Pistons Notes: Ivey, Cunningham, Thompson, LeVert, Roster
Pistons guard Jaden Ivey is fully healthy after being limited to 30 games last season due to a fractured left fibula, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscriber link). Ivey described his rehab as an arduous process.
“The journey has been definitely a grind to get back, to get healed, to get stronger,” Ivey said. “It’s definitely been a grind. I’m definitely thankful to be in this position right now, be able to be back healthy and to do what I’ve been working for my whole life, to be able to play this game. I’m healed now and looking forward to this next season.”
Head of basketball operations Trajan Langdon says the team is glad to have Ivey back, though he acknowledged there might be some rough periods as the former Purdue star gets accustomed to playing again. Ivey will be eligible for a rookie scale extension through October 20.
“There’s no restrictions on him,” Langdon said. “He’s looking really good, obviously. It will take him some time, he hasn’t played five-on-five NBA basketball in 10 months. By the time he gets going with that I think there’s going to be a rhythm component and even a game conditioning component that he’ll have to get up to speed. We look forward to having him back and he’s going to be a huge part of this team.”
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- All-Star guard Cade Cunningham has high expectations for the Pistons after they made the playoffs last season, per Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. “We all want a championship out of this, you know? (Last season) was a great stepping stone for that,” Cunningham said. “We have no chance of going to get a championship without a year like last year. But there are more steps to be taken after that. I think our minds are just onto the next step, honestly. We’re not into celebrating last year anymore.”
- Several players mentioned Ausar Thompson as a player who made noteworthy strides this offseason, Patterson adds. Thompson, who missed the start of last season with a blood clot issue, was fully healthy over the summer appears to have bulked up. “Being healthy for him was huge,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Being able to work on his skill set, work on his craft, play more basketball over the summer, more one-on-one and those types of things were huge for him. … Coming into camp in just better shape will allow him to let his talents run. Conditioning is the ultimate cheat code. If you can play at your highest level longer than your opponent can, it’s going to give you an advantage. If Ausar can play at his highest level with his freak-of-nature abilities that come along with him, just imagine what he will be capable of.”
- Bickerstaff was happy to reunite with veteran wing Caris LeVert, Sankofa writes in another subscriber-only story. Bickerstaff coached LeVert, who signed a two-year deal with Detroit in free agency, while the two were members of the Cavaliers. “His versatility is going to be key,” Bickerstaff said. “There’s so many different things you can do with him. … He can initiate offense and he’s really good as a second-side attacker. We’re going to use his versatility, but he can do so many different things and not just for himself. Having spent so much time with him, he’s a really good play-maker and passer. So he can help his teammates, also.”
- As Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes, Detroit lost some volume three-point shooters from last season’s roster, which ranked just 22nd in the league in three-point attempts. Bickerstaff is fine with shooting fewer threes if it means the team is benefiting in other areas. He also praised the group’s positional versatility. “We don’t need to have guys that are just one position,” Bickerstaff said. “We feel we have a bunch of guys that can play position-less basketball and it helps their skill set out. So what we’ll do is we’ll put the combinations that we see that work best for us. We’re not worried about having a backup one or a backup two. We’re trying to get talent on the floor.”
And-Ones: NBC, Amazon, Gay, Jackson, CBA, Darlan, More
With the regular season now just weeks away, the NBA’s new broadcast partners continue to fill out their coverage rosters. NBC Sports issued a press release on Monday announcing that veteran reporter Chris Mannix – who had been writing for SI.com – is joining the network as a digital insider and will appear on NBC’s and Peacock’s studio show to report on and discuss breaking news.
Meanwhile, Amazon Prime Video is hiring NBA reporter Chris Haynes as a league insider and has tabbed Marcus Thompson of The Athletic to report feature stories, according to Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports. Haynes has been working independently this offseason ahead of his stint with Amazon, while Thompson will continue in his role at The Athletic while pulling double duty for Prime Video.
Amazon also recently added former NBA players Rudy Gay and Jim Jackson to its list of analysts, Glasspiegel notes. They join Kyle Lowry, Dell Curry, Brent Barry, Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, and Steve Nash as current and former players who will have game or studio analyst roles with Prime Video.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Within a look at how the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement and tax apron system have diminished free agency, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) reports that multiple teams have lobbied the league to implement some sort of discount for homegrown players — for instance, if a player drafted by a team goes on to become a maximum-salary player for that club, perhaps his cap hit could be 30% of the cap instead of the 35% salary he’s actually earning. However, the NBA hasn’t seriously weighed that possibility to this point, Fischer writes.
- Thierry Darlan has spent the past two seasons in the G League but was ruled eligible by the NCAA to spend the 2025/26 season at Santa Clara, agent Todd Ramasar tells ESPN’s Jeremy Woo. The 6’8″ guard will enter college as a junior, with two years of eligibility available. Michael McCann of Sportico digs into the decision, writing that it’s the latest defeat for “amateurism,” as the NCAA becomes increasingly open to welcoming players who have already played professionally.
- ESPN’s NBA insiders take a look at the biggest question facing each of the league’s 30 teams this fall, including where Jaden Ivey‘s fits in for the new-look Pistons, whether the Timberwolves‘ young players are ready to step up, and whether the Spurs can overcome a lack of three-point shooting around Victor Wembanyama
- The Knicks (53.5 wins), Celtics (42.5), and Trail Blazers (34.5) are among the teams that John Hollinger of The Athletic believes will fall short of their projected win totals this season.
Pistons Notes: Extensions, Offseason Moves, Holland, Thompson, Stewart, Ivey
The Pistons have until the end of training camp to reach rookie scale extensions with two key players, guard Jaden Ivey and center Jalen Duren. President of basketball operations Trajan Langdon didn’t tip his hand during Monday’s media day regarding those talks, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press tweets.
“We’re excited they’re both members of the Pistons,” Langdon said. “They will have huge roles … whether or not we get deals done, I don’t know if that happens.”
If they don’t sign extensions, Ivey and Duren will be restricted free agents next summer.
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Other than the sign-and-trade for Duncan Robinson and the signing of free agent Caris LeVert, the Pistons didn’t make any major moves. Langdon made some calls this offseason but ultimately wanted to see what they have with their young core, Hunter Patterson of The Athletic tweets.
- Ron Holland appeared in 81 regular season games last season, averaging 15.6 minutes in those contests. He could see even more playing time this season, as coach J.B. Bickerstaff was impressed with the work Holland put in this offseason, Patterson tweets.
- While Ivey and franchise player Cade Cunningham will often have the ball in their hands, Ausar Thompson could initiate the offense more this season. “Ausar with the ball in his hands, he’s a nightmare,” Bickerstaff said, per Sankofa (Twitter link). “We look at how can we get the ball in his hands more, especially in the open floor.”
- Isaiah Stewart was only able to play in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Knicks due to right knee inflammation. He believes he could have made a big difference. “It was frustrating, definitely frustrating. I felt if I played, the series would have turned out different and (we) would have been able to advance,” he said, per Sankofa (video link). Had the series gone to a seventh game, he would have tried to play.
- As for this season, Stewart plans to take more shots from beyond the arc. He attempted 175 three-pointers in 2023/24 but only 53 last season. “Two seasons ago I shot almost 40% from the three,” he said, per Sankofa (Twitter link). “It’s a weapon, especially when we play certain teams and different coverages. I look forward to bringing that back.”
- Are there any players on the roster who could work their way into the All-Star conversation besides Cunningham? Ivey and Thompson are the two players to watch, given that Ivey could have a bigger offensive role and Thompson contributes in so many ways, Sankofa opines.
Central Notes: Pacers, Giannis, Giddey, Bulls, Pistons
The Pacers won’t have their star point guard and team leader Tyrese Haliburton available at all in 2025/26 while he recovers from an Achilles tear. However, that doesn’t mean the team views the coming season as a “gap year,” as Dustin Dopirak writes for The Indianapolis Star.
“I don’t think that’s ever been what we’ve been about,” general manager Chad Buchanan told reporters on Thursday. “With Mr. (Herb) Simon as our owner, it’s always been about trying to compete and trying to win. Some years are going to be more challenging than others. Obviously, we’re down Tyrese and that will make some challenges. But we’re not looking at this as a year to try and get through. We’d never wish away a season.”
The Pacers are widely expected to take a step backward without Haliburton after making the Eastern Conference Finals in 2024 and NBA Finals in 2025. Oddsmakers view them as more likely to miss the playoffs than to make it. While Buchanan acknowledged that playing without Haliburton will likely affect Indiana’s style, slowing down the pace of the offense, he pointed out that most of the rest of the roster (with the notable exception of center Myles Turner) is returning and that those players have exhibited a tendency to defy expectations.
“This team has shown that they come together when people kinda doubt them,” Buchanan said. “I think they feel and they sense and they hear the doubt about this season for us. We’re still going to have a lot of the same identity. We still have a lot of the same core pieces on this team. The traits that those guys bring, what our coaches bring, are still there. I wouldn’t put a limit on anything this year.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, in an interview with Sport24, said he could envision himself playing for a European club later in his career if the timing and conditions were right, as Eurohoops relays. Antetokounmpo also suggested he’s probably not the only European star who feels that way. “Of course it can happen,” he said. “If you told (Nikola) Jokic that he would earn roughly the same money and be back home in Serbia, he would do it. For me, I think a lot about my body. The money is very different, and not just the money – the whole organization is completely different. You’ve been to the NBA, you’ve seen how things work. But every year when I play for the national team, I always end up saying the same thing.”
- Josh Giddey‘s new four-year contract with the Bulls is worth exactly $100MM, is fully guaranteed (with no incentives or options), and features annual cap hits of $25MM, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. The flat structure of the deal means it will be worth a smaller percentage of the salary cap in future seasons, allowing Chicago to maximize its flexibility down the road.
- The Bulls announced a series of promotions and additions within their basketball opreations department, including naming Faizan Hasnany as their executive director of basketball strategy and analytics.
- Longtime Pistons scout Durand “Speedy” Walker has earned a promotion and will serve as the president of basketball operations of the Motor City Cruise, the team’s G League affiliate, according to a press release. Walker has more than 18 years of experience in the organization.
Pistons Cut Quincy Olivari
Guard Quincy Olivari has been waived by the Pistons, per the NBA’s transaction log. Detroit signed Olivari to an Exhibit 10 contract earlier this week.
After going undrafted last summer, the former Xavier guard spent the first half of his debut pro season in 2024/25 with the Lakers. Olivari played in just two games for Los Angeles, but put up encouraging numbers with the team’s G League club, the South Bay Lakers.
In 31 regular season games for South Bay, Olivari registered averages of 17.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per contest, with shooting splits of .401/.342/.781.
More recently, Olivari joined the Nets’ Summer League squad in July.
This moves leaves only Charles Bediako, Dawson Garcia and Brice Williams signed to Exhibit 10 agreements. The Pistons will likely fill that newly opened roster spot prior to the start of camp.
Olivari, meanwhile, is a good bet to end up with Detroit’s G League team, the Motor City Cruise. Should he remain with Motor City for 60 days or more, Olivari could net a bonus worth as much as $85,300.
Pistons Signing Quincy Olivari
The Pistons are signing free agent guard Quincy Olivari, his agent Darrell Comer tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Olivari, 24, had been on a two-way deal with the Lakers for part of 2024/25. The 6’3″ Xavier alum appeared in just two contests for Los Angeles last season after signing on with the club as an undrafted rookie.
The Lakers waived him in January 2025, and he finished his season with L.A.’s NBAGL affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. He suited up for Brooklyn’s Summer League club in July.
Across 31 outings with South Bay, including 29 starts, Olivari averaged 17.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, with a shooting line of .401/.342/.781.
Details of the contract have yet to be revealed, although it seems likely given his limited experience that Olivari has agreed to a training camp deal with Exhibit 10 language.
Detroit currently has three other players — Charles Bediako, Dawson Garcia and Brice Williams — signed to Exhibit 10 deals. All three of the Pistons’ two-way contracts are occupied, while the team has 14 of its 15 standard roster spots filled.
Should Detroit cut Olivari before the start of the season and sign him to its affiliate team, the Motor City Cruise, Olivari could be eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 — provided he sticks with Motor City for at least 60 days.
Central Notes: Toppin, Giddey, Pistons, Bucks
The Pacers will have to defend their Eastern Conference championship without Tyrese Haliburton, who will spend this season rehabbing from Achilles tendon surgery. Big man Obi Toppin still believes the Pacers can be “great” without their star guard.
“Ty brings so much to the team and it’s not hidden, everybody understands what he brings to the game,” Toppin told Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “So it’s just something that everybody on the team has to do while we’re out there, just doing a little extra knowing what we’re missing and knowing what we need out there on the court and just continue playing Pacers basketball. We’ve built the system here and I feel like everybody has bought into the system. That’s why we’ve been so successful. If we continue doing that, we’re gonna still be great.”
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Given Josh Giddey‘s defensive shortcomings, handing him a four-year, $100MM contract was a risky move, according to Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune. While the Bulls got the deal done without egregiously overpaying, they can’t continue to make large commitments to players that can be exploited on the defensive end, Poe contends. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times takes a different approach, stating that Giddey’s contract compares favorably to several of the Eastern Conference starting point guards.
- The Detroit Free Press’ Omari Sankofa II projects a Pistons starting lineup of Jaden Ivey, Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris and Jalen Duren. Sankofa also looks a few other combinations that the coaching staff might want to explore this season.
- Can the Bucks find a reliable point guard? Will Kyle Kuzma have a bounce-back campaign? Those are two of the five questions that could define Milwaukee’s season, according to The Athletic’s Eric Nehm, who takes a closer look at each of those issues.
And-Ones: Roster Holes, G League Trades
With the start of training camp mere weeks away, Kevin Pelton of ESPN takes a look at the biggest 2025/26 roster holes for all 30 NBA teams.
Beyond the reigning champion Thunder, who will be bringing back their full playoff lineup and whose perceived biggest need is a fresh arena, Pelton believes every club has personnel issues.
Among top East contenders, Pelton posits that Cleveland could use some help along the wing with injured swingman Max Strus expected to be out for multiple months. Pelton notes that New York may want to add more proven veteran help to shore up its bench. In the West, Pelton observes that the Rockets and Nuggets could use help at the point, while Minnesota could benefit from some additional depth on the perimeter.
There’s more from around the basketball world:
- The Pistons‘ G League club, the Motor City Cruise, has traded the returning player rights to big man Cameron Martin and guard Javante McCoy to the Nuggets‘ NBAGL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, for the rights to center Charles Bediako and a 2026 international pick, Motor City has announced (Twitter link).
- Raptors 905, the Raptors‘ NBAGL affiliate, is trading their rights to guard Kennedy Chandler to the Sixers‘ G League club, the Delaware Blue Coats, in exchange for wing Patrick McCaw and a future first-rounder, reports Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Murphy tweets that some EuroLeague teams considered bringing McCaw aboard earlier in the offseason. McCaw has been in the G League for four seasons, and Murphy is unsure if he’ll continue suiting up close to NBA scouts or will take a more lucrative offer elsewhere.
- In case you missed it, newly crowned EuroBasket MVP Dennis Schröder cited Hall of Fame countryman Dirk Nowitzki as the major inspiration who helped turn Germany into an international force.
Malik Beasley Remains Interested In Pistons Reunion
Malik Beasley‘s status for next season is still very much up in the air, but there’s still interest in a potential reunion with the Pistons, at least from the player’s side, writes Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press.
“It’s definitely a place I want to be,” Beasley said following the Pistons’ playoff elimination at the hands of the Knicks. “To be here, my mom’s hometown, I grew up here a lot in the summertime. To be able to perform in front of this city is huge and I’m glad I got a chance to do that.”
Beasley became just the fifth player in NBA history to hit 300 three-pointers in a season, Sankofa notes, and was the runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year during his lone season in Detroit. He also became a valuable locker room presence for the young up-and-coming team.
Thanks to his and the team’s success, the Pistons entered the summer with the intention of signing the veteran guard to a three-year, $42MM deal, but the reports of Beasley’s status at the center of a federal gambling investigation threw his playing status into doubt and caused the team to pursue other options: notably, signing Caris LeVert and executing a sign-and-trade for Duncan Robinson.
Beasley’s lawyer, Steve Haney, confirmed that despite still being under a league investigation, Beasley is looking forward to next season — and remains interested in a reunion with the Pistons.
“I do know that Malik, if there’s a pathway, would like to look at being considered to play for Detroit again next season,” Haney said. “I’m not his agent, though, so I don’t know if there’s still interest there, I don’t know if there’s still money there, what the mutual level of interest there is in him returning to Detroit. I know that he’s got a lot of love for Detroit and would like to, if possible, look at maybe coming back.”
The Pistons currently have 13 fully guaranteed contracts, plus Javonte Green‘s partially guaranteed minimum deal. The team holds Beasley’s Non-Bird rights, meaning it could offer him a multi-year deal with an initial annual salary worth up to $7.2MM. If Detroit were to sign him to a four-year deal, it would likely come to around $31MM in totality, marking at least an $11MM drop from the contract Beasley entered the summer expecting to land.
The Cavaliers, Knicks, and Timberwolves had previously expressed interest in Beasley, though the Knicks have began filling out their training camp roster with veterans that have a similar skill set in Landry Shamet, Malcolm Brogdon, and Garrison Mathews, and are reportedly interested in keeping at least two of the three.
Pistons Notes: Extensions, Thompson, Expectations, Predictions
Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren are both approaching the October 20 deadline to sign contract extensions with the Pistons. With that clock ticking down, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press examines several deals that could help set the market for Ivey and Duren as they enter extension negotiations.
Sankofa notes that the two young players had stretches of excellent play, but due to Ivey’s mid-season injury and Duren’s slow start, there are still questions that revolve around the duo’s long-term value to the organization.
Sankofa looks at Josh Giddey and his recent four-year, $100MM deal with the Bulls as a good measuring stick deal for Duren and Ivey. He also cites Jabari Smith Jr.‘s five-year, $122MM extension as well as Alperen Sengun‘s five-year, $185MM contracts with the Rockets, and Trey Murphy III‘s four-year, $112MM extension with the Pelicans as potential comparables for the two Pistons players.
While this offseason has been a difficult one for restricted free agents, next summer is set to have many more teams with cap space, which Sankofa speculates could convince one or both of Ivey and Duren to play out the season without a new deal to explore the marketplace.
We have more from the Pistons:
- While having a full offseason could pay major dividends for Ivey as he recovers from his leg injury, it may benefit Ausar Thompson to an even greater extent, writes Hunter Patterson for The Athletic. Patterson notes that after missing last summer while recovering from a blood clot, conditioning was an occasional issue for the hard-playing Thompson. Patterson believes that having a summer to reach maximum conditioning while carrying over momentum from an encouraging playoff series against the Knicks could do wonders for Thompson’s development. Patterson is also encouraged by the synergy displayed between Thompson and franchise cornerstone Cade Cunningham, believing that the athletic wing and versatile point guard have games that blend together very effectively.
- The Pistons jumped from 14 wins to 44 wins last season, earning the No. 6 seed in the East. While there is less room for such a dramatic improvement this season, Patterson predicts the team can take the next step and become a top-five seed in 2025/26, though he believes the Magic’s trade for Desmond Bane will give them the edge over the Pistons.
- Pistons president Trajan Langdon is aware of the pressure coming off such an unexpectedly dramatic turnaround, but he’s not going to rush the team’s growth, writes Keith Langlois for NBA.com. Instead, Langdon is prioritizing building the right way and expecting results to follow from that blueprint. Langlois notes that the Pistons could have tried to push some chips in for a big move this summer in light of the uncertainty surrounding teams like the Pacers, Celtics, Bucks, and Sixers, but chose to make moves on the margin that would enhance the young core of the team. Because of that, Langlois writes, Langdon will likely judge the team’s success more on the growth of the young core, both individually and as a group, rather than strictly by wins added.