets Eric Koreen of The Athletic.

According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (via Twitter), only three players on the Raptors’ roster have avoided entering the protocols in the last month. Two of those players – David Johnson (injury) and Goran Dragic (personal) – have been away from the team, leaving Chris Boucher as the lone active player not to be affected.

Here are a few more protocol-related updates:

Thunder guard Tre Mann and big man Darius Bazley have cleared the health and safety protocols, acting head coach Mike Wilks said today (Twitter link via Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman). That leaves rookie Jeremiah Robinson-Earl as the only Oklahoma City player still in the protocols.
Celtics center Enes Freedom returned to practice today, having exited the COVID-19 protocols, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link). Aaron Nesmith is the only Celtic who remains in the protocols.
Isaiah Stewart has cleared the protocols and met the Pistons in Charlotte, tweets James Edwards III of The Athletic. It’s unclear if the big man will be available on Wednesday vs. the Hornets or if he’ll need more time to get back into game condition.
Heat guard Max Strus is no longer in the protocols, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Miami now has four players in the protocols, with six hardship additions on 10-day deals, so not all of those players will be able to be active going forward.
The full list of players in the COVID-19 protocols can be found right here.

NBA Reschedules 11 Postponed Games

January 3rd, 2022 at 7:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA has announced the rescheduling of the 11 games postponed in December due to COVID-19 issues, listing the changes in a press release.

Additionally, eight other scheduled games have been shifted to accommodate the postponements. A pair of others have been shifted to new starting times.

Most notably, Kyle Lowry‘s return to Toronto will take place two days earlier than anticipated, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN points out.

The Raptors will now host the Bulls on February 3 instead of the Heat. Lowry’s return will occur on Feb. 1 in Miami’s rescheduled visit. The game that Toronto was originally scheduled to play that day against the Hawks will now be played on January 31.

The first two makeups will occur next week — the Nets at the Trail Blazers on Monday, January 10 and the Pistons at the Bulls on Tues, Jan. 11.

“There’s no easy way to do this,” Nets coach Steve Nash said to Bontemps and other media members. “If we were expecting it to be a sweet little add to the schedule, and no blood drawn, that would be foolish.”

The other rescheduled dates are as follows:

New Orleans Pelicans at Philadelphia 76ers
- Previous: Dec. 19
- New: Jan. 25
Denver Nuggets at Brooklyn Nets
- Previous: Dec. 19
- New: Jan. 26
Toronto Raptors at Chicago Bulls
- Previous: Dec. 22
- New: Jan. 26
Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors
- Previous: Dec. 16
- New: Feb. 3
Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs
- Previous: Dec. 29
- New: Feb. 3
Washington Wizards at Brooklyn Nets
- Previous: Dec. 21
- New: Feb. 17
Orlando Magic at Toronto Raptors
- Previous: Dec. 20
- New: March 4
Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets
- Previous: Dec. 30
- New: March 7
Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks
- Previous: Dec. 19
- New: March 31

Central Notes: Grant, Pistons, Pacers, Love

January 3rd, 2022 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons aren’t likely to make a series of major deals at this year’s trade deadline, but Jerami Grant looks increasingly like a candidate to be on the move, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, who hears from sources that contending teams are “routinely calling” Detroit to inquire on the veteran forward.

Edwards views Grant as the most realistic trade chip on the Pistons’ roster, since the team doesn’t seem interested in trading any of its top first- or second-year prospects and doesn’t have any other veterans who would generate as significant a return as Grant.

Within his story, Edwards considers what a Grant trade might look like, exploring scenarios involving Atlanta, Chicago, Indiana, and Memphis. While those ideas are merely hypothetical for now, Edwards notes within his section on the Bulls that the Pistons were high on Patrick Williams during the 2020 draft — Williams, who is expected to miss the rest of the regular season due to left wrist injury, could be available if Chicago wants to take another big swing at the trade deadline.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer also explores trade scenarios involving Grant, suggesting it makes sense for the Pistons to maximize their return for the versatile forward this season and further invest in their youth.
Within the same story for The Ringer, O’Connor cites sources who say the Pacers will listen to trade offers heavy on draft picks, but would prefer to make deals for players who can help them get back to the playoffs. While Indiana is said to be open to trading Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, and/or Caris LeVert, the team may be seeking players who are of “near-equal value” in the short term, says O’Connor.
Long viewed as a candidate to be traded or bought out, Kevin Love has once again emerged as a valuable contributor for the Cavaliers in recent weeks, writes Joe Noga of Cleveland.com. Since December 1, the veteran forward has put up 18.1 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 2.3 APG in just 22.3 MPG (16 games). That would be Love’s highest scoring average since 2016/17 despite a career low in minutes.