Pistons Hire Malik Rose As Assistant GM
JUNE 29: The Pistons have officially hired Rose as an assistant GM, the team announced today in a press release.
“We are pleased to welcome Malik Rose to the Detroit Pistons organization,” Stefanski said in a statement. “Malik has been around successful teams throughout his NBA playing career and now, as a young executive, he brings great basketball knowledge from both a playing and administrative perspective. His engaging and collaborative spirit fits perfectly with the basketball operations staff we are looking to construct.”
JUNE 26: The Pistons will hire Malik Rose as their assistant general manager, a source tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link). It was reported last week that the team would offer the former NBA forward a front office position.
Detroit has still not hired an official GM after parting ways with Jeff Bower, but it doesn’t appear the team will do so. Senior advisor Ed Stefanski is overseeing the team’s moves and functioning as a de facto GM, with the Pistons hiring Dwane Casey as their head coach.
Rose has been with the Hawks since 2015, working as a basketball operations manager. He also served as the GM of the team’s G League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, and he won the 2017/18 G League Executive of the Year award with the club.
Pistons Will Be In 'Background' Of Free Agency
- The Pistons will be an over-the-cap team this summer, and may not be able to spend their full mid-level exception due to their proximity to the tax line. As such, senior advisor Ed Stefanski says he expects Detroit to be in “the background” of free agency, per Kurt Mensching of The Detroit News. “I like where our team is right now,” Stefanski said. “We have more than enough to compete.”
- While the Pistons may not aggressively pursue outside free agents, they’d like to bring back a couple of their own. Mensching notes in his article that Detroit has interest in re-signing Anthony Tolliver if the price is right, while a team source tells ESPN’s Ian Begley (Twitter link) that the Pistons have “significant interest” in retaining James Ennis.
Casey's Reputation, Roster Stability Could Be Selling Points For Pistons
- The Pistons lack the cap space to be a major player in free agency, but the team could be in the mix for certain affordable targets. As Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes, Dwane Casey‘s presence and the Pistons’ roster stability could be selling points as the club recruits free agents.
Dwane Casey Chosen Coach Of Year
Dwane Casey was named the league’s Coach of the Year at the NBA’s second annual awards show.
This continues the awkwardness of Casey getting a top coaching award for his efforts with a franchise that fired him after the playoffs. He was let go by the Raptors after they were swept by the Cavaliers. His peers at the National Basketball Coaches Association also named him their Coach of the Year days before he fired.
He was named the Pistons’ new head coach earlier this month.
The Jazz’s Quin Snyder and Celtics’ Brad Stevens were the other finalists. The Rockets’ Mike D’Antoni earned the honor the previous season.
Pistons To Hire Sidney Lowe As Lead Assistant
The Pistons have reached an agreement with veteran coach Sidney Lowe and will add him to Dwane Casey‘s new staff, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Lowe will be the lead assistant in Detroit.
Lowe, who has head coaching stints for the Timberwolves, Grizzlies, and North Carolina State on his résumé, has primarily served as an NBA assistant coach for the better part of the last three decades. In addition to spending multiple stints with the Wolves since first joining the club as an assistant in 1991, Lowe has also worked for the Cavaliers, Pistons, Jazz, and Wizards.
Casey is still in the process of filling out his staff after being hired as the Pistons’ new head coach earlier in the offseason. The club reportedly struck a deal with Bucks assistant Sean Sweeney to bring him to Detroit, while DJ Bakker is also joining the Pistons as Casey’s new player development coach.
Pistons Hire DJ Bakker
- Dwane Casey continues to fill out his new staff in Detroit, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that DJ Bakker is heading from the Raptors to the Pistons to become Casey’s player development coach.
Details On Draft-Night Trade With Sixers
- RealGM’s log of traded draft picks provides specific details on a couple more draft-night trades, indicating that the Sixers received 2021 and 2023 second-round picks in their deal with the Pistons, while the Magic will receive the less favorable of the Nuggets’ and Wizards’ 2019 second-round picks as a result of their swap with the Nuggets.
Pistons Notes: Thomas, Scouting, Gores, Brown
The Pistons were looking to add depth at the wing spots and got two players who will compete for minutes next season, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. Detroit didn’t have a first-round pick but traded away two future second-rounders to the Sixers to nab Creighton’s Khyri Thomas at No. 38, then chose Bruce Brown of Miami (Fla.) four picks later with their own selection.
“You never know how the draft’s going to go,” senior advisor Ed Stefanski said. “It didn’t look like we were going to be able to move like we did. People were asking for some big asks, but as the night went on it got much better and we were able to make the move. … We need some young guys, especially, to play that position.”
Stanley Johnson, Reggie Bullock and Luke Kennard are projected to eat up most of the minutes at those spots but Thomas and Brown could get into the mix if an injury strikes.
In other news regarding the Pistons:
- Stefanski notified the team’s scouting department that their contracts would not be renewed at the end of the month, Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated tweets. The team’s front office is undergoing a complete makeover after head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy and GM Jeff Bower were dismissed. The team is still seeking one or more young executives to take front office roles. Spurs executive Malik Rose has been offered a front office job. New head coach Dwane Casey is in the process of building his staff. The team reached an agreement with Bucks assistant Sean Sweeney to join its staff.
- Top players Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson were asked for their input when owner Tom Gores was conducting the coaching search, Langlois writes in a separate piece. “I did consult with them, (though) they weren’t making the decision,” Gores said. “I texted Reggie, Andre, Blake. ‘What kind of coach do you want? Let’s check the boxes.’ I did engage with them. I know them pretty well. Meeting Dwane, he really did check all those boxes.”
- Bruce Brown underwent season-ending foot surgery in his final season with the Hurricanes but he has no restrictions this offseason, as he told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press and other media members. “I’m good to go,” Brown said. “I’m fully cleared. All my medicals look fine at the combine so I’m ready to go 100 percent.”
Sean Sweeney Agrees To Join Pistons’ Staff
The Pistons have reached an agreement with Bucks assistant Sean Sweeney to join Dwane Casey’s staff, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Detroit had been making a hard push to convince Sweeney to make the switch. Sweeney has worked closely with Bucks’ star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
One of the concessions the Pistons made in negotiations with the former Raptors head coach was that he could pick his own assistants.
Sweeney was one of the candidates for the Nets’ head coaching job two years ago when they wound up hiring Kenny Atkinson.
Sixers To Trade Khyri Thomas To Detroit
10:20pm: Detroit will be sending two future second-round picks, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press tweets.
10:14pm: The Sixers will be trading No. 38 pick Khyri Thomas to the Pistons, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. It’s unclear what will be heading back to Philadelphia.
While Detroit could have waited and hoped for the Creighton product to be available at No. 42, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes that the Lakers would have certainly taken him at No. 39.
Thomas is a two-time Big East defensive player of the year that had first-round buzz. The 22-year-old averaged 15.1 points per game in his junior season.