Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Community Shootaround: Pistons’ Future

February 11th, 2024 at 5:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The team with the league’s worst record was the most active before the trade deadline.

The Pistons reshuffled their roster, though it’s fair to wonder just what all that activity accomplished. It started a few weeks earlier, swapping some backup forwards and draft capital with the Wizards mainly to shed Marvin Bagley Jr.‘s contract.

They also made three trades before Tuesday’s deadline, most notably giving up sharpshooters Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks to the Knicks. Detroit general manager Troy Weaver failed to get a first-round pick in return, instead picking up two second-rounders, a young rotation wing in Quentin Grimes and more future cap space.

A trade with the Jazz netted forward Simone Fontecchio, who scored 20 points in his Pistons debut on Saturday. Outside of Grimes and Fontecchio – and perhaps Troy Brown Jr. – the players they added probably won’t be on next year’s roster.

The Pistons are projected to have $58-$64MM in salary cap space this offseason. The question is ‘What do they do with it?’

There have been rumblings of a reunion with Tobias Harris when the Sixers forward hits free agency but that doesn’t solve Detroit’s fundamental issue – it doesn’t have any superstars.

Cade Cunningham was supposed to be that type of player as the top pick in the 2021 draft. His sophomore season was a washout due to a shin injury. He has posted solid numbers this season but hasn’t played at an All-Star level.

Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, the 2022 first-round picks, have shown the ability to be quality starters but haven’t produced on a consistent basis.

A bigger question is whether Cunningham and Ivey can develop true chemistry. Both are more comfortable with the ball in their hands, with Cunningham playing a craftier, more deliberate style while Ivey thrives at a higher pace.

Owner Tom Gores continues to express confidence in Weaver, even though the GM’s four-year rebuilding project has been a colossal failure. Given the team’s activity at the trade deadline, it seems as if Weaver will continue in his role during the offseason.

That brings us to our topic of the day: What should the Pistons do this summer to turn their fortunes around? What players should they target in free agency and trades with their cap space? Should they be patient with the backcourt pairing of Cunningham and Ivey or trade one of them?

Please take to the comments section to weigh on this topic. We look forward to your input.

And-Ones: Buyout Market, Summer League, Dunk Contest, Cap Room, Risacher

February 11th, 2024 at 10:44am CST by Luke Adams

A pair of veteran point guards have already been plucked off the buyout market, with Spencer Dinwiddie officially signing with the Lakers on Saturday and Kyle Lowry lining up a deal with the Sixers. What other notable players could hit the buyout market in the coming days and weeks?

John Hollinger of The Athletic explores that topic in depth, identifying Delon Wright, Troy Brown, Marcus Morris, and Cedi Osman as several of the most intriguing options while acknowledging that some of those players likely won’t be waived.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The NBA has confirmed the dates for the 2024 Las Vegas Summer League, announcing that it will take place from July 12-22 (Twitter link). That’s a few days later than the event typically begins and ends.
Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, who signed the largest contract in league history last summer, is the most accomplished player to participate in the NBA’s dunk contest in several years. He hopes to set an example for other stars, per Souichi Terada of MassLive.com (Twitter link). “I wish more top players (and) athletes decided to compete in the dunk contest,” Brown said. “I grew up watching that, and that’s what I love. Hopefully that comes around.”
Danny Leroux of The Athletic takes a look at where each team’s cap situation stands heading into the 2024 offseason, identifying the Pistons, Magic, Sixers, Jazz, Raptors, and Thunder as the teams with the ability to generate the most cap room.
Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) have updated their list of 2024’s top prospects, moving French wing Zaccharie Risacher into the No. 1 spot for the first time. Risacher is the fourth different player to sit atop ESPN’s ’24 big board since the start of the college season in November, signaling that there’s no clear-cut top prospect in this year’s draft class.

Pistons Waive Ryan Arcidiacono

February 10th, 2024 at 8:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons have opened a roster spot by waiving Ryan Arcidiacono, the team announced (via Twitter).

The 29-year-old point guard was acquired Thursday in the trade that sent Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks to New York. Reports at the time indicated that Arcidiacono was likely to be released sometime after the deal was complete.

Arcidiacono has an expiring minimum-salary contract, so the Pistons won’t be on the hook for any money beyond this season.

This marked the second straight year that the Knicks have traded Arcidiacono at the deadline — they sent him to Portland 12 months ago. He returned to New York on an Exhibit 10 contract in September, but saw limited playing time, averaging just 2.3 minutes per night in 20 games.

Teams will have 48 hours to submit waiver claims for Arcidiacono. Because his salary is less than this season’s non-taxpayer mid-level exception, Arcidiacono will be eligible to sign with any team except New York if he goes unclaimed.

Arcidiacono is the fifth player the Pistons have waived since Thursday’s trade deadline, joining Killian Hayes, Joe Harris, Danuel House and Danilo Gallinari.

Pistons Owner Expresses Support For GM Troy Weaver

February 10th, 2024 at 6:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

Pistons owner Tom Gores expressed confidence in general manager Troy Weaver during a session with reporters Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. There has been speculation that Weaver may be replaced amid a historically bad start to the season, but Gores didn’t provide any indication that he’s considering such a move.

“I think we just came together and the first thing we did is take accountability for the mistakes we made,” Gores responded when asked about Weaver. “As an organization, you really can’t go forward until you acknowledge what didn’t work. That was the first thing. And being honest about that provides you the future. If you don’t look in your past for a little bit and what was right and what was wrong, it’s very hard to go to the future. We did that along the process. I have confidence in Troy. I have confidence. We leaned on each other through this process, but we also didn’t avoid the idea of what were we accountable for? It gave us a pathway to go forward.”

The Pistons still have the league’s worst record at 8-44 after losing to the Clippers today, but Sankofa points out that they have been more competitive recently, going 5-8 since acquiring Mike Muscala and the recently waived Danilo Gallinari from Washington last month. The roster shakeup continued at Thursday’s deadline as Detroit added six new players — Simone Fontecchio, Troy Brown Jr., Shake Milton, Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier and Malachi Flynn — while parting with veteran shooters Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, among others.

“We needed to mix up our formation,” Gores explained. “We had to let a few of our players go, all good men. Bojan and Burks contributed a lot to our Pistons. We just needed to change it up a bit and create some more pace-and-space for our young guys. As you know from Troy, we were at it working all last week, so we just needed to, for the sake of the team, let the young guys fly free.”

Today marked Gores’ first public comments on the team since late December when he promised fans that changes were going to be made. In today’s media session, Gores told reporters that he was involved in the process “almost every day.”

“The first month after that, I did a lot of it on a couple days of Zooms and calls and all that stuff,” Gores said. “Over the last 10 days, the team will tell you, Troy will tell you, we had a lot of all-nighters and up really late just making sure we make the right decision for this team. It’s a pivotal moment and you have to know when it’s pivotal. For us, it was important to get the right makeup and I thought we made pretty good moves. We also have a lot of cap space now in the summer, and we gained some good players.”

Gores added that he learned a lot about coach Monty Williams and people throughout the organization by watching how they responded in difficult times. He also indicated that several of Thursday’s additions could be in the Pistons’ long-term plans.

“This is just the beginning, and it’s our responsibility to do this,” Gores said. “We have to learn from what didn’t work, so we have to take that forward now. As I told the team and front office and everyone else that if we don’t win from our losses, then what are we doing? We have to be better because of our losses, and that’s our opportunity.”

Pistons Notes: Trades, Weaver, Grimes, Fontecchio, Hayes, Brown

February 9th, 2024 at 9:48pm CST by Rory Maher

Pistons general manager Troy Weaver has drawn criticism for the team’s lack of success during his tenure, which included a record-setting 28-game losing streak this season. Speaking to the media on Friday, Weaver maintained that he’s the right person to lead the basketball operations department going forward, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press.

“Absolutely, I’m the right guy,” Weaver said. “I sat here in June 2020 and said we’re going to restore the Pistons, and that’s what we’re going to do. We have a plan in place, a young core that’s showing that they’re growing and have a chance to be special players. It’s on us to continue to fortify that group. We have things in place, our core is in place. Have a coach in place to lead us. Absolutely, excited about the future. Like I said, we’ll own what’s behind us. But more importantly, we’re excited about what’s ahead of us.”

Weaver also addressed the additions of Quentin Grimes and Simone Fontecchio, who were acquired in separate trades with New York and Utah, respectively.

“Grimes is a 3-and-D guy,” Weaver said, per Sankofa. “(Houston coach) Kelvin Sampson, I spoke with him about (Marcus Sasser) and he said his two hardest workers were Sasser and Quentin Grimes. We’re excited about adding Grimes. He fits the profile that we need. Doesn’t need the ball to hit shots and he defends at a high level. Great teammate. We expect him to step into a role to help support the young core. .. He was a target for us.

“This guy has made huge, huge strides from his first year in the NBA to this season,” Weaver continued, about Fontecchio. “Versatile, his shooting, toughness, the vigor he plays with. We’re excited about what he adds. A young veteran even though it’s his second year in the NBA.”

Here’s more on the Pistons:

While Detroit made five in-season trades in 2023/24 and overhauled much of the roster, Grimes and Fontecchio are the only newly acquired players who look like locks to be on the team to open ’24/25, Sankofa writes in a subscriber-only story. Fontecchio will be a restricted free agent this summer, Sankofa notes, while Grimes will be a RFA in 2025 if he doesn’t sign a rookie scale extension in the offseason.
Former No. 7 overall pick Killian Hayes — Weaver’s first draft choice as GM — was released yesterday in order to make room for the incoming players. Head coach Monty Williams hopes the 22-year-old guard catches on with another team, as Sankofa tweets. “He had some good moments with us,” Williams said of Hayes. “(Sasser) was playing at a pretty good clip and then Monte (Morris) came back, and I wanted to try some new things … I think he would agree he had a great opportunity here and I wish him the best.”
The trade deadline moves can’t rectify Detroit’s “nonchalant” 2023 offseason, which played a significant factor in the team’s 8-43 record, but having competent wing shooters who can also defend like Grimes, Fontecchio and Troy Brown puts the roster in a better spot for the rest of the season and in the future, says James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Cutting Hayes and trading Morris also made clear that Sasser should be viewed as part of the team’s core, Edwards writes. While Weaver’s asset management is certainly questionable, the Pistons will likely have a top-five pick on top of a ton of cap room to make impact signings or trades this summer, according to Edwards.
In another story for The Athletic, Edwards predicts the team’s post-deadline depth chart, with Fontecchio as the starting small forward and Grimes as the backup shooting guard, though he expects both to play heavy minutes. Edwards also believes Brown will find his way into a rotation spot down the stretch.

Pistons Waive Danilo Gallinari

February 9th, 2024 at 8:05pm CST by Luke Adams

February 9: Gallinari has officially been waived, the Pistons announced (via Twitter).

February 8: The Pistons‘ series of roster cuts will continue with a veteran forward, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press, who reports (via Twitter) that Detroit is waiving Danilo Gallinari.

As they reshape their roster, the Pistons have already released guard Killian Hayes, forward Joe Harris, and newly acquired swingman Danuel House, and are also expected to waive another new addition, guard Ryan Arcidiacono.

Gallinari, 35, has appeared in 32 games this season for the Wizards and Pistons, averaging 7.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 14.8 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .451/.355/.850. He was part of the four-player trade between Washington and Detroit last month, having been sent to the Pistons along with Mike Muscala.

Given his age and the fact that he missed the entire 2022/23 season due to an ACL tear, Gallinari is no longer the dynamic stretch four he was earlier in his career, but he could still appeal to teams as a depth piece. According to Shams Charania and James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link), he’s expected to start taking meetings with clubs on Friday, while he’s still on waivers.

Gallinari was on an expiring $6,802,950 contract, so Detroit will remain on the hook for that cap hit if he goes unclaimed on waivers, as is expected. In that scenario, he’d be eligible to sign with any NBA team except the Wizards.

Jazz Cut Kevin Knox

February 9th, 2024 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have waived forward Kevin Knox, the club officially announced today in a press release. Knox spent a single day on Utah’s roster, having been acquired from Detroit in the Simone Fontecchio trade prior to Thursday’s deadline.

The ninth overall pick in the 2018 draft, Knox has appeared in over 300 regular season NBA games for the Knicks, Hawks, Pistons, and Trail Blazers over the past five-and-a-half seasons. However, his production has been uneven during that time.

In 31 games this season for Detroit, including 11 starts, Knox averaged 7.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per night, submitting a shooting line of .462/.330/.909.

Knox was playing on a one-year, minimum-salary contract with a cap hit of $1,845,593, so that dead money will remain on the Jazz’s books, assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers. Once he becomes a free agent, the 24-year-old will be eligible to sign with any NBA team except the Pistons.

Utah will create an opening on its 15-man roster by waiving Knox. It’s possible the Jazz will end up with another open spot or two in the coming days — it’s unclear what their plans are for the other players they acquired this week, Kira Lewis and Otto Porter.

Fischer’s Latest: Hield, Sixers, George, Pacers, Trae, Murray, More

February 9th, 2024 at 7:08am CST by Luke Adams

Buddy Hield rejected a “significant” extension offer from Indiana in the fall, and with a lucrative new deal for Pascal Siakam to account for, the Pacers’ ability to retain Hield as a free agent this offseason was in doubt, which is why they sent him to the Sixers on Thursday, writes Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Philadelphia, which doesn’t currently have any guaranteed money on its books beyond 2023/24 besides Joel Embiid‘s contract, is much better positioned to retain Hield, though the 76ers will likely consider many options with their projected cap room.

Echoing Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (Twitter video link), Fischer says star forward Paul George figures to be a top target for the Sixers if he doesn’t sign an extension with the Clippers in the coming weeks or months. Nuggets wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who holds a player option for 2024/25, has also been mentioned as a possible Philadelphia target, per Fischer.

The Sixers wouldn’t be the only team in play for George if he reaches free agency, according to Fischer, who suggests there have been whispers that the veteran is intrigued by the possibility of returning to Indiana and teaming up with Tyrese Haliburton. Such a move would be tricky – but certainly not impossible – from a cap perspective.

Philadelphia’s offseason outlook will hinge in part on what the team’s plans are for Tobias Harris. According to Fischer, the Sixers weren’t willing to include him in a deadline deal that would have sent him to Detroit, with Pistons wings Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks going to Philly. The Pistons may be in the mix for Harris in free agency this summer, Fischer notes, adding that Hornets forward Miles Bridges is another player expected to be on Detroit’s radar.

Here are a few more post-deadline items of interest from Fischer:

Multiple front offices came away from their conversations with the Hawks believing that Atlanta could make star guard Trae Young available this summer, says Fischer. However, he cautions that could “prove to be wishful thinking,” since the information is coming from rival teams rather than from the Hawks themselves. If Young were to hit the trade market, the Lakers and Spurs are among the clubs widely viewed as potential fits, Fischer adds.
League personnel anticipate that the Lakers will resume conversations with the Hawks about Dejounte Murray in the offseason, according to Fischer, who notes that the Pelicans could revisit their Murray talks at that point too. Atlanta is known to value multiple players on New Orleans’ roster, league sources Fischer, though one of those players – Naji Marshall – will be an unrestricted free agent this July.
Although there were several teams open to the idea of acquiring D’Angelo Russell, many front offices viewed his $18.7MM player option for 2024/25 as having negative value, Fischer reports. That thinking, along with Russell’s strong recent play, factored into the Lakers‘ decision to hang onto him through the deadline.
In addition to the recently released players who will hit the free agent market shortly, center Bismack Biyombo, forward Rudy Gay, and swingman Danny Green are among the veterans who were waived earlier in 2023/24 and continue to seek new NBA homes, Fischer writes, singling out Biyombo as a player expected to generate interest.

Timberwolves, Pistons Complete Monte Morris Trade

February 8th, 2024 at 9:05pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 8: The Pistons have officially traded Morris to Minnesota in exchange for Milton, Brown, and the Timberwolves’ 2030 second-round pick, according to announcements from both teams.

Danilo Gallinari was waived by Detroit to complete the transaction.

FEBRUARY 7: The Timberwolves and Pistons are finalizing a trade that will send point guard Monte Morris to Minnesota, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Charania (Twitter link), Detroit will receive Shake Milton, Troy Brown, and a second-round pick in the swap. The pick will be Minnesota’s own 2030 second-rounder, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (Twitter link).

Morris was traded from Washington to Detroit during the 2023 offseason in exchange for a future second-round selection, but battled back and quad injuries that delayed his Pistons debut until late January. He has appeared in just six games so far this season and has made a limited impact, averaging 4.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 11.3 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .364/.182/.500.

However, Morris has a solid track record, having averaged 10.5 PPG, 4.0 APG, and 2.5 RPG on .480/.392/.829 shooting in 339 games across five seasons for the Nuggets and Wizards from 2018-23. He was a key contributor for many years in Denver under current Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly.

The Wolves had been in the market for a ball-handler who could back up starter Mike Conley. Jordan McLaughlin, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Kyle Anderson have all gotten some reps in that role, but Morris is a more reliable option as a backup point guard, assuming he stays healthy and rounds into his usual form.

Morris is on an expiring $9.8MM contract and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer if he doesn’t sign an extension before then. As cap expert Yossi Gozlan observes (via Twitter), the 28-year-old will remain eligible until June 30 to sign an extension of up to two years, but Minnesota already projects to be well into tax territory next season, so it’s possible he’ll end up being a rental.

The Wolves will remain about $1.6MM below the luxury tax line after the trade and will have a pair of open spots on their 15-man roster, Gozlan adds (via Twitter). They’ll also be able to create a $4MM trade exception in the deal.

By acquiring a second-round pick for Morris, the Pistons will recoup the price they initially paid for him and won’t impact their projected summer cap room. Milton is earning $5MM this season while Brown is making $4MM, and both players have identical non-guaranteed cap hits for next season.

Assuming the Pistons hang onto both Milton and Brown for the rest of the season, they’ll have to decide by the end of June whether they want to guarantee either player’s 2024/25 salary.

Detroit will have to trade or waive a player to complete the deal, since the club currently has a full 15-man roster.

Pistons Waive Killian Hayes

February 8th, 2024 at 4:31pm CST by Luke Adams

4:31pm: The Pistons have officially waived Hayes, the team confirmed today (Twitter link).

12:57pm: Former lottery pick Killian Hayes will be released by the Pistons, according to a report from James L. Edwards III and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The seventh overall pick in the 2020 draft, Hayes entered the NBA with a reputation for being a solid defender and passer whose offensive game was a work in progress. That’s essentially still the case, as his shooting percentages have increased only marginally over the course of his four NBA seasons.

Hayes averaged 6.9 points, 4.9 assists, and 2.8 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game across 42 appearances (31 starts) this season, with a shooting line of .413/.297/.660. Those field goal and three-point percentages actually represent career bests.

The Pistons reportedly explored the trade market for Hayes prior to Thursday’s deadline – talking to the Grizzlies, among other teams – but apparently didn’t find a deal to their liking. The team agreed to a series of trades that will bring in seven players while sending out three, so the 22-year-old guard will be a victim of the roster crunch, joining Joe Harris among those waived.

Cutting Hayes and Harris will put the Pistons in position to complete at least one and potentially two of their three reported trade agreements. They’ll need to waive two more players to finalize all three deals, but those last two cuts could come from their group of newly acquired players.

Hayes will be eligible to sign with any NBA team if and when he clears waivers, since his salary is well shy of this season’s non-taxpayer mid-level exception.