Gigi Datome Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics Trade Tayshaun Prince To Pistons

February 19th, 2015 at 7:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

7:49pm: The trade is official, the Pistons have announced in a press release. “Tayshaun Prince is certainly well known to fans in Detroit and we’re pleased to welcome him back,” said Stan Van Gundy, Detroit’s coach and president of basketball operations. “He fills a position of need for us at small forward with his offensive and defensive versatility. We thank both Jonas and Gigi for their hard work and wish them well going forward.”

6:26pm: The Pistons intend to keep Prince, Ellis tweets.

2:23pm: The Pistons are acquiring Tayshaun Prince from the Celtics, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Gigi Datome and Jonas Jerebko head to Boston in return, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (on Twitter).

In 917 career games, Prince has averaged 11.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. His career slash line is .455/.369/.758.

Eastern Notes: Tolliver, Dawkins, Butler

January 20th, 2015 at 2:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

The release of Josh Smith is easily identifiable as the turning point for the Pistons, but the acquisition of Anthony Tolliver, which took place two days later, has benefited the team, too, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic examines. The deal appears to have helped all three sides, with the Suns on a roll just as the Pistons are and Tolliver having seen an uptick in playing time since his arrival in Detroit. Tony Mitchell, the player the Pistons gave up in the deal, has found a new home after the Suns let him go, as we passed along earlier today. There’s more on the Pistons amid the latest from the Eastern Conference:

The Celtics are reportedly meeting with Andre Dawkins this week as they mull signing him to a 10-day contract, but if they do, he’ll spend most if not all of his time with the C’s on D-League assignment, a league source tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (Twitter link).
Retirement is far from the mind of 35-year-old Rasual Butler, who credits his time with the Thunder’s D-League affiliate in 2012/13 for his keeping his career aflame and helping spark his sudden resurgence with the Wizards this season, as he tells Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens admires the Hawks, as Julian Edlow of WEEI.com observes while wondering whether the best path the Celtics can take back to contention involves following Atlanta’s egalitarian approach instead of chasing stars.
The Pistons are recalling Gigi Datome and Spencer Dinwiddie from the D-League, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Datome averaged 13.3 points in 25.3 minutes per game and made 6 of 13 three-point shots in his first-ever D-League action, while Dinwiddie has put up 13.0 PPG and 5.4 assists per game in 29.8 MPG across seven D-League games this season.
Heat camp invitee Chris Johnson has signed with Turk Telekom Ankara of Turkey, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The former LSU center, who’s not to be confused with the swingman by the same name from the University of Dayton, played in China earlier this season following his release from the Heat prior to opening night.

Central Notes: Datome, Blatt, Noah

January 17th, 2015 at 5:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pistons sent Gigi Datome to their D-League affiliate on Wednesday, an assignment the player wasn’t happy about, David Mayo of MLive writes. “You know what? Not really,” Detroit’s president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy said when asked if Datome was excited about the move. “There’s sort of a … he’s leaving the NBA, he’s a little older, he’s not a 21-year-old guy. So no, not really. But hopefully, when he gets down there to California, and gets practicing, and gets ready to play, and is getting ready for a game that he knows he’s going to get a chance to play in, hopefully he will get enthused about it.” Datome is reportedly on the trading block.

Here’s the latest from the Central Division:

Van Gundy was honest when he said that he had a few second thoughts about his decision to accept the job in Detroit when the Pistons began the season with a 5-23 record, Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report writes. “What I started doubting, quite honestly, at 5-23, was myself,” Van Gundy said. “After being out two years and being 5-23, I’d be lying if I tell you I wasn’t doubting myself as a coach. There’s no question, as a coach. I’ve never doubted our organization and what we’re doing and the ability we have down the road. Even at 5-23, I had confidence in everybody else in the organization but myself. Yes. That’s where it suffered.”
Bulls center Joakim Noah is still trying to regain his form after undergoing offseason knee surgery, a process that hasn’t gone as quickly or smoothly as the player had hoped, Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com writes.
David Blatt was hired by the Cavs with the reputation and track record of being a great coach, but he hasn’t quite lived up to that pedigree since taking over in Cleveland, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. The large amount of roster turnover and the injuries the team has dealt with explain some of the team’s difficulties, notes Zillgitt. But other contributing factors to the Cavs’ struggles this season are that Blatt is an unknown around the league, his players haven’t quite bought into his system, and they may not trust enough in him yet, Zillgitt adds.

Pistons Shop Gigi Datome

January 14th, 2015 at 12:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons are seeking a trade partner who’ll take on Gigi Datome, reports Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). The second-year small forward has appeared in only one game for Detroit this season, and the Pistons sent him to the D-League today along with Spencer Dinwiddie, the team announced (on Twitter). Datome is making $1.75MM this season in the final year of a two-year deal he signed with former Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars.

Detroit gave the Italian sharpshooter limited playing time as a rookie, but though he averaged only 7.0 minutes per contest, he appeared in 34 games even as he struggled with his normally reliable outside shot, going 7 for 39 from behind the arc. New coach/executive Stan Van Gundy hasn’t afforded him more than a 12-minute appearance in a loss to the Lakers in early December.

Datome went undrafted in 2009, but after developing overseas, the Grizzlies, Celtics, Bucks, Rockets, Suns and Spurs were among the teams to show interest in him before he signed with the Pistons, and former Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo apparently scouted him, too. The Pistons reportedly viewed the Heat as the most significant threat to sign him. Datome said the Pistons didn’t make him the most lucrative offer but that he inked with them because he felt they’d give him the best opportunity to play, which seems like a miscalculation at this point.

Eastern Notes: Cavs, LeBron, Hornets

June 1st, 2014 at 11:33am CST by Eddie Scarito

Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (hat tip to Henry Green of Fox Sports Ohio) doesn’t think the Cavaliers will hire a new head coach prior to the NBA Draft. Amico also believes that GM David Griffin is looking to hire an offensive minded coach and that the team will select Joel Embiid with the first-overall pick in the draft.

Eastern Notes: Cavs, Billups, Stoudemire

March 29th, 2014 at 8:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Isiah Thomas has been campaigning for a position with either the Pistons or the Cavaliers front offices, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Whether those overtures will bear fruit or not will have to wait to be seen, but both those teams really have their eye on another soon-to-be former Piston, Chauncey Billups, notes Windhorst. According to the article, Billups is likely headed towards retirement after knee surgery ended his season, and is the apple of both the Cavs’ and Pistons’ eye for a role in their respective franchise’s leadership. While there might be some interest in getting Billups to follow in Jason Kidd’s footsteps and go right from player to coach, Billups has been hinting openly for years he’d rather graduate to the front office at the end of his career, reports Windhorst.

Central Notes: Bucks, Bulls, Datome, Cavaliers

December 25th, 2013 at 11:06am CST by Charlie Adams

Howard Beck of Bleacher Reports writes that Monta Ellis looks like a “changed man” this season in Dallas, and Ellis acknowledges as much, telling Beck that he was frustrated last year with the Bucks:

“I think I got into a dark place where I wasn’t myself… Some games I’d come and I could be motivated to play. And some games, it was hard, because of the type of players I was around.”

Milwaukee is playing even worse now, and as Jim Paschke noted this morning (via Twitter), half of the club’s remaining games are against Western Conference teams. That might be a blessing in disguise, since it should mean the Bucks have a good shot at the number one overall pick in the draft come June. Here are some more tidbits out of the Central Division:

The Bulls have struggled without Derrick Rose, and there have been plenty of rumbles about the club making a big move to stir things up in Chicago. Joe Cowley from the Chicago Sun-Times dissects the team’s roster and reveals the players he believes to be the most valuable on the trade market, as well as the ones he figures would be the hardest to move.
Luigi Datome has played relatively well in the limited action he’s seen for the Pistons so far this season, and the former Italian League star figures to see an increase in minutes, reports Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. The Pistons signed the 26-year-old small forward to a two-year, $3.5MM contract this past offseason.
Another offseason acquisition, Andrew Bynum, has been inconsistent and flat out bad at times this season for the Cavaliers. Coming off of a game where he shot 0-11 from the floor, Bob Finnan of the News-Herald believes Bynum to be one of the biggest reasons for Cleveland’s struggles. He suggests that the club relies too much on the banged up center to generate offense.

Luke Adams contributed to this post

Central Notes: Neal, Teague, Cavs

December 12th, 2013 at 5:37pm CST by Ryan Raroque

This past offseason, the Spurs extended then-restricted free agent Gary Neal a qualifying offer worth about $1.1MM, which was significantly below the two-year, $7.5MM agreement he eventually reached with the Bucks. According to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio-Express News, Neal believes he got a fair shake from Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford and understood that he wouldn’t be retained if he wanted more than what San Antonio was initially offering:

“I figured after three years, the Spurs benefitted me, and I benefitted the Spurs…But it’s a business. I kind of knew after Game 7 in the Finals, unless I signed a qualifying offer, I wouldn’t be back…I have no complaints…If (they didn’t give me the opportunity), they could have found another guy one of those summers to shoot 40 percent from three,..I thank Coach Pop a thousand times for that.”

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

The rest of the league is confused why the Bulls aren’t willing to give Marquis Teague more playing time, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. Chicago reportedly dangled Teague in trade talks during the preseason.
The Cavaliers have recalled Carrick Felix, Sergey Karasev, and Henry Sims from the D-League, as per the team’s official website.
Pistons forward Gigi Datome is determined to play for the Italian national team next summer, whether it’d be during the FIBA World Cup or the Eurobasket Qualifying Round, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (hat tip to Tuttosport).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Sanders, C’s, Heat, Knicks

October 29th, 2013 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Back in August, prior to signing a long-term extension with the Bucks, Larry Sanders changed agents, moving from Andy Miller and ASM Sports to Dan Fegan and Relativity Sports. While the switch seemed fairly innocuous at the time, ASM has filed suit against Relativity, claiming that the agency stole Sanders away with “flights on private planes, expensive dinners, invites to pre-ESPY awards parties, acting classes and trips to Disneyland for his family.”

According to Dareh Gregorian of the New York Daily News, ASM Sports is seeking the commission on Sanders’ new $44MM contract with the Bucks, claiming that “even in the hypercompetitive world of sports agents there are rules and boundaries that must be followed.” Sanders’ earnings shouldn’t be affected by the suit, but it’s a peek at what goes on behind the scenes at sports agencies when a big-name player is about to cash in.

As Sanders and the Bucks prepare for tomorrow’s opener in New York, let’s round up a few more items from around the Eastern Conference….

Celtics GM Danny Ainge continues to discuss a possible extension with Avery Bradley‘s camp, but won’t extend Jordan Crawford, tweets Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Ainge emphasized today that Bradley remains a big part of Boston’s future, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (via Twitter).
In his latest piece for Grantland, Zach Lowe explores the Heat‘s roster-building options going forward, concluding that, as creative as Pat Riley is, it will be tricky for the team to make significant upgrades around LeBron James in the next couple years.
Chris Smith believes he earned his spot on the Knicks with his play, but some rival agents believe he came as a package deal with older brother J.R. Smith, says Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.
Responding to criticism from Charles Barkley, Carmelo Anthony said today that he thinks players would love to come play with him in New York, and that he has a “big rolodex” for when the time comes to recruit (Twitter links via Peter Botte of the New York Daily News).
According to Gigi Datome‘s agent (Twitter link via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando), the Pistons didn’t offer the most money to his client this offseason, but they did offer the best opportunity for the Italian sharpshooter.
While news of his trade to the Wizards initially caught him off guard, Marcin Gortat is excited to join a team with playoff aspirations, as he tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post.

Central Links: Jennings, Rose, Datome

October 3rd, 2013 at 9:06pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Pistons guard Brandon Jennings offered a response via the media to former teammate Larry Sanders, who recently said “he has to pass to them first” after being told about how Jennings was excited to play with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond in Detroit: “(Milwaukee) gave him $11 million, so he must be doing something right…Me and (Monta Ellis) had to take those shots. For us to even get to the (eighth) spot in the playoffs, we had to take those shots. It is what it is” (David Mayo of MLive.com). Here's more out of the Central Division tonight:

According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, Bulls superstar Derrick Rose is more pre-occupied about his conditioning in the pre-season opener against the Pacers rather than his surgically repaired knee: "You can run and condition yourself as much as possible, but it's nothing like getting out there and playing a game…I hope it's building my wind for it. In the future, I shouldn't have anything to worry about."
In another piece from Mayo, Gigi Datome opens up about attending his first NBA training camp with the Pistons and some of his experiences so far: "The best players in the world are here, so everybody's more quick, more fast, more physical, and for sure also skilled…I'm going to get better, for sure, (and) have to get used to this as quick as possible."
Caron Butler already appears to be relishing his leadership role on the Bucks and is enjoying his homecoming thus far in Wisconsin (NBA.com via the Associated Press).
Jeffery Taylor hopes to continue the success he had over the summer with the Bobcats this season, writes Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer. Aside from a strong performance for Charlotte's summer league team in Las Vegas, the 6'7 swingman also emerged as Sweden's best player in the FIBA Eurobasket Tournament.
In another Bobcats-related article, Rick Bonnell (also of the Charlotte Observer) takes a closer look at how forward Josh McRoberts has found his niche with the team.