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Central Notes: Garland, Osman, Burks, Turner

October 25th, 2022 at 10:19pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

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.

Pistons Notes: Gores, Cunningham, Noel, Bagley, Livers

October 18th, 2022 at 10:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

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.

Central Notes: Pistons, Haliburton, Dosunmu, Lopez

October 12th, 2022 at 10:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Marvin Bagley III‘s knee injury is the latest mishap for a Pistons team that will start the season with a diminished frontcourt, writes Mike Curtis of The Detroit News.

Nerlens Noel, who was acquired from the Knicks in an offseason trade, is reconditioning after plantar fasciitis and hasn’t played during the preseason. Rookie center Jalen Duren hurt his shoulder last week, but was able to return Tuesday. Newly acquired Bojan Bogdanovic sat out Tuesday’s game with a strained calf, and Alec Burks, Kevin Knox and Hamidou Diallo are all dealing with injuries as well.

“It’s part of the NBA,” coach Dwane Casey said. “That’s one reason (general manager Troy Weaver) has done a good job of bringing multiple guys in. Unfortunately, the multiple guys are (sitting out, injured) behind the bench. I think it’s a freak thing. I do know that some of the guys that were behind the bench — Kevin, (Diallo) — if it was a regular season game, they’d be able to go. That’s refreshing to know that.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

The Pacers seem headed for a rebuilding year, but that’s not how the players are approaching the new season, according to Michael Marot of The Associated Press. Trade deadline deals for Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Smith have added some youthful enthusiasm to the team. “I think we’ve just got a lot of guys who love basketball, who love to compete and that’s a great place to start,” Haliburton said. “There are so many young guys and they have a lot to prove not only to the media or the naysayers but to themselves.”
Ayo Dosunmu will take over as the Bulls‘ starting point guard while Lonzo Ball is sidelined, per Annie Costabile of The Chicago Sun-Times. Coach Billy Donovan confirmed that Dosunmu won the role with his performance since camp opened. “Ayo right now is going to be the guy back there for us,” Donovan said. “He’s done a really good job this training camp and preseason.”
The Bucks are counting on better health from Brook Lopez to improve their defense, notes Jamal Collier of ESPN. The veteran center was limited to 13 games last season because of back issues, but he came to camp noticeably leaner and motivated to prove he deserves a contract extension. “He’s in the best physical condition I’ve seen,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “He seems hungry. … I feel like he’s moving well at both ends of the court. His aggressiveness is in a good place.”

Pistons Finalize Camp Roster, Announce Injury Updates

September 26th, 2022 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons officially announced their training camp roster on Monday, and it includes two new names. According to the team, guards Jules Bernard and Stanley Umude have signed Exhibit 10 contracts, filling out the 20-man roster.

Bernard, a 6’7″ swingman, went undrafted out of UCLA earlier this year. As a senior in 2021/22, he averaged 12.8 PPG and 4.7 RPG with a shooting line of .419/.337/.818 in 35 games (30.1 MPG). He subsequently played for the Pistons’ Summer League team in Las Vegas.

Umude, whose agreement with the Pistons was previously reported, spent his first four college seasons at South Dakota from 2017-21, averaging 21.6 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 3.0 APG as a senior in 2020/21. He transferred to Arkansas for his “super-senior” season last year and played more of a complementary role for the Razorbacks, putting up 11.9 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.1 APG on .460/.371/.724 shooting in 37 games (27.8 MPG).

Like Bernard, Umude went undrafted and then played for the Pistons’ Summer League team in July. Both players will likely end up playing for the Motor City Cruise, Detroit’s G League affiliate.

Here are a few more updates from the Pistons today:

While Kemba Walker is listed on Detroit’s training camp roster, he’s marked as “not with team,” which had been expected. Bojan Bogdanovic is the lone Piston missing from the team’s camp roster — while NBA.com’s transaction log indicates the trade sending him to Detroit was completed last Thursday, he may still need to conduct a physical with his new team before it’s officially official.
In a separate press release, the Pistons announced that guard Alec Burks will miss the start of training camp as he continues his rehab following a navicular fracture. Burks will be reevaluated in three weeks, according to the team.
Kevin Knox (right gastroc strain) and Nerlens Noel (reconditioning / plantar fasciitis) will be limited participants to open training camp, the Pistons announced.

Central Notes: Pistons, Turner, Bitadze

August 15th, 2022 at 9:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There are many ways Pistons coach Dwane Casey could go with his rotation next season, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. In Langlois’ view, Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Jaden Ivey are the only rotation locks, with Kelly Olynyk, Marvin Bagley III, Killian Hayes and Alec Burks “good bets” to join them. Beyond that, Casey has numerous choices between youth and experience.

We have more from the Central Division:

Pistons fans are brimming with optimism, though they’re realistic about next season’s prospects, The Athletic’s James Edwards III revealed in a fan poll. With nearly 2,000 subscribers weighing in, 98 percent professed confidence in the team’s direction and 64 percent said they were very confident in the front office. However, 72.5 percent voted that the team would only win between 26-35 games next season. Second-year forward Isaiah Livers received the most votes for “breakout” player.
Myles Turner‘s season could play out similar to the way Victor Oladipo departed from the Pacers organization in 2020, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files opines. Turner could get off to a good start and pump up his trade value. In the same mailbag piece, Agness speculates that Goga Bitadze won’t have a long-term role in the organization due to the team’s current playing style, along with the presence of Isaiah Jackson and Jalen Smith.
Earlier on Monday, Giannis Antetokounmpo stated he wouldn’t mind playing for the Bulls later in his career. Get the details here.

Eastern Notes: Bridges, Oladipo, Pistons, Harden

July 22nd, 2022 at 8:40am CST by Luke Adams

Hornets forward Miles Bridges entered a plea of not guilty to three felony domestic violence charges during his arraignment in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.

Bridges’ next court appointment is on August 19, according to Holmes, who says a date for a preliminary hearing is set to be scheduled at that time. The L.A. District Attorney’s office has indicated that Bridges could face a maximum sentence of 11 years and eight months in prison if he’s convicted of the three domestic abuse charges he faces, tweets Steve Reed of The Associated Press.

The NBA will wait for the legal process to play out before determining whether to levy any penalties of its own against Bridges. As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, the league wouldn’t have the ability to suspend Bridges if he’s found not guilty. However, a suspension is possible if he’s found guilty, he reaches a plea deal, or the charges are dropped.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

The Heat haven’t made any major outside additions to their roster this offseason, but if Victor Oladipo rounds back into form, that could represent a significant upgrade for the team in lieu of a trade acquisition or free agent signing, says Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Oladipo has played just 12 games for Miami since arriving at the 2021 deadline, but should be healthier in 2022/23 than he has been at any point since originally injuring his quad tendon in early 2020.
Keith Langlois of Pistons.com takes a look at the Pistons‘ projected starting five, suggesting that Cade Cunningham and Saddiq Bey are locks to be part of that group and will likely be joined by Isaiah Stewart and Jaden Ivey. Several players could be in the mix for the fifth starting spot, according to Langlois, who views Isaiah Livers as the slight favorite over Marvin Bagley III, Alec Burks, and others.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explores the new agreement between James Harden and the Sixers, wondering if the two sides have a wink-wink agreement to complete a lucrative long-term deal next summer or if Philadelphia is hedging its bets by not making a long-term commitment to Harden at this point.

Knicks Trade Nerlens Noel, Alec Burks To Pistons

July 11th, 2022 at 10:04am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 11: The Knicks and Pistons have officially completed their trade, the teams announced today in a pair of press releases.

As expected, the Pistons acquired Noel, Burks, cash, and the team’s own 2023 second-round pick. The second pick Detroit received will be either Minnesota’s or New York’s 2026 second-rounder, rather than the heavily protected Miami 2024 second-rounder described below.

The Knicks, meanwhile, received the draft rights to 2015 second-rounder Nikola Radicevic and a protected 2025 second-round pick. That pick will have top-55 protection, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.

JUNE 28: The Knicks are trading center Nerlens Noel and guard Alec Burks to the Pistons, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

The Knicks will unload more than $19MM in 2022/23 salary in the deal, providing ample cap space to sign free agent guard Jalen Brunson. Noel has a $9.24MM salary next season, while Burks is due approximately $10MM.

Both players are signed through the 2023/24 season, but there are team options in the final year of their respective contracts — Noel at $9.68MM and Burks at approximately $10.5MM. Thus, those salaries could come off the Pistons’ cap next summer.

New York will send Detroit back its 2023 second-round pick, plus the Heat’s 2024 second-round pick (top-55 protected) and $6MM in cash as sweeteners to take those contracts off its books, Wojnarowski reports in a separate tweet.

The Pistons can absorb those salaries without sending out any contracts, since they were projected to have more cap space than any other team. The Knicks, meanwhile, should have now the cap room necessary to sign Jalen Brunson in free agency.

The Knicks and Pistons were also involved in a three-way draft-night agreement that included the Hornets. In that trade, Detroit took Kemba Walker‘s contract off New York’s books and acquired the draft rights to Jalen Duren.

The Pistons plan on keeping Burks and Noel, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Burks, a 38% career 3-point shooter, will give the Pistons a perimeter threat on the wing who can help mentor the young backcourt of Cade Cunningham and rookie Jaden Ivey. Noel provides depth in the middle behind Isaiah Stewart and Duren.

Despite the addition of Noel, the Pistons are still committed to bringing back restricted free agent Marvin Bagley III, Omari Sankofa of the Detroit Free Press tweets.

New York Notes: Nets Assistants, Grimes, Hartenstein, Brunson

July 6th, 2022 at 3:27pm CST by Rory Maher

The Nets have added Igor Kokoškov, Adam Caporn and Trevor Hendry as assistant coaches on Steve Nash‘s staff, per a team press release.

Kokoškov has extensive NBA experience, having served as an assistant coach for 20 years with the Clippers, Pistons, Suns, Cavs, Magic, Jazz, Kings, and most recently with the Mavericks last season. He was the head coach of the Suns for one season, in 2018/19.

In addition to his NBA coaching jobs, Kokoškov has also led the Georgian, Slovenian and Serbian national teams. He was the head coach of Turkish club Fenerbahçe in ’20/21. Marc Stein reported last month that Kokoškov was expected to join Brooklyn.

Caporn was the head coach of Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, last season. A native of Australia, Caporn played college ball at Saint Mary’s before joining the NBL for six seasons as a pro. He has extensive experience in player development and is currently an assistant with the Australian national team, helping the Boomers win a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.

Hendry has been the Nets’ head video coordinator for the past four seasons. He’s been with the organization since 2014, serving in a variety of roles in the basketball operations department prior to becoming video coordinator.

Here’s more from New York:

Knicks guard Quentin Grimes has a simple goal for Las Vegas Summer League, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. “Really come out here and dominate,” Grimes said after the team’s first practice at Cox Pavillion. “I feel like I played well last year. Just coming in this year being a second-year guy, I know what to expect, I know how the games are. Just go out there and try to dominate every time offensively and defensively.” The 25th pick of the 2021 draft, Grimes averaged 6 PPG and 2 RPG while shooting 38.1% from three-point range and playing solid defense in 46 games (17.1 MPG) as a rookie last season. Grimes dealt with a dislocated knee cap towards the end of last season, but he says he’s fully healthy now, per Braziller.
Fred Katz and Law Murray of The Athletic take a look at what the Knicks can expect from center Isaiah Hartenstein, who agreed to a two-year, $16.7MM deal with New York in free agency. A strong passer and play-maker, Hartenstein could unlock easy baskets for players like Grimes, Immanuel Quickley, Evan Fournier and RJ Barrett, according to Murray, who says Hartenstein was underutilized offensively by the Clippers last season. Although he isn’t the most athletic player, Murray notes that Hartenstein rotates well on defense and uses his length to effectively defend the paint. Hartenstein posted impressive per-36 averages of 1.5 steals and 2.3 blocks per game last season.
Signing Jalen Brunson is a make-or-break move for Leon Rose‘s tenure as president of basketball operations, argues Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Begley details Rose’s 2021 offseason moves, which were considered low-risk at the time, yet the Knicks were forced to package various draft assets to move off the salaries of Kemba Walker, Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks in order to create cap space to sign Brunson. Sources tell Begley that one rival team was willing to trade a second-rounder to acquire Burks, but the Knicks ended up giving away two second-round picks and $6MM to Detroit to move Burks and Noel. Rose’s CAA connections haven’t led to sustained success to this point, per Begley, and signing Brunson needs to work out considering all the assets the Knicks gave up.
Part of the reason Brunson decided to sign with the Knicks is because he thought he’d have a better chance at becoming an All-Star in the East than the West, Marc Stein writes in his latest article for Substack. As Stein relays, Brunson is the first player in league history to receive a nine-figure contract from a new club without making an All-Star team, per ESPN Stats & Info (Twitter link).

Eastern Notes: Clifford, Pistons, Smart, Raptors, Sixers

June 29th, 2022 at 3:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

Although the Hornets fired him as head coach following the 2017/18 season, Steve Clifford still had a good relationship with general manager Mitch Kupchak and owner Michael Jordan, writes Steve Reed of The Associated Press. Those ties resulted in Clifford getting his old job back after Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson pulled out of an agreement to coach the team.

“You want to evolve and get better at what you do,” Clifford said Tuesday at his introductory press conference. “I have coached a lot more games than I had when I was here the first time and worked with another team. You learn a lot from that.”

Clifford was brought in to fix a defense that ranked 22nd in the league this season, and he told reporters that will be an emphasis. Clifford doesn’t plan major changes to the offense, which will continue with a fast-paced philosophy led by LaMelo Ball.

“We are going to play offensively with a very similar emphasis that they have played with the last couple of years,” Clifford said. “Offense starts with playing through the strengths of your best players and Ball is a great talent with a passion for the game and a flair for playing in the open court and we want to take advantage of that.”

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Acquiring Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks from the Knicks will give the Pistons greater flexibility next offseason, observes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Detroit will have team options on both players for 2023/24 and can create $19MM in cap room by letting them go. With Cory Joseph and Hamidou Diallo both on expiring contracts, Kelly Olynyk holding a $3MM partial guarantee and DeAndre Jordan‘s $7.9MM in dead money coming off the books, the Pistons should have north of $45MM in cap space for 2023, Edwards writes.
Celtics guard Marcus Smart barely notices anymore when he’s the subject of trade talks, tweets basketball writer Mark Murphy. “Every year my name is in talks, and I’m still here,” Smart said. “I’m still the longest tenured Celtic. So I take it as a compliment. It means you’re valued pretty high and if your name is talked about people want you. But I don’t pay much attention.”
The Raptors are expected to target centers in free agency with Isaiah Hartenstein and Thomas Bryant being players to watch, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice examines the Sixers‘ options in free agency and looks at how James Harden‘s option decision will impact the team’s cap situation.

New York Rumors: Knicks, Brunson, Burks, Nets, Claxton, Kyrie

June 28th, 2022 at 8:36am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have “legitimate optimism” about their chances of signing free agent point guard Jalen Brunson, Ian Begley of SNY.tv reports, citing people in touch with the organization since the draft.

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report conveyed a similar sentiment during his latest podcast, suggesting that the Knicks may have moved ahead of the Mavericks as the favorites to lock up Brunson long-term this offseason (hat tip to HoopsHype).

As Begley observes, the Knicks still have some work to do if they want to create the cap room necessary to make Brunson a strong offer — trading either Alec Burks or Nerlens Noel may be the most likely path to opening up that space.

Burks underwent foot surgery this spring after the Knicks’ season ended, and while that procedure has reportedly hurt his trade value, Begley says there are still multiple teams with some interest in the veteran guard, including the Celtics.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:

Fred Katz of The Athletic spoke to 16 officials in NBA front offices to get a sense of how much they’d be willing to offer RJ Barrett in extension talks this offseason if they were running the Knicks. According to Katz, the responses ranged from $15-30MM per year, with no one saying they would go up to the max. A four-year, $100MM offer was the most-cited suggestion, Katz adds.
In the latest episode of his Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said that restricted free agent center Nic Claxton appears likely to remain with the Nets (audio link via Jac Manuell of Nets Republic). “The word is amongst executives, I’ve talked to a couple of executives today who believe that Nic Claxton will be back with the Nets, that that’s been worked out,” Windhorst said. “I shouldn’t say it’s been worked out. There’s an understanding.”
In the same podcast, Windhorst wondered whether or not the standoff between the Nets and Kyrie Irving has truly been put to bed after Irving announced he’ll pick up his player option for 2022/23. “I was told that the option pick-up came as a total surprise to the Nets, that they found out when everybody else did,” Windhorst said, per NetsDaily. “… The people that I talk to in the league are skeptical that Kyrie is going to be ‘all for one and one for all’ on this. … The people who are in the business to earn the business are telling me, ‘No, Kyrie actually has leverage here,’ because now he’s making the $36 million, he’s got his money and he can make life hell.”
In an Insider-only story for ESPN.com, Kevin Pelton considers what’s next for the Nets now that Irving has decided to opt in.