- Nerlens Noel hasn’t been through a full practice yet, but Pistons coach Dwane Casey believes the veteran center can play a few minutes on Wednesday if necessary, tweets James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.
Cavaliers All-Star point guard Darius Garland, still dealing with a left eyelid laceration, is not expected by head coach J.B. Bickerstaff to return to Cleveland’s lineup for its contest against the Magic tomorrow, per Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link).
“He’s doing stuff on the floor now, breaking a sweat,” Bickerstaff said. “Again, time will tell how far the swelling goes down and how quickly.”
Thus far this year, Garland’s only on-court action has come during the Cavaliers’ opener last Wednesday. He was only available for 13 minutes before leaving due to the injury.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- Cavaliers small forward Cedi Osman is fitting into the niche role head coach J.B. Bickerstaff wants him to fulfill this season, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “I know what J.B. expects of me every night,” Osman told Fedor last Saturday. “Most importantly, he expects energy and defensive effort from me every time I’m on the floor. I’m aware of that. I’m capable of doing it.” Bickerstaff added, “What we have told Cedi is he is not a make-or-miss player,” he said. “He is a two-way impact guy… We will never take him out for missing a shot because he has the ability to be a sparkplug on both ends of the floor.”
- Journeyman Pistons shooting guard Alec Burks, still working through a fractured left navicular bone, has been scrimmaging with teammates in three-on-three and four-and-four practices, per Mike Curtis of The Detroit News. Curtis adds that Burks is expected to slot in as a reserve playmaker when he does fully recover. “He’s still a ways away,” Detroit head coach Dwane Casey said. “Not putting a timetable on it. He’s getting some work in, but nothing live.
- Pacers center Myles Turner, who has yet to suit up for Indiana while dealing with a sprained left ankle, has had his status upgraded to questionable ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Bulls, per Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link). Agness adds that Turner practiced with the Pacers today.
Charles Bassey‘s representatives spoke to 22 teams after the big man was waived by Philadelphia on October 13, including the Pistons, Cavaliers, Suns, and Raptors, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. However, according to Pompey, most of the teams that reached out to Pompey wanted to sign him to an Exhibit 10 contract and have him play on their G League affiliate this season.
Some of those G League offers might’ve resulted in a promotion to the NBA later this season or in 2023/24, but Bassey didn’t want to settle — he ultimately signed a two-way contract with the Spurs earlier today.
“I didn’t want to wait for the next year for a roster spot,” Bassey said, per Pompey. “That’s too long. The Spurs came hard … Some of the teams wanted to give me a roster spot, but they couldn’t give me one right now. I just didn’t want to go through that (Exhibit 10/G League) route. San Antonio said, ‘We can give you a two-way this year and we’ll see where it goes from there.'”
It’s a homecoming of sorts for Bassey, who lived in San Antonio when he first moved to America from Nigeria in 2015 and still has some family in the city. He also believes the franchise is an ideal fit for him.
“It’s a young organization,” Bassey said. “They are rebuilding. I feel like I’m going to have a great chance to play in a pretty good organization. And it’s a character organization. Everybody does stuff the same. … I feel like I’m going to fit right in.”
Here’s more on the Spurs:
- In an in-depth story for The San Antonio Express-News, Tom Orsborn takes a look at how Tre Jones is embracing what he calls a “big opportunity” to start at point guard for the Spurs this season. Jones is averaging 16.3 PPG on 53.1% shooting in his first three games this season, a significant step up from last season’s 6.0 PPG on 49.0% shooting. “When we find guys we think have that potential (to be leaders), we try to help it grow,” head coach Gregg Popovich. “Tre has just got it. Some people don’t, some people do. I remember Coach K (former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski) telling me about what I would like about Tre, and that was one of the major things. He is just a born leader.”
- The battle for the Spurs’ 15th regular season spot entering the season was believed to come down to Romeo Langford vs. Joe Wieskamp, with Langford ultimately making the team. Asked what he wants to see from Langford this season, Popovich said he believes the former Indiana standout has the potential to be a “hell of a defender,” per Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link).
- Here’s more from Popovich on Langford: “He’s got quick feet, he’s really long, he anticipates well, and he’s got a real bounce to him. Offensively, I think confidence is what he needs right now. I think he an become a two-way player. He can score at one end and really shake it up at the defensive end. That’s what I’ve seen from him in the short time I’ve been around him and that’s why we kept him.”
After going 43-111 over the past two years, tied with the Magic for the second-worst record in the NBA over that span, the Pistons are one of the rebuilding teams hoping to take a step forward in 2022/23. General manager Troy Weaver has completely reshaped the roster since being hired on June 18, 2020, and the trade for Bojan Bogdanovic showed Detroit is serious about improving in both the short and long term.
The starting lineup features several recent first-round picks, including Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart (Bogdanovic is the fifth starter). The reserves include a couple more recent first-rounders in Killian Hayes and Jalen Duren, plus veterans Cory Joseph, Hamidou Diallo, Kevin Knox and Rodney McGruder.
Marvin Bagley III (knee), Alec Burks (wrist) and Nerlens Noel (foot) are currently sidelined with injuries, but second-year forward Isaiah Livers (hip) has been removed from the team’s injury report and could make his debut in Saturday’s game against the Pacers, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Pistons have gotten off to a 1-1 start thus far, with a close victory over Orlando and then a blowout loss to the Knicks. Ivey and Duren, both lottery picks this year (No. 5 and No. 13) have been surprisingly effective for rookies in the early going. Ivey has averaged 18.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 6.5 APG and 1.5 SPG on .519/.375/1.000 shooting (30.5 MPG), while Duren has put up 11.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG and 1.5 BPG in 22 MPG.
There’s definitely talent on the roster, with Cunningham, last year’s No. 1 overall pick, headlining the group. Bogdanovic helps improve the team’s shooting, which has been a major weakness (the Pistons finished 29th in both two-point and three-point percentage last season).
Still, the East is stacked with strong teams, including (in no particular order) the Celtics, Bucks, Sixers, Raptors, Hawks, Cavs, Heat, Nets and Bulls. I liked the Knicks’ free agent additions of Jalen Brunson and Isaiah Hartenstein, and the Wizards should be better than last season’s 35-win campaign if they’re healthy, so it seems like the Pistons might have a difficult time finishing better than 12th in the standings unless there is major internal development.
In our over/unders last month, 51.6% of our voters predicted the Pistons to finish with more than 28.5 wins (they finished 23-59 in ’21/22).
That brings us to our question of the day. What’s a reasonable goal for the Pistons this season? Do you think they have a shot at the play-in tournament if things go well, or is it a year too early? Would an incremental step forward, like winning 30 or so games, be considered a success?
Head to the comments section and let us know what you think.
- Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart is only 21, but he’s become a mentor to the youngest player in the league, Jalen Duren, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic. It doesn’t bother Stewart that Duren might cut into his playing time. “I know this is a league where you’re fighting for positions and minutes, but that’s not something I’m worried about,” Stewart said. “I know what’s most important is being there for the young fella. I’m there for him, whatever he needs. Sometimes I’ll just start talking to him just because. I know you’re a rook, first year.’ I want him to feel and know that I’m here for him on a positive note.”
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype polled 20 NBA executives on their top three breakout candidates for the 2022/23 season and found that Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey was the most popular pick. While I’d argue that last season represented a breakout year for Maxey, some executives have far higher expectations for him going forward.
“Maxey’s going to be better than James Harden,” one general manager said to Scotto. “He just keeps getting better and better and will be a huge reason why they have success this season.”
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Magic forward Franz Wagner, and Rockets guard Jalen Green were among the other popular breakout picks, based on the responses Scotto got from executives. Interestingly, Warriors big man James Wiseman and Pistons forward/center Marvin Bagley III were each picked as this year’s top breakout candidate by one GM.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- In his latest look at the top prospects in the 2023 NBA draft class, David Aldridge of The Athletic passes along several entertaining quotes from NBA executives, including one Eastern Conference exec’s response to whether Scoot Henderson could surpass Victor Wembanyama as next year’s No. 1 pick: “Scoot’s good, but, no. Short of Wembanyama having murdered somebody, there’s just no way.”
- Veteran guard Sindarius Thornwell has signed with Frutti Extra Bursasport, the Turkish team announced this week (via Twitter). Thornwell has appeared in 160 total NBA games and played for New Orleans and Atlanta in 2020/21, but wasn’t in the league last season.
- Longtime NBA referee Tony Brown, who officiated over 1,100 games, including one in the 2020 NBA Finals, passed away on Thursday after a fight with pancreatic cancer, according to his family (story via ESPN.com).
Pistons assistant general manager Rob Murphy has been put on leave as the organization investigates an allegation of workplace misconduct regarding a former female employee, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. Murphy’s leave began approximately a week ago.
Murphy was hired as an assistant GM this offseason after serving as the Pistons’ G League president and general manager since March 2021. He had spent the previous two decades as a college coach, including 10 years at Eastern Michigan as its head coach.
- Pistons assistant coach Bill Bayno underwent successful prostate cancer surgery on Tuesday and will be away from the team recovering for the next four-to-six weeks, Detroit announced. Bayno has been an assistant with the Blazers, Wolves, Raptors and Pacers in addition to the Pistons. 2022/23 will be his fifteenth season as an NBA assistant. The Hoops Rumors staff wishes Bayno well in his recovery.
The Pistons have delivered only one winning season since Tom Gores became the majority owner. With the way general manager Troy Weaver has revamped the roster, Gores believes the franchise is ready to take off, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes.
“I’ve now owned the team for 11 years, and I’ve never felt this way,” Gores said. “This is a great foundation, it’s a tremendous foundation. Part of the reason I love the players on this team is that you have tremendous skill, but there’s a lot of humility here. With humility, you also reflect and that’s how you improve. I really love this energy. I love it, and I don’t say that often.”
We have more on the Pistons:
- Cade Cunningham realizes he may have to make some individual sacrifices in order to become a true leader, as he told James Edwards III of The Athletic. “Right now, we’re still trying to figure it out and build our way up to being a winning team,” Cunningham said. “Everything that I’m doing, everything that the team is doing, should be with that in mind. Maybe, right now, I have to sacrifice some things. Maybe I have to sacrifice 50 shots a game to make sure the chemistry is good, we’re flowing, whatever. We need to know how we’re going to play. So, when it gets that time, everyone is confident, everyone is ready to go. That’s how I see things.”
- Center Nerlens Noel, who has been working his way back from a foot injury since being traded from the Knicks, participated in his first practice on Tuesday, Edwards tweets. It would be surprising if Noel played this week, but he could get some rotation minutes while Marvin Bagley III recovers from a right knee injury, which is expected to sideline him for at least three or four weeks.
- Along with Bagley, Alec Burks (left navicular fracture) and Isaiah Livers (right hip) are also listed as out for Wednesday’s season opener against Orlando, Mike Curtis of the Detroit News tweets.
OCTOBER 17: As expected, the Pistons have waived Walker, the team confirmed today in a press release.
OCTOBER 14: The Pistons will likely waive veteran guard Kemba Walker in the coming days in order to get their roster down to the regular season limit of 15 players on standard contracts, according to Shams Charania and James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link).
A four-time All-Star, Walker has seen his production dip in the last year or two as he has been slowed by knee issues. He averaged 11.6 PPG and 3.5 APG on .403/.367/.845 shooting in 37 games (25.6 MPG) last season for the Knicks, and was a liability on defense.
New York sent Walker to Detroit in a salary-dump trade in June, and reports immediately indicated that the 32-year-old and the Pistons would likely come to a buyout agreement. However, that buyout didn’t end up coming to fruition.
There are likely a couple reasons why Walker has yet to accept the Pistons’ buyout offer. For one, there has been no indication that he has a guaranteed contract offer on the table from another team, as he seemingly confirmed last week.
Additionally, since Detroit has more than 15 players on guaranteed contracts, the team was always going to have to trade or release one of those players by the regular season roster deadline of October 17 — since Walker is so obviously the odd man out, the Pistons had little leverage to encourage him to give back a portion of his $9.17MM salary unless they parted with another player on a guaranteed deal.
If and when Walker is waived, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent two days later and would be able to sign with any team except the Knicks. Potential suitors will certainly be wary of Kemba’s knee problems, but he insisted last week that he can still be a useful NBA player and still has “a few years left” in him.
“I’ve got something in the tank for sure,” he said. “I feel great. I’m going to be honest. I’m going to have my opportunity. I’m not in any rush right now. I’m just grinding and trying to feel as good as I can. And right now, I feel great. I feel as good as I’ve felt in a long time. I’m just waiting for the opportunity.”
Walker’s former team in Charlotte is one that has been mentioned as a possible landing spot — the Hornets were already short on point guard depth even before LaMelo Ball sprained his ankle during the preseason.