- Despite battling an injury to start his rookie campaign, Pistons first overall pick Cade Cunningham remains ever-confident in his abilities on and off the court, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Cunningham says he’s constantly adding to his game. “Every game, I feel like I add something to the hard drive and something to my game,” Cunningham said. “I’ve learned so much about me as a person and me as a player since I got to the NBA. It’s promising for me, at least, to stay confident and just believe in myself for the future.” Cunningham had 25 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists on Monday against the Kings.
- Rod Beard of The Detroit News details how Pistons forward Josh Jackson found his way home to Detroit, and now he’s finding his way with the team. Jackson, an unrestricted free agent in 2022, says he grew up a Pistons fan. “It just kind of makes me feel like everything came full circle for me. Obviously, this was the team I grew up watching pretty much all of my early years,” Jackson said.
- The Pistons reportedly have some interest in Kings big man Marvin Bagley III, the former No. 2 overall pick who has been benched most of the season. Their interest could heighten with Kelly Olynyk sidelined at least six weeks. The Athletic’s beat reporters for those teams, James Edwards III and Jason Jones, explore potential trade scenarios, suggesting that a package of Josh Jackson and Trey Lyles might work for both sides once Lyles, who was signed as a free agent this summer, becomes trade-eligible.
- Pistons coach Dwane Casey offered high praise for Cavaliers rookie Evan Mobley, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press tweets. “The young man’s ceiling is off the charts, and not only that, he’s a great young man,” Casey said of the No. 3 overall pick. “He’s a student, he’s a sponge, he’s a quick-learner.” Mobley had 16 points, seven rebounds and three blocks against Detroit on Friday, while top pick Cade Cunningham committed seven turnovers in Detroit’s 20-point loss.
The Pistons are considered a team to watch as a possible suitor for Kings big man Marvin Bagley III, according to Marc Stein. Within his latest Substack column, Stein cites league sources who say Detroit has been tracking Bagley since last season, before the forward fell out of favor in Sacramento.
The second overall pick in the 2018 draft, Bagley had a promising rookie year for the Kings, averaging 14.9 PPG and 7.6 RPG in 62 games. However, his production hasn’t improved at all since then and his role has been reduced. Last month, the Kings informed Bagley that he wouldn’t be part of the club’s rotation to open the season, prompting agent Jeff Schwartz to put out a statement blasting Sacramento for its handling of his client.
“It’s clear they have no plans for him in the future, and yet, passed on potential deals at last year’s deadline and this summer based on ‘value,'” Schwartz said in that statement. “Instead they chose to bring him back but not play him, a move completely contradictory to their ‘value’ argument. This is a case study in mismanagement by the Kings organization.”
Bagley has appeared in just one game so far this season, logging 10 minutes of action on October 22 in a loss to Utah. A report earlier this week suggested that the 22-year-old refused to check into Monday’s game when head coach Luke Walton called his number.
While the Kings would presumably welcome the opportunity to trade Bagley, who is in the final year of his rookie contract, Stein says a deal is unlikely to be made until sometime after December 15, when more players become trade-eligible.
It’s unclear what the Pistons would be willing to give up for Bagley. The team only has three players earning over $6MM this season — Jerami Grant, Kelly Olynyk, and Cade Cunningham. Grant and Cunningham obviously wouldn’t be in play for Bagley, and I doubt the team would want to give up Olynyk just months after making a significant commitment to him in free agency.
In order to match Bagley’s $11.3MM salary then, the Pistons may have to package a couple lesser-paid players, including perhaps Hamidou Diallo ($5.2MM), who doesn’t currently have a regular role in the club’s rotation. Diallo can’t be dealt until January 15.
- Pistons rookie Luka Garza has been recalled to the NBA from the G League following Kelly Olynyk‘s knee injury, the club announced today (via Twitter). Unlike Simonovic, Garza has seen some NBA action already, logging 39 minutes across five games. Olynyk’s absence should open the door for him to play a slightly larger role.
The Pistons announced that big man Kelly Olynyk suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee Wednesday night against the Rockets. Olynyk will be re-evaluated in six weeks (Twitter link).
The Pistons signed Olynyk to a three-year, $37MM contract during free agency. The third year is a team option. He was signed to provide floor spacing for the Pistons, who have struggled with outside shooting the past two seasons (they’re currently dead last in team three-point percentage at 28.5%).
Through 10 games, Olynyk is averaging 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals in 23.0 minutes per contest.
It’s a tough blow for the 2-8 Pistons, who are already thin in frontcourt depth. Although he has come off the bench for all but one game, Olynyk has played virtually the same amount of minutes as second-year starting center Isaiah Stewart (23.0 versus 22.9). Stewart’s minutes should increase with Olynyk sidelined.
Rookie center Luka Garza, who’s currently assigned to the team’s G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise, figures to see some rotational minutes in Olynyk’s stead. Trey Lyles, another free agent acquisition, should also see an uptick in minutes as a small-ball center.
Outside of Jerami Grant, the Pistons‘ starting lineup is made up entirely of first- and second-year players. And while the franchise is high on the long-term prospects of those players – Cade Cunningham, Killian Hayes, Saddiq Bey, and Isaiah Stewart – head coach Dwane Casey acknowledged that there will be growing pains as Detroit goes through what general manager Troy Weaver has called a “restoration” process.
“It’s called restore or rebuild. It wouldn’t be a rebuild if we had veteran guards and veteran wings,” Casey said on Monday, per Rod Beard of The Detroit News. “Those are the guys we’re building with, and they’re kind of the cornerstones right now, so that’s what you go through. We didn’t go out and bring a 10-year vet in to star in that position.
“So, that’s part of the growth, and with that growth comes trials and tribulations, and it’s not always going to be pretty.”
At 1-8, the Pistons are in dead-last in the Eastern Conference and are unlikely to make a push for a play-in spot this season. Still, as Beard relays, Casey doesn’t sound all that concerned about the club’s win-loss record.
“Your wins may not be winning the game; you may win by getting better defensively or getting better offensively, getting better connected as a group,” Casey said. “We do all those things; if we grow in those areas, winning will take care of itself. Those guys are our cornerstones and that’s the thought process about keeping those guys together — let them grow.”
Here’s more out of Detroit:
- In an interesting piece for The Athletic, James L. Edwards III breaks down some film from Cunningham’s first few NBA games with the help of Cunningham himself, discussing certain plays and strategies with the No. 1 overall pick.
- The Pistons are already seeing the benefits of having their G League team based in downtown Detroit, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press, who notes that the team sent Cunningham to the Motor City Cruise for rehab purposes and is able to shuttle young players like Luka Garza and Saben Lee back and forth between the NBA and NBAGL. Lee scored 42 points in Motor City’s season opener. The Pistons’ G League affiliate was previously located in Grand Rapids.
- In a mailbag for The Detroit News, Beard fields a handful of Pistons-related questions, examining Cory Joseph‘s role, checking on Isaiah Livers‘ status, and explaining that it’s way too early to second-guess the Pistons’ pick of Cunningham at No. 1 in this year’s draft.
- Free agent big man Cheick Diallo is joining the Pistons‘ G League affiliate, James Edwards III of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). Diallo, a four-year NBA veteran, last played in Spain. He’s played 180 NBA games since being drafted No. 33 overall in 2016.
Kevin Durant offered high praise for top pick Cade Cunningham after the Nets’ narrow win over the Pistons on Friday, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press relays (Twitter links).
“I love Cade’s game. I think he’s going to be a tough, tough player for a long, long time,” Durant said. “I got to know him when he was in high school so we got to build a little relationship. To play against him in the NBA is sweet.”
Cunningham had a team-high 17 points in the 96-90 loss. He missed the first four games with an ankle sprain.
“We had a lot of conversations about being on this level and what it took,” Durant added. “To see him out here battling through some injuries in the start, but to come out here and play aggressive tonight and hit some big shots, I’m happy for him and looking forward to seeing his career.”
We have more on the Pistons:
- Cunningham has shot poorly thus far but he’s not hesitant to take big shots and he shrugs off criticism, James Edwards of The Athletic writes. “I know what comes with being the No. 1 pick, the target on your back,” Cunningham said. “People want to see you mess up. I’ve always just been myself. I’ve never changed myself to feel like what people feel I should be like.” Cunningham is shooting 23.2% from the field and 14.3% on 3-point attempts.
- The team assigned rookies Luka Garza and Isaiah Livers and second-year guard Saben Lee to the Motor City Cruise after Friday’s game, the team’s PR department tweets. The NBA team doesn’t play again until a road game against Houston on Wednesday.
- Prior to the latest losses, coach Dwane Casey said he didn’t plan on making any major rotation changes in the near future, according to Rod Beard of The Detroit News. “We will look at things for 20-game increments to see why our young guys are and to see what we have and see how they react,” Casey said. “They’re our future, our foundation, so there’s no use of flipping the lineup or changing lineups trying to (fix things). Their growth is the most important thing and I think I’ve said it a million times.”
Only four NBA teams currently project to have significant cap room in the 2022 offseason, writes Danny Leroux of The Athletic. Not only is that number lower than usual, but none of those four teams appear likely to have enough space for a maximum-salary player worth 30% of the cap, Leroux adds.
The Pistons currently project to have the most space, with Blake Griffin‘s dead money coming off their books. According to Leroux, the Magic, Spurs, and Grizzlies join them as the other clubs likely to have at least $15MM in room. Teams like the Wizards and Bulls could have room too, but that would be a worst-case scenario for those clubs, since it would mean losing Bradley Beal and Zach LaVine, respectively, in free agency.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Veteran NBA swingman Lance Stephenson spoke to Jack Green of Betway about his decision to play in the G League and the role he expects to have with the Grand Rapids Gold, the Nuggets‘ new affiliate. Stephenson, who worked out for several NBA teams during the offseason, hopes to show in the NBAGL that he still has plenty left in the tank. “My body feels amazing,” he said. “I don’t feel like an older guy, I still feel like a young guy. So I think I’ve got a couple more years left.”
- The original plan for the Mexico City Capitanes was to join the NBA G League for the 2020/21 season. However, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed their debut back by a year, and the team has now been uprooted from its home in Mexico due to pandemic-related travel concerns. Eric Gomez of ESPN takes an in-depth at the new G League franchise and the adjustments it has had to make over the last couple years.
- Former CAA agent Michael Tellem has joined Excel Sports, the agency announced (via Twitter). Danilo Gallinari, Jakob Poeltl, and Daniel Theis are among the most notable NBA clients for Tellem, whose father is Pistons vice chairman and former agent Arn Tellem.
- It’s not just NBA scouts and executives who have been impressed so far by the new Overtime Elite league — the program’s level of professionalism and credibility has also made an impact on its players, writes Kyle Tucker of The Athletic. “It’s even more than I thought it would be,” said 2022 draft-eligible forward Kok Yat. “If I didn’t come here, no NBA scouts would know who I am. You want to be seen, so this feels like a huge step.”
- All minutes restrictions regarding Pistons rookie guard Cade Cunningham have been lifted, the Detroit Free Press’ Omari Sankofa II tweets. The top pick in the draft missed the first four games due to an ankle injury and sat out the second game of a back-to-back this weekend. He’s now cleared to play on back-to-back nights. The Pistons face Brooklyn on Friday after playing Philadelphia on Thursday.