Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pistons Sign Glenn Robinson III

July 1st, 2018 at 1:11pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 7: The signing is official, the Pistons announced on Twitter.

JULY 1: The Pistons are finalizing a deal to bring Glenn Robinson III to Detroit, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The pact will be for $8.3MM over two seasons with only the first year guaranteed.

Detroit will be using part of its mid-level exception to accommodate the deal. The franchise is over the cap, committing approximately $115.7MM in salary for the 2018/19 season before factoring in Robinson’s deal.

The University of Michigan product showed some promise during his time with the Pacers over the past three seasons, though injuries robbed him of consistency. He played in just 23 games during the 2017/18 campaign.

The 24-year-old is a career 38.1% marksman from behind the arc. That figure that includes shooting 41.2% on 34 attempts last season. He should be able to compete for a spot in Detroit’s wing rotation, an area that proved to have its issues after the team traded away much of its depth in the Blake Griffin deal.

Free Agent Notes: Stephenson, Tolliver, McGee, O’Quinn

July 1st, 2018 at 11:50am CST by Arthur Hill

Plenty of teams will have interest in Lance Stephenson once the higher-profile free agents are signed, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. The Pacers remain open to bringing back the 27-year-old swingman after declining their team option on him this week. Wolfson lists the Timberwolves, Knicks, Sixers and Lakers as other interested teams, but says there are more.

Stephenson appeared in all 82 games for Indiana this season, averaging 9.2 points per night. He would have made $4.36MM in 2018/19 if the Pacers had picked up his option.

There’s more free agent news to pass along:

Timberwolves coach/executive Tom Thibodeau has talked to Pistons free agent Anthony Tolliver, according to Wolfson (Twitter link). Tolliver shot 44% from 3-point range this season, and Minnesota sees him as a possible replacement for Jamal Crawford. The Wolves also like his locker room presence, which could be valuable if Cole Aldrich doesn’t come back.
JaVale McGee has said he wants to return to the Warriors, but he is also getting interest from the Lakers, Pelicans and Thunder, tweets TNT’s David Aldridge. Because of luxury tax concerns, Golden State is unlikely to offer more than a veteran’s minimum contract, while the other teams have more financial flexibility. McGee averaged 4.8 PPG and 2.6RPG this season, but his numbers rose after he became a starter after the All-Star break. This is the third straight summer of free agency for McGee, who has spent the past two seasons with the Warriors.
The new contract for Luke Kornet is a sign that Kyle O’Quinn won’t return to the Knicks, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. He adds that the Sixers are showing “heavy interest” in O’Quinn, who spent the past three years in New York as a backup center.
The Knicks are hoping to re-sign Isaiah Hicks, who was on a two-way contract this season, tweets ESPN’s Ian Begley. New York gave him a qualifying offer last week, making him a free agent and giving the team the right to match any offer. Hicks appeared in 18 NBA games, averaging 4.4 points per night.
A scheduled meeting between Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and the Clippers has been moved from today to Monday, tweets Chris Haynes of ESPN.

Sixers Notes: Ennis, Ilyasova, Bird, Milton

July 1st, 2018 at 10:50am CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers have their eyes on free agent forward James Ennis, tweets ESPN’s Ian Begley, but landing him won’t be easy. Detroit owns Early Bird rights on Ennis and has made re-signing him a priority.

Ennis, 28, came to the Pistons at the trade deadline after beginning the season in Memphis. He was a part-time starter in Detroit and averaged 7.5 points per game. He earned a little more than $3MM this season.

The Rockets and Nets have also expressed interest in Ennis, according to Begley. The Pelicans would also like to sign him, but the growing interest may push him outside their price range, adds Scott Kushner of The Advocate (Twitter link). Ennis played nine games in New Orleans at the end of the 2015/16 season.

There’s more from Philadelphia on the first day of free agency:

The Sixers talked to veteran forward Ersan Ilyasova about a return before he signed a three-year, $21MM deal with the Bucks, according to Gery Woelful of The Racine Journal Times (Twitter link). The Lakers, Timberwolves and Raptors were other options for Ilyasova.
The Sixers are among the teams showing interest in Celtics shooting guard Jabari Bird, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, who adds that the Wolves are also considering an offer. Bird was a two-way player for Boston this season, appearing in 13 NBA games and averaging 3.0 points in 8.0 minutes per night. He was a big scorer for the Celtics’ G League affiliate in Maine, posting a 19.3/5.8/2.7 line in 20 games. Boston submitted a qualifying offer this week, making Bird a restricted free agent.
Second-round pick Shake Milton will be held out of summer league play because of a stress fracture in his back, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The team plans to re-evaluate him in three weeks. His injury occurred during pre-draft workouts.
Justin Anderson had surgery on his left leg due to recurring tibial stress syndrome, the team announced on its website. He will be re-evaluated in two weeks, then again in six to eight weeks. Anderson has spent the past season and a half in Philadelphia and appeared in 38 games this year.

Pistons Hire Malik Rose As Assistant GM

June 29th, 2018 at 12:25pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JUNE 29: The Pistons have officially hired Rose as an assistant GM, the team announced today in a press release.

“We are pleased to welcome Malik Rose to the Detroit Pistons organization,” Stefanski said in a statement. “Malik has been around successful teams throughout his NBA playing career and now, as a young executive, he brings great basketball knowledge from both a playing and administrative perspective. His engaging and collaborative spirit fits perfectly with the basketball operations staff we are looking to construct.”

JUNE 26: The Pistons will hire Malik Rose as their assistant general manager, a source tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link). It was reported last week that the team would offer the former NBA forward a front office position.

Detroit has still not hired an official GM after parting ways with Jeff Bower, but it doesn’t appear the team will do so. Senior advisor Ed Stefanski is overseeing the team’s moves and functioning as a de facto GM, with the Pistons hiring Dwane Casey as their head coach.

Rose has been with the Hawks since 2015, working as a basketball operations manager. He also served as the GM of the team’s G League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, and he won the 2017/18 G League Executive of the Year award with the club.

Pistons Will Be In 'Background' Of Free Agency

June 29th, 2018 at 10:38am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons will be an over-the-cap team this summer, and may not be able to spend their full mid-level exception due to their proximity to the tax line. As such, senior advisor Ed Stefanski says he expects Detroit to be in “the background” of free agency, per Kurt Mensching of The Detroit News. “I like where our team is right now,” Stefanski said. “We have more than enough to compete.”
While the Pistons may not aggressively pursue outside free agents, they’d like to bring back a couple of their own. Mensching notes in his article that Detroit has interest in re-signing Anthony Tolliver if the price is right, while a team source tells ESPN’s Ian Begley (Twitter link) that the Pistons have “significant interest” in retaining James Ennis.

Casey's Reputation, Roster Stability Could Be Selling Points For Pistons

June 26th, 2018 at 3:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons lack the cap space to be a major player in free agency, but the team could be in the mix for certain affordable targets. As Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes, Dwane Casey‘s presence and the Pistons’ roster stability could be selling points as the club recruits free agents.

Dwane Casey Chosen Coach Of Year

June 25th, 2018 at 8:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Dwane Casey was named the league’s Coach of the Year at the NBA’s second annual awards show.

This continues the awkwardness of Casey getting a top coaching award for his efforts with a franchise that fired him after the playoffs. He was let go by the Raptors after they were swept by the Cavaliers. His peers at the National Basketball Coaches Association also named him their Coach of the Year days before he fired.

He was named the Pistons’ new head coach earlier this month.

The Jazz’s Quin Snyder and Celtics’ Brad Stevens were the other finalists. The Rockets’ Mike D’Antoni earned the honor the previous season.

Pistons To Hire Sidney Lowe As Lead Assistant

June 25th, 2018 at 8:27am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have reached an agreement with veteran coach Sidney Lowe and will add him to Dwane Casey‘s new staff, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Lowe will be the lead assistant in Detroit.

Lowe, who has head coaching stints for the Timberwolves, Grizzlies, and North Carolina State on his résumé, has primarily served as an NBA assistant coach for the better part of the last three decades. In addition to spending multiple stints with the Wolves since first joining the club as an assistant in 1991, Lowe has also worked for the Cavaliers, Pistons, Jazz, and Wizards.

Casey is still in the process of filling out his staff after being hired as the Pistons’ new head coach earlier in the offseason. The club reportedly struck a deal with Bucks assistant Sean Sweeney to bring him to Detroit, while DJ Bakker is also joining the Pistons as Casey’s new player development coach.

Pistons Hire DJ Bakker

June 24th, 2018 at 10:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Dwane Casey continues to fill out his new staff in Detroit, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that DJ Bakker is heading from the Raptors to the Pistons to become Casey’s player development coach.

Details On Draft-Night Trade With Sixers

June 23rd, 2018 at 2:48pm CST by Luke Adams

RealGM’s log of traded draft picks provides specific details on a couple more draft-night trades, indicating that the Sixers received 2021 and 2023 second-round picks in their deal with the Pistons, while the Magic will receive the less favorable of the Nuggets’ and Wizards’ 2019 second-round picks as a result of their swap with the Nuggets.