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Draft Workouts: Pistons, Sixers, Wolves, Kings

May 22nd, 2019 at 9:31am CST by Dana Gauruder

Centers Bruno Fernando (Maryland) and Daniel Gafford (Arkansas) were among the prospects the Pistons brought in on Tuesday, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. Fernando is ranked the fifth-best center prospect by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and No. 34 overall. Gafford is right behind him among centers and No. 38 overall. Detroit currently holds the No. 15 and No. 45 picks. Shooting guards Fletcher Magee (Wofford), SG Jaylin Walker (Kent State) and Ky Bowman (Boston College) and wing Cody Martin (Nevada) also visited the Pistons’ practice facility on Tuesday.

We have more draft workout info:

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Draft Notes: Brazdeikis, Pistons, Pacers, Dort, Wooten

May 20th, 2019 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

University of Michigan freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis is strongly leaning toward staying the draft, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets. “Definitely leaning toward staying in,” he said while working out for the Pistons on Monday. Brazdeikis’ representatives have told him he’ll go anywhere from No. 20-40 in the draft, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony currently pegs the power forward at No. 46 overall.

We have more developments regarding draft prospects:

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Exploring Pistons' Roster Needs In Draft, Free Agency

May 19th, 2019 at 9:00pm CST by JD Shaw
  • Rod Beard of The Detroit News examines the Pistons’ roster needs, most notably through draft prospects and upcoming free agents. Detroit has the 15th pick in the NBA Draft and will likely be patient at the start of free agency, coming off a season that saw them go 41-41 with the No. 8 seed.
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Draft Notes: Combine, Langford, Horton-Tucker, Acquaah

May 18th, 2019 at 5:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

The competition to be the No. 4 pick remains unsettled after this week’s draft combine, according to Scott Gleeson of USA Today. Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver, Duke’s Cam Reddish and North Carolina’s Coby White all improved their standing through measurements and drills, Gleeson states, but Vanderbilt’s Darius Garland and Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter may have helped themselves just as much by skipping the combine.

Duke’s Zion Williamson, Murray State’s Ja Morant and Duke’s R.J. Barrett are believed to have the top three spots locked up, leaving a difficult decision at the fourth pick for the Lakers or whomever they deal the selection to.

Gleeson identifies several players who stock either rose or fell at the combine. Among the winners are UCF’s Tacko Fall, Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke, Tennessee’s Jordan Bone, North Carolina’s Nassir Little, Croatian Luka Samanic and Virginia’s Kyle Guy. Gleeson’s list of players who failed to help themselves includes Oregon’s Bol Bol, Kentucky’s Tyler Herro, former Syracuse signee Darius Bazley and St. John’s guard Shamorie Ponds.

There’s more draft news to pass along:

  • Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated also chimes in with a list of draft risers and fallers based on their performance at the combine. He believes Georgia’s Nicolas Claxton improved his chances of being selected in the first round with an impressive defensive performance, while LSU guard Tremont Waters helped ease worries about his size and Miami’s Dewan Hernandez showed off his athleticism after sitting out the season because of connections to the FBI investigation.
  • Indiana’s Romeo Langford says he has fully recovered from the back problems that bothered him in college, tweets Scott Agness of The Athletic. Langford met with 13 teams at the combine, including the Pacers, Celtics (Twitter link) and Pistons (Twitter link).
  • Iowa State’s Talen Horton-Tucker is committed to staying in the draft as he hopes to become the Cyclones’ first player taken in the first round since 2012, relays Travis Hines of The Ames Tribune. A top 50 recruit coming out of high school, Horton-Tucker has already interviewed with 14 teams.
  • Milan Acquaah of Cal Baptist has taken his name out of the draft, tweets Jeff Goodman of Stadium.
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Pistons Meet With, Work Out Several Prospects

May 17th, 2019 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams
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Central Notes: Pistons, Adams, Cavaliers, Ham

May 15th, 2019 at 9:59pm CST by clarkcrum

Per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, the Pistons should disregard any positional need with the No. 15 overall selection in this year’s draft and simply pick the player whom the team feels with have the biggest impact during his rookie contract.

Langlois provides examples of teams who have had success employing the same strategy, noting the Spurs in 2011 (traded George Hill for Kawhi Leonard when they had Richard Jefferson) and the Bucks in 2013 (shocked the world by drafting Giannis Antetokounmpo while already having John Henson and Ersan Ilyasovsa on the roster) as ideas for the Pistons to emulate.

One would think that the Pistons should look to upgrade their backcourt to complement both Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond, but as Langlois notes, Drummond can opt out of his contract after next season and Griffin is versatile enough to play alongside another power forward.

So who should the Pistons take? For now, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has Detroit taking Indiana swingman Romeo Langford, his 11th ranked prospect and the top-ranked player left on the board when the Pistons make their selection.

There’s more from the Central Division tonight:

  • In addition to adding Chris Fleming to his staff, Bulls’ head coach Jim Boylen is trying to add one more assistant, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. The top candidate appears to be Texas Tech assistant coach Mark Adams.
  • The Cavaliers were left without an identity for the first time in nearly two decades when homegrown superstar LeBron James left for Los Angeles, but as Ben Golliver of The Washington Post writes, new head coach John Beilein should be able to create a new identity and culture for the franchise.
  • As we relayed yesterday afternoon, Bucks’ assistant coach Darvin Ham has been identified by the Timberwolves as another head coaching candidate under Gersson Rosas and the team’s new front office.
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2019 NBA Draft Picks By Team

May 15th, 2019 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

While the Sixers and Celtics suffered disappointing losses in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and face uncertain futures, both teams can at least fall back on the fact that they’re still loaded with draft assets. Philadelphia and Boston are two of only three NBA teams – the Hawks are the other – that possess at least four picks in the 2019 NBA draft.

As our full 2019 draft order shows, there are five other teams that more than two selections in this year’s draft. On the other end of the spectrum, nine teams own just one pick in 2018, while two teams – the Nuggets and Rockets – don’t have any selections.

To present a clearer picture of which teams are most – and least – stocked with picks for the 2019 NBA draft, we’ve rounded up all 60 picks by team in the space below. Let’s dive in…

Teams with more than two picks:

  • Atlanta Hawks (5): 8, 10, 35, 41, 44
  • Philadelphia 76ers (5): 24, 33, 34, 42, 54
  • Boston Celtics (4): 14, 20, 22, 51
  • New Orleans Pelicans (3): 1, 39, 57
  • Charlotte Hornets (3): 12, 36, 52
  • Brooklyn Nets (3): 17, 27, 31
  • San Antonio Spurs (3): 19, 29, 49
  • Sacramento Kings (3): 40, 47, 60

Teams with two picks:

  • New York Knicks: 3, 55
  • Cleveland Cavaliers: 5, 26
  • Phoenix Suns: 6, 32
  • Chicago Bulls: 7, 38
  • Minnesota Timberwolves: 11, 43
  • Detroit Pistons: 15, 45
  • Orlando Magic: 16, 46
  • Indiana Pacers: 18, 50
  • Utah Jazz: 23, 53
  • Golden State Warriors: 28, 58
  • Los Angeles Clippers: 48, 56

Teams with one pick:

  • Memphis Grizzlies: 2
  • Los Angeles Lakers: 4
  • Washington Wizards: 9
  • Miami Heat: 13
  • Oklahoma City Thunder: 21
  • Portland Trail Blazers: 25
  • Milwaukee Bucks: 30
  • Dallas Mavericks: 37
  • Toronto Raptors: 59

Teams with no picks:

  • Denver Nuggets
  • Houston Rockets
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Stein’s Latest: Beilein, Lakers, Rockets

May 14th, 2019 at 6:48pm CST by ChrisCrouse

John Beilein, who recently accepted the Cavaliers‘ coaching position, strongly considered the Pistons‘ job last offseason, Marc Stein of the New York Times writes in his latest newsletter. Beilein passed up on the chance to become an NBA head coach then but couldn’t pass up the opportunity this time around in part due to Dan Gilbert. The Cavs owner has a reputation for his willingness to spend when necessary in order to win on the court.

Here’s more from Stein’s latest piece:

  • The Lakers did not formally offer their coaching job to Monty Williams before Williams signed on with the Suns, Stein hears. Williams ultimately decided to go to Phoenix before the competition between he and Tyronn Lue was complete. Stein also hears that Kurt Rambis and Linda Rambis were the strongest supporters of hiring Williams and the couple was the loudest influence when it came to hiring Frank Vogel.
  • Not offering a five-year deal to Lue—a coach that won a championship with LeBron James—was a major mistake for the franchise, Stein opines. Los Angeles only offered Lue a three-year deal, something that Lue had to see as disrespectful.
  • The Rockets may be limited in what they can spend, but don’t count out GM Daryl Morey when it comes to making major moves, Stein contends. Houston doesn’t have much flexibility with regard to signing free agents, as it has roughly $116MM in guaranteed salary on the books for next season. However, we’ve seen Morey pull of unlikely trades in the past, as he did with Chris Paul.
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Pistons Notes: Curry, Free Agency, Drummond

May 7th, 2019 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have Seth Curry on their list of potential free agent targets for this offseason, league sources tell James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. It’s already the second time this month that we’ve heard Curry linked to Detroit — Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press wrote last week that Stephen Curry‘s brother would likely be of interest to the Pistons.

The younger Curry, of course, won’t cost as much as his two-time-MVP brother, but he still could eat up a good chunk of the Pistons’ available resources this summer if the team goes in that direction, writes Edwards. Having spoken with an NBA agent, Edwards believes Curry will command an annual salary in the $5-8MM range, and it’s possible the Pistons would have a tough time signing him at the lower end of that estimate.

“Especially if his agent is seeing the (Langston) Galloway deal on the books … ‘You’re trying to tell me Seth is worth $2MM per year less?'” an agent told Edwards. “It would be hard for me to see the Pistons be able to get him for $5MM per year.”

Detroit will be over the cap and will only have the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions available, which are projected to be worth approximately $9.25MM and $3.62MM, respectively. In other words, if the Pistons seriously pursue Curry, he’d likely end up being their primary free agent addition for 2019.

Here’s more on the Pistons:

  • Having traded away Reggie Bullock and Stanley Johnson during the season, the Pistons will be in the market for a wing or two this offseason, especially if the team turns down Glenn Robinson‘s team option. Rod Beard of The Detroit News explores some potential targets on the free agent market for the club.
  • After a fairly quiet first offseason with the Pistons in 2018, de facto head of basketball operations Ed Stefanski will have more tools at his disposal in 2019, including the team’s first-round pick, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. While Detroit won’t be contenders for top free agents, the franchise won’t be relegated to the bargain bin either, Langlois contends.
  • Virtually every player on the Pistons’ roster had nothing but praise for the job head coach Dwane Casey did in his first year with the franchise, but Casey’s impact on Andre Drummond may have been his most notable achievement, Ellis writes for The Detroit Free Press. “He’s given me a confidence that I haven’t had in a very long time,” Drummond said. “He’s given me so many different tools to use, parts of my game that I haven’t got to use in so many years. He’s given me the chance to use it and it’s only going to grow from here. It’s been a pleasure playing for him.”
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2019 NBA Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Detroit Pistons

May 5th, 2019 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons‘ first full season with Blake Griffin on the roster and Dwane Casey on the sidelines was a relative success, as the team fought its way back into the postseason after a two-year absence. Of course, a No. 8 seed and a first-round sweep at the hands of the Bucks showed that Detroit still has a ways to go to join the upper echelon of the East, and the club will have limited resources to upgrade its roster this summer.

Here’s where things currently stand for the Pistons financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2019:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents

  • None

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Projected Salary Cap: $109,000,000
Projected Tax Line: $132,000,000

Offseason Cap Outlook

  • Realistic cap room projection: $0
  • The Pistons would have to make major cost-cutting moves to create cap room, which is unlikely. The good news is that, taking into account nine players on guaranteed salaries and the cap hold for their first-round pick, they’re still about $16.7MM away from the projected tax line, so using the full mid-level exception is viable.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Trade exception: $2,500,000 (expires 2/6/20)
  • Trade exception: $1,140,682 (expires 2/7/20)
  • Mid-level exception: $9,246,000 3
  • Bi-annual exception: $3,619,000 3

Footnotes

  1. Mykhailiuk’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after July 5.
  2. Nelson’s cap hold remains on the Pistons’ books because he hasn’t been renounced after going unsigned in 2018/19. He can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
  3. These are projected values. If the Pistons are at risk of going into tax territory, they may forfeit the bi-annual exception and have to use the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,711,000) rather than the full mid-level exception.

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are estimates based on salary cap projections and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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