Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Lawson, Bulls, Collison, Sirvydis, Magic

July 4th, 2019 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics announced three additions to their coaching staff today, including the official hiring of Kara Lawson as their first-ever female assistant. A 13-year WNBA veteran and Olympic gold medal winner, she spent the past two seasons as the primary television analyst for the Wizards and covered games for ESPN Radio.

“This was a good fit,” Lawson said to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. “I wanted to go somewhere where I’d be challenged, I wanted to go somewhere where I’d be allowed to coach, and I wanted to go to an organization that was going to be playing in big games to be able to get a sense of that last frontier of coaching, which is being able to do it in pressure situations in the regular season and the playoffs.”

Also added to coach Brad Stevens’ staff were Brandon Bailey, who served as coach of the Celtics’ G League affiliate in Maine the past two seasons, and Joe Mazzulla, a former assistant with the Red Claws.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

It got lost in the shuffle of this week’s free agency frenzy, but according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link), there was a belief in league circles that the Bulls were the frontrunners to sign Darren Collison before the free agent point guard unexpectedly announced his retirement.
The Bulls have added two new assistants to head coach Jim Boylen’s staff, according to a press release from the team. Chris Fleming announced in May that he was leaving the Nets to come to Chicago, and Roy Rogers, who recently parted ways with the Rockets, officially joined the team Wednesday. In addition, Karen Stack has been elevated to assistant coach, Paul Miller was named assistant to the head coach and former intern Chris Kent is the new video coordinator.
Deividas Sirvydis, who was selected by the Pistons with the 37th pick in the draft, will likely spend the upcoming season in Europe, tweets international basketball writer Donatas Urbonas. Rytas Vilnius GM Rolandas Jarutis expects to have the 6’8″ shooting guard back next season unless he has an outstanding performance with Detroit’s Summer League team. Sirvydis, 19, was MVP of the EuroLeague Basketball Next Generation Tournament in 2018.
The Magic have probably given up on Fran Vazquez ever coming to the NBA, but there was news this week on their 2005 draft pick, whose draft rights they still retain, tweets Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports. The 36-year-old re-signed with his Zaragoza team in Spain, so his cap hold will be removed from Orlando’s books for another season.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Pistons Sign Markieff Morris

July 3rd, 2019 at 1:51pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: The Pistons have officially signed Morris, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 3: The Pistons have reached an agreement to sign free agent forward Markieff Morris, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’ll be a two-year deal, a league source tells Jordan Schultz of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

The Pistons will use their bi-annual exception to sign Morris, tweets James Edwards III of The Athletic. He’ll get the full $3.6MM, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press adds (via Twitter), so it’ll have a total two-year value of about $7.4MM.

Morris, 29, started the 2018/19 season with the Wizards before being sent to the Pelicans in a deadline deal. New Orleans waived him, paving the way for him to sign with the Thunder to finish the season.

It was a down year for Morris, who battled back and neck issues. In 58 total games (21.9 MPG) for the Wizards and Thunder, he averaged 9.4 PPG and 4.6 RPG, his lowest marks since his first two seasons in the league. He’ll be looking to bounce back with the Pistons.

Markieff will become the second Morris twin to play for the Pistons — his brother Marcus Morris was on the roster for two seasons from 2015-17 before being dealt to Boston.

Pistons Sign Tim Frazier To One-Year Deal

July 1st, 2019 at 4:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 6: The Pistons have officially signed Frazier to his new contract, the club announced today in a press release.

JULY 1: Point guard Tim Frazier has agreed to a one-year deal for approximately $2MM with the Pistons, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). It’ll be a veteran’s minimum deal, Rod Beard of The Detroit News confirms (via Twitter).

With Ish Smith and Jose Calderon becoming free agents, the Pistons were looking for depth in the backcourt. Smith agreed to a deal with the Wizards.

The Pistons reached a two-year agreement with Derrick Rose, who could start alongside Reggie Jackson or play a sixth-man role. Rose’s deal will eat up most of the team’s mid-level exception, but the club still has a little of that MLE available, along with the $3.6MM bi-annual exception.

Frazier has bounced around the league since his rookie campaign of 2014/15. Detroit will be his sixth team. He saw action in 47 regular-season games, including 17 starts, with New Orleans last season and 12 more with the Bucks. He also made 11 postseason appearances with Milwaukee. Overall, he’s appeared in 245 NBA games, averaging 5.2 PPG and 4.1 APG in 18.2 MPG.

Free Agent Rumors: Dudley, Beverley, McGee, Green

July 1st, 2019 at 12:05am CST by Arthur Hill

The new-look Nets may be close to bringing back one of their locker room leaders, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic. Jared Dudley is interested in signing up for another season in Brooklyn, a source tells Scotto.

Dudley, who will turn 34 next month, also contributed on the court in his first season with the Nets, averaging 4.9 PPG in 59 games and shooting 35% from 3-point range. Dudley is also drawing interest from the Pistons and met with Detroit officials today, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link).

There’s more free agent news to pass along:

The Mavericks’ planned discussion with Patrick Beverley didn’t happen tonight, relays Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link), who speculates that it was because of the team’s involvement in a three-way trade with the Heat and Sixers. Townsend adds that the Mavs’ chances of landing Beverley seem less likely than they were earlier.
Dallas is optimistic about reaching a deal with restricted free agent Maxi Kleber, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. He cites “productive discussions” between the Mavericks and the power forward/center.
JaVale McGee has a meeting set with the Pistons tomorrow, relays Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The free agent center talked to the Rockets today.
Danny Green spoke on his Instagram account about meeting with the Mavericks, Lakers and Clippers and Raptors, tweets Blake Murphy of The Athletic. “Being patient, man,” he said of the process. “Being patient.”
The Wizards would still like to re-sign Tomas Satoransky, but are looking into other options at point guard, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link). Hughes states that they are interested in Quinn Cook and notes that Shams Charania of The Athletic has reported an inquiry about Cory Joseph.

Pistons Sign Derrick Rose

June 30th, 2019 at 5:05pm CST by JD Shaw

JULY 6: The Pistons have officially signed Derrick Rose, according to NBA.com’s log of transactions.

JUNE 30: Free agent Derrick Rose has agreed to a two-year, $15MM deal with the Pistons, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Rose, 30, enjoyed a productive bounce-back season in Minnesota in 2018/19. While he was limited to 51 games due to injury issues, he averaged 18.0 PPG, 4.3 APG, and 2.7 RPG with an impressive .482/.370/.856 shooting line. It was the first time the former MVP had ever shot higher than 34.0% from beyond the arc in a season.

As for the Pistons, they were in the market for a point guard to join Reggie Jackson at the position, with Ish Smith and Jose Calderon headed for unrestricted free agency.

Detroit has the full mid-level exception at its disposal and will use a portion of that MLE to sign Rose. The deal should leave the Pistons with about $2MM on its mid-level.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Pistons Emerge As Favorites To Sign Derrick Rose

June 29th, 2019 at 5:03pm CST by Luke Adams

5:03pm: Rose will meet with the Pistons on Sunday and the two sides are motivated to find common ground on a two-year deal, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

2:30pm: The Pistons are emerging as the frontrunners to sign point guard Derrick Rose in free agency, a league source tells Frank Isola of The Athletic (Twitter link). Rose is on track to reach the open market after his one-year deal with the Timberwolves expires tomorrow.

Rose, 30, enjoyed a productive bounce-back season in Minnesota in 2018/19. While he was limited to 51 games due to injury issues, he averaged 18.0 PPG, 4.3 APG, and 2.7 RPG with an impressive .482/.370/.856 shooting line. It was the first time the former MVP had ever shot higher than 34.0% from beyond the arc in a season.

As for the Pistons, they’re in the market for a point guard to join Reggie Jackson at the position, with Ish Smith and Jose Calderon headed for unrestricted free agency.

Detroit has the mid-level exception at its disposal, though it’s not clear whether the team’s offer to Rose would use part or all of that exception. The veteran has played for the minimum for the last two seasons.

Pistons Won’t Retain Glenn Robinson III

June 28th, 2019 at 6:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons will not pick up their option on swingman Glenn Robinson III, according to The Athletic’s James Edwards and Michael Scotto (Twitter links).

Robinson’s option was $4,278,750. Even with Robinson’s salary subtracted, the Pistons will be over the cap this summer. They’ll look to use the mid-level exception in free agency.

The move was expected, as Robinson was a major disappointment after signing a two-year deal with Detroit last summer. The Pistons were hoping that Robinson would revive his career with them after an ankle injury wrecked his 2017-18 campaign with the Pacers.

However, Robinson had a minimal impact on a team starving for 3-point shooting. He averaged 4.2 PPG in 13.0 MPG over 47 regular-season appearances while shooting just 29% from distance. Coach Dwane Casey at times used Robinson as an undersized power forward, though he mainly saw action at the wing spots.

Robinson appeared in three playoff games against the Bucks, averaging 4.3 PPG in 12.0 MPG.

Pistons Trade For No. 37 Pick Deividas Sirvydis

June 26th, 2019 at 8:51pm CST by Luke Adams

JUNE 26, 8:51pm: Per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, the deal is official.

JUNE 20, 10:59pm: The Mavericks are receiving the 2020 and 2021 second-rounders that the Pistons acquired earlier in the evening from Cleveland, tweets Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. The 2020 pick is Utah’s and the 2021 selection is Portland’s.

JUNE 20, 10:34pm: The Pistons and Mavericks have agreed to a trade that will send the rights of No. 37 pick Deividas Sirvydis to Detroit, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

According to Marc Stein of The New York Times (via Twitter), Dallas is receiving the No. 45 pick from Detroit tonight, along with two future second-round picks. The Pistons just acquired four second-rounders for the No. 30 pick, so it wouldn’t be surprised if those two of those selections are being re-routed to the Mavs.

Sirvydis, a wing player, is expected to be a draft-and-stash pick for the Pistons, reports Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (via Twitter).

Sirvydis, who declared the draft as an international early entrant, played in the Lithuanian league this season. He projects as a dangerous perimeter threat, as ESPN’s Jonathan Givony tweets.

Cavs Acquire No. 30, Draft Kevin Porter Jr.

June 26th, 2019 at 8:39pm CST by Luke Adams

JUNE 26, 8:39pm: The deal is official, per an announcement from the Cavaliers.

JUNE 20, 10:58pm: The Pistons are acquiring 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024 second-round picks in this swap, tweets Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. The picks are from Utah (2020), Portland (2021 and 2023), and Miami (2024; top-55 protected), according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, who tweets that Cleveland also surrendered $5MM in cash.

JUNE 20, 9:48pm: After agreeing to acquire the No. 30 pick from the Bucks along with Tony Snell, the Pistons are flipping that pick to the Cavaliers, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Cleveland will use the newly-acquired first-rounder to draft USC guard Kevin Porter Jr.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the Cavaliers are sending four future second-round picks to the Pistons in the deal, along with some cash. Detroit had traded away all of its second-rounders between 2020-23 in previous deals, so this move will help restock the club’s draft assets.

Porter had an up-and-down season at USC in 2018/19, averaging just 9.5 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 21 games. He also face questions about his maturity, which likely contributed to him slipping to the end of the first round. However, NBA evaluators believe he has the physical tools to become a talented shot creator and defender, per ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

The Cavaliers have now added Darius Garland, Dylan Windler, and Porter in the first round of tonight’s draft. They don’t have any second-rounders, so their evening will be over unless they make more trades.

Pistons, Louis King Agree To Two-Way Deal

June 24th, 2019 at 9:48am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have reached a deal with undrafted rookie Louis King, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Detroit will sign the Oregon forward to a two-way contract once the new league year begins.

King, who declared for the draft as an early entrant after his freshman year, averaged 13.5 PPG and 5.5 RPG with a .435/.386/.785 shooting line in 31 games during his first and only season with the Ducks. Although he wasn’t one of the 60 players selected last Thursday, it didn’t take him long to find a new NBA home with one of the clubs that worked him out during the pre-draft process.

The Pistons are also reportedly signing No. 57 overall pick Jordan Bone to a two-way deal, so King and Bone appear set to occupy the team’s two-way slots to start the 2019/20 season. They’d supplant Isaiah Whitehead and Kalin Lucas, who were Detroit’s two-way players to end the ’18/19 season.

Meanwhile, Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link) hears from a league source that the Pistons have also agreed to a deal with former Michigan State guard Matt McQuaid, another undrafted rookie. Scotto doesn’t offer any more details on the move, so it’s not clear whether McQuaid will sign an Exhibit 10 agreement or another form of contract, but it sounds like the deal will cover more than just the Summer League.

In his senior year with the Spartans, McQuaid averaged 9.8 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 2.1 APG and shot 42.2% on three-point attempts. In total, 173 of his 271 field goal attempts came from beyond the arc.