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Central Notes: Hayes, Ball, Bucks, G League Trade

September 17th, 2022 at 9:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

Killian Hayes has to make progress as a scorer to show the Pistons he should be part of their long-term plans, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. After injuries limited him to 26 games as a rookie, Hayes bounced back to play in 66 last season, showing the defensive and passing skills that made him the No. 7 overall pick in 2020.

However, his scoring development remained stagnant as he averaged 6.9 PPG in 25 minutes per night while shooting 38.3% from the field and 26.3% from three-point range. Edwards believes Hayes needs to become more aggressive in getting to the basket, noting that he made 74% of his attempts at the rim last season, but that only accounted for 16% of his shots.

Edwards poses questions involving other Pistons players, asking whether Isaiah Stewart has become a legitimate three-point shooter, whether Saddiq Bey can balance his performance from his first two seasons and whether Saben Lee can find a way to stand out on a roster loaded with guards.

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • Lonzo Ball tops a list of Bulls players with the most to prove compiled by Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. Ball may be held out through the start of the regular season because of pain in his surgically repaired left knee. The Bulls insist the knee is structurally sound, but his availability will play a massive role in where the team finishes in the Eastern Conference. Mayberry adds that the team also needs a bounce-back performance from center Nikola Vucevic, who’s heading into a contract year.
  • Unlike most of their competitors in the East, the Bucks didn’t make major changes this offseason and can rely on continuity as they make a run at another NBA title, per Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype. Milwaukee still has the defensive foundation to contend for a championship, Gozlan adds, and Giannis Antetokounmpo remains one of the best players in the world. One financial concern that Gozlan points out is that the Bucks appear destined for the repeater tax next season, while Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez will both become unrestricted free agents in July if they don’t receive extensions.
  • In a press release, the Cleveland Charge – The Cavaliers‘ G League affiliate – announced the trade of Norvel Pelle and the Charge’s second-round pick to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (the Pacers‘ affiliate) in exchange for Nate Hinton.
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Pistons Waive Keifer Sykes

September 17th, 2022 at 10:15am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons have waived guard Keifer Sykes, according to RealGM.

The Pistons signed Sykes to an Exhibit 10 deal this week in a move designed to get him a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days the Motor City Cruise, Detroit’s G League team. Motor City traded for Sykes’ G League returning rights in July.

The 28-year-old made it to the NBA for the first time last season, appearing in 32 games for the Pacers and averaging 5.6 PPG, 1.4 RPG and 1.9 APG in 17.7 MPG. Since going undrafted out of Wisconsin Green Bay in 2015, Sykes has played for several G League teams and a long list of overseas clubs.

Sykes averaged 16.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 7.5 APG for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants last season.

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Pistons Waive Micah Potter

September 15th, 2022 at 7:09am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have waived center Micah Potter just days after officially signing him, Hoops Rumors has learned. Detroit had to cut Potter in order to make room on the 20-man offseason roster for Keifer Sykes, who signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the club.

Potter will be one of many players who is signed and then quickly waived by an NBA team in the coming weeks. The goal of these sign-and-waive transactions is generally to either secure the player’s G League rights as an affiliate player or to ensure that he’ll receive a $50K bonus as a returning rights player if and when he spends at least 60 days with the club’s G League squad.

In other words, Potter is likely to begin the season with the Motor City Cruise, the Pistons’ NBAGL team. The Cruise previously acquired his returning rights from the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat’s affiliate.

Potter, 24, initially signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Miami last fall after going undrafted out of Wisconsin. He was released before the regular season began and spent most of his rookie year with the Skyforce, averaging 17.2 PPG and 9.8 RPG on .539/.445/.731 shooting in 33 NBAGL games (28.8 MPG).

In addition to earning him a spot on the All-NBAGL Rookie Team, Potter’s strong performance at the G League level earned him a brief look at the NBA level. The Pistons signed him to a 10-day contract in December and he appeared in three regular season contests, scoring 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds in 31 total minutes.

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Keifer Sykes Signs Exhibit 10 Deal With Pistons

September 14th, 2022 at 5:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons have signed free agent point guard Keifer Sykes to an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets James L. Edwards of The Athletic.

The 28-year-old made it to the NBA for the first time last season, appearing in 32 games for the Pacers and averaging 5.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 17.7 minutes per night. Since going undrafted out of Wisconsin Green Bay in 2015, Sykes had made several G League appearances and played for a long list of overseas teams.

He was part of a G League trade in July, being shipped from Indiana’s Fort Wayne affiliate to Detroit’s Motor City affiliate. Now that the Pistons own his rights, they can send him to their G League team if he doesn’t earn a roster spot with the NBA club and signs an NBAGL contract.

Under his Exhibit 10 contract, Sykes will be eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the Motor City team.

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Cunningham's 3-Point Shooting Will Be Crucial

September 13th, 2022 at 9:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder
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Pistons Sign Micah Potter To Exhibit 10 Deal

September 13th, 2022 at 9:26am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 13: The Pistons have officially signed Potter, per RealGM’s NBA transaction log.

AUGUST 26: The Pistons are signing free agent center Micah Potter to an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Potter, 24, initially signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Miami last fall after going undrafted out of Wisconsin. He was waived before the regular season began and spent most of his rookie year with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat’s G League affiliate, averaging 17.2 PPG and 9.8 RPG on .539/.445/.731 shooting in 33 NBAGL games (28.8 MPG).

In addition to earning him a spot on the All-NBAGL Rookie Team, Potter’s strong performance at the G League level earned him a brief look at the NBA level. The Pistons signed him to a 10-day contract in December and he appeared in three regular season contests, scoring 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds in 31 total minutes.

Potter also suited up in five games for the Knicks’ Summer League team in Las Vegas last month.

Potter’s Exhibit 10 contract means he’ll be eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived this fall and then spends at least 60 days with the Motor City Cruise, Detroit’s G League team. The Cruise acquired Potter’s returning NBAGL rights from the Skyforce on Thursday, according to a press release.

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And-Ones: Russell, Noel, Paul, Team USA, Baker

September 12th, 2022 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bill Russell‘s No. 6 will be retired throughout the league and another Hall of Famer, Alonzo Mourning, said it was much-deserved honor, Marc J. Spears of Andscape writes.

“We still need to celebrate his name, because he paved the way during a time where he had to deal with so many different obstacles,” Mourning said. “Not just on the court, but off the court. He paved the way for all of us.”

Mourning and Jerry West were on stage at the Hall of Fame’s annual ceremony over the weekend to honor Russell before the Class of 2022 was inducted.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • Pistons center Nerlens Noel‘s lawsuit against agent Rich Paul is headed to arbitration, Michael McCann of Sportico reports in a subscribers-only article. Noel sued Paul last August, alleging that the agent’s negotiating tactics during 2017 cost him a four-year, $70MM extension with Dallas.
  • USA Basketball wound up with the bronze medal in the AmeriCup by defeating Canada 84-80 (Twitter link). Former NBA forward Gary Clark led the way with 18 points. Argentina, having defeated Team USA in the semifinals, earned the gold medal with a victory over Brazil.
  • The G League Lakeland Magic acquired the returning player rights to forward Robert Baker from the Stockton Kings in exchange for a 2022 second-round pick, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. Baker, 24, appeared in 26 games with the Stockton Kings last season and one Summer League game with the Thunder.
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2022/23 NBA Over/Unders: Central Division

September 9th, 2022 at 11:42am CST by Luke Adams

The 2022/23 NBA regular season will tip off next month, so it’s time to start getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign and to continue an annual Hoops Rumors tradition.

With the help of the lines from a handful of sports betting sites – including Bovada, BetOnline, and Betway – we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.

In 2021/22, our voters went 16-14 on their over/under picks. Can you top that in ’22/23?

We’ll keep our series going today with the Central division…

Milwaukee Bucks

Cleveland Cavaliers

Chicago Bulls

Detroit Pistons

Indiana Pacers

Previous voting results:

Southeast

  • Miami Heat (50.5 wins): Under (56.6%)
  • Atlanta Hawks (46.5 wins): Over (53.6%)
  • Charlotte Hornets (36.5 wins): Under (63.0%)
  • Washington Wizards (35.5 wins): Under (50.8%)
  • Orlando Magic (26.5 wins): Over (55.3%)

Southwest

  • Memphis Grizzlies (49.5 wins): Over (68.7%)
  • Dallas Mavericks (48.5 wins): Over (63.7%)
  • New Orleans Pelicans (44.5 wins): Over (61.2%)
  • Houston Rockets (24.5 wins): Under (61.8%)
  • San Antonio Spurs (23.5 wins): Under (67.5%)
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Edwards Thinks Livers Is A Breakout Candidate

September 7th, 2022 at 8:05pm CST by Rory Maher
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Latest On Kemba Walker, Pistons

September 7th, 2022 at 1:10pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been over two months since ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Pistons and Kemba Walker were finalizing a buyout agreement, but with training camps set to tip off in less than three weeks, the veteran point guard remains under contract in Detroit.

As James L. Edwards III of The Athletic explains in his latest mailbag, the Pistons would still like to buy out Walker, and the holdup isn’t due to anything on their end. Sources tell Edwards that Walker and the Pistons found common ground on a buyout number that would reduce his $9,165,471 cap hit by “a few million,” but the 32-year-old has yet to officially agree to those terms.

While Edwards can’t confirm why the move has been delayed, he suspects that Walker doesn’t yet have a new NBA home lined up and isn’t inclined to give up a portion of his salary until he’s confident he can make most or all of that money back on a new deal.

The Pistons currently have 17 players on guaranteed contracts and presumably aren’t interested in having Walker on their 15-man roster to start the season, since that would require them to trade or release two other players instead of just one. That means their leverage is limited as they try to nudge Walker to surrender some of his salary.

If he’s not confident he’ll have a contract offer on the table from another team, Walker could simply wait out the Pistons and let them waive him before the season begins, at which point they’d owe him his full $9MM+ salary. Taking that route wouldn’t be a major financial burden for Detroit, since the team’s total salary remains below the cap.

A minimum-salary contract for Walker in 2022/23 would be worth $2,905,851, so if he does find a suitor willing to sign him, that could be the amount he gives back to the Pistons in a buyout agreement.

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.

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