With the Pistons suddenly a mere two games behind the Nets for the eighth playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, the franchise’s approach to the upcoming trade deadline is changing with each victory, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. “Of course it does,” Detroit’s president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy said when asked whether the team’s winning ways have altered its trade outlook. “I think you make adjustments probably every week in that regard, in terms of looking at where you are, and where you want to be, and everything else. It doesn’t mean you won’t do anything but it certainly, if you’re continuing to play really well, it changes the way you look at it, yeah, no question.”
Here’s more from the East:
- Van Gundy isn’t itching to make a move that could disrupt the Pistons‘ chemistry, Mayo adds, but he wouldn’t pass up the chance to add a high-character player who could add something to the team. “Look, we’re not where we want to eventually be,” Van Gundy said. “I love the way we’re playing now, and hopefully the rest of this year will go very well. But we’re not going to rest on that until we’re into contention. There’s a long way from 14-24 to being a contender and we’ve got to keep that goal in mind, and not get overly wrapped up in playing 10 good games here.“
- There’s a split among executives around the league about whether the Magic would match a lucrative offer sheet for Tobias Harris this summer, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports.
- Veteran point guard Andre Miller will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, but Miller says he has zero plans to retire and is looking to secure a multi-year deal with the Wizards if given the chance, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders reports. “I would like to close it out here,” Miller told Greene. “I’m just enjoying this [success] and taking it one game at a time. Putting all my effort into practices and getting the most out of myself as far as being a team player. So I haven’t really thought about my contract situation. But of course I will continue to play next year barring any injuries. So let’s see what happens this summer.”