Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Casey: Bojan Deserves All-Star Recognition

December 25th, 2022 at 5:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons may have the league’s worst record, but that won’t deter Dwane Casey from proclaiming that Bojan Bogdanovic deserves All-Star recognition, Mike Curtis of the Detroit News writes.

“I hope people don’t look at our record as a rebuilding team and punish him for that because to me, Bogey’s an All-Star,” the Pistons’ head coach said. “I’ve coached a lot of offensive players in my career when you talk about (Dirk) Nowitzki, (DeMar) DeRozan, a lot of those guys, Kevin Garnett. Offensively, he’s right up there with those guys as far as scoring the basketball.”

Bogdanovic, who signed a two-year extension with the Pistons early this season, is averaging a team-high 20.8 points.

Ivey, Duren Have Improved Pistons' Long-Term Outlook

December 23rd, 2022 at 5:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have the NBA’s worst record at 8-26, but they haven’t been disappointed by what they’ve seen from rookies Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren. As Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes, Detroit’s long-term outlook looks better than it did a few months ago due to the promise the team’s two lottery picks have shown.

Coach Casey Says Pride Is Needed To Avoid Repeating Mistakes

December 22nd, 2022 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons believe they’re better than their league-worst 8-26 record, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Coach Dwane Casey said pride is necessary to avoid the mistakes that have been leading to losses, such as turnovers, defensive lapses and poor showings coming out of halftime.

Lakers Notes: Davis, Trade Market, LeBron, Bryant, Christie

December 21st, 2022 at 6:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

The foot injury that Anthony Davis suffered last week has decreased the chances that the Lakers will gamble on a major trade, multiple sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic. He adds that the only exception would be if the team can acquire a young star that it believes can succeed alongside Davis over the next few years.

Even before the Davis injury, the Lakers’ front office wasn’t confident that there was a trade available that would turn the team into contenders, Buha states. He suggests the most likely current scenario is a deal that would include some combination of Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn and a protected first-rounder in either 2027 or 2029 in exchange for a 3-and-D wing or a combo forward.

Along with the players who have already been linked to the Lakers in trade talks, Buha’s sources point to the Suns‘ Jae Crowder, the Rockets‘ Eric Gordon, the Pistons‘ Alec Burks, the Hornets‘ Terry Rozier, P.J. Washington and Kelly Oubre Jr. and the Spurs‘ Josh Richardson and Jakob Poeltl as players to watch.

There’s more on the Lakers, all from Buha:

LeBron James has posted four straight 30-point games, but his playing time is starting to become a concern. He’s averaged 39.2 minutes over the past five games, and the Lakers need to be careful that they don’t rely too heavily on him. Buha notes that James, who will turn 38 next week, ranks sixth in minutes per game among players with at least 50 total games over the past two seasons.
The loss of Davis has been eased somewhat by the emergence of Thomas Bryant. Buha states that Bryant was considered “almost unplayable” before Davis got hurt, but he’s averaging 17.7 points and 7.0 rebounds in the last three games while shooting 61.1% from the field and 55.6% from three-point range. The 25-year-old center joined the Lakers during the offseason on a veteran’s minimum contract and will be a free agent again next summer.
Rookie shooting guard Max Christie recently moved into the rotation and may be playing well enough to stay there. The second-round pick provides a much-needed 3-and-D option for coach Darvin Ham, and he’s one of the best rebounders among the team’s guards.
The starting backcourt of Beverley and Dennis Schroder hasn’t performed well, and Buha wonders why Ham keeps playing them together. The Lakers are minus-50 in 161 minutes when they’re on the court at the same time, and their skills seem to be redundant.

Pistons Sign GM Troy Weaver To Contract Extension

December 21st, 2022 at 12:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have signed general manager Troy Weaver to a contract extension, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), Weaver’s extension was agreed to months ago. It’s unclear if the team simply didn’t announce it at the time or if it wasn’t officially finalized until now. Either way, it’s a done deal now.

Charania’s report doesn’t specify how many years the Pistons have added to Weaver’s contract or how long he’ll be under team control going forward. However, when he first joined the franchise in 2020, Weaver reportedly signed a four-year contract — he’d be in the third year of that deal now, which means his current contract was set to expire in 2024. I’d be surprised if his extension doesn’t tack on at least two more years.

Since arriving in Detroit, Weaver has been guiding the Pistons through a rebuilding process and stockpiling young talent. During his first offseason, he added Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, and Saddiq Bey in the draft and landed Jerami Grant in free agency. He selected Cade Cunningham with the No. 1 overall pick the following year and then drafted Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren in this year’s lottery while trading Grant to Portland and acquiring Bojan Bogdanovic from Utah.

With Cunningham out for the season following surgery on his leg, the Pistons haven’t taken the step forward they’d hoped to this year — they currently rank last in the NBA with an 8-25 record. Still, team owner Tom Gores has expressed optimism about the direction of the organization.

“We’re growing,” Gores said last month. “Right now, we have an amazing core group and a lot of confidence. We’re better than our record is. We’re much better than that and I like the way that this team has a lot of heart. I feel great about it. (head coach) Dwane (Casey)‘s doing good work. Troy continues to think about growth and everything, so I feel great about it.”

Casey received a contract extension in 2021 that runs through the 2023/24 season, so the Pistons will face a decision on his future within the next 18 months or so.

"No Disrespect" Making Bey, Bagley Reserves

December 20th, 2022 at 9:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Saddiq Bey and Marvin Bagley III have been moved to the Pistons’ second unit by coach Dwane Casey. It has led to better bench production, though the team has lost six of its last seven after falling to Utah on Tuesday, Mike Curtis of the Detroit News writes. “It’s no disrespect to Saddiq, no disrespect to Marvin at all being in the second unit,” Casey said. “We need that. I love the way our second unit is coming in and changing the game and kind of having an identity, defensively, offensively, some go-to actions that they can click with.”

Pistons Adamant About Keeping Bogdanovic

December 19th, 2022 at 5:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Veteran forward Bojan Bogdanovic has become one of the hottest names on the trade market. However, the Pistons have been telling potential suitors that they plan on holding onto Bogdanovic, according to Marc Stein in his latest Substack post.

Bogdanovic, who signed a two-year extension this season, is the Pistons’ leading scorer with Cade Cunningham out. They’re hoping when Cunningham returns next season they can make a playoff push with the aid of Bogdanovic. Detroit’s current stance could eventually change prior to the trade deadline and it’s also possible the front office is posturing in order to secure an unprotected first-round pick, and possibly more, for Bogdanovic.

Pistons forward Saddiq Bey isn’t upset about being moved to the second unit, he told James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Bey has been thrust into a scoring role off the bench, as coach Dwane Casey has opted to go with a bigger lineup on the first unit. “It’s a good challenge because I’ve always wanted to be one of the guys that does whatever the team needs, whatever role,” he said. “I just try to be that glue guy who can adapt to any role. I think that holds value.”

Nwaba’s G League Rights Acquired By Pistons’ Affiliate

December 18th, 2022 at 6:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Motor City Cruise, the Pistons’ G League affiliate, have acquired veteran guard David Nwaba from the Lakeland Magic in exchange for Micah Potter and a second-round pick in the 2023 NBAGL draft, Marc Stein tweets.

Stein reported on Friday that Nwaba was signing a G League contract. Lakeland claimed him off waivers, then dealt him to the Cruise.

Nwaba spent the past couple seasons with Houston, but he was traded to Oklahoma City in September and subsequently waived before the season started. However, his contract for 2022/23 was fully guaranteed at just over $5MM, so the Thunder are paying his salary.

Nwaba is still free to sign with any NBA team. The G League Showcase takes place this week in Las Vegas, so the six-year veteran will be looking to make a strong impression with the Cruise ahead of January 5, when NBA teams can start signing players to 10-day contracts.

Potter is on a two-way contract with the Jazz. His G League rights were technically held by the Cruise, though he has been playing for the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s affiliate. If Potter gets waived by the Jazz or his contract expires, Utah loses any G League rights to Potter and Lakeland would control them.

Potter has appeared in two games for the Jazz. He has started 12 games for the Stars, averaging 14.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per night.

Isaiah Livers Suffers Setback In Rehab

December 17th, 2022 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Pistons forward Isaiah Livers suffered a setback while attempting to return from a shoulder injury, the team announced on Friday in a press release. According to the Pistons, Livers had advanced to the “end stage” of his rehab process, but reaggravated the AC joint in his right shoulder during a workout. Livers will take a step backward in his rehab work and will be reevaluated in approximately two or three weeks by the Pistons’ medical staff, according to the team.

Cade Cunningham Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery

December 16th, 2022 at 12:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 16: Cunningham underwent season-ending surgery on Friday, according to the Pistons, who said in a press release today that the procedure will “stabilize and promote complete healing of a left tibial stress fracture.”

The former No. 1 overall pick is expected to return to full basketball activities in the 2023 offseason, per the team.

DECEMBER 12: Pistons second-year guard Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft, has opted for season-ending shin surgery, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.

Cunningham appeared in just 12 games this season and hasn’t played since Nov. 9. At that time, the team described his injury as left shin soreness.

Cunningham sat out for over a month, hoping that rest and rehabilitation would solve the problem. He consulted with multiple doctors in recent weeks and ultimately decided – with the Pistons and his representatives at Excel Sports – to undergo the season-ending procedure. He’s expected to be fully recovered by next season’s training camp.

It’s a major setback for a team in the midst of a major rebuild. General manager Troy Weaver has accumulated six first-round picks over the last three seasons, with Cunningham being the crown jewel. The team was hoping Cunningham and this year’s No. 5 pick, point guard Jaden Ivey, could develop chemistry this season with the expectation of a playoff push next season. They could still develop into one of the league’s top backcourts but Cunningham’s injury will delay that possibility.

The franchise is bound for another high lottery pick and is a major contender in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes. The Pistons have a 7-22 record and figure to have one of the league’s worst records with their franchise player out of action.

Cunningham was averaging 19.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and six assists in 12 games this season. He got off to a slow start during his rookie season after suffering an ankle injury during training camp. He came on strong during the second half of the season and finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting behind Scottie Barnes and Evan Mobley.

Cunningham wound up averaging 17.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists last season, including 21.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists in the second half.

The Pistons will now focus of the development of their other young players this season.

Ivey is off to a relatively strong start in his rookie campaign, averaging 15.3 points and 4.0 assists. Third-year guard Killian Hayes, who was part of Weaver’s first draft class, has shown some improvement while receiving steady playing time in Cunningham’s absence. He’s averaging 8.1 points, 5.1 assists and 1.1 steals, though it’s uncertain whether the front office views him as part of the long-term picture.

With Cunningham out, the team’s brass may be more inclined to trade veterans such as top scorer Bojan Bogdanovic and guard Alec Burks.