Stan Van Gundy Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Stan Van Gundy: We Believe In KCP

March 31st, 2017 at 9:33pm CST by Milo Taibi

Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy briefly discussed the OWI arrest of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, speaking to KCP’s character while declining to mention a potential punishment from the team.

“You know, obviously we’re aware of it,” Van Gundy told reporters, including Rod Beard of The Detroit News. “Look, I’ve been around KCP for three years. He’s a guy we really believe in, not only as a player but a high-character guy. We’re aware of the situation, and we’ll let things run its course.”

The decision on whether Caldwell-Pope faces discipline may very well come from Van Gundy, who is not only the Pistons’ coach but also president of basketball operations. According to an Auburn Hills police report, Caldwell-Pope was alleged to have smelled of intoxicants when pulled over, and fumbled with his words after being asked to recite the alphabet (source: David Mayo, MLive.com).

Caldwell-Pope was in action tonight against the Bucks; perhaps an indication that a stern punishment isn’t to be expected. As Aaron McMann of MLive.com points out, the league has shown a no-tolerance policy when it comes to drunk drivers. Former Pistons big man Greg Monroe received a two-game suspension after driving impaired in 2014, and Detroit assistant coach Tim Hardaway was docked three games over the summer following a DWI charge.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Arrested For DUI

March 30th, 2017 at 11:21pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Police arrested shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope early Wednesday morning on suspicion of drunk driving, according to Derick Hutchinson of Click On Detroit. KCP was pulled over at approximately 2:50 a.m. in Auburn Hills and was put through a sobriety test, which he failed.

The 24-year-old was “very cooperative,” authorities tell Hutchinson. The incident came just hours after the Pistons lost to the Heat in a game where KCP went 2-10 from behind the arc.

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy recently said if KCP doesn’t return to the team, it’ll be because the front office made that decision. As a restricted free agent, KCP can’t join another team unless the Pistons decide not to match an offer sheet he signs.

“We only don’t have [KCP] next year if we decide we don’t want him next year. There’s no team out there that can decide they’re going to have KCP next year–it’s on us,” Van Gundy said. “It will be our decision this summer whether he’s in Detroit next year. Other people can want him but they need us to acquiesce if they’re going to have him.”

Prior to the arrest, Caldwell-Pope was looking at a receiving a massive raise on his 2016/17 salary, which is worth slightly less than $3.68MM. It remains to be seen how the incident will impact the market for his services. Should he decide to simply accept his qualifying offer, he’ll make just under $4.96MM, though he would be eligible to become a restricted free agent after the season.

The shooting guard is averaging 14.1 points per game, but he’s sporting a below average player efficiency rating of 13.4. His Real Plus/Minus ranks 25th in the league among shooting guards, though at times this season, he’s looked like a foundational player. As a result of his inconsistencies, pegging the value of his next contract was always considered a difficult task; The DUI adds one more variable to the complex situation.

Central Notes: Jackson, Korver, Jefferson

March 28th, 2017 at 8:45pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Pistons executive/coach Stan Van Gundy said he was his call to sit Reggie Jackson over the last couple games, as Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. “It has strictly been my call all the way. Reggie wants to be out there,” Van Gundy said. Earlier today, it was reported that the team may shut Jackson down for the remainder of the season.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

Kyle Korver will miss at least the next two games for the Cavaliers. He could miss more time, but he definitely wants to return before the end of the regular season, Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal relays. “No, no, I don’t want to do that at all,” Korver said when asked about missing the rest of the season. “I’m hopeful just a few days here to completely shut down and not trying to test it out and see how it feels today. Take a few days and let it totally calm down and see where we’re at.”
Al Jefferson will be sidelined for at least two weeks as he recovers from a sprained left ankle, according to the Pacers‘ website. Jefferson suffered the injury against the Sixers on Sunday.
Glenn Robinson III will remain out for at least another week with a left calf strain, the Pacers add in the same press release. He’ll be re-evaluated at the end of next week.

Stan Van Gundy Talks KCP’s Future

March 27th, 2017 at 3:23pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is expected to see a massive raise on his current salary, which is worth slightly under $3.68MM, once he becomes a restricted free agent this offseason. The Pistons have the right to match any offer sheet that the shooting guard signs this summer. Coach/executive Stan Van Gundy acknowledged that, noting that it will be up to the team to figure out if it wants to keep KCP around at a higher price tag, as Rod Beard of The Detroit News passes along via Twitter.

“We only don’t have [KCP] next year if we decide we don’t want him next year. There’s no team out there that can decide they’re going to have KCP next year–it’s on us,” Van Gundy said. “It will be our decision this summer whether he’s in Detroit next year. Other people can want him but they need us to acquiesce if they’re going to have him.”

The Nets are expected to be “major players” during KCP’s free agency. GM Sean Marks has thrice gone after opposing teams’ restricted free agents, offering lucrative deals, only to see each offer sheet matched by players’ original team. Miami matched Tyler Johnson‘s $50MM offer sheet. Portland decided to pay Allen Crabbe $75MM and the Rockets opted to match Donatas Motiejunas‘ $37MM deal before letting the power forward become a free agent.

At times this season, Caldwell-Pope has proven to be better than any of the aforementioned players, though inconsistencies have plagued him. He’s averaging 14.0 points per game, but he’s had 24 games this season where he’s scored under 10 points and 18 where he scored at least 20. He found some touch from 3-point range this season, shooting a career high 36.8% from behind the arc.

The 24-year-old owns a pedestrian 13.5 player efficiency rating and he has a TPA (Total Points Added—a metric derived by NBAMath to determine a player’s value on the court) of 58.84, which ranks first on the Pistons, but just 60th in the league.

The Pistons have struggled lately, winning just three out of their previous 10 games, leaving some to wonder if the team is tuning out Van Gundy. Despite the stretch of bad games, Detroit enters the day just one game behind the Heat for the eighth seed in the conference, though Chicago is sandwiched between the two teams. Van Gundy said making the playoffs remains the goal, but added he’s more concerned with the way the team is playing, as Beard relays in a separate tweet.

“I just want to see a lot better energy and spirit than what we’ve had the last half-dozen games. If that happens, the result takes care of itself,” Van Gundy said.

Are The Pistons Tuning Out Stan Van Gundy?

March 26th, 2017 at 5:56pm CST by Milo Taibi

Aaron McMann of MLive.com discussed Stan Van Gundy‘s role with the Pistons in a recent column, questioning whether the veteran coach has lost the clubhouse. Per McMann, Van Gundy opted against addressing the team following Friday’s blowout loss to the Magic. What’s more, when Van Gundy was asked whether his players had ‘given up’, Stan replied “I don’t know, you’d have to ask them.”

McMann continued, noting “Players have appeared unresponsive to Van Gundy of late, from Stanley Johnson walking away from his coach during a game last week against Phoenix to visible sparring with players.”

While the Pistons have dropped seven of their last 10, they remain in contention for the eighth seed, trailing Miami by 1.5 games. Van Gundy, who is also the president of basketball operations in Detroit, took accountability for the team’s struggles in a recent presser.

“I think it’s pretty clear from these six games that I’m not finding the answers and not doing a very good job, so it starts with me. I’m the person in charge,” Van Gundy told Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “I selected everybody in that locker room. I’m the one who wanted them in there. I decide who plays. I put lineups out there. I decide on defensive coverages. I call plays. So it’s all on me.”

Pistons Notes: Jackson, Drummond, Van Gundy

March 25th, 2017 at 9:27am CST by Milo Taibi

The wheels are falling off for the 34-39 Pistons, who are 1.5 games out of the eighth seed following a 115-87 loss to the Magic. Reggie Jackson– who has been coming off the bench of late- said nobody’s job is safe.

“(Missing the playoffs) would suck — it sucks every year you’re not in the postseason and not one of the teams competing to be the last one standing,” Jackson told Rod Beard of Detroit News. “It’s tough. It’s a performance-based league so all our jobs are on the line. If we don’t get where we want to be, I’m sure coach knows as coach-president, he has a lot on the line. Myself, I was brought in to be the point guard and I have a lot on the line. We don’t know who’s going to be back next year or who’s going to be here tomorrow.”

Stan Van Gundy‘s Pistons have dropped six of their last seven, entering crisis mode in the middle of a playoff chase. If there’s one saving grace for Detroit, three of their next four opponents are fellow sub-.500 teams.

Eastern Notes: Cavs, Van Gundy, Waiters, Hornets

March 23rd, 2017 at 5:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue and forward LeBron James believe the team has shown a lack of toughness in recent weeks, Joe Vardon of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The Cavs have fallen to 22nd place in the defensive efficiency ratings and are in dangerous of losing the top seed in the East. Their latest loss to the Nuggets on Wednesday had both of them lamenting about the team’s lack of desire to defend. “It starts with the coaches but the players gotta look at themselves in the mirror, too,” Lue told Vardon and other members of the media. “They gotta be more physical, they gotta bring a physical presence and they’ve got to take pride in guarding their man.” James adds: “It ain’t about a group, it’s about individuals. … You can’t preach toughness, you’ve got to have it.”

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

The Pistons are in danger of sliding out of the playoff race and coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy is groping for solutions, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. Detroit has lost five of its last six, including a last-second defeat to the Eastern Conference’s worst team, the Nets. “I think it’s pretty clear from these six games that I’m not finding the answers and not doing a very good job, so it starts with me. I’m the person in charge,” Van Gundy told Langlois and the assembled media. “I selected everybody in that locker room. I’m the one who wanted them in there. I decide who plays. I put lineups out there. I decide on defensive coverages. I call plays. So it’s all on me.”
Dion Waiters‘ left ankle sprain has shown progress, so the Heat have not scheduled an MRI, Anthony Chiang of the Palm Beach Post tweets. Waiters wanted an MRI if he hadn’t felt improvement, Chiang adds. Waiters has missed the last two games after suffering the injury on March 17th.
The Hornets will not participate in the trend of resting players, according to David Scott of the Charlotte Observer. That would go against the philosophy of owner Michael Jordan and assistant coach Patrick Ewing, who didn’t take games off when they played, Scott adds. “It’s easy for me, because I’m working for an owner who just doesn’t believe in it,” coach Steve Clifford told Scott. “And I have an associate head coach who would kill me if I started doing it.”

Central Notes: Love, Wade, Sanders, Pistons

March 16th, 2017 at 5:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kevin Love has been activated and will be back in action on Thursday, according to team’s official Twitter feed. The Cavaliers have played without their starting power forward for over a month, as he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on February 14th. Love told reporters, including Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, that he was anxious to return after practicing on Wednesday. “I’m 28 years old, I feel like I’m just coming into the league again because I’m so antsy to get back,” Love said. “It’s good. You’ve got to trust the process, respect the process and give that leg time to heal, give injuries time to heal. But it’s not for lack of wanting to be out there.”

In other news around the Central Division:

The Bulls can hit the reset button if Dwyane Wade opts out of his contract, ESPN.com’s NBA analyst Kevin Pelton opines. The club could have significant cap space this summer if Wade, now out for the remainder of the regular season with a fractured elbow, turns down his $23.8MM player option and becomes a free agent again. That cap space could grow to approximately $50MM if the Bulls waive Rajon Rondo and stretch out his guaranteed money while also renouncing the rights to their other free agents, Pelton explains. Wade would probably have to settle for much less on the free agent market but opting out would allow him to join a contender such as the Cavaliers or Clippers, Pelton adds. The Spurs or even Warriors could be other possible suitors if Wade goes that route, according to the Sporting News’ Sean Deveney, and the Bucks and Nuggets would also check in on him since they showed interest last summer.
Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue had to get permission to play newly-signed center Larry Sanders on Wednesday, according to Joe Vardon of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Lue sent a ball boy into the stands during the team’s blowout victory over the Pistons to ask GM David Griffin if it was OK to play Sanders, who was supposed to get some work in the D League before making his Cleveland debut. Sanders wound up playing two minutes. “I really just wanted to introduce him to the crowd and have him get in, give him a chance to have a standing ovation,” told reporters including Vardon. “I thought it was good for him.”
The Pistons have only two players — Andre Drummond and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — remaining on the roster since Stan Van Gundy became head coach and president of basketball operations. The only current rotation player that he drafted is backup swingman Stanley Johnson. That’s not a coincidence, since Van Gundy is more comfortable acquiring proven players. “It’s easier with pro guys in trades and free agency than it is with college guys in the draft,” he told the assembled media, including Hoops Rumors. “You get these one-and-done guys and you’re trying to figure it out to what they’re going to be four or five years down the road. That’s a lot more of a challenge. At least [with experienced players], they’ve got a body of work and they’ve been in NBA systems. You’ve seen them play. You can get pretty good information on them, so you have a better idea of what you’re getting than you do when you go in the draft.”

Ish Smith May Replace Reggie Jackson In Starting Lineup

March 3rd, 2017 at 6:11pm CST by Milo Taibi

Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy is contemplating starting Ish Smith over Reggie Jackson, according to a report from Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Van Gundy has showed concern of his starting unit’s lack of energy and production, Beard reports, and has not been pleased with Jackson and Andre Drummond‘s defensive efforts.

“Those are the two guys [Jackson and Drummond]. The energy has got to go up,” Van Gundy said. “Andre picked up his energy the other night but that’s got to be on a consistent basis, and we need more energy out of Reggie.”

It’s been a slog for Jackson of late, averaging nine points on 32.6% shooting over his last four games. The 26-year-old still has plenty of upside, but has regressed in PPG, rebounds, assists, and field goal percentage from 2015/16. Jackson was mentioned in rumors throughout the trade deadline, but stayed put due to Detroit’s high asking price, as well as his lengthy contract (Jackson is in the second season of a five-year, $80MM deal).

The Pistons enter a vital stretch of their season with just a one game lead over the eighth seed. Though Smith’s recent play has hardly been stellar- shooting 33.3% over his last five games- Van Gundy may give him the starting role in Saturday’s match-up with Philadelphia.

“We’ve got to get better energy off the start of the games,” Van Gundy said. “The last Philadelphia game was one of our better starts in each half. That’s got to get going — that’s not just him (Jackson). Anything’s possible right now, but we’ve got to get playing better and we’ve got to get our first unit playing more consistently and playing better.”

Latest On The Pistons, Drummond, Caldwell-Pope

February 22nd, 2017 at 8:36pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pistons are “welcoming offers” for Andre Drummond and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, according to Mark Stein of ESPN.com. It’s likely that Drummond stays with the franchise, as he’s beloved by owner Tom Gores, but the softened stance on the big man opens up the door on a potential trade.

The Blazers had discussions with the Pistons about bringing Drummond to Portland, but those talks ended when Detriot insisted on receiving C.J. McCollum in return, sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. Stein notes that the Blazers view McCollum as untouchable.

Stein adds that the Raptors and Pistons have had exploratory conversations on Drummond. Detroit has also engaged in conversations with the Nets. Before DeMarcus Cousins was traded to the Pelicans, the Pistons discussed a deal with the Kings centered around a Cousins-Drummond swap.

Drummond signed a max contract with the team over the summer. Caldwell-Pope will be a restricted after the season and the team is reportedly wary about having to give the shooting guard a sizable deal. Stein notes that the team is looking for at least one first-rounder in exchange for KCP.

If the Pistons hold onto Caldwell-Pope and re-sign him to a max deal in the offseason, they would be near the luxury tax line. That’s not an attractive position to be in for a team that sits below .500. However, coach/executive Stan Van Gundy tells Vince Ellis of the Detriot Free Press that ownership has not issued any mandate to shed salary this season.