- Not married to any particular rotation, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy intends to use the two-day period between Detroit’s victory over the Timberwolves and their contest with the Clippers on Saturday to re-evaluate the club’s lineups. Keith Langlois of the team’s official site writes that a number of players could be utilized differently in the frontcourt.
The Pistons are finding early success by doing some things that are out of character, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Andre Drummond is perfect from the foul line, Reggie Jackson isn’t dribbling through the shot clock, Stanley Johnson is under control and coach Stan Van Gundy is giving minutes to his young players.
Another key to the successful start has been shooting guard Avery Bradley, who has bolstered the team’s defense and inspired Jackson to improve in that area. The opportunistic Pistons traded for Bradley in July when the Celtics were trying to clear cap room to sign Gordon Hayward.
“Anybody watching us can see a difference from what they had seen a year ago, in terms of the spirit and energy and fight — I don’t think there’s any doubt about that,” Van Gundy said. “To me, it’s some of the guys coming back, taking greater pride and understanding. We’ve seen Reggie, Andre and Stanley step up a lot more in terms of that. Avery has had a lot to do with it. They watch him every day in practice and it raises everybody’s level.”
There’s more out of Detroit:
- Van Gundy has been mixing and matching combinations through the first week of the season, notes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Eric Moreland, Jon Leuer, Henry Ellenson, Anthony Tolliver, Luke Kennard, Langston Galloway and Boban Marjanovic have all been used in different roles during the first three games. The only substitution pattern that has remained constant is Ish Smith filling in for Jackson at point guard. “It’s taking me time to figure it out,” Van Gundy said. “We’ll just keep going at it every night and trying to learn guys and learn our unit as we go. Hopefully, I’ll make better decisions as time goes on.”
- Tolliver, who signed with the Pistons in July, played a key role in erasing a 21-point deficit Saturday against the Knicks, Langlois writes in a separate story. After sitting out the first two games, Tolliver sparked the comeback with his defense on Kristaps Porzingis. “Here he was inactive the first game, didn’t play last night, gets his first opportunity and is a huge contributor,” Van Gundy said. “That’s just a great, professional effort and that’s why you put somebody like Anthony Tolliver on your roster.”
- Swingman Reggie Bullock will provide even more depth when he returns from a suspension this weekend, according to a piece on MLive. Bullock was sidelined five games for a violation of the league’s anti-drug policy. He is expected to compete for a rotation spot at small forward.
Despite a disappointing 2016/17 campaign, in which the Pistons finished 37-45 and missed the playoffs, owner Tom Gores still has confidence in coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy, reports Ansar Khan of MLive.com. “Do I believe in Stan? Absolutely,” Gores said. “He works hard. He told me the other day how hard this team is working. They practice hard. The game is one thing, but practice is important, so Stan really feels good about it … We’re seeing this through, absolutely.”
Gores also touched on the Pistons’ return to Detroit after spending the prior 29 seasons in Auburn Hills. “Back in Detroit. I think that’s a big deal. The city’s worked really hard for this. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure exactly how to express it other than I’m just so happy for you guys, for the community … I feel really fortunate to be here.” Despite last season’s frustration, the Pistons are off to a 2-1 start; enough to place them atop the Central Division in the early going of the 2017/18 season.
Here’s more news from the Central:
- Derrick Rose is unconcerned about his left ankle injury that kept him out of the Cavaliers’ 21-point loss against the Magic on Saturday night, relays Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. In fact, Rose seems more concerned about the effect his absence may have on his conditioning level rather than the ankle itself. “It’s a mild sprain, nothing too serious,” Rose said. “Been getting lot of treatment since this morning, actually (Friday) night. They’re staying on top of it. Like I said, I just don’t want to lose my conditioning because I feel like I’m in great shape right now.”
- While Rose looks to make his return to the court in the near future, teammate Dwyane Wade is still trying to find his rhythm on the court with the Cavaliers, reports Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Wade is averaging a mere 5.7 PPG on 28% shooting in his first three games with the Cavaliers. “I’m trying to find it, man,” Wade said. “It’s very different, different than I’ve ever played. Just trying to find my way, as we go on, see how I can be best for this team. Everything’s happened so fast.”
- In the midst of a rebuilding year and an embarrassing altercation between teammates, the Bulls seem to have found at least one bright spot in rookie Lauri Markkanen, reports Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago. Scoring 13 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in Saturday night’s loss to the Spurs, Markkanen received high praise from a future Hall-of-Famer, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. “Markkanen is a wonderful player. He’s aggressive, he’s smart and obviously, he can shoot the ball. He’s just going to get better and better as he figures things out.” With both Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic out for the next several games, at least, Markkanen will continue to have an opportunity to showcase his talent against the rest of the league.
- After a down year besieged by injuries in 2016/17, Reggie Jackson has recovered and returned to the court for the Pistons. He’s “only going to get better as time goes on” head coach Stan Van Gundy told the media, Brendan Savage of MLive included.
For the first time, NBA teams are permitted to carry up to 17 players this season. In addition to carrying up to 15 players to the NBA roster, teams can add two more players on two-way contracts. The rule changes related to roster sizes have allowed teams to maintain a little extra flexibility, and many clubs are taking advantage of that added flexibility to open the season, carrying the full 17 players.
Several teams still have open roster spots though, affording those clubs a different kind of flexibility. A team carrying only 14 NBA players, for instance, has the opportunity to sign a free agent or add a player in a trade at any time without waiving anyone, all the while avoiding paying for a 15th man who almost certainly won’t see much playing time.
With the help of our roster count page and our two-way contract tracker, here’s a breakdown of the teams that have at least one open NBA or two-way spot on their rosters:
Teams carrying just 14 NBA contracts:
- Boston Celtics
- Charlotte Hornets
- Detroit Pistons
- Houston Rockets
- Indiana Pacers
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Portland Trail Blazers
It makes sense that a few of these teams would avoid carrying a 15th man to open the season. The Rockets, Thunder, and Trail Blazers are all taxpayers, and teams like the Clippers and Hornets are close enough to the tax threshold that avoiding a 15th salary is logical. Among these clubs, the Celtics seem like perhaps the best bet to fill their final roster opening soon, now that the team has likely lost Gordon Hayward for the season.
Teams carrying just one two-way contract:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Houston Rockets
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New York Knicks
- Portland Trail Blazers
The Trail Blazers don’t currently have a G League affiliate of their own, but the other five teams on this list do, so that’s probably not the reason Portland has waited to fill its second two-way slot. In all likelihood, these six teams will add a second two-way player in time for G League training camps, which open next week. The season tips off on November 3.
Grizzlies point guard Mario Chalmers is among the players who received an increased salary guarantee this week when he remained under contract, according to data from Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders and ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Chalmers, who received a modest $25K guarantee when he signed with the Grizzlies in the offseason, now has a fully guaranteed minimum salary for 2017/18.
[RELATED: 2017/18 NBA Salary Guarantee Dates]
Chalmers, who tore his Achilles in March 2016, wasn’t able to make a full recovery during the 2016/17 season, but looked good in camp and the preseason with Memphis this fall. His strong showing earned him a roster spot over fellow point guard – and 2016 first-rounder – Wade Baldwin, who was waived by the Grizzlies. Chalmers will earn a minimum salary worth about $2.106MM this season, though it’ll only count for approximately $1.471MM on Memphis’ cap.
Other players receiving increased guarantees this week include Khem Birch of the Magic and Pistons big man Eric Moreland. According to Pincus’ and Marks’ data, Birch will see his salary guarantee jump from $25K to $408K, while Moreland’s will increase from $750K to $1MM. Both players will receive fully guaranteed 2017/18 salaries on January 10, if they remain under contract.
Birch, who has spent the first few years of his professional career with teams in the G League or overseas, was excited to make an NBA roster for the first time this season, as Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel detailed over the weekend. The Canadian big man didn’t see any action during the Magic’s first game of the season on Wednesday night.
As for Moreland, the 25-year-old was a surprise inclusion in the Pistons’ rotation on Wednesday night, playing 12 minutes as a backup center. While he didn’t score at all, Moreland picked up three steals during his time on the court.
After waiving veteran point guard Beno Udrih on Saturday, the Pistons are down to 14 players on their NBA roster to open the season, and head coach Stan Van Gundy doesn’t anticipate filling that final opening right away, per Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press.
“Is there going to be anyone out there right now?” said Van Gundy, who also serves as the Pistons’ president of basketball operations. “I don’t know that. I’m not saying there won’t be, but that’s not really the plan, but as you get going on and you assess needs or get an injury, that 15th spot can give you some flexibility.”
In his latest predictions feature, Zach Lowe of ESPN speculates that a number of players will be put on the block this season if not officially traded. Since we already know that there’s at least some truth to the oddly specific guess that the Timberwolves would trade Cole Aldrich for Jared Dudley, perhaps we should take a closer look at some of the rest.
Among the other trade predictions that Lowe makes is one that has the Raptors seeking to shop big man Jonas Valanciunas. Considering that the traditional Lithuanian center has been the subject of speculation over the course of the past few seasons, this one seems like rather low hanging fruit.
Similarly, Lowe makes the thoroughly uncrazy prediction that Eric Bledsoe will be on the move. What bonus points Lowe doesn’t earn for predicting a Bledsoe trade, however, he does earn for earmarking the Nuggets and Clippers as possible interested suitors. Alas Denver, it’s worth noting, is already rather backloaded at the guard positions.
Other players that come up in Lowe’s column include the likes Dennis Schroder, DeAndre Jordan and Tobias Harris.
There’s more from around the league:
- The NBA will name Michelle Johnson their new Senior Vice President and Head of Referee Operations, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. Johnson is a retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General.
- The NBA coaching community could soon have another recent league veteran join its ranks. As Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype writes, Kendrick Perkins – who played 11 seasons in the NBA – believes he would have plenty of options to accept a role on the sidelines.
- Only a few players from the 2014 NBA Draft class have landed sizable pay days and that’s for good reason, Mitch Lawrence of Forbes writes. Beyond players like Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid, few have earned substantial rookie contract extensions. Only Marcus Smart, he writes, has been a notable contributor to an elite playoff team.
Only two of the Pistons‘ opening day starters are set in stone, the other three have yet to be determined, Keith Langlois of the team’s official website writes. With Avery Bradley at the two and Andre Drummond in the middle, head coach Stan Van Gundy is hard-pressed to figure out who will join them at tip-off.
“Everything’s a consideration,” Van Gundy said, before implying that Tobias Harris would probably start for the Pistons but, then, again might not. “I thought he was good off the bench last year. I’m really not locked in to anything.”
As Langlois explains, what Van Gundy decides to do with Harris will impact the other decisions he’ll have to make with the Pistons’ lineup. If the 25-year-old forward plays the three, they’ll look to somebody like Jon Leueur to fill in at the four. If they pencil Harris in at the four, they could turn to someone like Stanley Johnson to man the three.
Another decision that the Pistons will need to come to terms on ahead of opening day is who to start at the point. On one hand the idea of a healthy Reggie Jackson working in tandem with Drummond is tantalizing but there’s no guarantee it plays out that way in the first game of the season.
Langlois writes that Ish Smith could get serious consideration to start for the Pistons. “We found out last year just about anybody’s going to play pretty well with Ish,” Van Gundy said.
The Pistons have picked up their fourth-year option on Stanley Johnson and third-year option on Henry Ellenson for 2018/19, the team announced in a press release Sunday. Detroit faced an Oct. 31 deadline to pick up their options for 2018/19. Johnson will make $3,940,402 next season while Ellenson will pocket $1,857,480.
Johnson, 21, enters his third NBA season. After a solid rookie campaign, Johnson’s scoring production was cut in half last season as he averaged 4.4 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 73 games. The first-round pick from 2015 (eighth overall) is still a young asset with potential and figures to be a key part of the Pistons’ team in 2017/18.
Ellenson, 20, only played in 19 games as a rookie last season, posting a meager 3.2 PPG and 2.2 RPG. However, the Pistons’ first-rounder (18th overall) from last season possesses a strong 6’11” frame and offensive potential that has forced the Pistons to consider him for a starting role.
For all of this year’s decisions on 2018/19 rookie scale options, be sure to check out our tracker.