Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: LaVine, Ball, Lillard, Beasley, Cunningham

January 8th, 2024 at 5:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls continue to make Zach LaVine available but they’re not looking to ship out multiple veterans and enter into a full-fledged rebuild, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack post.

In fact, the Bulls haven’t ruled out using Lonzo Ball‘s insurance-covered contract as part of a trade package to be buyers on the market. LaVine holds a $21,395,348 player option on his contract for next season. However, 80% of Ball’s contract is covered by league-provided insurance because he’s been sidelined so long. A potential trade partner could lower its payroll by acquiring Ball and inheriting the Bulls’ insurance payments.

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Speaking of LaVine, who returned from a foot injury on Friday, he’s now dealing with right shoulder soreness, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. LaVine is available for tonight’s game against Charlotte after being listed as questionable.
Damian Lillard will miss the Bucks’ game on Monday for personal reasons, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets. Lillard, averaging 25.1 points and 6.9 assists in his first season with Milwaukee, has played in 34 of the Bucks’ first 36 games.
Malik Beasley wasn’t upset that Bucks coach Adrian Griffin benched him at the beginning of the second half against Houston on Saturday, Nehm adds in another tweet. “It was just coach’s decision. And like I said, I could play better. And on to the next one,” he said.
The Pistons are listing Cade Cunningham as out for Tuesday’s game against the Kings due to a left knee strain, James Edwards III of The Athletic tweets. Cunningham didn’t play in the second half of their loss at Denver on Sunday night

Pistons Notes: Cunningham, Hayes, Sasser, Ivey, Thompson

January 8th, 2024 at 10:57am CST by Arthur Hill

A historically bad season in Detroit has the potential to get much worse. Cade Cunningham, who’s been one of the Pistons‘ few bright spots in this 3-33 campaign, left Sunday’s loss at Denver with a strained left knee midway through the second quarter, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press.

There wasn’t a single play on which Cunningham appeared to get hurt, which raises more concerns about the potential injury. Coach Monty Williams wasn’t able to provide any specifics after the game, and Sankofa states that the team can’t rule out the chance that Cunningham will miss more time.

“He’s important,” Williams said. “Our franchise player. A guy like that can’t play, it has a trickle-down effect across the board. We have different guys stepping up in the pecking order, having to handle the ball and make plays and that kind of thing. Pretty clear how important Cade is to our program.”

Amid the Pistons’ disastrous season, Cunningham has enjoyed a career year, averaging 23.4 points, 7.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds while appearing in all 36 games so far. The top pick in the 2021 draft has been playing his best basketball recently, Sankofa adds, scoring 30 points or more in six of his last nine games. He has also improved as a play-maker while reducing his turnover rate and has shown no lingering effects from the shin surgery that limited him to 12 games last season.

There’s more on the Pistons:

Killian Hayes replaced Cunningham in the starting lineup for the second half Sunday and Marcus Sasser was back in the rotation, notes James L. Edwards of The Athletic. They’re likely to have expanded roles if Cunningham is forced to miss games, and Edwards expects Jaden Ivey to be given more play-making duties. Edwards also notes that the Pistons are considered to be buyers rather than sellers as the trade deadline approaches, hoping to add veteran leaders to mentor their young talent, but a prolonged absence for Cunningham could make them reconsider that approach.
In an interview with Basket USA, Hayes expressed a desire to continue his career with the Pistons beyond this season. He’s headed toward restricted free agency after not reaching an extension with the team. “Right now, I’m in Detroit and we’re going to do everything we can to finish the season strong and then we’ll have discussions this summer,” Hayes said. “I’ve spent my entire NBA career in Detroit and it would be a pleasure to be able to stay. After all, it’s not just me who decides, but Detroit is my home. It’s been my home for three, four years and I hope to stay.”
Williams explained why rookie Ausar Thompson has seen a reduced role after a strong start, Edwards tweets. “Other guys are back and playing and, at the same time, every young player needs to process when they make repetitive mistakes,” Williams said. “There are a number of ways to develop players.”

Cade Showing Growth Despite Team's Record

January 7th, 2024 at 7:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Amid this dismal Pistons season, Cade Cunningham has been one of the few bright spots, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press notes.

Central Notes: Beasley, Giannis, Rubio, Pistons

January 6th, 2024 at 11:45am CST by Tristan Tucker

Appearing on a B/R Live stream with TNT and Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes (Twitter link), Bucks guard Malik Beasley said he bypassed offers worth more money from the Lakers and Mavericks to sign with Milwaukee.

Beasley opened up about his experience in free agency, saying it was “tough” because he closed out the year on a rough note, averaging just 3.0 points per game in the playoffs with Los Angeles after averaging 11.1 PPG during the regular season. The 27-year-old guard said the Lakers wanted to re-sign him on a deal worth about $6MM but explained there were some unknowns regarding his role with Austin Reaves re-signing early in free agency.

Beasley also said he had an offer from the Mavericks worth between $3-6MM, but was again unsure of what his role would be, given that Dallas had a roster filled with guards and shooters.

The seventh-year guard ended up signing with the Bucks on a one-year, minimum contract for a chance to have a bigger role.

“[Bucks general manager] Jon [Horst] is such a great person,” Beasley said. “We talk a lot and he was like ‘You have an opportunity to start here, you have a chance to win a championship.’ And I think for me, most importantly, [the Bucks have] some veterans around [the] team. Most of the teams I have been on, aside from LeBron and AD, they’ve been young.”

Beasley earned a prominent role with Milwaukee right away, starting all 33 of his appearances this year. He’s averaging 11.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per night while shooting a career highs of 48.8% from the field and 46.9% on three-pointers (on 6.3 attempts per game). He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

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Opening up about his time with the Lakers, Beasley blames himself for how his tenure in L.A. ended (Twitter link via Haynes). “It was more of the past things that happened in my life that caused me to not play at my best,” the Bucks wing said.
Out of the Bucks‘ 10 losses this season, four have come at the hands of the Pacers. Giannis Antetokounmpo is bothered by those losses, writes The Athletic’s Eric Nehm. “Now, when you go back home and you sleep and you wake up, you think about it,” Antetokounmpo said. “Now, when you go back and work out, you think about it. In the All-Star break, when you’re gonna be on an exotic beach with your family, I hope you think about it, you know? … But at the end of the day, it’s good because it gives us time to fix things.“
Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell had a feeling former teammate Ricky Rubio was going to retire, Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor writes. “I feel like he could breathe,” Mitchell said while paying tribute to Rubio. “I’m not speaking for him. But I feel like it’s just one of those things where it’s kind of like that indecision of what you want to do can be a lot. I’m just happy that he finally has time to feel like he can breathe and go pick up his son from school and be with his family in Spain. He’s been playing this game professionally at the highest of levels and had this expectation of himself since he was a teenager.“
Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff also paid tribute to Rubio, as detailed in a story from ESPN. “I owe Ricky a debt of gratitude that there’s only a couple of guys who I could say at this point have had the impact on me that way,” Bickerstaff said. “He helped us, in a brief period of time, turn this organization into what you see in front of you. His presence allowed me to coach the team in a certain way where no one was too big to sacrifice.“
The Pistons are widely expected to make a trade of some sort after setting the NBA record for consecutive losses in a season, and The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III thinks Detroit will add some veterans around the margins. In his mailbag, Edwards confirms there’s great interest league-wide in Pistons vet Bojan Bogdanovic but says he doesn’t expect Detroit to trade him just to trade him. The Pistons are in a difficult position, Edwards writes, because the young players who would bring in a difference-making haul are guys the team should build around.

Fischer’s Latest: Hawks, Murray, Knicks, Wizards, Celtics

January 5th, 2024 at 11:50am CST by Luke Adams

Echoing recent reporting from Adrian Wojnarowski, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports confirms that the Hawks are “certainly open for business” ahead of the trade deadline and says Atlanta has been one of the NBA’s most active teams in recent trade conversations.

According to Fischer, the Hawks have told multiple teams in recent discussions that the only untouchable players on their roster are guard Trae Young and forward Jalen Johnson. Notably missing from that group is guard Dejounte Murray, whom Atlanta has “made widely available,” sources tell Yahoo Sports.

While the pairing of Murray and Young in their backcourt hasn’t been as successful as the Hawks hoped, the former Spur would presumably still have significant value on the trade market, in large part due to the relatively team-friendly four-year extension he signed during the offseason. That deal, which begins in 2024/25, can be worth up to $120MM with incentives.

Pointing out that the Hawks control their own 2024 first-round pick and owe their 2025 first-rounder to San Antonio, Fischer suggests that it’s possible the team will move some veterans this year, add a 2024 lottery pick to a core headed by Young and Johnson, and look to get back to the playoffs next season.

Here’s more from Fischer:

The Knicks made some calls to potential trade partners about veteran big men following Mitchell Robinson‘s injury, per Fischer, but after they added Precious Achiuwa in their trade with Toronto, rival executives now think the Knicks may be more focused on exploring backcourt trade targets ahead of the deadline. Fischer mentions Alec Burks of the Pistons and Malcolm Brogdon of the Trail Blazers as a couple possibilities, though it’s unclear if New York has actually expressed interest in either player.
The Wizards have let teams know that they’re open to trading veterans for draft assets, sources tell Fischer. That list of veterans may include Kyle Kuzma, who signed a new four-year contract with the club last summer, though there’s a sense that Washington would seek multiple first-rounders for the forward, Fischer writes.
The Celtics are expected to hang onto big man Luke Kornet through this weekend’s salary guarantee date, according to Fischer, who says that the team’s other non-guaranteed players – Svi Mykhailiuk, Dalano Banton, and Lamar Stevens – are also more likely than not to stick around through that deadline. Fischer adds that rival front offices are preparing for Boston to explore trades that improve the team’s bench.
In case you missed it, we also rounded up a few Pascal Siakam-related rumors from Fischer in a separate story.

Latest On Pascal Siakam

January 5th, 2024 at 11:34am CST by Luke Adams

Once considered the most aggressive suitor for Pascal Siakam, the Hawks are no longer viewed by league personnel as a top contender to trade for the Raptors forward, reports Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. As Fischer explains, with Atlanta more likely to be a seller than a buyer at the trade deadline, a deal for Siakam no longer makes as much sense as it might have last summer.

Recent chatter among NBA executives has centered on the Pacers, Kings, and Pistons as prime landing spots for Siakam, according to Fischer, who says that the Sixers and Mavericks aren’t considered especially viable destinations for now.

As Fischer writes, in any deal involving Siakam, Toronto would be prioritizing young, established players – like the ones the team got in its OG Anunoby trade – rather than future draft assets. Philadelphia doesn’t really have any trade chips that fit that bill, while Dallas has “long rebuffed inquiries” on wing Josh Green, per Fischer.

Teams like Detroit and Indiana, on the other hand, have young players who could be included in a Siakam package, and the Pistons continue to signal to rival front offices that they’re interested in buying at the trade deadline rather than selling off their veterans, Fischer reports.

Here’s more on Siakam:

The Kings won’t consider trading away forward Keegan Murray, says Fischer, which may make them an underdog in the Siakam sweepstakes. However, Davion Mitchell is available, and Sacramento has called teams to gauge the value of a package headed by Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter, Fischer writes, adding that the team also has multiple tradable first-round picks.
Before Anunoby was traded to New York, the Pacers made a “strong push” to acquire him from the Raptors, according to Fischer, who says Indiana continues to explore an upgrade at power forward.
Raptors officials have suggested to opposing executives that as many as 10 teams have legitimate interest in Siakam, sources tell Fischer.
Tim Bontemps of ESPN is the latest reporter to state that his league sources expect the Raptors to move Siakam before the trade deadline next month.

Ivey Mortified By Latest Outing

January 2nd, 2024 at 6:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons finally snapped their record breaking 28-game losing streak against the depleted Raptors on Saturday night. They followed that up with an embarrassing outing in Houston on Monday in which they allowed 47 points in the third quarter and lost by 23. Second-year guard Jaden Ivey was perplexed by the team’s effort, James Edwards III of The Athletic relays. “This is painful to go through. We’re in a season where we’re losing a ton of games, and it’s like … it comes down to pride at the end of the day,” he said. “The moment you step out there on the floor, ‘What can you do to help the team?’ both defensively and offensively. “In the third quarter, they were coming down and scoring. We need to wall up and chest the ball. It comes down to pride. We didn’t have that (Monday).”

Moving Siakam Could Be Tricky Proposition For Raptors

January 1st, 2024 at 9:14pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors pulled a surprise by swinging a major trade before January, shipping OG Anunoby to the Knicks. It could be much tougher for them to deal their other starting forward, Pascal Siakam, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack article.

Siakam is headed to unrestricted free agency unless he signs an extension. While Toronto could sign Siakam to a four-year extension — which would make him ineligible to be dealt this season — an acquiring team could only ink him to a two-year deal prior to free agency.

Siakam is unlikely to agree to a two-year extension, according to Stein, which means the Raptors would be hard-pressed to acquire multiple quality assets for a player who could wind up being a half-season rental.

As previously reported, the Mavericks, Hawks, Pacers and Kings have been mentioned as potential landing spots for Siakam. However, Stein hears that Dallas’ interest is somewhat overstated. While the Mavs are in the market for a power forward, he gets the sense that Siakam is not their top target.

The Pistons and Grizzlies could also eventually be in the mix, according to Stein.

Detroit could try to convince Siakam to stick around and join the team’s young core, highlighted by Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren; Memphis could try to sell Siakam on a future with Ja Morant feeding him the ball, though it’s questionable whether a Siakam-Jaren Jackson Jr. frontcourt would work.

As for Anunoby, Stein points out that Sam Rose — son of Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose — is one of his reps. So, New York presumably has a very good idea what it will take to re-sign Anunoby, who is expected to decline his player option this summer and enter free agency. It’s unlikely the Knicks would have been willing to give up Immanuel Quickley, who drew interest from other teams, unless they had a strong feeling Anunoby would re-sign, Stein writes.

The Knicks also retained all the first-round draft assets and the contract of Evan Fournier that includes a club option for next season. However, early indications are that New York won’t engage in an all-out pursuit of Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, Stein adds.

Southwest Notes: Collins, Thompson Twins, Rockets, Pelicans

January 1st, 2024 at 9:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said center Zach Collins could be sidelined “two to four weeks” with a right ankle sprain he suffered Friday at Portland, tweets Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. The team had Collins stay home for Sunday’s game rather than put more pressure on his ankle by attending to sit on the bench.

Collins began the season as San Antonio’s starting center before recently moving into a reserve role. He’s in his third year with the Spurs and has been able to revive his career after missing the entire 2020/21 season due to a fractured fibula.

Popovich also provided a medical update on Charles Bassey, saying he’s doing well after undergoing surgery to repair his torn ACL (Twitter link). Bassey suffered the injury last month in a game with the Spurs’ G League affiliate.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson will have their first NBA meeting tonight when the Rockets host the Pistons, and Kelly Iko and James L. Edwards of The Athletic talked to the twins about the role that older brother Troy had in shaping their careers. “Without him, I don’t know if I’d like basketball as much as I did growing up,” Ausar said. “Troy always believed in us … ever since I was little, he always thought we were the greatest basketball players at our age that he had ever seen. He just didn’t think we could beat him. Having someone, and even my whole family, who believes in you like that, it makes you believe and keep going.”
With Detroit finally getting a win Saturday after dropping 28 straight games, it’s the Rockets who will come into tonight’s contest on a losing streak, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Houston has lost three in a row, all at home, and the defensive identity the team built early in the season is slipping. Feigen notes that the Rockets have the league’s worst defensive rating over their past three games and have allowed their last three opponents to shoot a combined 41.3% from three-point range. The defense might get a boost with the return of Jabari Smith, who missed Friday’s game with a sprained ankle but was upgraded to questionable on Sunday.
Zion Williamson believes the Pelicans‘ embarrassing 44-point loss to the Lakers in the semifinals of the in-season tournament might have been “one of those blessings in disguise,” per Christian Clark of NOLA. New Orleans has gone 7-3 since that game, including a 20-point win Sunday night in a rematch with L.A. “We went to Vegas hoping for a different outcome,” Williamson said. “I think it definitely brought us together more as a team. It definitely brought us closer as a staff. Everyone communicating. I feel like we have been playing great. We still have some things to figure out. But so does every other team.”

Central Notes: Cunningham, Pistons, Giannis, Lillard, Bucks, Pacers

December 31st, 2023 at 5:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

If there’s a bright side to the Pistons‘ 28-game losing streak, it’s that Cade Cunningham has firmly established himself as the team’s leader, writes James L. Edwards of The Athletic. The No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft delivered another outstanding performance as Detroit snapped the streak Saturday night, with 26 of his 30 points and seven of his 12 assists coming in the second half. He managed to play 38 minutes without a single turnover.

“I’ve always liked when everyone is tuned in,” Cunningham said. “It’s not that I change my approach or feel any different. (Having people watch) does something to me. The stakes were getting higher and higher. I know I had to up my play. I just had to figure out what else my team needed from me. I needed to elevate my game (to end this losing streak). This is where it took me.”

Cunningham did some soul searching during the losing streak, Edwards adds, as his play during the first 14 games of the slide wasn’t up to the standards he set for himself. That changed about a month ago, and he’s averaging 25.6 PPG since November 30 while shooting 50% from the field and 36% from three-point range. Cunningham no longer seems rusty after missing most of last season, Edwards notes, and he’s determined to help the Pistons win more often.

“It wasn’t that I questioned myself if I was ‘the guy’ (to help turn a franchise around) because my faith has been strong and has gotten stronger with this,” Cunningham said. “I know God put me in this position for a reason. However, I knew I wasn’t doing enough. My game wasn’t at the level it needed to be to help turn this franchise around. As much as it sucked, this streak, I feel like I learned a ton about myself, which is something I want to live with forever. I did a lot of reflecting every night.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

The relief of finally getting a victory after two months of losing led to an emotional post-game scene for the Pistons, according to an ESPN report. “I’ve been in a ton of locker rooms my whole life, but that’s a first for me,” coach Monty Williams said. “Guys were screaming. I was almost in tears. I’m just so happy for our guys and for everyone in the locker room.”
Bucks coach Adrian Griffin credits the chemistry between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard for helping the team overcome a 15-point deficit Friday night at Cleveland, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic. A little more than two months into their partnership, the two All-Stars have figured out the best way to attack opposing defenses. “You could see Giannis started to trust Dame and they go into the two-man game and it’s hard to stop,” Griffin said. “They went into our pitch action and that was beautiful and we need more of that from those two guys. And I had nothing to do with that. They took it upon themselves. There’s times where I’m trying to manufacture that type of action, where I can call a play or whatnot, but in the flow of the game, for them to just take the initiative amongst themselves, I mean, that shows our growth.”
The Bucks will host the Pacers on Monday in their first meeting since the game ball incident on December 13, Nehm tweets. Bobby Portis gave a lighthearted answer when asked if he expects any bitterness to carry over. “Nah, man. It’s a new year. It’s 2024,” Portis said before laughing.