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Central Notes: Pistons, Drummond, Karnisovas, Bulls

April 23rd, 2020 at 3:46pm CST by Luke Adams

As one of just a few teams that will enter the 2020 offseason with cap room in hand, the Pistons will have plenty of options to consider as they weigh what moves to make.

While signing free agents using that cap space is one potential path for Detroit, so is using the room to take on unwanted contracts and collect draft assets. To complicate matters, the revenue the NBA has lost due to its stoppage may affect next season’s cap, impacting the amount of flexibility the club actually has. In other words, head of basketball operations Ed Stefanski has to make contingency plans for a wide variety of outcomes, as Keith Langlois of Pistons.com details.

“I’ve been in so many markets. To go into free agency and have a plan and once free agency starts, the plan gets blown up,” Stefanski said. “We have numerous plans and different scenarios that could occur. We have to use this money wisely. What makes the most sense to us? We’re asking those questions now. What makes the most sense for the Pistons now?”

Here’s more from around the Central:

  • Although there has been widespread speculation that Andre Drummond will pick up the $28MM+ player option on his contract for 2020/21, the Cavaliers center tells Michael Pina of SB Nation that he hasn’t finalized any decisions on that front. “For me I haven’t really thought too deep into my next decision yet because obviously we can’t really do anything yet,” Drummond said, referring to the NBA’s hiatus and moratorium.
  • Zach Kram of The Ringer breaks down the offseason checklist for the Bulls and new executive VP president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas.
  • In a conversation with Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, John Hollinger suggests that Karnisovas’ focus as he builds the Bulls‘ new front office figures to be on scouting and drafting. Marc Eversley (Sixers), Matt Lloyd (Magic), and Mark Hughes (Clippers), who have reportedly interviewed for the general manager job, are all “veteran road warriors on the scouting side,” says Hollinger.
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2020/21 Salary Cap Preview: Detroit Pistons

April 20th, 2020 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the NBA calendar, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.

While one former No. 1 overall pick with a history of health issues (Derrick Rose) was a pleasant surprise for the Pistons in 2019/20, another (Blake Griffin) was limited to 18 ineffective games, which helped torpedo Detroit’s season.

After years of middle-of-the-pack finishes, the Pistons accepted that a rise to contention wasn’t around the corner and launched a full-scale rebuild, trading longtime center Andre Drummond, buying out veterans like Reggie Jackson and Markieff Morris, and focusing on player development. That focus figures to extend to next season and beyond, and since the Pistons’ roster isn’t exactly loaded with young talent, the rebuild will likely be a multiyear process.

Here’s where things stand for the Pistons financially in 2020/21, as we launch our Salary Cap Preview series:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

Team Options

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Offseason Cap Outlook

Trading Drummond and his massive 2020/21 player option ensured that the Pistons should be one of a small handful of teams with actual cap room available this offseason.

Even if the cap doesn’t increase beyond the ’19/20 figure and the Pistons keep their non-guaranteed youngsters (Mykhailiuk, Brown, and Thomas), along with the cap hold for Wood, they project to have at least $29MM in space available. That number would increase a little with a larger cap.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Room exception: $4,767,000 5
  • Trade exception: $1,716,873 (expires 2/8/21) 6

Footnotes

  1. Thomas’ salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 23.
  2. If his team option is exercised, Mykhailiuk’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 22.
  3. Brown’s new salary guarantee date is unknown.
  4. The cap holds for Calderon, Nelson, Pachulia, Lucas, and Whitehead remain on the Pistons’ books because they haven’t been renounced after going unsigned in 2019/20. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
  5. This is a projected value.
  6. The Pistons will have to renounce this exception in order to use cap room.

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

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

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Stefanski Talks Draft; Doumbouya Back In France

April 20th, 2020 at 12:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s hiatus and the coronavirus pandemic prevented Pistons head of basketball operations Ed Stefanski from making a planned scouting trip to Europe this spring, but he still feels as if his club will be ready for the draft if it moves forward as scheduled on June 25. Without in-person workouts or meetings available this year, the Pistons have been watching “a ton of video,” according to Stefanski.

“I think if June 25 rolled around, there’s no doubt we’d be prepared,” Stefanski said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “Maybe in a different manner. Obviously, we wouldn’t have live workouts. We would have to do more virtual – virtual interviews with players – and we’d get the medical done, I’d think, in all different cities. But we’re ready to adapt. We’ve talked about many different scenarios that could happen. I feel comfortable with whatever.”

The Pistons have traded away their second-round pick for 2020, but would have the fifth-best odds for the No. 1 pick in the first round if the current NBA standings are used for lottery purposes.

  • Although the NBA has instructed players to limit their travel during the league’s hiatus, Pistons rookie Sekou Doumbouya has returned home to France. A source informed Emiliano Carchia of Sportando that the Pistons were unaware that Doumbouya had left the U.S. to return to France, but a team spokesperson said over the weekend that the club is in the loop. Doumbouya went to France to be closer to family during the pandemic, the team spokesperson said, per The Associated Press.
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Central Notes: Pistons, Beasley, S. Brown, Brogdon

April 14th, 2020 at 6:43pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pistons will enter the NBA offseason looking for upgrades in free agency and James Edwards III of The Athletic examines some restricted free agent options in the upcoming draft.

Malik Beasley is among the possibilities suggested by Edwards, though Detroit may have to overpay if the franchise hopes to land the shooting guard. Beasley came to Minnesota in the Robert Covington deal at the trade deadline and the Wolves have the right to match any offer sheet he receives.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

  • Sterling Brown is another possible target, Edwards notes in the same piece. Brown has shown flashes in limited minutes for the Bucks and it’s feasible that the 25-year-old could perform better with more run.
  • Malcolm Brogdon was nursing a quad injury prior to the NBA’s hiatus, but Indiana’s prized offseason addition has informed Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard that he’s 100 percent recovered, as Scott Agness of The Athletic tweets.
  • If the season resumes, the Pacers may benefit from a healthy backcourt, J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star writes. In addition to Brogdon healing up, Victor Oladipo would have more time to get back to top form. Doug McDermott, who was nursing a big toe injury, has already returned to full health.
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Coronavirus Updates: Training, Gores, Taiwan, Testing

April 13th, 2020 at 6:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

A 25-day program designed to get players back in action is one of the ideas being floated around as the NBA explores ways to resume its season, Brian Windhorst of ESPN reports. Players would undergo 11 days of individual workouts while maintain some measure of social distancing. A two-week training camp would follow with entire teams participating. NBA executives and training staff have expressed players would require approximately a month to get back into shape after such a long layoff.

We have more from around the league on coronavirus-related topics:

  • Pistons owner Tom Gores will purchase and donate 100,000 surgical masks for distribution among Detroit-area health care workers, according to a team press release. Gores is making arrangements to buy the surgical grade masks from a supplier in New Jersey. The masks are expected to be delivered by mid-week. Michigan has been hit hard by COVID-19 with the third-most deaths in the country due to the virus.
  • The NBA could learn some lessons on how to restart its season from Taiwan, believed to be the world’s only widely-recognized pro basketball league currently in operation, Marc Stein of the New York Times reports. Taiwan’s Super Basketball League is playing games in a gym with no fans in a smaller version of the “bubble” environment that the NBA will likely try to replicate, Stein continues. The only people allowed inside, beyond the teams and the referees, are camera operators for the television broadcasts, the scoring crew, and journalists.
  • Playing in a neutral quarantined environment, with players and personnel isolated from the rest of society and undergoing frequent rapid-response tests, are the most logical ways for the NBA to resume its season, according to Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press.
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Christian Wood Acknowledges Past Reputational Concerns

April 13th, 2020 at 1:35pm CST by Luke Adams
  • Despite a history of productivity, Pistons big man Christian Wood bounced around the NBA due to reputational concerns, including a perception that he was an unreliable communicator, according to Lowe, who says there was gossip around the NBA about Wood splurging on a Bentley after banking “very little” NBA money. “There is stuff in my background that affected my reputation,” Wood said. “It was never basketball-related.”

    [SOURCE LINK]
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Getting Kennard On Track Will Be Top Priority For Pistons

April 10th, 2020 at 5:01pm CST by Luke Adams
  • Getting Luke Kennard back on track will be a top priority for the Pistons if the regular season resumes, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. The former lottery pick will be eligible for a rookie-scale extension during the offseason.
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Five Eastern FAs-To-Be Who Boosted Their Value In 2019/20

April 8th, 2020 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

For most NBA players in contract years, their on-court performances during the 2019/20 season will go a long way toward determining what sort of offers they’ll get this offseason when they reach the open market. And there are a number of players around the league who have increased their value significantly with their play in ’19/20, who now figure to do better than initially expected in free agency as a result.

Today, we’ll shine a spotlight on some of those players from the Eastern Conference, identifying five 2020 free-agents-to-be who have improved their stock with their play this season. Let’s dive in…

  1. Fred VanVleet, PG (Raptors): VanVleet’s value was already on the rise last summer as a result of his red-hot shooting in the final two rounds of the 2019 playoffs, but he has taken his game to another level this season. Having averaged 11.0 PPG last year, VanVleet has bumped that number to 17.6 PPG in 2019/20, adding 6.6 APG and an impressive .388 3PT% on increased volume. Although Kyle Lowry remains the Raptors’ starting point guard, VanVleet has started alongside him or – when Lowry was injured – in place of him in every single one of his 48 games this season, alleviating any concerns that he’s just a sixth man. After All-Stars Anthony Davis and Brandon Ingram, he’ll be one of the most sought-after players on the market.
  2. Davis Bertans, PF (Wizards): Like VanVleet, Bertans had shown his potential in previous seasons before getting a chance to take on an increased role in ’19/20. And like VanVleet, he hasn’t sacrificed any efficiency as he has taken on those added responsibilities. Bertans is the best 6’10” shooter in the league, with a .424 3PT% on 8.7 attempts per game, and while he’s not exactly an elite rim protector, he isn’t a major liability on defense either. After earning $7MM this season, Bertans could double that annual salary on a multiyear contract. The Wizards, who turned down trade offers for him at the deadline, are very interested in retaining him.
  3. Christian Wood, F/C (Pistons): After bouncing around on minimum-salary contracts and waiver claims during his first three NBA seasons, Wood enjoyed a breakout year in Detroit, averaging 13.1 PPG and 6.3 RPG in a part-time role (21.4 MPG). Those numbers jumped to 22.8 PPG and 9.9 RPG following Andre Drummond‘s departure in February. And after making just 13 three-pointers in his first 51 NBA games, Wood knocked down nearly one per game in 2019/20, at a 38.6% rate. While he probably won’t get any massive offers, a deal in the range of the full mid-level exception seems realistic.
  4. Evan Fournier, G/F (Magic): One of the beneficiaries of the 2016 cap spike, Fournier earned $17.15MM this past season and has a player option worth the same amount for 2020/21. Given how uncertain the NBA’s salary cap situation is at the moment, it’s possible Fournier won’t exceed that salary on the open market and could decide to simply opt in. Still, his stock is higher now than it was a year ago — his 18.8 PPG represented a career high, as did his .599 TS%. It was a much-needed bounce-back performance for Fournier after he endured perhaps the worst shooting season of his career in 2018/19.
  5. Derrick Jones, G/F (Heat): Jones’ numbers don’t jump off the page like the ones put up by some other players on this list, but Erik Spoelstra‘s confidence in the young swingman reflects his value to the Heat. Despite the arrival of Jimmy Butler, the emergence of youngsters like Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn, and the midseason additions of veterans such as Andre Iguodala and Jae Crowder, Jones was a consistent part of the rotation all season long and became a starter prior to the hiatus. He averaged a career-high 24.5 minutes per game and was one of the club’s most reliable defenders. A more consistent three-point shot would boost Jones’ value further, but his age (23), athleticism, and versatility will make him an intriguing target this offseason, especially for rebuilding teams.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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And-Ones: Clippers, Pistons, Cavs, Young

April 7th, 2020 at 9:49pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Clippers hold the top spot in ESPN’s Future Power Rankings, which predicts the best and worst franchises over the next three seasons. While the team has one of the best one-two punches in the NBA with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Los Angeles’ inability to trade a first-rounder may come back to haunt the team, Bobby Marks suggests.

L.A. sent out several first-rounders in the George deal and had just one pick (2020 selection) that was eligible to be included in a trade this season — the franchise used it to acquire Marcus Morris at the deadline.

The Lakers, Warriors, Bucks, and Celtics round out the top-5 in the ESPN’s latest rankings. Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Pistons and Cavaliers rank 29th and 30th, respectively, on that aforementioned ESPN’s list. Both franchises lack blue-chip prospects and each has expensive veterans clogging its cap space.
  • Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times believes Thaddeus Young will find himself on the trade block this offseason. Young, who inked a deal the Bulls last summer, was the subject of trade rumors earlier in the season.
  • NBA agent Mark Bartelstein said he expected the season to get postponed after watching what was going on abroad in February and March, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic relays. Bartelstein has clients in the Chinese Basketball Association and other international leagues.
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