Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: NBAGL, Dunn, Noel, Klutch, CBA, 2023 Draft

January 14th, 2023 at 12:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League will have an increased presence at this year’s NBA All-Star weekend, having introduced a new Next Up Game that will take place on Sunday, February 19 prior to the NBA’s All-Star Game.

As outlined in a G League press release, the game will feature 24 NBAGL standouts, with 10 of those players selected by fan vote.

Players on G League contracts or two-way deals who have appeared in at least four games this season will be eligible to participate in the game. However, players on standard NBA contracts won’t be — that means you wouldn’t be able to vote for, say, Warriors center James Wiseman, despite the fact that he has appeared in 10 games this season for Santa Cruz.

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

Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington take a closer look at Kris Dunn‘s efforts to “get back to the NBA the correct way.” The former No. 5 overall pick is playing this season for the Capital City Go-Go, the Wizards‘ G League affiliate, and is seeing his work on a revamped jump shot pay dividends. In 20 G League games, Dunn is making 58.2% of his shots from the field and 42.1% of his three-pointers.
Pistons center Nerlens Noel and Klutch Sports reached a settlement in their financial dispute this week, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who tweets that Noel has agreed to pay Rich Paul and Klutch the commission fees on his 2020 Knicks deal and has dropped his legal proceedings against the agency. Noel sued Paul and Klutch back in 2021 after the agency filed a grievance over $200K in commission that the big man hadn’t paid.
Although there’s still no agreement between the NBA and the players’ union on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, there’s too much money at stake to expect a work stoppage, Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com writes in a check-in on the league’s labor talks.
Sam Vecenie of The Athletic and Jeremy Woo of SI.com both published new 2023 mock drafts this week. There are plenty of differences between the two mocks starting at No. 3, where Vecenie has Amen Thompson of Overtime Elite and Woo has Arkansas’ Anthony Black. Woo has Thompson at No. 6 in his mock, while Vecenie has Black all the way down at No. 11 in his.

L.A. Notes: Pistons, Cousins, Lakers Frontcourt, Clippers

January 13th, 2023 at 7:54pm CST by Rory Maher

The Lakers have long been linked to forward Bojan Bogdanovic — back when he was still on Utah and in the months since he was traded to Detroit. In an article about potential deadline buyers and sellers with Chris Mannix, Howard Beck of Sports Illustrated hears that the Lakers and Pistons “have discussed a deal that would include both Bogdanovic and Nerlens Noel.”

Rumors last month indicated that the Lakers offered Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn and a protected first-round pick for Bogdanovic, but this is the first time we’ve seen them linked to Noel this season. Adding his $9.24MM salary to that framework complicates a trade from a salary-matching perspective — the Lakers would have to add three players on minimum salaries.

Replacing Beverley and Nunn with Russell Westbrook‘s $47.1MM expiring deal would mean the Pistons would have to add more salary, so more players would have to be involved in either scenario.

Here’s more out of Los Angeles:

DeMarcus Cousins‘ audition for the Lakers is scheduled for today, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report. In case you missed it, the Lakers are also working out Meyers Leonard today. Both big men are unrestricted free agents.
LeBron James said earlier this week that he believes a frontcourt with himself, Anthony Davis and Thomas Bryant “could be extremely beneficial for our ballclub.” Head coach Darvin Ham agreed that it was worth looking into, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link). “They’re all highly skilled players. … They can all score at all three levels. They can defend. They all can have good activity, good instincts. So, yeah, that’s something we’ll definitely take a look at,” Ham said.
In an appearance on ESPN’s NBA Today, Richard Jefferson said there might be some interference from the Clippers‘ front office when it comes to coaching decisions. “This is pure speculation… I’m hearing grumblings that people up top are having opinions about who should be playing… There’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen and that is never a good recipe,” he said (Twitter video link via Talkin’ NBA). Ordinarily, I wouldn’t put much stock into something that Jefferson says is “pure speculation,” but he does have connections to the Clippers — he played under head coach Tyronn Lue with the Cavaliers and under president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank when Frank coached the Nets.
Lue told reporters, including Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter video link), that Paul George (hamstring) and Luke Kennard (calf) would not practice with the Clippers on Thursday, but both players were working out and shooting prior to practice. George has been ruled out for Friday’s contest against Denver and Kennard seems unlikely to suit up.

Pistons Notes: Noel, Stewart, Deadline Approach, Livers

January 12th, 2023 at 2:22pm CST by Rory Maher

Pistons backup center Nerlens Noel has filled in admirably as an emergency starter, writes Mike Curtis of The Detroit News. The 28-year-old had only made nine appearances for a total of 81 minutes leading up to Tuesday, but he started back-to-back games with Isaiah Stewart (shoulder), Jalen Duren (right ankle soreness) and Marvin Bagley III (hand surgery) all sidelined.

“Ten years in, it’s a blessing. Nothing to take for granted,” Noel said after Wednesday’s victory over Minnesota. “I saw tonight we were playing against (Rudy) Gobert, so I definitely took it upon myself to try and be at my best as far as rim-protecting goes. This is what I’ve been doing and I’m going to continue to do it, especially with the steals. I know it changes the game. Just gotta stay consistent.”

Long known for his disruptive defense, Noel has averaged 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 blocks and 2.0 steals in 21.0 minutes over the past two games, Curtis notes. Even though he hasn’t played much this season, Noel says he will be ready when his number is called.

“I’ve always been a team guy, through everything,” Noel said, per Curtis. “It’s a great group of guys here, great young guys. With my veteran s–t, I just lend knowledge, whatever they want, let them pick my brain and help them out with experiences I’ve been through. We’ve got a young frontcourt, so I’m never tripping on that. I’m always here for them and when they call my number, I’ll be ready.”

There have been multiple rumors indicating that the Pistons are looking to move Noel — his recent play might help convince rival teams that he’s healthy and can still provide a defensive boost.

Here’s more on the Pistons:

Head coach Dwane Casey said that Stewart underwent testing on his sore shoulder, tweets James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Casey added that the team doesn’t think it will be a long-term concern, but are still waiting for results from the exams. The third-year big man has missed the past two games with the injury.
Edwards doesn’t expect the Pistons to have a fire sale ahead of the trade deadline, as he writes in a mailbag article for The Athletic. Like Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, he hears Detroit is looking for a first-round pick and a “good young player” for veteran forward Bojan Bogdanovic. He doesn’t think Alec Burks will be dealt, nor Saddiq Bey, though he does believe Bey might be more likely to be moved than the aforementioned veterans. The most likely player to be traded, according to Edwards? That would be Noel, but even he isn’t a lock — his $9.24MM salary might make him more of a buyout candidate.
Second-year forward Isaiah Livers made his return to the lineup on Wednesday, Edwards notes (via Twitter). Livers hadn’t played since December 1 due to a right shoulder sprain, missing 20 consecutive games in the process. The Pistons hold a $1.84MM team option on the former second-round pick for 2023/24.

Bogdanovic Sidelined By Calf Soreness

January 10th, 2023 at 7:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

As if the Pistons didn’t have enough injury issues, leading scorer Bojan Bogdanovic missed Tuesday’s game against Philadelphia due to left calf soreness, Mike Curtis of the Detroit News tweets. Rookie center Jalen Duren missed his second straight game due to right ankle soreness and Isaiah Stewart (shoulder) was a late scratch.

Cavs Rumors: Bey, Hayward, Love, Ross, Possible Targets

January 10th, 2023 at 3:27pm CST by Luke Adams

After discussing several possible Cavaliers trade targets on Jake Fischer’s podcast last week, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com expanded on the club’s hunt for a wing in a subscriber-only story on Tuesday, taking a closer look at why Mavericks swingman Tim Hardaway Jr. appeals to Cleveland, why the club is reluctant to part with former lottery pick Isaac Okoro, and much more.

Here are a few highlights from Fedor’s story:

Pistons forward Saddiq Bey “has some fans” in Cleveland, but there’s still a gap between how the Cavaliers and Pistons value him, writes Fedor, noting that Detroit’s asking price would have to come down significantly for Bey to be a realistic target for the Cavs. That line of thinking applies to a number of other possible trade candidates on the market, including Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma.
Although Gordon Hayward‘s skill set makes the Hornets forward a logical target for the Cavaliers, his $30MM salary makes him a long shot for Cleveland. Kevin Love ($28.9MM) would likely have to be included in a deal for Hayward, and trading Love isn’t a possibility the team has internally considered, according to Fedor, who has previously reported that there’s mutual interest between the Cavs and Love in continuing their relationship beyond this season.
If the Cavaliers liked Magic wing Terrence Ross, they could have acquired him “multiple times” in the past, Fedor writes, implying that the asking price was one Cleveland could have easily met. Fedor said on Fischer’s podcast last week that the Cavs don’t have much interest in Ross.
Fedor identifies Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith and Spurs veterans Doug McDermott and Josh Richardson as players worth monitoring in Cleveland’s search for wing help. He adds that the Cavs would have interest in Timberwolves forward Kyle Anderson and Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate, but there’s no indication that either player will be available at this season’s trade deadline.

Scotto’s Latest: Burks, Reddish, Quickley, Cavs, Hardaway

January 10th, 2023 at 9:14am CST by Luke Adams

Pistons guard Alec Burks is receiving interest from a number of playoff-caliber clubs, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Burks is having one of his best seasons as a pro off the bench for the Pistons, averaging 14.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 2.2 APG in just 22.0 minutes per contest (30 games). His 44.7% three-point rate is a career high, as is his 46.4% mark on shots from the floor.

Burks is earning approximately $10MM this season and has a $10.49MM team option on his contract for 2023/24. According to Scotto, the Pistons are a pretty safe bet to exercise that option if Burks remains with the team for the rest of the season, since it’s a team-friendly price based on his production and his veteran presence. With that in mind, Detroit could always trade Burks in the offseason or even at the 2024 trade deadline, so the club won’t have to simply settle for the best offer in the coming weeks.

Here’s more from Scotto:

The Knicks‘ asking price for Cam Reddish is a pair of second-round picks, league sources tell Scotto. The Lakers and Bucks are among the teams who have inquired on the fourth-year forward, Scotto adds.
The Bucks are also one of the clubs to inquire on Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley, along with the Mavericks, Wizards, and others, says Scotto. However, Quickley has been playing some of his best basketball as of late and New York’s asking price is significant (at least a first-round pick), reducing the odds that he’s moved.
Addressing the possibility of a Caris LeVert/Tim Hardaway Jr. swap between the Mavericks and Cavaliers, Scotto confirms a couple of concerns from Cleveland’s side first voiced by Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The Cavs would be hesitant to take on Hardaway’s contract, which has two years left beyond this season, according to Scotto, and may be seeking extra compensation in any deal due to a belief that LeVert is a better overall player.

Bayno Returns To Bench After Cancer Surgery

January 9th, 2023 at 8:07pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons assistant coach Bill Bayno is back on the bench and traveling again after undergoing surgery for prostate cancer, James Edwards III of The Athletic writes. “Thank God I got this while I was with an NBA team,” he said. “When you have good employer health insurance, it makes a huge difference.” The cancer was discovered during a screening while the Pistons were participating in the Summer League.

Cavaliers Eyeing Tim Hardaway Jr.

January 8th, 2023 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have interest in Mavericks wing Tim Hardaway Jr., Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com said during an appearance on Jake Fischer’s Please Don’t Aggregate This podcast. Fedor identified Hardaway as a possible target for Cleveland after Fischer discussed the team’s interest in Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic.

“I would add another name,” Fedor said (hat tip to HoopsHype). “The Cavs believe this player is available, and my sources tell me that he could be had. It’s, again, at the right price. And it’s a little bit tricky, because he’s on a team that’s fourth place currently in the Western Conference.

“Tim Hardaway Jr. is somebody that the Cavs have been watching and they’ve been keeping an eye on. And I think if the Cavs had their choice, it would be very, very close. And they’re not going to have their choice, it doesn’t work that way, but if they had their choice, it would be between Bojan and Tim Hardaway Jr.”

The Cavaliers have two All-Stars (Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell) in their backcourt, with All-Star center Jarrett Allen and last year’s No. 3 overall pick Evan Mobley up front. The small forward spot is the only one in the starting five that remains a question mark, with players like Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro, Lamar Stevens, and Dean Wade cycling through it this season.

Fischer, having reported earlier this week that the Cavs are in the market for a defensive-minded wing who is also an outside shooting threat, likes the idea of Hardway for Cleveland, especially since LeVert would probably have to be included in a hypothetical trade (his $18MM+ salary is within $1MM of Hardaway’s). The Mavs kicked the tires on LeVert before Cleveland acquired him from Indiana a year ago, according to Fischer, who also suggested that Dallas has been seeking another shot creator to complement Luka Doncic.

Fedor believes a trade centered around Hardaway and LeVert would be a “logical stylistic swap,” though he acknowledged that there could be some obstacles. Hardaway is under contract for two seasons beyond this one, so the Cavs may be reluctant to make that sort of commitment before seeing how he fits (LeVert is on an expiring deal). Both Fischer and Fedor also agreed that the Cavs may want an extra asset as opposed to making a one-for-one trade.

Here are a few more Cavs-related notes from the podcast:

“I’ve been told that the Cavs are not going to trade Isaac unless they get a significant piece back in return,” Fedor stated, referring to Okoro. Fedor initially said he’s not quite sure what sort of player would fit that profile, but agreed with Fischer when he suggested Raptors forward OG Anunoby. It’s difficult to imagine the Cavaliers having enough ammo to land Anunoby even if they were willing to include Okoro, since they can’t currently trade any of their future first-round picks.
The Cavaliers are about $2.5MM below the luxury tax threshold and are unwilling to go into the tax this season, per Fedor. That will be a factor to watch as Cleveland consider possible deals.
Neither Fischer nor Fedor gets the sense that Suns forward Jae Crowder is a target for the Cavaliers, and Fedor said he also heard that the club is “not all that interested” in Magic wing Terrence Ross.
The Cavs won’t make a trade just to make one, Fedor said, adding that some people within the organization want to see what it looks like if Wade gets an extended shot at the starting small forward job. Wade made nine starts earlier in the season, but has been out since December 2 due to a shoulder injury.

Stein’s Latest: Bogdanovic, Gordon, Oubre, Turner, Clarkson

January 7th, 2023 at 11:50am CST by Luke Adams

Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic may not be the biggest-name player to change teams prior to the February 9 trade deadline, but he seems to be the one who is the most in demand at this point, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack story.

According to Stein, the list of clubs with interest in Bogdanovic has reached double digits, even though the Pistons have been telling teams for weeks that they’d prefer not to trade their top scorer.

Although they’ve expressed reluctance to move Bogdanovic, the Pistons have also been conveying that if they do have a change of heart, the asking price would be at least an unprotected first-round pick, says Stein. A previous report suggested Detroit would seek a first-round pick plus at least one more asset. Bogdanovic’s potential suitors are hoping that the Pistons’ apparent hesitation to move the 33-year-old is a negotiating ploy and that the price will drop as the deadline nears, per Stein.

Here’s more from Stein’s latest rumor round-up:

Two teams have told Stein recently that the Rockets‘ asking price for Eric Gordon is similar to what the Pistons have sought for Bogdanovic. While Houston may be trying to get an unprotected first-round pick for Gordon, the club probably knows it won’t get that sort of return, according to Stein, who views it as an example of just how high prices are in general with over a month to go until the deadline and few sellers on the market.
The Cavaliers, Suns, and Raptors were among the teams thought to have some trade interest in Hornets wing Kelly Oubre before he underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left hand, Stein writes.
According to Stein, Pacers big man Myles Turner and Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson have so far rebuffed extension offers from their respective teams. Stein doesn’t expect Utah to trade Clarkson even if no extension is in place by February 9, but is less sure about Indiana’s plans with Turner.

Eastern Rumors: Bucks, Bogdanovic, Raptors, Wizards, Hampton

January 6th, 2023 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Bucks are tied for the NBA’s second-best record, they’re in the bottom five in offensive rating, having relied on one of the league’s best defenses during their strong first half. As they look to upgrade their offense, they’re expected to be in the market for help on the wing at the trade deadline, according to Matt Moore of ActionNetwork.com.

The Bucks, Suns, and Rockets reportedly discussed a three-team trade involving Jae Crowder, but it didn’t get done because Houston wanted more draft compensation than Milwaukee and Phoenix were willing to offer. Some league sources who spoke to Moore suggested they wouldn’t be surprised to see the three teams return to that framework and eventually get something done.

Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic is another player who is on the Bucks’ radar, per Moore, and he’d certainly provide the club’s offense with a boost. However, Detroit doesn’t appear eager to move Bogdanovic, Moore adds. Jake Fischer reported earlier this week that the Pistons are believed to be seeking a first-round pick, plus additional draft assets or a young player with upside.

Here are a few more rumors from around the Eastern Conference:

Sources who have spoken to Moore have indicated that the Raptors are willing to discuss a variety of players but have been seeking a substantial return for their potential trade candidates. Moore says the words “insane,” “astronomical,” and “far-fetched” have been used by his sources to describe Toronto’s asking prices. He adds that the price for OG Anunoby is believed to be higher than it was in the offseason, when the Raptors were reportedly seeking a top-10 pick.
Although there has been some trade speculation this season centered on Wizards guard Bradley Beal and especially forward Kyle Kuzma, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype has heard that the front office would like to build around Beal, Kuzma, and Kristaps Porzingis long-term and would ideally find a fourth core player to complement that trio.
As he did last month, Magic wing R.J. Hampton requested and was granted an assignment to the G League in order to get more playing time, reports Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel. Hampton played a couple games with the Lakeland Magic last month before returning to Orlando, but has been a DNP-CD in four of eight contests since then and logged more than five minutes just once.