Tayshaun Prince Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Varejao, Prince, Bucks, Boylan

January 16th, 2013 at 10:28am CST by Luke Adams

Losing Anderson Varejao for a good chunk of the season was a blow to the Cavaliers' on-court prospects and to the team's chances of extracting value for him at the trade deadline, but it wasn't just the Cavs that were adversely affected by Varejao's leg injury. According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (Twitter link), earning an All-Star berth would have triggered a $1MM bonus in Varejao's contract. Given the big man's strong performance early in the season (14.1 PPG, 14.4 RPG, 22.0 PER), an All-Star berth appeared well within reach before he was sidelined.

Here are a few more Wednesday morning items out of the Central Division:

Despite a recent report suggesting the Pistons aren't interested in trading Tayshaun Prince, the veteran forward recognizes he's not untouchable, as Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News writes. Still, Prince has no desire to ask the Pistons to trade him: "One day it might hit me. I might get in a position where it's time for me to win one more (championship). To go to a contender-type team. I might go to Joe [Dumars] that day and say, 'It's time for me to move on' and play that route. But now is not the time."
While he'd been excited to join the Bucks in the offseason, Samuel Dalembert was disappointed by Scott Skiles' use of him — the veteran center is averaging his fewest minutes per game since his rookie year in 2001/02. Dalembert spoke to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times about his relationship with Skiles, and says "everyone is enthusiastic" about the change to new coach Jim Boylan.
Ersan Ilyasova, who signed a five-year deal with the Bucks last summer, is also pleased with the team's coaching change, having been re-inserted into the starting lineup. So far, Boylan has made the moves that will benefit the franchise long-term, writes Stephen Brotherson of HoopsWorld.

Pistons Players Questioning Lawrence Frank

November 24th, 2012 at 10:37am CST by Sean Highkin

The Detroit Pistons are off to a horrendous start to the 2012/13 season, with a 3-10 record tied with Toronto for second-worst in the NBA behind only the winless Washington Wizards. The organization has insisted that head coach Lawrence Frank's job is not in question. However, some of Detroit's players have begun questioning his methods and rotations in the media.

Veteran forward Tayshaun Prince told Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News that he disagreed with Frank's decision to sub out all five players at once during a loss to the Magic:

"If I was Coach, I would've made a decision sooner than he did," Prince said. "A 6-0 run, call a timeout. Bam-bam, we come back out, nothing happens, bam (make a substitution). If you gotta make a choice, you have to make a choice. (He) went too long."

Guard Will Bynum has also expressed his displeasure with Frank's rotations, telling Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press that it's been difficult for him to find a place in the many lineups Frank has been juggling:

"I'm having to adjust to everybody. I'm playing with so many different people. First I go from not playing with [Rodney] Stuckey to playing with Stuckey every day. I go from playing with Kyle [Singler] all the time to never playing with Kyle. I'm playing with Tayshaun [Prince]. Early on I was playing with Brandon [Knight] and I never played with him in two years since I've been here. It's all over the place right now."

The Pistons front office reportedly views this season as a rebuilding year and thus isn't prone to letting Frank go. However, this will be an interesting story to keep an eye on if the Pistons' struggles continue.

Pistons Notes: Drummond, Prince, Dumars

October 28th, 2012 at 2:50pm CST by Michael Pina

The Pistons enter this season as a young team looking for an identity, writes MLive.com's David Mayo. Can they compete for a playoff spot this early in the rebuilding process, or do the young pieces need much more time to get acclimated and be competitive?

Also from Mayo comes a Q&A with the team's general manager, Joe Dumars.
Incoming rookie Andre Drummond should expect to see a ton of playing time against teams with size and athleticism, writes Detroit Free Press reporter Vince Ellis.
Also from Ellis comes a piece on Pistons veteran Tayshaun Prince, and how he can help an extremely young team with his veteran presence and savvy work habits.

Prince Wants Pistons To Sign Veteran Point Guard

April 29th, 2012 at 8:42am CST by Daniel Seco

Pistons veteran forward Tayshaun Prince recently stated his desires for the franchise to acquire a veteran point guard as the team heads into the offseason, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. The former Kentucky star said he wants rookie and fellow former Wildcat Brandon Knight to have a seasoned player at his position who can mentor him as he heads into his second season. Knight, 20, enjoyed a strong debut as he averaged 12.8 PPG, 3.8 APG and 3.2 RPG in 60 starts for the Pistons.

"There can be times that me and Ben Wallace can mentor and help him out and whatnot, but I think if you have a point guard that's been through the wars, he can help him out a little bit better than we can."

Ellis suggests that the Pistons may elect to use their mid-level exception to sign an experienced point guard as a relatively deep crop of free agents at the position are set to become available this summer. Raymond Felton and Chauncey Billups should be considered among the most viable options for the Pistons as Steve Nash, still a prized signing at 38, would be unlikely to go from one rebuilding effort to another as his career winds down. Beyond Knight, the Pistons employed journeyman Will Bynum and 29-year-old rookie Walker Russell as backup point guards for the 2011/2012 season.

Austin Daye Talks Future, Role With Pistons

April 12th, 2012 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

In his third season with the Pistons, Austin Daye hasn't taken the step forward he or the team hoped he would, averaging a career-worst 4.9 PPG, 1.1 TO, and .324 FG% in 2011/12. Daye talked to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld about his disappointing year and his role in Detroit going forward.

On his role with the Pistons:

"I wouldn't even say I have one. I'm honest with myself. I haven't played enough to say I have a legit role on this team yet. I've played the games; I've been hurt a lot this season with my ankles but besides that it's just been tough for me to get consistent minutes. That's the answer in itself, I guess."

On the Pistons saying they're still committed to him:

"They did enough by their actions. Saying that they wouldn’t trade me before the deadline or after the deadline. I guess that’s enough confidence within myself that they want me here. I just have to keep working and try to get better and just try to please as many people in their seats as I can."

On the Pistons unexpectedly re-signing Tayshaun Prince, who plays Daye's position:

"He’s back, he’s here and there’s nothing I can do about that. It’s not my job to be dwelling on him. It’s just a fact that I’m going to be playing with him so I have to figure out a way I can play and play with him when he’s here."

On his goals going forward:

"Just be in the right situation where I can get some minutes. I don’t want to see anybody go down or anything like that but people have been hurt so I’ve been able to play some games. Besides that, when the roster is full there’s not a lot of minutes to be had, it’s really a numbers game. For myself, I just have to figure out a way that I can get out on the floor."

Daye's $2.96MM team option for the final year of his rookie contract has already been exercised, so he's under contract with the Pistons for 2012/13. Still, with Prince under contract for another three seasons, it's unclear whether Daye fits into the team's long-term plans. If he didn't, he could be an intriguing trade candidate this summer for teams who believe a change of scenery could help the 23-year-old flourish.

Central Notes: Irving, Bucks, Lucas

March 22nd, 2012 at 8:56pm CST by Ryan Raroque

There are several significant storylines to follow in the Central Division as it relates to the standings. The first place Bulls are hanging onto a three game lead over the Heat, and both are on a three-game winning streak. While it may not be likely that the Pacers overtake Chicago for top of the division, Indiana sits just two games behind the Magic for a chance at third place and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Bucks, who are currently on a league-best six-game winning streak, are one game behind the Knicks for the eighth and final playoff spot. Beyond that, here are some other things we've heard from the Central:

This article from Cleveland.com highlights Kyrie Irving's impressive performance in the fourth quarter in a recent loss to Atlanta, and follows up with a few miscellaneous Cavaliers notes.
Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel writes about Scott Skiles approach to the Bucks' remaining season schedule.
Although Derrick Rose has been battling injuries throughout the season, the Bulls have managed an 11-4 record without him. An instrumental part of that success can be credited to the emergence of John Lucas III as a solid contributor. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune digs deeper into Lucas' journey up to this point in the season.
The Pistons completed last week's road trip with a disappointing 1-4 record, two losses which included coming up short to the Clippers in overtime and Ben Gordon missing a potential game winner in Denver. David Mayo of MLive.com writes more about Detroit's inability to finish games, as well as some thoughts from head coach Lawrence Frank.
Tayshaun Prince is determined to turn things around in Detroit, writes Chris Tomasson of FS Florida.

Assessing Stocks: Detroit Pistons

February 19th, 2012 at 8:46pm CST by Jesse Blanchard

Portfolio Review: The Detroit Pistons are a mess. While their trade assets aren't entirely worthless, many of them are circling the drain, leaving them in a precarious position. The Pistons have invested more time and energy into their roster than they would likely receive back in return. If all the individual pieces were worthless, it might be easier to cut their losses, discard everything, and start over.

Right now the Pistons need to diversify their portfolio. They have some rotation pieces in the backcourt in Brandon Knight, Rodney Stuckey, Will Bynum, and Ben Gordon. But all four are essentially slightly different variations of the same inefficient scoring combo guard. The key is to figure which one, if any, fits best with Knight and dump the rest for whatever they can get.

Prime Assets: Greg Monroe and Knight are too young and promising to determine their full trade value, so short of a one-sided offer, it makes little sense to deal them. On a good team with a reasonable contract, Ben Gordon was once worth at least one playoff victory by himself a series. On the Pistons, his contract is a liability and his presence in the lineup hinders the development of younger players.

The leaves Tayshaun Prince as their best asset, whether as a standalone or packaged with one of their backcourt pieces. Preferably for a rotation quality pure point guard like Ramon Sessions or legitimate shooting guard to begin the process of figuring out how to best use Knight.

Worthless Stock: Charlie Villanueva. Villanueva is a toxic asset whose lone redeeming value lies in the possibility that he might salvage his value to the team or be freed this offseason via amnesty.

The Rest: Combo guards and forwards are a dime a dozen in the NBA, and those on the Pistons have hardly shown anything separating themselves from the pack. Knight and Monroe are the set pieces, any redundant skill sets or players that might take up developmental resources to those two (minutes, usage, etc.) should be considered in a deal, even if it only returns addition by subtraction.

Odds & Ends: Billups, Alston, Prince, Mavs

February 8th, 2012 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

On this day seven years ago, Smush Parker was waived by the Suns, and it looked like his NBA career may be nearing an end. Parker bounced back though, signing with the Lakers and starting nearly every game for Los Angeles in 2005/06 and '06/07. Parker has been out of the NBA since 2008, but he's still playing professional basketball, having signed today with Venezuelan team Guaros de Lara (hat tip to Sportando). Here are a few more of today's odds and ends…

Following his season-ending achilles injury, Chauncey Billups told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times that he'd like to return to the Clippers next season to take care of "unfinished business."
Rafer Alston, who recently signed with the NBA's D-League, spoke to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv about his comeback attempt. Alston on the possibility of playing for his hometown Knicks: "If it happens, trust me, I’ll be like a kid in a candy story. I’ll feel like I won the lottery if I get an chance to play at home."
Tayshaun Prince has no regrets about signing a long-term deal to stay with the Pistons, says Terry Foster of the Detroit News.
Don't expect the Grizzlies to sign or trade for anyone in the next few weeks, says Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, noting that the team still needs to get below the tax line.
Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News would be surprised to see the Mavericks make a move at the trade deadline, but says they'll have plenty of money to spend this summer.
Greg Stiemsma, whose contract was guaranteed yesterday by the Celtics, has taken an unusual road to Boston, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel explains the Heat's decisions on players with non-guaranteed contracts.