Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wright Trade Gives Pistons Youth Room To Develop

March 28th, 2021 at 2:33pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

In trading away Delon Wright to the Kings (and receiving veteran point guard Cory Joseph and two second-rounders in return), the Pistons have opened up playing time for their still-developing collective of young guards, writes Rod Beard of the Detroit News.

“We like our young pieces and we’re getting guys back healthy here soon, so it’s going to be a lot of opportunities for guys to come out and compete — and that’s what we’re doing; we’re not just rolling the ball out there,” head coach Dwane Casey said of the post-deadline Pistons. “Guys have to do their job on the offensive end and the defensive end develop winning habits.”

The 12-33 Pistons are currently the bottom seed in the Eastern Conference, and in moving on from established veterans like Wright, Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin this season, they have clearly exhibited their commitment to developing the youth around star forward Jerami Grant.

Bruce Brown Reaches Starter Criteria, QO Increases

March 26th, 2021 at 6:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bruce Brown has reached the starter criteria in his contract, jumping his qualifying offer from $2.1MM to $4.7MM, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.

Brown made his 26th start for the Nets on Friday against his former team, the Pistons. He started 43 of 58 games for Detroit last season.

The starter criteria requires an RFA-to-be to start at least half of his team’s games in the two seasons leading up to his free agency.

This makes Brooklyn’s decision on whether to extend the QO to Brown a little trickier, considering its luxury tax bill considerations. It would still be a surprise if the Nets choose not to extend the QO, considering how valuable Brown has been this season. He’s averaging 8.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 1.4 APG and is a stout one-on-one defender for a team with a wealth of scoring options when at full strength.

Brooklyn holds Brown’s Bird rights and could also sign him to an extension prior to free agency.

Brown was a second-round selection by Detroit in 2018 but quickly jumped into the starting five as a rookie.

Pistons, Kings Swap Delon Wright, Cory Joseph

March 25th, 2021 at 11:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

MARCH 25: The Kings have announced that their trade to acquire Wright is now official.

MARCH 24: The Pistons will send guard Delon Wright to the Kings in exchange for guard Cory Joseph and a pair of second-round picks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. The second-rounders in the deal are this year’s selection from the Lakers and Sacramento’s choice in 2024.

Wright, 28, was traded to Detroit in November. He took over as the Pistons’ starting point guard after an early-season injury to Killian Hayes and is averaging 10.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 35 games. Wright is under contract for one more year at $8.5MM before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2022. The Kings will be his fifth team in the last three seasons.

In Sacramento, Wright will join a backcourt rotation headed by De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. As Bobby Marks of ESPN explains (via Twitter), the Kings had hoped to improve their depth during the coming offseason, so the acquisition of Wright gives them a jump-start on that process. They’ll also create a modest $3.6MM trade exception in the deal.

Joseph, 29, was in his second season with Sacramento. He’s averaging 6.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 43 games, mostly as a reserve. Joseph is set to earn $12.6MM in 2021/22, but the contract is only partially guaranteed ($2.4MM) until August 1, so the Pistons may opt to waive him before next season to save some money.

“All I’ll say is that I really, really enjoy coaching Cory, and his spirit, his professionalism has been great to coach and great for this group,” Sacramento coach Luke Walton said. “He is a pleasure to coach and I’ll leave it at that” (Twitter link from Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee).

The pair of second-round picks headed the Pistons’ way look like the prime motivator for the club to complete the deal. Detroit had traded away several of its own second-rounders, including three of them in last November’s deal for Saddiq Bey, so this helps restock the team’s stash of picks to some extent. The Pistons now own three second-rounders in 2021 — while they’ve traded away their own pick, they’ll control the Lakers’ selection, as well as Charlotte’s and Toronto’s.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Buyout Rumors: Drummond, Porter, Wall, Ellington, Nuggets

March 25th, 2021 at 4:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The buyout market for Andre Drummond is expected to center around the Lakers and Knicks, says Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

Reports earlier this week indicated that executives around the NBA widely view the Lakers as the favorites to land Drummond, given the team’s ability to offer him an immediate role and an opportunity to compete for a title.

However, the Knicks are an interesting wild card, since their leftover cap room would allow them to offer Drummond a multiyear contract worth eight figures annually without having to wait until the summer.

Drummond’s buyout agreement with Cleveland is in the works, while LaMarcus Aldridge‘s with the Spurs is already a done deal. Here are a few more notes and rumors on the buyout market:

Multiple teams are keeping an eye on Otto Porter as a potential buyout candidate following the trade that will send him from Chicago to Orlando, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). However, the Magic‘s plan for now is to hang onto Porter, a source tells Haynes.
The Rockets and John Wall aren’t discussing a buyout, league sources tell Haynes (Twitter link). Wall has two years and $91.6MM left on his contract after this season, so it would’ve been a shock if the two sides were already looking at a possible buyout.
After retaining Wayne Ellington through the trade deadline, the Pistons have no plans to buy out the veteran sharpshooter, says Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link).
Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link) expects the Nuggets to take a long look at the buyout market, especially if an appealing shooting guard becomes available.

NBA G League Announces 2020/21 All-NBAGL Teams

March 23rd, 2021 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

After being named the G League’s Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year on Monday, Delaware Blue Coats forward Paul Reed – who is on a two-way contract with the Sixers – headlines the All-NBA G League First Team, as the league announced today in a press release.

Reed was joined on the All-NBAGL first team by MVP runner-up Kevin Porter Jr. of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, as well as Oklahoma City Blue big man Moses Brown, Lakeland Magic forward Mamadi Diakite, and Westchester Knicks guard Jared Harper. All of those players are currently on either standard NBA contracts or two-way deals.

That’s a common theme for this year’s All-NBAGL teams. The majority of the 15 players named to the three squads are either currently under contract with NBA teams or have past NBA experience.

The complete list of the 2020/21 All-NBA G League teams, along with the All-Rookie and All-Defensive squads, is below. Players currently on NBA contracts are noted with an asterisk (*), while those on two-way contracts are noted with a caret (^).

All-NBAGL First Team:

Paul Reed (Delaware Blue Coats) ^
Kevin Porter Jr. (Rio Grande Valley Vipers) *
Moses Brown (Oklahoma City Blue) ^
Mamadi Diakite (Lakeland Magic) ^
Jared Harper (Westchester Knicks) ^

All-NBAGL Second Team:

Oshae Brissett (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
Henry Ellenson (Raptors 905)
Malachi Flynn (Raptors 905) *
Alize Johnson (Raptors 905) *
- Note: Johnson is currently on a 10-day contract.
Brodric Thomas (Canton Charge) ^

All-NBAGL Third Team:

Tyler Cook (Iowa Wolves) *
- Note: Cook is currently on a 10-day contract.
Tre Jones (Austin Spurs) *
Jordan Poole (Santa Cruz Warriors) *
Robert Woodard II (Austin Spurs) *
Jarrod Uthoff (Erie BayHawks)

NBAGL All-Rookie Team:

Paul Reed (Delaware Blue Coats) ^
Mamadi Diakite (Lakeland Magic) ^
Malachi Flynn (Raptors 905) *
Brodric Thomas (Canton Charge) ^
KJ Martin (Rio Grande Valley Vipers) *

NBAGL All-Defensive Team:

Paul Reed (Delaware Blue Coats) ^
Moses Brown (Oklahoma City Blue) ^
Mamadi Diakite (Lakeland Magic) ^
Tahjere McCall (Lakeland Magic)
Gary Payton II (Raptors 905)

Of the 18 players who earned a spot on one of the G League’s All-NBAGL, All-Rookie, or All-Defensive teams this year, only four – Brissett, Uthoff, McCall, and Payton – haven’t been on some form of standard, two-way, or 10-day NBA contract since the ’20/21 season began. All four of them have previous NBA experience.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Haynes’ Latest: Bagley, Pistons, Bey, Gordon, Collins, Cavs

March 22nd, 2021 at 12:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons recently turned down an offer from the Kings that would have sent rookie forward Saddiq Bey to Sacramento in a deal involving Marvin Bagley III, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

After Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report suggested earlier today that Bagley would welcome a change of scenery, Haynes reiterates that point in his latest report, writing that the Kings and the third-year big man are “keen on discovering a corridor toward separation.”

A deal for Bey would be a long shot though, as the Pistons have shown little to no interest in parting with any members of their rookie class, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic, who says all four of those rookies (Bey, Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, and Saben Lee) are considered building blocks for the team’s rebuild.

Here’s more from Haynes:

Rockets players thought the team was on the verge of acquiring Magic forward Aaron Gordon a few days ago, but at least one source with knowledge of trade talks disputed that a deal was at the finish line, writes Haynes. Sources tell Yahoo Sports that Gordon doesn’t want to go to a rebuilding team, preferring to join a club with the potential to make a playoff run. While Gordon doesn’t have the ability to dictate his landing spot, he’ll be a free agent in 2022, so any team giving up assets to acquire him would want to be relatively confident it could sign him beyond then, Haynes observes.
As other reports have suggested, the odds of a John Collins trade this week appear to be declining. Haynes says the Hawks haven’t been overly impressed by the offers, including a Mavericks package featuring Maxi Kleber.
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen isn’t going anywhere before the trade deadline, but Cleveland is expected to have plenty of competition for him on the restricted free agent market this summer. Haynes reports that the Pistons, Raptors, Spurs, and Wizards are expected to be among the teams with interest in Allen, who turned down a four-year, $48MM extension offer from the Nets before the season.
A buyout is becoming a more likely outcome than a trade for Cavaliers center JaVale McGee, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. A buyout would be a bit of a surprise if there’s any interest in McGee, since he’s on a very movable $4.2MM expiring contract.

Latest On Norman Powell

March 22nd, 2021 at 10:47am CST by Luke Adams

Many front offices around the NBA are skeptical that the Raptors will ultimately part ways with point guard Kyle Lowry due to a variety of factors, including his $30.5MM salary, but swingman Norman Powell is a “far different story,” writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

As Fischer notes, Powell is expected to decline his $11.6MM player option this offseason to reach unrestricted free agency. Executives around the league anticipate an annual salary of at least $20MM for Powell, says ESPN’s Zach Lowe, so if the Raptors are at all uncertain about giving him a substantial raise this summer, they’ll likely gauge his trade market this week.

One team capologist who spoke to Fischer said he believes there’s a 75% chance Powell will be dealt this week.

According to Fischer, sources have linked the Mavericks, Celtics, Timberwolves, Pistons, and Hawks to discussions for Powell, and the Cavaliers are believed to have asked for him in their Andre Drummond trade talks with Toronto, though there’s no indication those negotiations gained momentum.

The Knicks are also considered a possible suitor for Powell, with one team official referring to the high-scoring wing as a “perfect Tom Thibodeau player,” Fischer writes. New York still has over $15MM in cap room and could theoretically acquire Powell without including any outgoing salary.

Powell, 27, is in the midst of a career year, having averaged 19.6 points per game on .496/.444/.872 shooting in 40 contests (30.4 MPG). As Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes, only one other player – Zach LaVine – has both attempted more shots and has a higher true shooting percentage than Powell this season.

Noting that retaining Powell through the deadline and re-signing him would essentially lock the Raptors into a core of Powell, Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby, Koreen contends that the time may be right to consider moving the 27-year-old to gain added financial flexibility, draft picks, and/or younger players.

Aaron Gordon Reportedly Requests Trade; Rockets, Others In Mix

March 22nd, 2021 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

8:56am: Gordon has reportedly requested a trade through his representatives, sources tell Jared Weiss and Sam Amick of The Athletic. A report last week suggested that the Magic forward would be “open to a change of scenery.”

8:42am: The Rockets and Magic have engaged in serious talks about a potential Aaron Gordon trade, league sources tell Zach Lowe of ESPN. While Lowe isn’t clear on the exact terms that have been discussed, he says it would likely take significant draft compensation from Houston (ie. multiple picks) to land Gordon.

Shams Charania of The Athletic published a similar report, writing that the Rockets and Magic have discussed a Gordon trade that would involve two first-round picks. A previous report indicated that Orlando was seeking a first-rounder and a quality young player, so this sounds like a similar ask.

Both Lowe and Charania say that no deal is imminent, but that there have been substantive talks. Although Gordon has been the subject of trade rumors for a year or two, this is the first time a deal really feels possible, according to Lowe, who suggests the odds could even be better than 50/50.

If the Magic do trade Gordon, it wouldn’t necessary be to Houston. Both Lowe and Charania say that the Timberwolves, Nuggets, and Trail Blazers remain interested, while sources tell Charania and The Athletic’s Jared Weiss that the Celtics are also still eyeing Gordon.

A Sunday report on the discussions between the Rockets and Magic suggested that Victor Oladipo could be part of those talks, with the two-time All-Star re-routed to a third team.

According to Charania, Houston’s asking price for Oladipo is thought to be a quality first-round pick or a good young player — if the team gets a first-rounder for Oladipo, it could be flipped to Orlando for Gordon. However, some teams around the NBA are wondering if the Rockets will have to settle for second-round compensation for Oladipo, Charania writes. League sources tell The Athletic that the Heat, Knicks, and Pistons have showed some interest in Oladipo.

Saben Lee Has Been Methodical In Rookie Season

March 18th, 2021 at 11:19pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Pistons rookie point guard Saben Lee has been methodical in approaching his development during the 21-year-old’s first NBA season, according to Rod Beard of the Detroit News. “With the tortoise and the hare, the process was faster for the rabbit and everyone thought the rabbit was going to win,” Lee told Beard. “The turtle just kept his head on the end goal — and he messed around and won… That’s my mindset and how I feel like my process has been.” Lee has appeared in 19 games with Detroit, averaging 15.2 MPG thus far.

Pistons Sign Tyler Cook To 10-Day Contract

March 18th, 2021 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 18: The Pistons have officially signed Cook to his 10-day contract, per NBA.com’s transactions log. He’s expected to be available for Friday’s game vs. Houston, tweets James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.

MARCH 15: The Pistons are signing free agent forward Tyler Cook to a 10-day contract, reports Rod Beard of The Detroit News (via Twitter). Cook reached the open market on March 6 when his 10-day deal with Brooklyn expired.

Undrafted out of Iowa in 2019, Cook spent time as a rookie last season on a two-way contract and a pair of 10-day deals with Cleveland before joining Denver for the NBA restart as a substitute player. He only appeared in 13 total NBA games, but played more for the Canton Charge and OKC Blue in the G League, averaging 12.9 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 29 games (21.3 MPG).

Cook returned to the G League for the 2020/21 season and was one of the early standouts at the Walt Disney World bubble, averaging 20.8 PPG, 9.6 RPG, and 4.4 APG in eight games (33.3 MPG) for the Iowa Wolves. That performance earned him a 10-day look from the Nets, but Brooklyn has opted not to re-sign him, clearing the way for his deal with Detroit.

Cook’s 10-day contract, which will pay him $99,020, won’t require the Pistons to make a corresponding roster move — they’ve had an open spot on their 15-man squad since buying out Blake Griffin.

It’s unclear when the Pistons intend to officially sign Cook and start the counter on his 10 days. According to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link), the 23-year-old still has to clear the COVID-19 protocols and is expected to be available for Friday’s game vs. Houston.