Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Blake Griffin Optimistic He’ll Return Soon

November 4th, 2019 at 10:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Blake Griffin is expected to be re-evaluated on Wednesday and appears close to returning, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.

The Pistons’ All-Star forward has been sidelined since late in the preseason with hamstring and knee injuries. He underwent surgery after last season to repair torn meniscus in the left knee.

“I’m close, very close,” Griffin said. “The training staff tells me it’s one day at a time. They tell me what I’m doing the next day, and that’s it, because they know I’d go crazy if I have a timetable. The team has a plan and I trust our training staff. They know what they’re doing so I’m going to listen to them.”

The Pistons are off to a 3-5 start after losing at Washington on Monday night. They’ll host the Knicks on Wednesday.

Griffin’s absence has been magnified by backcourt injuries. Starting point guard Reggie Jackson will miss at least the next four weeks after being diagnosed with a stress reaction in his lower back. Backups Derrick Rose (hamstring) and Tim Frazier (shoulder) have missed the last two games.

Markieff Morris, signed as a free agent this offseason, has been starting in Griffin’s place.

Griffin has already missed more regular-season games than he did all of last season, when he appeared in 75 contests. He received three nights off last season for load management but played all others until the knee injury cropped up in the closing weeks. He also missed two playoff games.

Executives around the NBA will be on alert to see if the Pistons go into sell mode and put Griffin and Andre Drummond on the block, Charania adds. Drummond can become an unrestricted free agent after the season if he opts out. Griffin is in the third year of the five-year, $171.2MM contract he signed with the Clippers before he was traded midway through the first year of the deal. He can opt out after the 2020/21 season.

However, Griffin is optimistic the Pistons will retain him and Drummond and return to the postseason.

“I’m excited because I like this team a lot,” Griffin told The Athletic. “We’re tough and we fight. There’s a grit to this team. … I’m excited about this team and the prospects of coming back and leading this group.”

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/4/19

November 4th, 2019 at 8:07pm CST by Dana Gauruder

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

Pistons first-round pick Sekou Doumbouya was assigned to the Grand Rapids Drive, Eric Woodyard of ESPN tweets. The teenage forward had been in the league’s concussion protocol since late in the preseason.
The Raptors assigned rookie big man Dewan Hernandez to Raptors 905, Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets. Hernandez has yet to make his NBA debut.
The Wizards recalled rookie guard Justin Robinson prior to their team’s game against the Pistons, the team’s PR department tweets. The point guard has made two cameo appearances this season.
The Celtics assigned first-round pick Romeo Langford to the Maine Red Claws, the team’s PR department tweets. The rookie guard from Indiana is still looking for his first NBA basket.
The Nets recalled power forward Nicolas Claxton from their Long Island affiliate, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets. The rookie out of Georgia has yet to make his NBA debut.
The Mavericks recalled rookie forward Isaiah Roby from the Texas Legends, according to a team press release. This is the second time the second-round pick has been recalled from the G League.

Reggie Jackson Out At Least Four Weeks With Back Injury

November 2nd, 2019 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons‘ injury woes to start the 2019/20 season aren’t letting up, with the team announcing today in a press release that starting point guard Reggie Jackson has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in his lower back. Jackson’s status will be updated when he’s re-evaluated in four weeks, according to the Pistons.

Lower back tightness slowed Jackson in the preseason as well, though he was given the go-ahead to start the regular season. He appeared in just two games before being forced out of action for the last four. Even if he’s ruled ready to return in four weeks when he’s re-evaluated, the veteran guard will miss Detroit’s next 13 games and won’t be back until December.

Besides Jackson, the Pistons have been without another important starter, as knee and hamstring issues have prevented Blake Griffin from making his season debut. Although Griffin has been making progress in his recovery, he has been ruled out for Saturday’s game, so he won’t be back until next week at the earliest.

In Jackson’s absence, Tim Frazier has been starting at point guard and hasn’t looked all that great, with a .258 FG% so far. However, Derrick Rose is handling a larger share of the point guard minutes off the bench, and he has been stellar in the early going, averaging 20.8 PPG on 56.2% shooting in just 25.0 minutes per contest.

With Jackson out for the next several weeks, the Pistons could also turn to Bruce Brown for some minutes at point guard if necessary.

Rose Happy With Free Agent Choice

November 1st, 2019 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Derrick Rose signed a two-year, $15MM contract with the Pistons and he’s thrilled with his choice, Keith Langlois of the team’s website writes. Rose has gotten off to a strong start and he’s happy with the organization. “I feel great,” he said. “Even making the decision to come here. Every day that we’re in Detroit, my family is happy being there. I’m happy being there. You hear things from afar, you don’t know what to expect. But everything’s been up and up.”

Pistons Notes: Rose, Wood, Morris, Jackson

October 28th, 2019 at 6:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Derrick Rose has gotten off to a strong start with the Pistons but he’ll remain on a minutes limitation, James Edwards III of The Athletic relays. Rose, who signed a two-year, $15MM contract as a free agent this summer, averaged 25.3 PPG and 5.0 APG in his first three games despite playing 26.3 MPG.

“I got to watch his minutes,” coach Dwane Casey said. “I try to keep his minutes around 27, 28. That limits us to what we can do with him. … If it’s tight or close, we may fudge the numbers a little bit, but for the most part, we’re going to keep it around that number each and every night.”

We have more on the Pistons:

Center Christian Wood beat out Joe Johnson for the final roster and made his first meaningful contribution against the Sixers on Saturday night, Rod Beard of the Detroit News notes. Wood, who was claimed off waivers, had 11 points and five rebounds in 19 minutes as Blake Griffin remains sidelined with hamstring and knee injuries. “I was able to show that I want to be in the rotation,” Wood said.
Forward Markieff Morris, who is starting while Griffin mends, was fined $35K by the league for directing inappropriate and offensive language toward a game official, according to a league press release. Morris, who joined Detroit on a two-year, $6.56MM contract, made those remarks during the loss to the Sixers.
Point guard Reggie Jackson underwent tests on his sore lower back, Keith Langlois of the team’s website tweets. Jackson, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, missed his second consecutive game on Monday. “The doctor’s going to read the results and see what it is,” Casey said.

Pistons Notes: Griffin, Jackson, Drummond, Doumbouya

October 25th, 2019 at 10:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The absence of Blake Griffin has led to offensive struggles for the Pistons’ starting unit during their first two games, Keith Langlois of the team’s website notes.

With Griffin sidelined for at least five games by hamstring and knee injuries, Markieff Morris has taken his spot in the lineup and Detroit got off to slow starts both times. The situation has become even more complicated due to Reggie Jackson‘s lower back tightness, which forced him to depart the 117-100 home loss to Atlanta early on Thursday.

Casey would prefer to limit the minutes of backup point guard Derrick Rose, who has averaged 23 points in his first two games with Detroit. If Jackson needs to miss games, Rose might have to start instead of the other point option, Tim Frazier, because the offense would have even further limitations without Rose’s playmaking.

We have more on the Pistons:

Center Andre Drummond can opt of his contract after the season and enter unrestricted free agency. His opening-night performance showed that he’s going all out in his walk year, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. After he racked up 32 points and 23 rebounds in a season-opening victory at Indiana, Drummond responded to a question regarding Twitter #ContractYearDre by saying, “You know it.”
The fact that Griffin, who has a long injury history, started the season in street clothes could eventually lead the front office to hit the reset button, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press opines. Dealing Griffin is doubtful given those injury woes and that his max deal takes him through the 2021/22 season. But trade speculation has increased recently due to the possibility of the season going sour quickly, Ellis adds.
First-round pick Sekou Doumbouya isn’t expected to have much of an impact in his rookie season, senior adviser Ed Stefanski told Beard during a Q&A session. The 18-year-old was inactive during the first two games due to a concussion. “When we drafted him, we said early publicly that he’s going to take time to come around and we didn’t put any timetable on it,” Stefanski said. “We made a point that this year, early in the season, we didn’t expect him to be in that rotation. If he keeps playing well when February and March roll around, who knows? We’re not going to throw him to the wolves.”

Christian Wood To Receive Partial Guarantee

October 23rd, 2019 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

ESPN’s Bobby Marks provides some financial details on the rookie scale extensions signed on Monday, outlining (via Twitter) exactly how much bonus money is included in five of those deals. Marks also identifies four players who will receive increased partial guarantees as a result of remaining under contract with their respective teams through Wednesday (Twitter link). Those players are Christian Wood (Pistons), Jordan McRae (Wizards), Kendrick Nunn (Heat), and Trey Burke (Sixers).

Central Notes: Bledsoe, Giannis, Rose, Hutchison

October 22nd, 2019 at 10:12pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Eric Bledsoe is expected to be ready for the Bucks‘ opener on Thursday, Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays.

“I kind of knew what it was, in a sense,” said Bledsoe, who suffered a rib cage injury earlier in the preseason. “I knew it wasn’t nothing serious… I knew I was going to bounce back.”

Bledsoe will join Brook Lopez, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and newcomer Wesley Matthews in the Bucks’ starting lineup, Velazquez adds in the same piece. Matthews will take over for Malcolm Brogdon, who was traded to the Pacers this offseason.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today argues that the Bucks have done everything right to keep Antetokounmpo around long-term. Milwaukee can offer Giannis the super-max next summer.
How Derrick Rose performs will go a long way toward whether the Pistons make the postseason, Rod Beard of The Detroit News writes. Rose signed a two-year deal with the club this offseason.
There are plenty of questions surrounding second-year Bulls forward Chandler Hutchison, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, who notes that it may be hard for the club to find rotation minutes for Hutchison even once he’s recovered from his hamstring injury.

Pistons’ Blake Griffin To Miss Start Of Season

October 22nd, 2019 at 3:42pm CST by Luke Adams

All-NBA forward Blake Griffin won’t travel with the Pistons to Indiana for Wednesday’s season opener, the team announced today in a press release.

According to the Pistons, Griffin is continuing to undergo treatment and conditioning for his left hamstring and posterior knee soreness. The club expects to re-evaluate him during the first week of November in the hopes that he’ll be able to return at that point.

It’s an ominous start to the season for Griffin and the Pistons, who barely sneaked into the postseason last spring and are viewed as a borderline playoff contender once again this year. The veteran forward was healthier than usual in his first full season as a Piston, appearing in 75 regular season contests — in each of the previous four years, he missed at least 15 games due to injuries.

The Pistons went 2-5 with Griffin on the shelf during the 2018/19 regular season and it sounds like they’ll be without him for at least five games to open the ’19/20 campaign. Detroit is scheduled to face the Pacers (twice), Hawks, Sixers, and Raptors in October, with games against the Bulls and Nets on tap for November 1 and 2.

Pistons Waive Joe Johnson

October 21st, 2019 at 4:31pm CST by Luke Adams

4:31pm: The Pistons have officially waived Johnson, per a press release from the team. A source tells Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link) that Iso Joe isn’t giving up on his NBA comeback and plans to pursue other opportunities.

2:27pm: The Pistons are waiving veteran forward Joe Johnson, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The move should pave the way for Detroit to finalize its regular season roster, with Christian Wood claiming the final spot on the 15-man squad.

Johnson, who didn’t play in the NBA during the 2018/19 season, turned heads with his performance in Ice Cube‘s 3-on-3 league earlier this year. The 17-year NBA veteran showed he still had something left in the tank during his BIG3 run, ranking atop the league in scoring, winning the MVP award, and leading his team to a championship.

That performance helped earn Johnson a partially guaranteed deal in Detroit. However, the team still had 14 players on guaranteed contracts and Wood – who had a non-guaranteed salary – made a strong case to be part of the regular season roster. The Pistons reportedly explored trade options to open another roster spot, with Langston Galloway and Khyri Thomas among the candidates to be moved, but ultimately decided to release Johnson.

An injury may have also been a factor in the Pistons’ decision, as Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter) that Johnson was experiencing swelling in his Achilles. According to Haynes, tests came back clean and Johnson was responding well to treatment. Still, for a 38-year-old who hasn’t played in the NBA in over a year, any health issues should be approached with caution.

With Johnson headed to the waiver wire, the Pistons will be on the hook for his $220K partial guarantee, assuming he goes unclaimed. Detroit’s team salary is now just $4K below the luxury tax line, tweets cap expert Albert Nahmad.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.