Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Zach LaVine To Make Bulls Debut On Saturday

January 9th, 2018 at 11:03am CST by Luke Adams

Zach LaVine, one of the pieces acquired by the Bulls in last summer’s Jimmy Butler blockbuster, will make his long-awaited debut for his new team this Saturday against the Pistons, executive VP John Paxson confirmed today (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune).

According to Paxson, the Bulls plan to take a “conservative” approach with LaVine for the next few weeks. That means he’ll start out playing approximately 20 minutes per game, and won’t appear in back-to-back games before the All-Star break (Twitter link via Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago).

Paxson told reporters today that LaVine had badly wanted to get back on the court Wednesday night in New York against the Knicks. However, the Bulls wanted to make sure he had a few more practices under his belt before he makes his return from an ACL injury that has sidelined him since last February (Twitter link via ESPN’s Nick Friedell).

LaVine was sent from Minnesota to Chicago back in June, along with Kris Dunn and No. 7 overall pick Lauri Markkanen, in exchange for Butler and No. 16 pick Justin Patton. While the Bulls’ return for Butler was panned at the time, both Dunn and Markkanen have displayed real promise in the first half of this season. If LaVine can approximate or improve upon his 2016/17 performance (18.9 PPG on .459/.387/.836 shooting), the Bulls will have three legitimate, long-term building blocks on their hands as a result of that trade.

LaVine, who turns 23 in March, will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer, but the Bulls are expected to re-sign him or match any offer sheet he receives.

Woj’s Latest: Pistons, Fournier, Lakers, Hawks

January 8th, 2018 at 12:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Shooting guards and small forwards are in high demand as the trade deadline approaches, and there simply aren’t that many quality wings expected to be available, Adrian Wojnarowski writes in his latest report for ESPN.com. As Wojnarowski details, the Pistons, Knicks, Pelicans, and Trail Blazers are just a few of the many teams looking for upgrades on the wing.

DeMarre Carroll (Nets), Alec Burks (Jazz), Kent Bazemore (Hawks), and Evan Fournier (Magic) are among the veterans attracting some interest on the trade market, according to Wojnarowski, who notes that the Pistons pursued a deal for Fournier. Such a trade would be hard to pull off without including Reggie Jackson‘s contract, so nothing’s imminent at this point, but the Pistons continue to be aggressive on the trade market, a reflection of Stan Van Gundy‘s desire to win now, says Wojnarowski.

As for the Pelicans, they also remain active in trade talks despite their limited assets, according to Wojnarowski, who notes that Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca have negative value and won’t be movable without New Orleans attaching a draft pick or two. If the Pelicans can’t trade for a wing, they’ll have to count on getting Solomon Hill back healthy for the home stretch of the season.

Here’s more from Woj:

The Lakers have “made it clear” that Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, and Larry Nance Jr. are available in trades, reports Wojnarowski. The club had been planning on waiting until after the season to try to move Clarkson, but there may be a mutual desire to get something done on that front sooner rather than later.
Bazemore, Ersan Ilyasova, and Marco Belinelli are expendable in Atlanta, where the Hawks are focused on unloading veterans and stockpiling more young players and draft picks, per Wojnarowski.
The Bulls still plan to trade Nikola Mirotic after January 15, assuming he OK’s a deal. According to Wojnarowski, Mirotic is somewhat intrigued by the Jazz and their head coach Quin Snyder, who has a reputation for maximizing offensive talent.
It’s possible their outlooks could change by the trade deadline, but the Thunder and Pelicans currently have no plans to trade Paul George or DeMarcus Cousins, respectively. Both players can become unrestricted free agents this July.
We passed along more rumors from Woj in full stories earlier today, providing the latest on DeAndre Jordan and examining the Grizzlies‘ asking price for Tyreke Evans.

Eric Moreland’s Contract To Be Guaranteed

January 6th, 2018 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons will guarantee the contract of Eric Moreland for the rest of the season, tweets Chris Haynes of ESPN.

The third-year power forward signed a three-year deal with Detroit in July, but none of the seasons is fully guaranteed. He has a $1,739,333 salary for this season with a $750K guarantee that kicked in opening night and a $1MM guarantee through Wednesday, which is when all NBA contracts become fully guaranteed for the rest of the season.

The 26-year-old played 11 combined games during his first two seasons with the Kings, spending most of his time in the G League. He was waived by the Cavaliers before the start of last season and spent the year with Cleveland’s G League affiliate.

Moreland has appeared in 33 games for the Pistons and is averaging 1.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 11.3 minutes of action. He made his first career start tonight.

Pistons Notes: Drummond, 10-Day Contracts, Marjanovic

January 4th, 2018 at 5:27pm CST by Austin Kent

Sidelined Pistons big man Andre Drummond doesn’t need to be medically cleared to return to the court following a bruised rib injury, it’s simply a matter of where his pain tolerance sits, Rod Beard of the Detroit News writes.

The Pistons play the Sixers tomorrow – the potential third installment of Drummond’s personal series against Joel Embiid – but there’s no guarantee that Drummond will be a part of it.

“It’s is a pain-tolerance thing. Everybody has had them,” Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said after a Thursday practice that Drummond missed. “It’s hard to breathe and hard to move. Whenever he’s comfortable enough to go, he’ll go. It’s a painful injury, no question.”

In the first four years of his career, Drummond only missed three games total.

There’s more from Detroit:

Friday marks the first day that NBA teams are permitted to sign players to 10-day contracts and it’s “possible” that the short-staffed Pistons will look to bring in temporary relief, Keith Langlois of the team’s official site tweets.
He may be the most efficient scorer in NBA history but Boban Marjanovic isn’t a practical option for Stan Van Gundy on a nightly basis when Andre Drummond is healthy. Chris Herring of Five Thirty Eight broke down how the reserve’s game stacks up historically and what’s preventing him from seeing more time on the court when the starter ahead of him is in the lineup.

Pistons Notes: Bradley, Leuer, Bullock, Galloway

January 3rd, 2018 at 8:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Avery Bradley‘s role will change now that he’ll be playing alongside Ish Smith instead of Reggie Jackson until after the All-Star break, as he and coach Stan Van Gundy noted to me in a Detroit Free Press story.

The Pistons shooting guard returned to action on Wednesday after a seven-game absence due to a groin injury. While Bradley was on the mend, Jackson suffered a severe ankle sprain. Bradley will have to get used to quicker tempo and he’ll have the ball in his hands a little more. Van Gundy is running the offense more through the wings with Jackson on the sidelines.

“It’s going to change and I just have to make the adjustment,” Bradley said of his role. Bradley usually defended point guards with Jackson on the floor but those switched assignments will occur less often with the smaller Smith.

“The best part of Reggie Jackson’s defense is his post defense, so you could play him on a lot of bigger people,” Van Gundy said. “With Ish, that’s a lot different. So matchups will be a little bit different.”

In other Pistons developments:

Forward Jon Leuer, who hasn’t played since October 31st due to an ankle injury, could be headed to surgery if his condition doesn’t improve soon. Leuer received a joint lubrication injection for his sprained left ankle a month ago after suffering a setback. He was put on anti-inflammatory medication recently to aid the healing process. Van Gundy hopes that Leuer will show significant progress by next weekend. “I can’t tell him to play and I can’t tell him to go get surgery,” Van Gundy said. “At that point, if we’ve gone another 12 days and we haven’t had anything change, he’s going to have to make some decisions on what he wants to do.”
With Bradley returning to the lineup, Reggie Bullock and Anthony Tolliver will share a starting spot, depending on matchups. Against smaller lineups, Bullock will start. Against taller, more rugged power forwards, Tolliver will get the nod with Tobias Harris moving to small forward.
The backup point guard job spot behind Smith is up for grabs. Langston Galloway played most of those minutes the first game Jackson was out. Dwight Buycks, who is on a two-way contract, played 18 minutes at the point the following game.

Avery Bradley Set To Return For Pistons

January 2nd, 2018 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams

After missing seven games due to a groin injury, Pistons guard Avery Bradley is set to return to action on Wednesday, writes Ansar Khan of MLive.com. “It was lingering over a few weeks, but now I feel better, I feel like I can go out there and give my all,” Bradley said.

Reggie Jackson's Injury Changes Pistons' Plans

January 1st, 2018 at 10:11am CST by marksuleymanov

Reggie Jackson‘s grade 3 ankle sprain has changed the Pistons’ plans and it will take time to adjust to life without one of the team’s best players, NBA.com’s Keith Langlois writes. Wins and losses will not be as important as achieving consistency while Jackson is on the shelf. The responsibility of that falls on Ish Smith and Langston Galloway, the two players who will see increased roles in Jackson’s absence.

Jackson Two Weeks Away From Starting Rehab

December 30th, 2017 at 9:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson can’t start his rehab process until the swelling goes down in his injured right foot, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News. That’s expected to happen in about two weeks.

Buycks Hopes to Prove His Worth

December 28th, 2017 at 4:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Dwight Buycks hopes he can prove that he’s worthy of a standard contract now that Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson is out at least 6-8 weeks with a severe ankle sprain, as he told Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Detroit signed Buycks to a two-way contract but he spurned a two-year deal because he hoped to eventually earn a spot on a 15-man roster, Langlois continues. Buycks, along with combo guard Langston Galloway, are the two in-house options to back up Ish Smith until Jackson returns. “This is my dream, to be here and be here permanently,” Buycks said. “It’s up to me to put the work in and be successful out here.” Buycks had previous stints with the Raptors and Lakers but hadn’t appeared in a league game since the 2014/15 season until he played two minutes against the Pacers on Tuesday.

Pistons Guard Reggie Jackson Out For Extended Period

December 27th, 2017 at 11:47am CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson suffered a Grade 3 right ankle sprain against the Pacers on Tuesday and will be sidelined until after the All-Star break, the team announced on Wednesday. Jackson underwent an MRI on Wednesday, which revealed the extent of the injury. He will be re-evaluated in six to eight weeks, according to the press release.

Coach Stan Van Gundy said during his postgame press conference that X-rays were negative. However, Jackson was in severe pain when the injury occurred and couldn’t put any pressure on the leg.

Jackson had eight points and a season-high 13 assists prior to the injury. He missed the first 21 games last season with a knee injury but the club got off to an 11-10 start with Ish Smith running the offense. Smith will move into the lineup as long as Jackson is out. “Ish did a great job of taking over when Reggie went down last year, so we won’t miss a beat,” center Andre Drummond said after the game.

Langston Galloway or Dwight Buycks, who is on a two-way contract, will back up Smith while Jackson mends. Galloway, who inked a three-year, $21MM free agent contract during the summer, has played almost exclusively at shooting guard this season. Buycks appeared in his first NBA game on Tuesday since playing six games with the Lakers during the 2014/15 season.

Another option, as Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets, is to sign a player to a 10-day contract. Teams can add a player via a 10-day deal beginning on January 5th and Detroit has an open roster spot.

In the short run, the Pistons are without both starting guards. Shooting guard Avery Bradley has missed the last five games with a groin injury but he is progressing. The team is hopeful he can return next week, as Langlois tweets.