Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kemba Walker Likely To Be Away From Pistons To Start Camp

September 25th, 2022 at 5:30pm CST by JD Shaw

Veteran point guard Kemba Walker will likely be away from the Pistons as they open training camp this week, sources told Shams Charania and James Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’s unclear whether Walker is expected to miss the entire camp or only a portion of it.

As Charania and Edwards note, Detroit must waive or trade a player by Oct. 17 to be at the league limit for standard roster spots entering the regular season. That player doesn’t have to be Walker, of course, but at this stage in his career, it would make sense for him to join a contending team if possible.

On the flip side, it makes sense for Detroit to move on from Walker. The team could benefit from his veteran leadership in the off chance he’s interested in staying, but the 32-year-old was acquired in a salary-dump deal and isn’t part of the Pistons’ long-term plans. He’s set to make $9.17MM this season and become a free agent next summer.

A report at the start of free agency indicated that the Pistons and Walker were close to reaching a buyout agreement, but that deal was never formally completed. Subsequent reporting suggested Walker was likely unwilling to give up any money in a buyout until he had lined up a new NBA home.

Walker averaged 11.6 points and 3.5 assists in 25.6 minutes with the Knicks last season, starting in all 37 of his games. He hasn’t played off the bench since four outings during the 2014/15 campaign. While he has been an offensive force throughout his career, Walker’s defense was notably porous with New York. The four-time All-Star must prove he can survive on both ends before earning a significant role with a team again.

Pistons Notes: Coaching Staff, Front Office, Jazz Trade

September 23rd, 2022 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

As had been previously rumored, the Pistons are adding a pair of former NBA players to their coaching staff, announcing today that Keith Bogans and Rashard Lewis are coming aboard as player development assistants, writes Mike Curtis of The Detroit News.

The Pistons have also hired former Celtics assistant Brandon Bailey as a player development assistant and Brittni Donaldson – formerly of the Raptors – as an assistant coach and director of coaching analytics. The team announced a series of other promotions, including George David to associate general manager and Rob Murphy, Josh Bartelstein, and Tony Leotti to assistant GM.

As we previously relayed, the Pistons sent the Jazz some cash as part of the Bojan Bogdanovic trade. The exact amount, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), was $1,752,638, which is equal to the amount that Saben Lee is earning in 2022/23. That means, from a financial perspective, Utah essentially swapped Bogdanovic ($19.55MM) for Kelly Olynyk ($12.8MM this season, plus a $3MM partial guarantee in 2023/24) and will get a free look at Lee.

Jazz Notes: Bogdanovic, Trade Reaction, Clarkson

September 22nd, 2022 at 1:34pm CST by Rory Maher

After the Jazz reached an agreement to send Bojan Bogdanovic to the Pistons for Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee in a cost-cutting move, Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune reports (via Twitter) that Utah had late first-round pick offers for the veteran sharpshooter, but the proposals also included longer-term salaries, so the team chose to maintain financial flexibility instead.

Once the trade is complete, the Jazz will have traded away Rudy Gobert, Royce O’Neale, Patrick Beverley (acquired as part of the Gobert deal), Donovan Mitchell and Bogdanovic this offseason, with more veterans likely to follow in the coming months as the team pivots towards a full rebuild.

Here’s more on the Jazz:

In his video reaction to the trade, ESPN’s Bobby Marks says he likes the deal for Detroit, noting that Bogdanovic has both more on-court and trade value than Olynyk and Lee, and the 60-day trade aggregation rule doesn’t apply to Bogdanovic because the Pistons used their cap room to acquire him — they theoretically could flip him again immediately, even though there’s no indication that’s imminent. Marks says there shouldn’t be a rush to judge Utah too harshly for seemingly not getting great value for Bogdanovic because creating more breathing room below the luxury tax line might enable the Jazz to take on added salary in other trades as they look to clear a roster logjam, and they could always trade Olynyk closer to the deadline.
Sarah Todd of The Desert News analyzes the trade, writing that Bogdanovic was “too good to keep on the roster” for a team trying to lose games. According to Todd, Bogdanovic’s age (33) and expiring deal made rival teams reluctant to part with significant assets for the veteran forward, despite his impressive production. She also points out that trading him to Detroit, a team that’s been towards the bottom in the standings the past few years, also could have been a motivating factor, since it might ensure the Pistons win more games than the Jazz, increasing Utah’s lottery odds.
In an interview with Mike DeStefano of Complex, guard Jordan Clarkson says he’s “ready for whatever happens” as a veteran player whose name has popped up in trade rumors. “If I’m in a different jersey in a week or tomorrow I get a phone call and I have to put on whatever jersey it is, I’m just trying to win and take whatever team it is to the next level to hopefully win a championship one day,” Clarkson said as part of a larger quote.

Trio Of Lottery Picks Have Much To Prove

September 19th, 2022 at 9:07pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Breakout seasons from Marvin Bagley III, Kevin Knox and Killian Hayes would go a long way toward a much improved season for the Pistons, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. All three lottery picks have yet to fulfill their promise but could become part of the team’s core group if they establish a firm foothold in the NBA this season.

Bagley was re-signed on a three-year, $37MM deal this summer, while Knox received a two-year, $6MM contract after passing through two organizations. Hayes is entering his third year with the Pistons and projects as the second-unit floor leader.

The Athletic’s Zach Harper gives the Pistons a B-plus grade for their offseason maneuvers. Adding point guard Jaden Ivey with their lottery pick, then trading for another to snare center Jalen Duren were the highlights of their offseason moves, with only the Knox addition ranking as a head-scratcher, according to Harper.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Cunningham's 3-Point Shooting Will Be Crucial

September 13th, 2022 at 9:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The biggest question regarding Pistons guard Cade Cunningham this season is whether he can develop a consistent 3-point shot, James Edwards III of The Athletic opines. Edwards also considers what second-year forward Isaiah Livers and lottery picks Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren must prove in order for Detroit to be a surprise team this season.
In case you missed it, the Pistons officially signed Micah Potter to an Exhibit 10 contract.

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.