- Pistons camp invitee Zach Lofton has impressed the team this fall, as Keith Langlois of Pistons.com details. Detroit has 15 players on guaranteed salaries and two on two-way deals, but Lofton may be making a case to take over one of those two-way contract slots, tweets Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press.
- In a piece for The Free Press, Ellis notes that the Pistons have been giving second-round pick Bruce Brown a look at point guard during the preseason, a move endorsed by Brown’s college coach Jim Larranaga. “The more I observed him and evaluated him, the more I realized his long-term potential is really as a point guard,” Larranaga said of the former Miami Hurricane. “I think he’s going to be a point guard in the NBA.”
The Pistons have been focused on returning to the playoffs after bringing in Dwane Casey as head coach and banking on a clean bill of health for players such as Reggie Jackson and Blake Griffin. With Casey, the Pistons are getting a head coach that is focused on ball movement and off-ball actions in hopes of revitalizing the team’s offense, which ranked just 19th in the league last season.
As Keith Langlois writes for the Pistons’ website, such a focus on diversifying the offense may lead to someone other than Jackson leading the team in assists, which Casey is comfortable with. Casey even went further to express his desire for a player such as Griffin to lead the team in assists: “That’ll free Reggie up to get off of the ball, to move without the ball a little bit more. That means other players are cutting, moving, and we’ll be harder to figure out and predict and scout.”
Griffin is one of the better passers in the frontcourt, as he averaged 6.2 APG in his 25 games with the Pistons last season. Jackson has struggled to stay healthy in recent seasons, as he has played in a combined 97 games in the past two seasons.
Casey is also focused on implementing a more modern offense in Detroit, with an emphasis on playing at a faster pace and eliminating shots from the mid-range. So far, the result have been promising — 159 of the 173 total Pistons’ shots have either come from beyond the 3-point arc or inside the paint in their first two preseason games. A more modern offense that is heavy on ball movement and diverse playmaking could be the key ingredient for the club to return to the playoffs this season.
- Speaking of Casey, another difference that Pistons players have been getting used to is his calm demeanor on the sidelines. As Vince Ellis writes for the Detroit Free Press, the players have enjoyed Casey’s positive approach and the fact that he doesn’t direct outrage or disappointment on one player. For a team that is returning a large portion of the same roster, the change at coach may prove to make the largest difference this season.
The Pistons have announced in a press release that they waived forward Chris McCullough. McCullough was signed to Detroit’s training camp roster on September 25, but did not see any time in the team’s first two preseason games.
After being drafted with the 29th pick in the 2015 draft out of Syracuse University, McCullough has appeared in 59 NBA games with the Nets and Wizards. For his career, the 23-year-old forward has averaged 3.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. He’ll now look to find his footing in the NBA on another team or in the G League.
The Pistons entered the preseason with 15 players on guaranteed contracts and two on two-way deals, so McCullough was always a long shot to make the regular season roster. The club is now carrying 19 players in total, including Zach Lofton and Johnny Hamilton on non-guaranteed contracts.
Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson is still scraping off the rust after spending the summer rehabbing a high ankle sprain, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press reports. Jackson, who originally suffered the injury in late December, returned to basketball activities on Thursday and participated in a public scrimmage on Saturday. He showed some quickness during the scrimmage but took a passive approach offensively, Ellis notes. “He’s looked really good,” coach Dwane Casey said. “He’s still rusty in certain areas, reading situations defensively, but I’m very pleased at where he is.”
We have more from around the Central Division:
- Pairing Justin Holiday and Jabari Parker at the forward spots could prove to be a successful stopgap measure for the Bulls, according to the analysis of NBC Sports Chicago’s Michael Walton. The Bulls are searching for ways to make up for the absence of Lauri Markkanen, who is out 6-8 weeks with an elbow injury. Holiday is a quality defender and 3-point shooter who doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He should mesh well with a high usage player like Parker, who excels offensively. Parker’s ability to score on the break will allow Holiday to be more aggressive defensively and look for steals, Walton adds.
- Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine feels a greater responsibility after signing a multi-year contract, as Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago reports. The front office matched his Kings’ four-year, $78MM offer sheet in July and LaVine wants to be looked upon as a leader. “We have so many scorers, though, so if any of us have an off day I think we’ll be able to pick up the slack really easily,” he said. “I know I’m here to be a leader and put the ball in the hoop and become a complete player.”
- The Pacers’ second-round picks from the past two drafts have impressed in camp, Mark Monteith of the team’s website writes. Center Ike Anigbogu, guard Edmond Sumner and forward Alize Johnson will likely spend most of the season in the G League but coach Nate McMillan likes their progress. “They’ve had really good training camps,” McMillan told Monteith. “I really like what I see from those guys.”
So far this offseason, two players have signed rookie scale extensions: Devin Booker got a new deal from the Suns, and the Timberwolves locked up Karl-Anthony Towns to a new long-term pact.
In each of those instances, the player received a maximum salary extension. Max deals, which require little negotiation, typically get done well before the mid-October deadline for rookie scale extensions. But with that deadline now just two weeks away, we may start seeing progress on a few other deals around the NBA.
Besides Booker and Towns, 21 players are eligible for rookie scale extensions this offseason, though some of the players on that list assuredly won’t get new deals. The Cavaliers aren’t about to give Sam Dekker a long-term contract, for example. And it’s safe to assume that the Bulls aren’t looking to lock up Cameron Payne early.
Still, there are several names on that list who are intriguing candidates for new deals. Here are 12 of them:
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Nets)
- Stanley Johnson (Pistons)
- Frank Kaminsky (Hornets)
- Trey Lyles (Nuggets)
- Larry Nance Jr. (Cavaliers)
- Kelly Oubre (Wizards)
- Bobby Portis (Bulls)
- Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks)
- Terry Rozier (Celtics)
- Myles Turner (Pacers)
- Justise Winslow (Heat)
- Delon Wright (Raptors)
Not all the players on this list will sign rookie scale extensions within the next two weeks. In fact, most of them probably won’t. There are plenty of reasons for teams to wait — maybe the asking prices are too high, maybe their financial situations aren’t conducive to more long-term investments at this point, or maybe they simply want another season to take a closer look at their extension candidates.
[RELATED: Recent NBA Rookie Scale Extension History]
Still, it’s safe to assume that at least a couple players on this list will receive new deals. Typically, at least four players per year sign rookie scale extensions, and the numbers in previous seasons have often been much higher than that — in 2014, 2015, and 2016, a combined 24 players signed rookie scale extensions, for an average of eight per year.
With that October 15 deadline fast approaching, we want to know what you think. Which of this year’s extension candidates will receive new deals? Which deserve them, and at what price point? Which should be put off until they reach restricted free agency next summer?
Head to the comment section below to share your two cents on this year’s rookie scale extension candidates!
- Glenn Robinson III is eager to jump start his career after an ankle injury marred his final year with the Pacers, Ansar Khan of MLive.com reports. The swingman signed a two-year, $8.35MM deal with the Pistons that included a team option. “My shooting ability and being able to defend my position is going to be huge for us,” Robinson said. “It’s going to be up to Coach (Casey) who he puts in that starting wing spot, but I think the most important thing to me is finishing games.”
Less than five months after being let go by the Pistons, Stan Van Gundy has reportedly lined up a new gig. According to Andrew Marchand of The New York Post, Van Gundy has reached an agreement to become a studio analyst for ESPN’s NBA coverage.
As Marchand notes, Van Gundy nearly joined ESPN several years ago but had that deal fall apart at the 11th hour, so it’s worth mentioning that the former Pistons head coach has yet to officially sign his contract with the network. Still, it appears he’ll be joining his brother Jeff Van Gundy at the Worldwide Leader for the upcoming NBA season — while Stan will be a studio analyst, Jeff is on ESPN’s top broadcasting team alongside Mike Breen and Mark Jackson.
Van Gundy, who was also serving as the Pistons’ president of basketball operations before he was dismissed by the club, was disappointed by the decision and said in the wake of his firing that he wanted to coach again. Last month, after he failed to secure a coaching job for the 2018/19 season, Van Gundy admitted that he wasn’t sure about his future plans
“I want to do something, but if I’m not coaching, I don’t want to work too hard,” he said at the time.
Given the research and preparation required for a TV analyst role, presumably Van Gundy has changed course on that stance, but we’ll have to see what he sounds like on the air to be sure.
Assuming they’re all healthy to start the season, Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin, and Reggie Jackson are locked in as three of the five players in the Pistons‘ starting lineup. However, head coach Dwane Casey hasn’t tipped his hand on which two wings will be joining them, per Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
“Guys are competing and it’s not going to be a quarterback controversy at all. We’re going to put the right people in the right positions, whether it’s the starting group or the second group that fit,” the Pistons’ new coach said. “That’s something we’re going to be watching over the next couple weeks to see. We have a good idea but nothing is concrete right now. There are guys who are defensive-minded and great defensively and guys who can shoot the lights out. We just have to figure it out.”
Former Northwestern standout Scottie Lindsey enjoyed a very brief stay on an NBA roster this weekend, as the Pistons signed him to a contract on Saturday before waiving him on Monday, per the RealGM.com and NBA.com transaction logs.
Given the abridged nature of Lindsey’s stint with the Pistons, the club was likely looking to secure his G League rights for the Grand Rapids Drive. Assuming his deal included an Exhibit 10 clause, the 6’5″ guard could be in line for a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least two months with Detroit’s NBAGL affiliate.
Lindsey, 22, averaged 15.2 PPG and 3.8 RPG in his senior year at Northwestern in 2017/18, recording a .399/.362/.829 shooting line in 32 games.
Lindsey was signed to the 20th and final spot on Detroit’s training camp roster, which the team subsequently used to add Chris McCullough after cutting Lindsey.
SEPTEMBER 25: The Pistons have officially signed McCullough, the team announced today in a press release.
SEPTEMBER 23: The Pistons are signing power forward Chris McCullough to a training camp deal, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link).
McCullough, 23, appeared in 19 games with the Wizards last season, averaging 2.4 PPG and 1.3 RPG. He entered unrestricted free agency this summer and played for the Sixers’ Summer League squad.
The Nets drafted McCullough in the first round (29th overall) of the 2015 NBA Draft. The Syracuse product appeared in 38 games over parts of two seasons with Brooklyn before he was traded to Washington — along with Bojan Bogdanovic — in February 2017.
Most of the Syracuse product’s professional time has been spent in the G League as he’s appeared in 55 games over the past two seasons.