Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Clippers, Knicks Interested In Derrick Rose

January 26th, 2021 at 2:51pm CST by JD Shaw

The Clippers and Knicks are among the teams interested in Pistons point guard Derrick Rose, according to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic.

There’s no indication of Detroit’s willingness to include Rose, 32, in a deal before the March 25 trade deadline, though the team did use its No. 7 pick to select guard Killian Hayes in last year’s NBA draft.

Hayes is expected to miss at least seven or eight more weeks due to right hip subluxation, but Rose continues to come off the bench for the Pistons. He missed Monday’s game with soreness, as starter Delon Wright finished with 28 points and nine assists.

Rose is in his second season with Detroit, coming off a campaign that saw him average 18.1 points and 5.6 assists per game in 50 contests. He shot a career-high 49% for the season, mostly playing off the bench in 26 minutes per game.

The Clippers could use another creator alongside Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, having failed to upgrade their point guard position during the offseason. The team did add veterans Nicolas Batum and Serge Ibaka to improve its creation, ball movement and floor-spacing. Rose met with the franchise in free agency after it traded away Chris Paul three-and-a-half years ago.

New York also has some familiarity with Rose, as the former Most Valuable Player spent a full season with the team in 2016/17. Head coach Tom Thibodeau also coached Rose with Chicago from 2010-16 and then again with Minnesota from 2017-19.

Wayne Ellington Making Most Of Opportunity

January 24th, 2021 at 6:53pm CST by JD Shaw

Pistons veteran Wayne Ellington made the most of his opportunity as a starter on Friday, scoring 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from deep, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. Ellington, one of the league’s most underrated three-point shooters, has shot 48% from behind-the-arc in his first 11 games this season after signing with Detroit in free agency.

Details On Rockets' Trade Deadline Offer, Pistons' FA Offer For Wood

January 22nd, 2021 at 1:02pm CST by Luke Adams

At last season’s trade deadline, after agreeing to send Clint Capela to Atlanta, the Rockets pursued a deal for Christian Wood, offering the Pistons a pair of second-round picks and Isaiah Hartenstein in exchange for the big man, according to James L. Edwards III and Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Detroit rebuffed that offer and showed interest in re-signing Wood during the 2020 offseason.

The Pistons’ interest was reciprocated by Wood, and the team made him a contract offer, per Edwards and Iko. However, Detroit was pursuing free agents like Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee and wasn’t in position to use cap room on Wood as well.

Without dipping into their cap space, the Pistons had the ability to use Wood’s Early Bird rights to offer him a contract that started at $10.05MM, and – according to The Athletic’s duo – they didn’t go over that amount. That meant they were outbid when the Rockets presented Wood with a three-year offer that started at $13MM+.

With Wood’s Rockets set to face Detroit on Friday, Pistons head coach Dwane Casey said he’s proud to see the big man enjoying success in Houston, as Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press writes. “We tried to get him here, we just didn’t have enough in the bucket,” Casey said. “He’s a special kid and I think good things for him and wish him well, except for (Friday) night.” Wood has been ruled out for the game due to a sprained right ankle.

Central Notes: Porter, Sexton, Turner, Pistons

January 22nd, 2021 at 8:30am CST by Luke Adams

Having made up their minds last weekend to trade or release Kevin Porter Jr., the Cavaliers found a taker on Thursday night, agreeing to a deal that will send the second-year wing to Houston. Cleveland won’t get anything of value in return, but was at least able to move off Porter’s salaries for this season and next, opening up a roster spot in the process.

Given how high the Cavaliers were on Porter’s on-court potential following his promising rookie season, the move represents a major step back in the team’s rebuild, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. As Fedor writes, the 20-year-old was viewed by many within the organization as the player with the highest upside of any on the roster, and it was only a few months ago that he was considered virtually untouchable in trade talks.

Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, general manager Koby Altman made every effort to make things work with Porter, who has made a series of poor off-court decisions, but ultimately felt like they couldn’t get through to him and decided it was time to move on.

“The organization did everything and more for him,” a league source told Fedor. “They went above and beyond. They gave him more chances than most franchises would have.”

Here’s more from around the Central:

While Porter won’t be part of the Cavaliers‘ rebuild going forward, Collin Sexton – who poured in a career-high 42 points in an impressive win over Brooklyn on Wednesday – continues to establish himself as a cornerstone player for the franchise, Fedor writes in a separate story for Cleveland.com.
After suffering an avulsion fracture in his right hand last Thursday, Myles Turner has missed the Pacers‘ last two games, but he could be back in the lineup as early as Friday. As J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star writes, Turner’s return will come down to how much pain and discomfort he can play through. “There’s really not much you can do for it to heal,” Turner said on Thursday. “No surgery. No time off. It’s just one of those things you’ve got to get used to.”
In his latest mailbag, Rod Beard of The Detroit News explores whether the Pistons should be playing their rookies more, Jerami Grant‘s role in the team’s rebuild, and the possibility of trading Derrick Rose by this season’s deadline.

Killian Hayes Out At Least Eight More Weeks

January 20th, 2021 at 6:15pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The right hip subluxation that has sidelined Pistons rookie lottery selection Killian Hayes since January 4 will keep him off the court for at least the next eight weeks, the club announced today in a press release. Detroit will re-evaluate the 19-year-old point guard and determine a return timeline after that period.

When he first incurred the injury, Hayes was originally projected to miss about four to six weeks should a specialist determine he would not require surgery.

The silver lining to this extended absence, however, is that Hayes will apparently not require a surgical procedure to address the injury, per David Aldridge of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Veteran point guards Derrick Rose and Delon Wright will continue to soak up most of Hayes’ minutes as the rookie continues to recover. Third-year point guard Frank Jackson may get additional run. Forwards Jerami Grant and Blake Griffin will be relied upon for supplemental ball-handling.

Across his first seven NBA games, Hayes especially struggled on offense. He sported an underwhelming slash line of .277/.250/.500.

Pistons Will Consider Sending Players To G League

January 20th, 2021 at 9:34am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons won’t have a G League affiliate of their own participating in the revamped 2020/21 season, but they’ll consider using the flexible assignment option to get some of their young players some regular playing time at a lower level, head coach Dwane Casey said on Tuesday, per Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. “Right now they’re playing (NBA) games when they should be learning the G League, making mistakes and learning from them in the G League instead of our games,” Casey said of the team’s inexperienced youngsters.

Weaver Plans To Stay Aggressive

January 18th, 2021 at 7:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons GM Troy Weaver made more roster moves than any other NBA executive during the abbreviated offseason and he vows to stay bold during the team’s rebuilding process, Rod Beard of the Detroit News writes. “When I was growing up, I didn’t stick my toe in the pool; I jumped in,” Weaver said. “I sit on the front on the roller coaster with my hands up so I’m not going to come in and be gun-shy. My clip will be empty.”

Start Of Monday’s Pistons/Heat Game Pushed Back

January 18th, 2021 at 12:39pm CST by Luke Adams

12:39pm: The NBA has officially announced that the Pistons/Heat game has been delayed to 8:00 pm. According to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link), the move was made to allow for more COVID-19 tests to be processed before the teams take the court. Both clubs are still planning to play tonight, Reynolds adds.

12:20pm: Monday’s game between the Pistons and Heat, originally scheduled to be played in Miami at 3:00 pm eastern time, will be delayed until at least 8:00 pm, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link).

As Winderman explains, the delay is related to the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols. The league, which has already had to postpone 14 games so far this season due to the health and safety protocols, still hopes today’s Pistons/Heat game can be played, but it sounds like a postponement remains a possibility.

The Pistons and Heat have each had one game postponed this season, but there hadn’t been any prior indication that today’s contest was in jeopardy. On last night’s injury report, Miami only had Avery Bradley and Jimmy Butler listed as out due to health and safety protocols, while Detroit wasn’t missing any players due to the protocols.

We’ll update this story with the latest info when the NBA provides more clarity. Until then, you can view the list of this season’s postponements right here.

Weaver Thrilled With Rookies' Character

January 16th, 2021 at 1:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

New Pistons GM Troy Weaver engineered a number of draft-night trades and wound up with four rookies on the roster. He’s thrilled with all of them, even though lottery pick Killian Hayes struggled as a starter before suffering a hip injury, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart have jumped into the rotation and second-rounder Saben Lee is getting some spot time with Hayes sidelined. “We can debate the player all day long, but we’re not going to debate the person,” Weaver said. “These are high-character guys who work and are selfless. Extremely excited about them.”

Frank Jackson Stepping Up; Doumbouya Out Of Rotation

January 14th, 2021 at 9:50pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Following injuries to rookie Killian Hayes and veteran reserve Derrick Rose, two-way Pistons point guard Frank Jackson, a late addition to Detroit’s roster last month, has stepped up in an expanded role, according to Rod Beard of The Detroit News.

Pistons head coach Dwane Casey commended the 22-year-old. “I really like Frank,” Casey said. “He’s a quick-twitch kid, an offensive player who’s tough on the ball and he has a lot of toughness about him.”

Pistons are playing the long game with 20-year-old second-year forward Sekou Doumbouya, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Doumbouya has yet to earn rotation minutes behind veteran starters Jerami Grant and Blake Griffin. “It’s a process,” head coach Dwane Casey said of Doumbouya’s minutes. Doumbouya is also slotted behind young forwards Saddiq Bey and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk.