Doctors have cleared Brandon Jennings for full basketball activities, and a return by late November or early December is possible, according to Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com (Twitter link). That’s in contrast to a Monday report that Jennings was not close to receiving clearance as he recovered from his torn left Achilles tendon. Jennings, who’s set to make more than $8.344MM this year in the final season of his contract, has been the subject of trade speculation, though Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy has expressed optimism that Jennings and fellow point guard Reggie Jackson can share the floor. See more from Motown:
- Pistons offseason signee Aron Baynes knows he has championship experience to impart from his time with the Spurs, but he has no intention of becoming an overbearing locker room presence, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press details. The Pistons inked Baynes, a career reserve, to a three-year, $19.5MM contract in July.
- Baynes said Monday that he will be ready for the start of training camp a week from today despite undergoing ankle surgery this summer, Ellis notes in the same piece.
- Van Gundy made it clear to Joel Anthony that he wanted him back, so when the Pistons chased others, including Baynes, in free agency, Anthony’s desire to re-sign with Detroit didn’t waver, as Keith Langlois of Pistons.com chronicles. Van Gundy plans to use Baynes at power forward against teams that use two traditional big men, Langlois writes, so that would create a role in the rotation for Anthony, who signed a two-year, $5MM deal. “He didn’t have to tell me, ‘We’re trying to get this person,’ as if he has to walk on eggshells with me,” Anthony said of Van Gundy. “I was comfortable with how he was going forward. It’s still a good situation for me. There’s still opportunities for me and that’s what’s important.”