Gregg Polinsky Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pistons Notes: Diallo, Polinsky, Beilein, Jersey Sponsor

June 3rd, 2021 at 3:54pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Pistons traded for 22-year old Hamidou Diallo two weeks before this season’s trade deadline, and it appears they liked what they saw from the athletic wing in his 20 games in Detroit. Pistons GM Troy Weaver helped draft Diallo during his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and, as NBA.com’s Keith Langlois writes, Weaver still has sky-high expectations for Diallo.

“Hami, he fits what we’re trying to do here,” Weaver said. “Tremendous mindset, tremendous competitor. Defensive mindset, athletic and he brings it. You can never have too many guys that have that mindset and that competitiveness.”

Diallo, one of the better rebounding guards in the league, with an improving jump shot and a limitless supply of energy, is set to hit restricted free agency this summer, but Weaver seems to expect he’ll be back in Detroit next season.

Here’s more on the Pistons:

The Pistons and senior director of player personnel Gregg Polinsky have agreed to part ways, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks, despite the success of recent draftees Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart. This comes as part of a larger shake-up within the team’s development staff.
Keith Langlois writes about how the hiring of ex-Michigan head coach John Beilein as senior advisor of player development points to a larger trend for the Pistons. Between head coach Dwayne Casey, assistant coach Tim Grgurich and the new addition of Beilein, Weaver and team owner Tom Gores have prioritized building a robust and experienced development staff as the team enters a rebuilding period. “With the age of our core group, I wanted to add to our excellent developmental staff,” Casey said in a statement issued by the Pistons. “John is a basketball lifer with a passion to help young players get better, especially in the area of shooting. We have an excellent group of young development coaches who have done a good job with our young core.”
The Pistons have announced a new jersey sponsor: United Wholesale Mortgage. The Pistons’ previous uniform patch sponsor was Flagstar Bank.

Pistons Announce Front Office Additions, Promotions

September 28th, 2020 at 10:15am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have announced a series of additions to their basketball operations department, confirming a pair of hires that had been previously reported. Here are those new additions and their titles, per the team:

Harold Ellis, pro personnel evaluator
Ryan West, pro personnel evaluator
Britta Brown, senior director of basketball administration
Tony Leotti, senior director of strategy and systems
Michael Lindo, director of player and family engagement

The hirings of Ellis and West in the scouting department were first reported last month by The Athletic. Ellis was previously the director of player personnel for the Knicks, while West – the son of NBA legend Jerry West – held the same role with the Lakers up until 2019.

According to the Pistons, Brown will oversee team operations and logistics, assisting in day-to-day management of the department; Leotti will assist the team with salary cap oversight and overall strategy; and Lindo will assist Pistons players and their families off the court.

Detroit also announced a handful of promotions, including Gregg Polinsky to senior director of player personnel, Dan Rosenbaum to senior director of analytics, and Eric Tellem (the son of Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem) to director of pro scouting.

The front office changes are among the first moves made by new general manager Troy Weaver, who was hired by the Pistons to run the basketball operations department earlier this year.

Central Notes: Stephenson, Love, Polinsky, Evans

July 6th, 2018 at 11:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pacers offered a better contract to swingman Lance Stephenson than he received from the Lakers, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said on Friday (Twitter link via Mark Monteith). Stephenson agreed to a one-year, $4.5MM deal from the Lakers. A phone call from LeBron James influenced Stephenson’s decision to choose L.A., Monteith adds. However, the Pacers declined Stephenson’s team option of $4.36MM prior to free agency, so it seems odd Pritchard then turned around and offered more in the open market.

In other news around the Central Division:

The Cavs don’t plan on tanking or trading their top remaining player Kevin Love, Joe Vardon of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. GM Koby Altman said he’s intent on keeping the team competitive despite the loss of LeBron James. “Kevin is an All-Star and you don’t get better by moving Kevin,” Altman said. “Kevin’s been incredible for us for four years and he wants to be here, and to me that’s a big part for guys that are here and the guys that we’re gonna acquire, is that they want to be here and be a part of this new chapter and culture that we’re creating.”
The Pistons have hired Nets executive Gregg Polinsky as their director of player personnel, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Pistons senior advisor Ed Stefanski and Polinsky worked together in Brooklyn, Wojnarowski adds. Polinsky had the same title with the Nets but his role will expand in Detroit. Pat Garrity and Andrew Loomis, who were assistant GMs under former team president Stan Van Gundy, will continue in their roles, according to Rod Beard of the Detroit News. The Pistons could bring in another assistant GM to focus on analytics, Beard adds.
Tyreke Evans is content with coming off the bench for the Pacers, Monteith writes for the team’s website. Evans joined the Pacers on a one-year, $12MM deal. Pritchard didn’t have to coax Evans into being a sixth man. “Not one bit,” he said. “We told him, ‘Here’s your role, does that interest you?’ He said, ‘Yes, I’m in.’ I think in his mind he’s going, ‘Boy, I’ve been scoring a lot of points and doing a lot of good stuff against starters, this is going to be fun.'”
Tim Grgurich is likely to join Dwane Casey’s coaching staff with the Pistons, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press tweets. Grgurich, 76, has a long career as an NBA assistant and most recently was a consultant with the Bucks.