Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Pistons' Derrick Walton Jr. Living Hometown Dream

January 2nd, 2022 at 7:55pm CST by JD Shaw

Pistons guard Derrick Walton is living his hometown dream by playing with the franchise, James Edwards III of The Athletic writes. Walton, 26, is currently on a 10-day hardship deal with the organization.

COVID-19 Updates: Magic, Trail Blazers, Rockets, Pacers

January 2nd, 2022 at 2:39pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Here are the latest updates on players and coaches entering and exiting the NBA’s coronavirus health and safety protocols:

Four Magic players have cleared the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols and will suit up for Orlando against the Celtics. The team has announced (Twitter link) that center Mohamed Bamba, shooting guard Mychal Mulder, swingman Terrence Ross and point guard Hassani Gravett are all now available.
Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, who has been unavailable since December 27, has exited the NBA’s coronavirus protocols, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Portland lead assistant Scott Brooks, who had been serving in Billups’s stead as acting head coach, has entered COVID-19 protocols, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Hardship signee Cameron McGriff has entered the protocols, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter). Combo guard Anfernee Simons has left protocols after just three days, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The 13-22 Trail Blazers could certainly use all the help they can get, and the return of the 6’3″ guard will help shore up a team still missing seven players to health and safety protocols, with McGriff now replacing Simons in coronavirus protocols.
Rockets wing Garrison Mathews has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Houston rewarded Mathews for a solid performance early in the 2021/22 season by converting his two-way contract into a fresh four-year, $8MM deal last month.
Pacers small forwards Caris LeVert and T.J. Warren, plus center Goga Bitadze, have entered the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Warren has been dealing with a major foot injury since the start of 2020/21, and has only played in four games over the past two seasons. Today’s news brings Indiana’s total count for players in protocols to eight.
After exiting the protocols on Friday, Pistons guard Cory Joseph has re-entered them, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News.

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.