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Darrun Hilliard

And-Ones: Hardaway Jr., Pistons, Williams

December 7th, 2015 at 10:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tim Hardaway Jr. took a positive approach to his two-game stint with the D-League’s Canton Charge, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The Hawks shooting guard was back at practice on Monday after averaging 17 points with the Charge. “There is no negativity,” he told Vivlamore. “I knew what the objective was – to go down there and get some reps and help the Canton team out.” The Hawks traded their first-round pick to obtain Hardaway from the Knicks in a draft-day deal but he has appeared in only four games, averaging 2.5 points in 11.1 minutes.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

  • Darrun Hilliard will get sent to the Pistons’ D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids a couple more times in the coming weeks, coach Stan Van Gundy told the assembled media, including Hoops Rumors, on Sunday night. The rookie shooting guard out of Villanova, Detroit’s second-round pick in June, scored 31 points for the Drive in his first D-League appearance on Saturday and was immediately recalled. “He can put the ball on the floor and make plays and we don’t have a lot of that on the perimeter with our wings,” Van Gundy said. “We like what he brings to the table. He’s doing everything he can to impress us and get his chance.”
  • The Pistons acquired their starting small forwards, Ersan Ilyasova and Marcus Morris, for essentially two expiring contracts and a second-round pick during the offseason. Van Gundy, who made those deals as the team’s president of basketball operations, has been thrilled with the results. “We didn’t give up a whole lot to get either one of them and they’ve both got great contracts,” he told Hoops Rumors and other members of the media last week. “That’s probably two of the best things that have happened to us since we’ve been here.”
  • Point guard Lou Williams told his ex-Raptors teammate DeMar DeRozan that he’s disappointed things didn’t work out for him in Toronto, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. Williams, who signed a three-year, $21MM contract with the Lakers after the Raptors let him walk, felt like he ‘found a home’ with Toronto, Lewenberg adds.
  • The Raptors recalled small forward Bruno Caboclo and rookie combo guard Delon Wright from their D-League affiliate, Raptors 905, the team’s media relations department tweets. Both were on the active roster for Monday’s game against the Lakers.
  • The Thunder assigned Mitch McGary to their D-League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, according to the team’s website. The second-year power forward has played three games with the Blue and six with the Thunder this season.
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D-League Moves: Hardaway Jr., Spurs, Ennis

December 6th, 2015 at 3:02pm CST by Will Joseph

The Hawks recalled Tim Hardaway Jr., Edy Tavares and Lamar Patterson from the D-League, as Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported they would. The moves were announced in an emailed press release. The Hawks do not have their own affiliate. Pursuant to the flexible assignment rule, Hardaway Jr. and Tavares played games with the Canton Charge (the Cavs‘ affiliate) Friday and Saturday and Patterson played with the Austin Spurs Saturday. It will be particularly interesting to see how Hardaway, who was acquired in an offseason deal with the Knicks, fares in a return to the Hawks. He has appeared in only four games for Atlanta, averaging 2.5 points. In two games with the Charge, as Vivlamore writes, Hardaway averaged 17 points in 32.7 minutes.

Here are some more D-League moves today:

  • The Rockets assigned rookie power forward Montrezl Harrell to their D-League affiliate. Harrell was the 32nd overall pick in the draft.  He has appeared in 15 games with one start for the Rockets this season.

  • The Spurs recalled Boban Marjanovic from their D-League affiliate. The center averaged 25 points and 11 rebounds per game (two games) with the Austin Spurs. On Saturday, the Spurs recalled Ray McCallum, according to the RealGM transactions log.

  • The Grizzlies recalled James Ennis from their D-League affiliate, the team announced in an emailed press release. It was the second-year player’s first D-League stint.
  • The Pistons announced they recalled Spencer Dinwiddie and Darrun Hilliard from their D-League affiliate.
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And-Ones: Brown, D-League, Simmons

December 5th, 2015 at 4:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The burden of the Sixers‘ long rebuilding process is weighing on coach Brett Brown, who believed the franchise would be further along than it currently is, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com writes. “I do feel the enormity of it from time to time,” Brown told Lowe. “I wouldn’t be telling you the truth if I said that I had thought in year three, this was the group I’d be coaching. I didn’t realize the roster would play out like it has — that last year would be almost a redshirt year, with Joel Embiid and Dario Saric.”

Philadelphia’s plan of bottoming out and rebuilding through the draft has rankled more than a few executives around the NBA, though no further discussions regarding reforming the draft lottery process are expected to take place until the next session of collective bargaining between the league and the NBPA occurs, which will not happen until 2016 or 2017, Lowe notes in the same piece.

Here’s what else is happening around the league:

  • The Pistons have assigned Spencer Dinwiddie and Darrun Hilliard to their D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids, the team announced. The moves were first reported by David Mayo of MLive.com (via Twitter).
  • LSU forward Ben Simmons tops the latest 2016 NBA draft rankings from Jonathan Givony of Draft Express. Simmons overtook Kentucky center Skal Labissiere, who is now third on Givony’s draft board, with Duke swingman Brandon Ingram now slotted second.
  • Former Warriors center Andris Biedrins, who last played in the NBA with Utah during the 2013/14 season, said he wasn’t sure if his playing career was officially over during an interview with Leta.lv (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).  “I am staying in shape, nothing crazy, but I work out three-four times per week,” Biedrins said. “It’s tough to say if I have put basketball aside. At the moment I don’t have the wish to play. Maybe after half year or a year I will want to play, but not now.” Biedrins also noted he was a big fan of Knicks rookie, and fellow Latvian, Kristaps Porzingis. “Kristaps Porzingis? How you cannot follow him? I am very happy for Porzingis, he has been fantastic. I know how difficult it is. I hope he keeps up like that,” Biedrins added.
  • The Thunder have assigned point guard Cameron Payne to their D-League affiliate, the team announced via press release.
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Pistons Notes: Jennings, Van Gundy, Jackson

November 27th, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Point guard Brandon Jennings cannot go full speed yet and remains weeks away from returning, coach Stan Van Gundy told the gathered media this week, including Hoops Rumors. Jennings, who is still recovering from a torn Achilles tendon suffered in January, has been participating in practices but is still targeted to return sometime next month. “He doesn’t have his quickness back,” Van Gundy said. “He’s a ways away but he’s getting there. He can do pretty much everything. It’s just getting back into being able to play at that tempo. There’s definitely been progress but he’s still a ways away.” When he returns, Jennings will likely move ahead of Steve Blake and Spencer Dinwiddie on the second unit.

In other news around the team:

  • Van Gundy believes opponents should be able to use the Hack-A-Dre strategy at any point in the game or not at all, he declared during the same press conference. Opponents will sometimes resort to intentionally fouling center Andre Drummond, a career 40% free throw shooter, off the ball. The strategy is only useful until two minutes remaining in a quarter, when off-the-ball infractions result in a free throw plus possession. “I don’t like rules that apply to just the last two minutes of a game,” Van Gundy said. “To me, let’s play with the same rules for 48 minutes. If we can grab guys in the first 46 minutes, let us grab guys in the last two or don’t do it at all. And I don’t like the replay rule in the last two minutes. It’s like the other calls don’t matter. A call at 2:05 affects a game as much as 1:55 but we’re not going review that one.”
  • Van Gundy has gone to a nine-man rotation, expanding the role of first-rounder Stanley Johnson. With backup shooting guard Jodie Meeks sidelined since the first week of the season with a broken right foot, Reggie Bullock got the first crack at the role. But Bullock made just one basket in 10 games and Van Gundy is reluctant to give rookie second-rounder Darrun Hilliard a rotation spot. Thus, Johnson is now the primary backup at both small forward and shooting guard. Neither Bullock nor Hilliard played against the Thunder on Friday night.
  • The Pistons made the quickest improvement of the three teams involved in the blockbuster that netted point guard Reggie Jackson, David Mayo of MLive.com opines. The Thunder and Jazz also achieved their objectives in the trade deadline deal but the Pistons got the point guard they coveted without giving up a major piece, Mayo continues. They traded two players who are now reserves for the Thunder, point guard D.J. Augustin and small forward Kyle Singler, and two future second-round picks. Jackson signed a five-year, $80MM contract this summer as a restricted free agent.
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Pistons Rumors: Bullock, Hilliard, Bachynski, Baynes

October 17th, 2015 at 1:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Reggie Bullock, acquired in a July trade with Phoenix, has been “the pleasant surprise of preseason,” writes David Mayo of MLive. In his “Ask David” column, Mayo acknowledges that Bullock is still battling with Adonis Thomas for a roster spot, but says the 6’7″ forward has helped himself with a productive preseason. Bullock is averaging 12.3 points and 20.6 minutes of playing time in three preseason games. Mayo notes that Bullock is finally getting an opportunity, which didn’t happen after the Suns picked him up in a trade with the Clippers midway through last season. He played just 75 minutes in 11 games with Phoenix after the deal and made several trips to the D-League.

There’s more from the Motor City:

  • Recent comments from Van Gundy indicate that rookie Darrun Hilliard has a secure spot on the team, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. The 6’6″ swingman from Villanova signed a three-year deal — with the first season fully guaranteed and a $500K guarantee for the second season — after being selected 38th in June’s draft. “We have a good feel for Darrun, maybe more so than the other guys,” Van Gundy said. “I don’t really feel the need to get him 18 or 20 minutes in a game. We pretty much know what we have there as a staff and even as a front office.”
  • Jordan Bachynski is trying not to be intimidated by the long odds he faces in making the Pistons’ roster, writes Aaron McMann of MLive. The 7’2″ center was signed to a non-guaranteed contract two weeks before training camp opened. He went undrafted in 2014, spending part of last season with the Knicks’ D-League affiliate and another part in the Turkish Basketball League. ” I’m not thinking, ‘Oh, I’m going to get cut,'” Bachynski said. “Because if you start thinking like that, you’re not going to continue to work hard. I’m going to be in here every day, showing them that I want to be here. I’m not going to be one of the guys who dogs it, who sits on the sideline, who doesn’t show up every day.”
  • Free agent addition Aron Baynes surprised the Pistons’ coaching staff with his play in his preseason debut, according to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. It was the first action since offseason ankle surgery for Baynes, who signed a three-year, $20MM deal in July.
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Central Notes: Williams, Irving, Hilliard, Vaughn

August 28th, 2015 at 2:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavaliers mostly stood pat this summer, but they spent the majority of their taxpayer’s mid-level exception on Mo Williams, and with Kyrie Irving‘s broken kneecap a threat to keep him out as late as January, that move looks wise, writes Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders in his NBA AM piece. The Cavs, with Williams in place, aren’t rushing Irving back, and that’s wise, considering a growing history of injuries for the former No. 1 overall pick, Greene adds. See more from around the Central Division:

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Eastern Notes: Afflalo, Hilliard, Bucks

August 5th, 2015 at 5:51pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Arron Afflalo, who inked a two-year deal worth $16MM with the Knicks this offseason, told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link) that Carmelo Anthony played a big part in his decision to come to New York. The guard indicated that he spoke with Anthony prior to and during the free agent signing period, and Afflalo believes that Melo was instrumental in his signing with the team, tweets Al Iannazzone of Newsday, and Afflalo also noted that the Knicks received a glowing recommendation regarding himself from Anthony, who was a former teammate of Afflalo’s in Denver, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News adds (on Twitter).

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

  • Afflalo also indicated that he and Anthony are extremely optimistic about the Knicks‘ chances at making the playoffs this coming season, Begley adds (Twitter links).
  • Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker plans to sign a bill next week that will provide $250MM in taxpayer money to pay for a new arena for the Bucks, the Associated Press reports. The public funding plan for the proposed arena had previously been approved by the Wisconsin State Assembly by a 52-34 vote.
  • Darrun Hilliard, who the Pistons drafted with the No. 38 overall pick and officially signed to a three-year deal, will have the first year of his contract with Detroit fully guaranteed, and he received a $500k partial guarantee for the second year, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (via Twitter).
  • Adonis Thomas received a partial guarantee of $60k for the 2015/16 campaign from the Pistons, Pincus tweets. The forward inked a training camp deal with the team in July.
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Central Notes: Cavs, Jackson, Hilliard

July 25th, 2015 at 10:49am CST by Will Joseph

The Cavs would benefit from bringing back unrestricted free agent J.R. Smith and the guard would benefit from a return to Cleveland after testing his luck in free agency, Bud Shaw of the Northeast Ohio Media Group opines. Smith, who is expected to meet with the Cavs soon, left $6.4MM on the table when he declined his player’s option with Cleveland in June. The reunion would make sense from a basketball standpoint, Shaw writes, because the Cavs would not need Smith to carry the load of a top scoring option and Smith is at his best off the bench and playing loose.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

  • Reggie Jackson‘s five-year, $80MM deal with the Pistons does not carry any options and will pay the guard $13.9MM in the first year and $18.1MM in the final year, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). It was recently reported that despite widespread criticism, Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy still likes the contract.
  • Darrun Hilliard, who the Pistons drafted at No. 38 and later officially signed to a three-year deal, received $600K guaranteed in the first year of his contract with Detroit with the second and third years of his deal at the minimum salary, Pincus tweets.
  • The final year of the two-year deal E’Twaun Moore signed in September with the Bulls became fully guaranteed on July 15th, Pincus tweets. The combo guard will be paid slightly more than $1MM this upcoming season. Moore’s production fell last season as he made 56 appearences and averaged only 2.7 points per game.
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Pistons Sign Darrun Hilliard

July 20th, 2015 at 10:45am CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 10:45am: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

THURSDAY, 1:37pm: The Pistons and No. 38 pick Darrun Hilliard have reached agreement on a three-year deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Wojnarowski indicates that the 6’6″ swingman from Villanova has already put pen to paper, though the team hasn’t made any formal announcement, and Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press hears the deal will be formalized Monday (Twitter link). The first year of his contract will be fully guaranteed, the second year will carry a partial guarantee, and the third year will be a team option, Ellis adds (on Twitter).

Detroit will dedicate cap space to him rather than use an exception, since the length of the arrangement is greater than two years, though a three-year deal gives the Pistons greater flexibility going forward, as I examined in the past. The 22-year-old was a surprise selection, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress had him ranked only 62nd among the best prospects in this year’s draft, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com had him even lower, at No. 77.

Ford pointed to his lack of top-flight athleticism or standout skill in any one particular area as weaknesses, adding that he’s nonetheless strong on both sides of the floor. Hilliard averaged 14.3 points in 28.8 minutes per game with 38.7% three-point shooting this past season as a senior.

It’s unclear exactly how much he’s getting in the deal, but it’s likely for around the minimum salary, perhaps with a few extra thousand dollars tacked on in year one, since such deals are standard for second-rounders, and the Pistons are running out of cap room. Detroit’s other 2015 draft pick, No. 8 overall selection Stanley Johnson, is on track to sign next week, agent Nima Namakian tells Ellis (Twitter link).

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Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Celtics, Alexander

June 23rd, 2015 at 8:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBPA is looking into the Sixers for any possible breach of the league’s collective bargaining agreement, sources told Shams Charania of RealGM. During a meeting on Monday, the union informed agents that it will actively investigate Philadelphia’s salary distributions, use of the cap floor, and contract format loopholes, Charania notes. For the NBPA, the Sixers’ approach over the past several seasons may not be a technical violation of collective bargaining as much as it is one of the spirit of negotiating under the CBA, adds the RealGM scribe.

Over the past two seasons, Philly has compiled a 37-127 record, staying below the 90% salary floor for majority of the campaigns before making late season signings or trades to comply with the CBA rules, Charania writes. The Sixers frequently offering players four-year, non-guaranteed contracts has rubbed agents and the NBPA the wrong way, Jake Fischer of LibertyBallers tweets.

Here’s the latest out of the Atlantic Division:

  • The Celtics are confident they can find value with picks No. 16 and No. 28 in the draft, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald writes. “There are a lot of good players that are drafted later than the top few in the draft every year,” Boston president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said. “You have to have some good fortune. You have to do a good job scouting. But most importantly you have to develop players, and you have to continually do that.”
  • Raptors GM Masai Ujiri indicated that the team would consider purchasing a second-rounder in this year’s NBA Draft, Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun tweets. “[You] can never have enough young talent,” Ujiri said.
  • The Knicks are also looking to buy a second-rounder in the draft, according to team president Phil Jackson, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com notes (on Twitter).
  • Jackson says point guard and small forward are two positions that the Knicks have “kind of covered,” but he wouldn’t rule out selecting one during Thursday’s draft, Al Iannazzone of Newdsay relays. “We’re taking a really good player, we know that,” said the Zen Master. “We don’t know who’s going to fall in our direction and yet we have needs on this team. The positions we’re kind of covered is lead guard and small forward. But that doesn’t matter. We can still take the best player that comes along at that position at No. 4 if we have an extraordinary pick.“
  • Villanova swingman Darrun Hilliard worked out for the Sixers a second time on Monday, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays (Twitter link).
  • Kansas big man Cliff Alexander cancelled his workout with the Nets on Monday due to an injury, but he did meet with team executives, Josh Newman of SNY.tv tweets.
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