Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pistons Notes: Drummond, 10-Day Contracts, Marjanovic

January 4th, 2018 at 5:27pm CST by Austin Kent

Sidelined Pistons big man Andre Drummond doesn’t need to be medically cleared to return to the court following a bruised rib injury, it’s simply a matter of where his pain tolerance sits, Rod Beard of the Detroit News writes.

The Pistons play the Sixers tomorrow – the potential third installment of Drummond’s personal series against Joel Embiid – but there’s no guarantee that Drummond will be a part of it.

“It’s is a pain-tolerance thing. Everybody has had them,” Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said after a Thursday practice that Drummond missed. “It’s hard to breathe and hard to move. Whenever he’s comfortable enough to go, he’ll go. It’s a painful injury, no question.”

In the first four years of his career, Drummond only missed three games total.

There’s more from Detroit:

Friday marks the first day that NBA teams are permitted to sign players to 10-day contracts and it’s “possible” that the short-staffed Pistons will look to bring in temporary relief, Keith Langlois of the team’s official site tweets.
He may be the most efficient scorer in NBA history but Boban Marjanovic isn’t a practical option for Stan Van Gundy on a nightly basis when Andre Drummond is healthy. Chris Herring of Five Thirty Eight broke down how the reserve’s game stacks up historically and what’s preventing him from seeing more time on the court when the starter ahead of him is in the lineup.

Pistons Notes: Bradley, Leuer, Bullock, Galloway

January 3rd, 2018 at 8:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Avery Bradley‘s role will change now that he’ll be playing alongside Ish Smith instead of Reggie Jackson until after the All-Star break, as he and coach Stan Van Gundy noted to me in a Detroit Free Press story.

The Pistons shooting guard returned to action on Wednesday after a seven-game absence due to a groin injury. While Bradley was on the mend, Jackson suffered a severe ankle sprain. Bradley will have to get used to quicker tempo and he’ll have the ball in his hands a little more. Van Gundy is running the offense more through the wings with Jackson on the sidelines.

“It’s going to change and I just have to make the adjustment,” Bradley said of his role. Bradley usually defended point guards with Jackson on the floor but those switched assignments will occur less often with the smaller Smith.

“The best part of Reggie Jackson’s defense is his post defense, so you could play him on a lot of bigger people,” Van Gundy said. “With Ish, that’s a lot different. So matchups will be a little bit different.”

In other Pistons developments:

Forward Jon Leuer, who hasn’t played since October 31st due to an ankle injury, could be headed to surgery if his condition doesn’t improve soon. Leuer received a joint lubrication injection for his sprained left ankle a month ago after suffering a setback. He was put on anti-inflammatory medication recently to aid the healing process. Van Gundy hopes that Leuer will show significant progress by next weekend. “I can’t tell him to play and I can’t tell him to go get surgery,” Van Gundy said. “At that point, if we’ve gone another 12 days and we haven’t had anything change, he’s going to have to make some decisions on what he wants to do.”
With Bradley returning to the lineup, Reggie Bullock and Anthony Tolliver will share a starting spot, depending on matchups. Against smaller lineups, Bullock will start. Against taller, more rugged power forwards, Tolliver will get the nod with Tobias Harris moving to small forward.
The backup point guard job spot behind Smith is up for grabs. Langston Galloway played most of those minutes the first game Jackson was out. Dwight Buycks, who is on a two-way contract, played 18 minutes at the point the following game.

Avery Bradley Set To Return For Pistons

January 2nd, 2018 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams

After missing seven games due to a groin injury, Pistons guard Avery Bradley is set to return to action on Wednesday, writes Ansar Khan of MLive.com. “It was lingering over a few weeks, but now I feel better, I feel like I can go out there and give my all,” Bradley said.

Reggie Jackson's Injury Changes Pistons' Plans

January 1st, 2018 at 10:11am CST by marksuleymanov

Reggie Jackson‘s grade 3 ankle sprain has changed the Pistons’ plans and it will take time to adjust to life without one of the team’s best players, NBA.com’s Keith Langlois writes. Wins and losses will not be as important as achieving consistency while Jackson is on the shelf. The responsibility of that falls on Ish Smith and Langston Galloway, the two players who will see increased roles in Jackson’s absence.

Jackson Two Weeks Away From Starting Rehab

December 30th, 2017 at 9:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson can’t start his rehab process until the swelling goes down in his injured right foot, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News. That’s expected to happen in about two weeks.

Buycks Hopes to Prove His Worth

December 28th, 2017 at 4:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Dwight Buycks hopes he can prove that he’s worthy of a standard contract now that Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson is out at least 6-8 weeks with a severe ankle sprain, as he told Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Detroit signed Buycks to a two-way contract but he spurned a two-year deal because he hoped to eventually earn a spot on a 15-man roster, Langlois continues. Buycks, along with combo guard Langston Galloway, are the two in-house options to back up Ish Smith until Jackson returns. “This is my dream, to be here and be here permanently,” Buycks said. “It’s up to me to put the work in and be successful out here.” Buycks had previous stints with the Raptors and Lakers but hadn’t appeared in a league game since the 2014/15 season until he played two minutes against the Pacers on Tuesday.

Pistons Guard Reggie Jackson Out For Extended Period

December 27th, 2017 at 11:47am CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson suffered a Grade 3 right ankle sprain against the Pacers on Tuesday and will be sidelined until after the All-Star break, the team announced on Wednesday. Jackson underwent an MRI on Wednesday, which revealed the extent of the injury. He will be re-evaluated in six to eight weeks, according to the press release.

Coach Stan Van Gundy said during his postgame press conference that X-rays were negative. However, Jackson was in severe pain when the injury occurred and couldn’t put any pressure on the leg.

Jackson had eight points and a season-high 13 assists prior to the injury. He missed the first 21 games last season with a knee injury but the club got off to an 11-10 start with Ish Smith running the offense. Smith will move into the lineup as long as Jackson is out. “Ish did a great job of taking over when Reggie went down last year, so we won’t miss a beat,” center Andre Drummond said after the game.

Langston Galloway or Dwight Buycks, who is on a two-way contract, will back up Smith while Jackson mends. Galloway, who inked a three-year, $21MM free agent contract during the summer, has played almost exclusively at shooting guard this season. Buycks appeared in his first NBA game on Tuesday since playing six games with the Lakers during the 2014/15 season.

Another option, as Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets, is to sign a player to a 10-day contract. Teams can add a player via a 10-day deal beginning on January 5th and Detroit has an open roster spot.

In the short run, the Pistons are without both starting guards. Shooting guard Avery Bradley has missed the last five games with a groin injury but he is progressing. The team is hopeful he can return next week, as Langlois tweets.

Beno Udrih Signs With Lithuanian Team

December 24th, 2017 at 10:03am CST by Arthur Hill

Veteran point guard Beno Udrih, who was waived by the Pistons in October, has signed to play in Lithuania, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Udrih will join Zalgiris Kaunas, one of the oldest and most decorated teams in the EuroLeague.

Udrih, 35, played for eight teams during a 13-year NBA career after being drafted by the Spurs with the 28th pick in 2004. His best seasons came in Sacramento, where he was a double-digit scorer for four straight years from 2007/08 to 2010/11.

He was involved in a controversy in February of 2016 when he agreed to a buyout with the Heat that gave Miami enough cap room to sign Joe Johnson after his buyout from the Nets. Udrih was sidelined because of foot surgery at the time and had no chance to catch on with another team. Miami re-signed him in August of that year, but he failed to earn a roster spot.

The Pistons claimed him off waivers and he spent a full season in Detroit, averaging 5.8 points and 3.4 assists in 39 games. The team opted to part with him in mid-October, even though it was already down to the roster limit of 15.

“It was still hard for me because I love the guy, and so does everybody out here,” coach/executive Stan Van Gundy told Ansar Khan of MLive at the time. “Good guy, knows how to play, really has a good way about him of helping the young guys and talking to them and teaching them. I’ve seen a lot of veterans who try to help young guys, but they come across as condescending a little bit, like, ‘I know more than you.’ Beno never came across like that. He was able to talk to guys.”

Another Setback For Jon Leuer

December 20th, 2017 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The recovery timetable for Pistons big man Jon Leuer continues to be pushed back, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Leuer, who had a joint lubrication injection earlier this month to help heal his injured left ankle, had another setback recently, prompting the club to slow down his rehab process once again, according to head coach Stan Van Gundy.

Pistons Will Shut Down Avery Bradley For A Week

December 19th, 2017 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Pistons guard Avery Bradley, who has missed the club’s last two games, will remain sidelined for at least a few more contests, the team confirmed today. Speaking to reporters, including Rod Beard of The Detroit News, head coach Stan Van Gundy announced that Bradley will be “shut down for at least a week,” then will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis.

“It’s going to take some time,” said Van Gundy, who doubles as the Pistons’ president of basketball operations. “But he’ll basically do nothing for the next seven days and see where he is and whether we’re starting him back or not.”