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Pistons Notes: Casey, Future Rosters, Wood, Lottery Odds

March 10th, 2020 at 12:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

Coach Dwane Casey has embraced the idea of rebuilding, even though it’s not the situation he expected when he joined the Pistons two years ago, writes John Niyo of The Detroit News. Casey thought he was taking over a perennial playoff team, but injuries wrecked Detroit’s season and pushed the franchise in a new direction.

Pistons players have missed a combined 246 games this season, the third-highest total in the league. The most significant injury was the knee issue that forced Blake Griffin to have an arthroscopic procedure in January, his second knee surgery in nine months. That led to the decisions to trade center Andre Drummond, buy out Reggie Jackson and start building for the future.

Detroit will be one of a handful of clubs with cap space this summer, and Casey knows the team needs to use it wisely.

“Even though I want to go out and get every top free agent, we have to be smart,” he said. “It’s gotta be with the future in mind, the right decisions. And if the right free agent doesn’t come along, you don’t just go out and overspend because you have cap room. We have smart people upstairs and I understand that.”

There’s more from Detroit:

James L. Edwards III of The Athletic projects which current players will remain with the Pistons over the next three seasons. He expects the front office to sign promising big man Christian Wood to a long-term contract this summer and sees few significant changes for next year. Edwards predicts Griffin will be traded before the 2021/22 season, which will be the final one for his current contract, while Luke Kennard will probably be shipped to a contender as well. Edwards believes the team will start moving back toward contention by 2022/23.
Wood has emerged as a potential star after being waived by the Pelicans last summer and having to win a training camp battle for the final roster spot in Detroit, notes Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer. The Drummond trade created an opportunity, and Wood has responded by averaging 22.0 points and 10.2 rebounds in the 12 games since moving into the starting lineup.
With just one victory since the All-Star break, the Pistons are increasing their chances for the top pick in the draft, observes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. The three teams with the worst records have equal odds of winning the lottery, and Detroit, which has the league’s fifth-toughest schedule over the rest of the season, is just one game away from joining that group.

Wood Exerts Himself As Go-To Scorer

March 9th, 2020 at 10:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons power forward Christian Wood believes he needs to take a bigger offensive role with Derrick Rose sidelined, as he told the Detroit Free Press and other media members. Wood, an unrestricted free agent after the season, notched back-to-back career highs with 29 points against Oklahoma City and 30 against Utah last week. Rose is expected to miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury. “My mindset has been attack, take advantage of the opportunity,” Wood said. “With D-Rose being gone, I’ve got to be one of the first options for the team. I think I’ve been doing a good job of that and helping my team score.”

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/9/20

March 9th, 2020 at 7:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

Forward Donta Hall has been recalled by the Pistons, James Edwards of The Athletic tweets. Hall is nearing the end of his second 10-day contract with the club. He has appeared in three Pistons games since signing his first one.
The Grizzlies assigned and then recalled swingman Justise Winslow, the team’s PR department tweets. Winslow participated in a practice with the G League club as part of a rehab assignment for his back injury.
The Hornets recalled guard Dwayne Bacon from their Greensboro affiiliate, according a team press release. Bacon has appeared in 39 games with Charlotte, posting averages of 5.7 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 1.3 APG in 17.6 MPG.
The Knicks assigned rookie Ignas Brazdeikis to their Westchester affiliate, according to the G League transactions log. Brazdeikis, a second-round pick out of Michigan, has appeared in nine Knicks games.
The Jazz assigned guard Miye Oni to the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the same log. The rookie out of Yale has played in five Utah games.

2019/20 Disabled Player Exceptions To Expire On Tuesday

March 9th, 2020 at 11:10am CST by Luke Adams

March 10 is the last day that teams are allowed to disabled player exceptions for the 2019/20 season, which means the six clubs that still have DPEs available will see them expire if they’re not used on Monday or Tuesday.

We go into more detail on how exactly disabled player exceptions work in our glossary entry on the subject. Essentially though, a DPE gives a team the opportunity to add an injury replacement by either signing a player to a one-year contract, trading for a player in the final year of his contract, or placing a waiver claim on a player in the final year of his contract.

Trades are often the simplest way to make use of disabled player exceptions, but we’re well past the 2019/20 deadline, so that’s no longer an option.

There also don’t appear to be any players on the free agent market or on waivers at the moment who are worthy of an investment larger than the veteran’s minimum — especially since there are no true contenders among the five teams with disabled player exceptions still on hand. As such, I expect the remaining six available DPEs to ultimately go unused.

Here’s a breakdown of the eight DPEs granted by the NBA this season, including the two that were used in recent weeks:

Disabled player exceptions still available:

Detroit Pistons: $9,258,000 (Blake Griffin) (story)
Orlando Magic: $4,629,000 (Al-Farouq Aminu) (story)
New Orleans Pelicans: $3,625,000 (Darius Miller) (story)
Portland Trail Blazers: $2,859,000 (Rodney Hood) (story)
Cleveland Cavaliers: $1,017,900 (Dylan Windler) (story)
Brooklyn Nets: $839,427 (David Nwaba) (story)

Disabled player exceptions that have been used:

Washington Wizards: $4,365,079 (C.J. Miles) (story)
- Used to acquire Shabazz Napier.
Los Angeles Lakers: $1,750,000 (DeMarcus Cousins) (story)
- Used to sign Markieff Morris.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/8/20

March 8th, 2020 at 8:29pm CST by JD Shaw

Here are Sunday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

The Nuggets have recalled Keita Bates-Diop from the Windy City Bulls, announcing the news on social media. Bates-Diop was the No. 48 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, with the 24-year-old appearing in two games with Denver on the season.
The Pistons have assigned forward Donta Hall to their G League affiliate in Grand Rapids, the team announced on social media. Hall is on a second 10-day contract with Detroit and is under strong consideration for a rest-of-season deal.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/6/20

March 6th, 2020 at 7:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Friday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Celtics assigned rookie center Vincent Poirier and rookie guard Carsen Edwards to their Maine affiliate, the team’s PR department tweets. Poirier has seen action in 21 games with Boston this season, while Edwards has taken the court in 35 games.
The Pacers assigned forward Alize Johnson to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team’s PR department tweets. Johnson, a 2018 second-round pick, has appeared in 13 games with Indiana this season.
The Pistons assigned rookie forwards Sekou Doumbouya and Donta Hall to their Grand Rapids affiliate, James Edwards of The Athletic tweets. Doumbouya, the team’s first-round pick, is averaging 6.5 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 19.9 MPG in 35 games this season. Hall is on his second 10-day contract with the NBA club.

Pistons Notes: Griffin, Doumbouya, McRae, Brown

March 6th, 2020 at 5:14pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons forward Blake Griffin hasn’t discussed his future with the team’s front office since the franchise went into full rebuild mode, he told the Detroit Free Press. Griffin is making good progress from the arthroscopic debridement of his left knee he underwent in January, the second surgical procedure he had on the knee in less than nine months.

“My focus is on what I can control and that’s my rehab and getting back on the court,” he said. “When the time comes, I’ll have that conversation but I don’t think that time is right now.”

Griffin’s latest rehab has gone well and he expects to do his usual offseason training regimen. His guaranteed $36.8MM cap charge for next season and a ’21/22 player option worth nearly $39MM will be nearly impossible to move in a trade.

We have more on the Pistons:

Rookie first-rounder Sekou Doumbouya was assigned to the Pistons’ G League affiliate in Grand Rapids on Friday for a simple reason. “Sekou needs to play. He needs to play as much as anything,” coach Dwane Casey said. “I’ve had other players who are now stars in this league play (their first) two years doing the same thing. There’s no disrespect going down there.” Doumbouya showed his potential by reaching double digits in points seven times during an eight-game stretch in January but he’s only scored in double digits once since that outburst.
Guard Jordan McRae, who was claimed off waivers earlier this week, has a favorable early impression of the organization. McRae will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and hopes to establish some roots after playing for three teams this season. “We haven’t talking about anything like that,” McRae said of whether Detroit plans to re-sign him. “I’ve been to a lot of places and this is top-notch. If this is the place I could make a home, I would love to.”
Guard Bruce Brown has missed the last four games due to a sore left knee but he’s expected to return against Utah on Saturday. Brown has practiced this week and Casey thought he’d play against Oklahoma City on Wednesday but the medical staff decided he needed a little more time.

Suns Pursued Gordon, Mavs Went After Gallinari At Deadline

March 6th, 2020 at 12:19pm CST by Luke Adams

Within his latest Inside Pass column for The Athletic, Shams Charania passes along details on several deals that were pursued but didn’t get done at the 2020 trade deadline, a month ago today.

According to Charania, the Suns made a “late push” for Magic forward Aaron Gordon, while the Mavericks did the same for Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari. Gallinari is on an expiring contract, but Gordon is under team control for two more years beyond this season and is expected to receive interest from multiple teams this offseason if Orlando is willing to move him, Charania says.

Elsewhere in the Western Conference, the Nuggets attempted to make a “major trade” just before the deadline, sources tell The Athletic. Charania notes that Jrue Holiday was a player of significant interest for Denver, though it’s not clear if he was the player the Nuggets were pushing for at the deadline. The Pelicans never showed any interest in moving Holiday, per Charania.

Finally, while we’ve previously heard that the Lakers made an offer for point guard Derrick Rose, Charania provides some additional details on that offer, writing that it included fan favorite Alex Caruso and draft compensation. The Lakers would have needed to include at least one more player in that package for salary-matching purposes. In any case, the Pistons weren’t interested in moving Rose.

Although nothing materialized on any of these fronts, there’s value in knowing which teams pursued which players, since many of them remain under contract beyond this season and could become trade targets again down the road. Someone like Gallinari, meanwhile, could be on Dallas’ wish list in free agency, assuming the Mavs didn’t simply view him as a rental.

McRae Has Chance to Earn Spot With Pistons

March 5th, 2020 at 10:05pm CST by Jovan Alford

With the Pistons potentially gearing up for a rebuild, newly-acquired guard Jordan McRae will get an opportunity to show Detroit’s front-office brass that he’s a keeper, writes Ron Beard of the Detroit News. McRae scored 15 points in his debut on Wednesday night against the Thunder.

Pistons Claim Jordan McRae Off Waivers

March 4th, 2020 at 4:16pm CST by Luke Adams

4:15pm: The waiver process is complete and McRae belongs to the Pistons, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

3:07pm: The Pistons intend to claim guard Jordan McRae off waivers this afternoon, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

After reaching a buyout agreement with Denver on Sunday, McRae was officially released and appeared to be headed to Phoenix, with the Suns planning to place a waiver claim of their own. However, with Derrick Rose on the shelf due to an ankle injury, the Pistons were said to be eyeing McRae for backcourt depth.

Because the waiver priority order is determined by the NBA’s reverse standings, Detroit (20-42) will be awarded McRae over Phoenix (24-38) if both teams submit claims. Technically, one of the five teams with a worse record than the Pistons could swoop in and steal McRae, but there has been no indication that will happen.

A fourth-year shooting guard, McRae was putting up the best numbers of his career in D.C. this season, recording 12.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 2.8 APG on .420/.377/.371 shooting for the Wizards, though injuries limited him to just 29 games. He was sent to Denver in a deadline deal for Shabazz Napier and averaged just 8.0 MPG in four games for the Nuggets, who have an overcrowded rotation.

The two sides reached a deal on Sunday that allowed McRae to get a new opportunity, with the Nuggets opening up a roster spot and saving some money. Although the 28-year-old agreed to surrender $390,424 of his minimum salary, that agreement will be negated by the Pistons’ waiver claim. Detroit will simply take on McRae’s $1,645,357 expiring contract, which will come off Denver’s books. The Pistons will be on the hook for paying the prorated salary remaining on the deal, while the Nuggets’ financial obligation will be extinguished.

By claiming McRae off waivers, the Pistons will get his Early Bird rights, which will give them added flexibility to re-sign him this summer. No corresponding roster move will be necessary for Detroit, since the team has an open spot after letting Derrick Walton‘s 10-day contract expire earlier this week.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.