Central Notes: Cavs, Mitchell, Suder, Pacers, Pistons
Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman doesn’t think the roster needs major changes after his team got swept by New York in the conference finals, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
“Everybody is aligned in where we want to get to,“ Altman said. ”We all know we need to dig deep to take that next step. I always say two things can be true. We hated the way it ended. We were disappointed with the way it ended. I think the reason for that is we have higher expectations. … We believe in the players that we have in house. It’s been a long road to get here. It’s been five years of sustained success, and we’re still doing this [gradually improving], but we have to figure out how we break through it one more time, and that’s going to be the most difficult step.”
How they make that step is up for discussion among the front office.
“Over the last five years, we’ve retooled this roster, added to this roster. We’ve looked internally. We’ve grown internally. We’re operating at a position of real strength in terms of our foundation,” he said. “And I think those discussions happen now. Do we have enough? Do we add around the edges? This is certainly not a place where we’re like, ‘We need to blow this up and start again.’ That’s certainly not where we’re at. But those discussions will happen. But certainly, internally right now, there’s more that we have that we can get to.”
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- In the last installment of his Andscape diary via Marc J. Spears, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell admits that getting swept was a difficult way to go out this season. “It was a very painful ending. To go out like that, you try to put on a smile and try to move past it,” he said. “It’ll take a little bit. The worst part about it is just the sweep. We had an opportunity, right? It was right there. I’m saying we go ahead and win the series. Whatever happens, happens. But when you have an opportunity, man, and you watch it go past, that’s killer. And at the end with the 35-, whatever it was, point loss. That s‑‑t, I don’t really know how else to describe it. But that’s one of the things. It don’t matter all the success we’ve had. Yeah, it’s great. But when you lose like that, it’s tough.”
- Peter Suder, who hails from Carmel, Ind., visited the Pacers‘ practice facility for a draft workout on Thursday. Suder averaged 14.8 points and 4.0 assists for Miami (Ohio) last season. “It’s definitely surreal,” Suder said to Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “(Growing up) 30 minutes away from this facility, it’s just crazy. It’s always been a dream growing up, especially being an Indiana fan, a Pacers fan. All my friends, family back at home, they’re all rooting for me to go to the Pacers, so it’s just a surreal feeling.” Indiana currently doesn’t have a pick in the draft, but is doing its due diligence on the 2026 class.
- Kevin Huerter is the only significant Pistons free agent who is likely to leave, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press predicts. He believes the team will reach agreements with restricted free agent Jalen Duren, as well as unrestricted free agents Tobias Harris and Javonte Green, and will exercise its option on Daniss Jenkins‘ contract.
Pistons’ Langdon Hopeful Of Re-Signing Duren, Extending Thompson
Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said on Tuesday he’s hopeful of signing both Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson to long-term deals this offseason, according to Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. Duren will be a restricted free agent, while Thompson will be eligible for a rookie scale extension.
Duren gained All-Star status for the East’s No. 1 seed but struggled during the postseason and at times was benched in the second half in favor of Paul Reed. Duren averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in 28.2 minutes per game during the regular season. He averaged 10.2 PPG and 8.5 RPG in 30.1 MPG during 14 postseason contests.
“First of all, J.D. had a fantastic season,” Langdon said. “All-Star, one of the biggest contributors to us being a No. 1 seed. Darn near 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. An incredible year and an incredible leap from last year to this year because of the work that he put in last summer and his focus. I have no doubt that we’ll put a plan together and he’ll attack it this summer, just like he did last summer, and he’ll come back a better player from his experience, not only during the regular season but also in the postseason just like all of our guys will. We look forward to coming together with his representative and getting a deal done, and for him to continue to be a Piston.”
The Pistons can give Duren a five-year, maximum-salary deal, though it seems likely that their offer will come in lower than that unless a rival suitor forces their hand. If the big man signs a offer sheet from another team, Detroit would be forced to decide whether to match it.
Reaching agreements with Duren and Thompson and still finding ways to upgrade the team’s offense will be tricky for Langdon. Both of those starters have offensive shortcomings.
“JD and AT will be expensive and once that happens, the optionality decreases,” Langdon said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “But right now, we have some things we can look at and we’ll look at everything and determine what things we can execute on to make us better. What things are the best path to go down now, not only for next year but building forward. This isn’t a one-year thing. The thing I’ve always said is sustainability in terms of being competitive. We have to keep that in mind, as well.”
Langdon chose not to make any major changes at the trade deadline. He’s also hesitant to read too much into the team’s Game 7 flop against Cleveland in the conference semifinals on Sunday.
“We’ll do a deep dive into what we feel made us successful and where we feel we came up a little short,” Langdon said. “A lot of people are looking at one game. If we would’ve won one game, you can’t say we’re going to play into one game of success, either. One game winning or losing can’t define how you’re going to move forward. We’ll take a holistic view of the roster. We’re still super young.”
Langdon wouldn’t commit to making a bold trade to improve the club. It’s no secret that the team could use a reliable secondary scorer and play-maker to ease the pressure off franchise player Cade Cunningham.
“I wish I was clairvoyant. I think so. You’re always going to iterate your team a little bit every year to get better. That’s the goal – to be a championship contender,” Langdon said. “We didn’t think it would come this fast. These questions about being a championship contender after year two. Two years ago when I took the job, nobody in here thought I’d be getting questions about championship contender two years after. Skipping steps, we don’t want to do that. And I don’t think we have.”
Retaining Tobias Harris, who will be 34 next season, is a possibility, but the veteran forward would likely have to take a pay cut from the $26.6MM he earned this season.
“Tobias has been great,” Langdon said. “We appreciate everything he’s brought. We hope we can bring him back. He’s somebody we’d love to put in a Pistons uniform.”
And-Ones: Social Justice Award, Wemby, Leg Injuries, McGrady
Heat big man Bam Adebayo, Spurs forward Harrison Barnes, Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, Pistons forward Tobias Harris, and Cavaliers big man Larry Nance Jr. are the five finalists for the 2026 Social Justice Champion award, the NBA announced in a press release.
“The annual award honors a current NBA player for pursuing social justice and will receive the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar trophy for advancing Abdul-Jabbar’s life mission to engage, empower and drive equality for individuals and groups who have been historically disadvantaged,” the release states.
“The NBA Social Justice Champion will be announced during the Conference Finals of the 2026 NBA Playoffs and receive a $100,000 donation from the NBA for a non-profit organization of his choosing.”
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is unlikely to suit up for the French national team for a pair of 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifying games in early July, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops, but the former No. 1 overall pick is expected to be available during the second qualifying window in late August. San Antonio’s deep playoff run — the Spurs are set to face Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals — is the reason why Wembanyama probably won’t play for Team France in July.
- Kirk Goldsberry of The Ringer takes a data-focused look at the NBA’s significant rise in soft-tissue leg injuries and considers what measures the league could take to mitigate them.
- Hall-of-Famer Tracy McGrady relaunched his Ones Basketball League at Oak Ridge High School in Orlando on Friday, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. “I thought it was a great atmosphere,” McGrady said of the rowdy crowd. “Orlando showed a lot of support. I thought the guys played extremely well, played hard. … All in all, I think it was a great showing. And hopefully the crowd that was here got an opportunity to see some good basketball and understand what we’re trying to build.” Beede passes along more details about the one-on-one league, which will conclude on July 1 with a prize of $100,000.
Pistons Notes: Harris, Thompson, Cunningham, Jenkins
Tobias Harris hasn’t just served as a sage voice in the Pistons’ locker room — he has become the secondary option they need for playoff success. The 33-year-old forward is averaging 21.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game in the playoffs as Detroit carries a 2-0 series lead into Cleveland this afternoon.
Harris told Hunter Patterson of The Athletic that his two seasons during his second stint with Detroit have been joyful.
“They bring me a lot of life. I tell my wife all the time all the time, ‘I love being a part of this team, I love being with these guys.’” Harris said. “On the floor, off the floor, the communication, the way we all are friends, really. I’m the older guy, but I look at our team like life-long friends outside of hooping — that’s rare. I’ve played with a lot of guys. I’ve probably only called a few of them real friends.”
Cade Cunningham said that Harris, who will be a free agent after the season, has contributed to his growth on and off the court.
“Man, he’s been great in a lot of ways,” Cunningham said. “He’s shown me things, on and off the court — professionalism, ways to make my life easier and do my job more efficiently. On the court, he’s so versatile. We can put him in so many different spots. He can space us and shoot the 3, we can put him on the block and he goes and gets us one. We went to him a couple times, I think, early fourth quarter to go get us some buckets. Just the ability to put him in so many different spots at the four position is great for us. His professionalism and the way that he leads is just the cherry on top.”
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Ausar Thompson and the Pistons are at the forefront of a defensive revolution, Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press opines. Thompson’s ability to dominate at the defensive end could change the way front offices think about draft prospects. Thompson was a No. 5 overall pick by the previous front office regime and has overcome his offensive shortcomings with his defensive impact. Windsor notes that the top eight three-point shooting teams in the league this season have already been eliminated.
- Cunningham has emerged as a premier closer. He’s leading the league in scoring during this postseason, averaging 30.6 points per game on 45.0% shooting from the field and 40.6% from behind the arc. “Cade is just fabulous,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “He’s a killer closer, and all the adjectives you want to talk about, he’s it, and in the fourth quarter, he does his best work.” Cunningham says that he’s fueled by crunch time moments. “I just want to win games. It’s been a lot of games down the stretch where it’s tight and you’ve got to have productive possessions,” he said. “The pressure, the moment – whatever the word is I’m looking for … it’s high stakes at the end of games. You’ve got to make plays. All of that stuff fuels me.”
- Backup point guard Daniss Jenkins struggled in his first five postseason games but has delivered in the last three. The former two-way player is averaging 14.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists during that stretch and also made four steals in Game 1 against the Cavaliers. “That’s just me. I got to process stuff for myself,” he said. “Like I said, you can’t simulate the playoffs. Can’t do that. It’s my first time going through it. So, I knew I wouldn’t be scared, nothing like that. I just had to go through it, and I had to adjust to the intensity, the atmosphere, the physicality. Like I said, I think early on, I was just pressing a little too much. I just had to relax.”
Pistons Notes: Harris, Playoff Experience, Duren, Cunningham
A free agent after the season, Tobias Harris has shown the NBA world he still has plenty left in the tank. The Pistons forward averaged 21.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game during the first-round series against Orlando, including 30 points in the decisive Game 7 on Sunday.
“Nobody can say (bleep) to me about Tobias Harris,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “I mean, he is dependable, reliable (and) prepared for the moment. He’s a leader, he’s a great teammate, (and) he’s a great human being. He’s a high-level competitor. To show up tonight and do what he did when it was on the line the most, it’s just exceptional. I can come up with more adjectives if you want, but I think you get my drift.”
Teammates have enormous respect for the 33-year-old Harris, who has been instrumental in the franchise’s resurgence over the last two seasons.
“He’s the ultimate vet,” center Jalen Duren said. “He’s been in these types of games. He’s got a lot of playoff experience. You know, I think J.B. calls him his safety blanket or whatever, but I think he’s the safety blanket for the team. He’s a guy we can go to when we need a bucket. He’s just the ultimate vet, man. He’s just been that for us all season, so it’s nothing new.”
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Harris said the team will benefit from the hard-fought first-round series heading into the conference semifinals against the Cavaliers. “One hundred percent [there are positives]. I said after the game that every series we learn,” Harris said. “We learn about ourselves as a group. It’s the playoffs. In my playoff experience, playoffs will put your team in a bunch of things you’re good at, and things that you have to get better at. We did a great job at just adjusting, figuring out ways to win games. Some of the [problems] were self-inflicted, but at the same time, we stayed composed and were able to understand the performances that we needed to win these games.”
- Duren had his best game of the series on Sunday. The fourth-year center, headed to restricted free agency this summer, racked up 15 points and 15 rebounds while anchoring the defense. “I know who I am, I know who the team is,” he said. “Outside noise is whatever it is. In our locker room we know who we are – as a team, as a group, as an organization. We don’t take this ‘dawg’ s–t lightly. We really feel like we’re dawgs. We feel like when our back is against the wall, the whole world counts us out, that now it’s time to go. Now it’s time to keep swinging. I never doubted anything. I never doubted the guys that I was going to war with. I never doubted the coaches. Never. Let’s keep going, let’s keep proving the world wrong.”
- Cade Cunningham posted averages of 32.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists during the series. Cunningham, who suffered a collapsed lung late in the regular season, complimented the Magic for forcing his team to overcome adversity. “Playoff basketball is a lot of fun,” he said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “So intense, so much on the line. They pushed us, really made us take a look in the mirror. I think we got a lot better from this series. Learned a lot about myself, a lot about the team. This series really is going to set us up for our next series. We’ll be a lot better for it.”
Injury Updates: Ingram, Harris, Huerter, F. Wagner, Isaac
As expected, the Raptors will be down their leading scorer as they try to avoid elimination on Friday, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link). After being downgraded to doubtful earlier in the day due to right heel inflammation, All-Star forward Brandon Ingram will be sidelined for the Game 6 home contest vs. Cleveland.
Ingram, who exited Game 5 in the second quarter after aggravating a heel issue that sidelined him for three games during the final few weeks of the regular season, is still experiencing pain in that right heel and wasn’t on the court for the portion of Friday’s shootaround. Toronto will also be without starting guard Immanuel Quickley, who will miss the entire series due to a hamstring strain.
On a more positive note for the Raptors, Scottie Barnes wasn’t on the injury report ahead of tonight’s game after Toronto’s other All-Star took a hit to the thigh in Wednesday’s loss.
“He’s feeling good,” head coach Darko Rajakovic said of Barnes (Twitter link via Lewenberg). “It’s awesome to be young and recover quickly.”
Here are more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Pistons starting forward Tobias Harris (left ankle sprain) will be active for Friday’s Game 6 in Orlando, but reserve wing Kevin Huerter (left adductor strain) is out, tweets Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. As we noted earlier on Friday when both players were questionable, Huerter has played a modest role in the series, but Harris has scored at least 16 points in each of the first five games. Detroit is also facing elimination, currently at a 3-2 deficit in the first-round matchup.
- Magic star Franz Wagner will miss his second straight game on Friday due to a right calf strain, and his return doesn’t sound imminent. Head coach Jamahl Mosley said the German forward wasn’t able to do anything at Friday’s shootaround, according to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Wagner, who was in a walking boot on Wednesday, suggested ahead of Game 5 that he and the team would take a cautious approach due to the nature of the injury.
- In addition to Wagner, the Magic will be without Jonathan Isaac again on Friday. The veteran big man continues to battle a left knee sprain he suffered on March 12. Mosley said Friday morning that Isaac still hasn’t done contact work, Beede writes. “Just how he responds to each part of treatment,” Mosley said. “Some days it’s feeling a certain way. Some days it might not feel as great. So we’re always going to be cautious and smart about how they respond to each treatment each time they go through it.”
Injury Notes: Ingram, Tatum, Harris, Huerter, Lakers
After initially listing Brandon Ingram as questionable for Friday’s do-or-die Game 6 due to right heel inflammation, the Raptors are downgrading the veteran forward to doubtful, according to Michal Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).
Ingram, who exited Game 5 in the second quarter after aggravating a heel issue that sidelined him for three games during the final few weeks of the regular season, is still experiencing pain in that heel and wasn’t on the court for the portion of Friday’s shootaround that was open to the media, tweets Jamal Collier of ESPN.
Ingram was Toronto’s leading scorer during the regular season but has struggled in the first round of the playoffs vs. Cleveland, making just 19-of-58 shots from the floor (32.8%), including only 14-of-45 two-pointers (31.1%). Still, he demands significant defensive attention when he’s on the floor and his absence figures to hamper the Raptors’ offense as they attempt to extend their season on Friday. With Ingram unavailable in Wednesday’s second half, the club made just 15-of-50 (30.0%) field goal attempts.
The good news for the Raptors is that forward Scottie Barnes, who was hobbled in Game 5 after taking a shot to the quad, isn’t listed on the injury report and will be good to go for Game 6.
We have more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
- Celtics forward Jayson Tatum didn’t play the last 16 minutes of Thursday’s loss to Philadelphia. Tatum, who returned in March from a torn right Achilles, was battling a left leg issue, he confirmed after the game, but he downplayed the issue and suggested he’ll be fine for Game 7. “It was my other leg,” Tatum said, per Brian Robb of MassLive.com. “So not the one I injured last year. I wasn’t overly concerned. I came out at four minutes (left in the third quarter) like I was supposed to and just kind of assessed the game. And they took the starters out fairly early in the fourth quarter. So yeah, it was not like that big of a deal.”
- Pistons forward Tobias Harris (left ankle sprain) and Kevin Huerter (left adductor strain) are both listed as questionable for Friday’s Game 6 in Orlando, per Hunter Patterson of The Athletic (Twitter link). Huerter has played a very limited role in the series, scoring just six points in 42 total minutes, but Harris has started and scored at least 16 points in all five games, so his status will be worth monitoring closely ahead of tonight’s contest.
- Outside of Luka Doncic, who isn’t close to returning from his left hamstring strain, the Lakers have an otherwise clean injury report for Friday’s Game 6 in Houston, tweets Jovan Buha. After winning the first three games of the series, the Lakers will get their third chance to close out the Rockets and avoid a Game 7.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Detroit Pistons
For the rest of the regular season and postseason, Hoops Rumors is taking a closer look at players who will be free agents – or could become free agents – during the 2026 offseason. We’ll consider whether each player’s stock is rising or falling due to his performance and several other factors.
Today, we’re focusing on a handful of Pistons players, starting with an All-NBA candidate who had a breakout fourth season in Detroit.
Pistons Clinch Top Seed In Eastern Conference
The Pistons clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2006/07 following Saturday’s lopsided victory in Philadelphia, the NBA announced (via Twitter).
Detroit is currently 57-21 with four games left in the regular season. The team now has home-court advantage throughout the East playoffs.
Veteran forward Tobias Harris was among seven Pistons who scored in double figures on Saturday, finishing with a team-high 19 points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists in 27 minutes. The 33-year-old, who spent five-plus years with the Sixers, was booed throughout the game, per ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill, and viewed it as test against a team trying to secure a playoff berth.
“It’s a good opportunity to go out there and play and figure it out,” Harris said. “It gets you ready for the playoffs, high intensity basketball. In any other arena, they boo the other team, not specifically you. For me I look at it as a challenge. Use it as a training, really.”
The Pistons have gone 8-2 since Cade Cunningham suffered a collapsed lung on March 17, with Jalen Duren and Daniss Jenkins continuing their strong play in the All-NBA guard’s absence. Detroit’s only two losses over that 10-game span were in overtime (vs. Atlanta and at Oklahoma City).
Fourth-year center Duren has averaged 22.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting 66.0% from the field and 83.8% from the foul line in nine games over that stretch (he was out for the loss to the Thunder), while second-year guard Jenkins has put up 19.0 PPG, 7.7 APG and 4.4 RPG on .448/.438/.911 shooting in 10 contests.
“With Cade here we were more relaxed, we knew we had more of a superstar to get us to wins,” Pistons swingman Ausar Thompson told ESPN. “But since he’s been gone we all gathered around and knew we had to be more gritty, missing such a big piece. We had to make up for less offense on the defensive side.”
The last formal update on Cunningham came a few days ago, when the Pistons announced that he “continues to make progress in his return to play process” and would be reevaluated in a week. According to Goodwill, all signs continue to point to Cunningham being ready to return for Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs.
Injury Notes: Curry, Harris, Embiid, Giddey, Jones Garcia
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr provided an encouraging update on Stephen Curry after the 38-year-old went through another scrimmage on Thursday evening, tweets Nick Friedell of The Athletic.
“He looked good … he looks like Steph Curry,” Kerr said.
Kerr wouldn’t commit to Curry playing on Sunday, saying that would be up to the star guard and director of sports medicine and performance Rick Celebrini. A final call will likely happen on Friday, Friedell adds, but it certainly sounds like Curry is on track to suit up this weekend, barring a last-minute setback.
The two-time MVP has been sidelined since late January due to patellofemoral pain syndrome in his right knee.
Here are a few more health-related updates from around the NBA:
- Veteran forward Tobias Harris suffered a left knee contusion in the first half of Thursday’s matchup with Minnesota and was ruled out for the remainder of the contest, the Pistons announced (via Twitter). Harris, who has started each of the 59 games in which he’s appeared this season, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- Sixers center Joel Embiid has been listed as doubtful ahead of Friday’s game vs. Minnesota because of an illness, per Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice. Embiid sat out Wednesday’s win against Washington because he was sick and the doubtful designation suggests he’s likely to miss a second consecutive game.
- Josh Giddey was held out of Wednesday’s contest vs. Indiana after experiencing left hamstring tightness and his status for the final six games of the season is up in the air, according to Brian Sandalow of The Chicago Sun-Times. The Australian guard missed 19 games due to left hamstring issues earlier in 2025/26 and is considered day-to-day, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said.
- Rookie wing David Jones Garcia, who is about two months removed from season-ending ankle surgery, is no longer using a scooter and is traveling with the Spurs during their ongoing road trip, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. Jones Garcia is expected to make a full recovery at some point in the offseason. “He’s a big part of the locker room and the group and the guys, so it’s been good to have him around,” head coach Mitch Johnson said.