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Pistons Notes: Van Gundy, Harris, Playoffs

April 17th, 2016 at 12:49pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pistons will take on the Cavs later today in their first playoff appearance since 2009, when they were swept by Cleveland. While the team prepares for the highly anticipated playoff game, let’s take a look at some notes from Detroit:

Executive/coach Stan Van Gundy believes coach David Blatt, whom the Cavs fired during the season, deserves another shot in the league, David Mayo of MLive writes. Van Gundy added that there are plenty of good candidates on the market. “It’s also why it’s hard for a lot of these assistants to get their chance. [Detroit assistant coach] Bob Beyer’s more than ready, [Charlotte assistant coach] Patrick Ewing‘s more than ready. That’s just the guys I know. But it’s hard for those guys to get an opportunity because there aren’t enough jobs for guys who have a proven head-coaching record,” Van Gundy said.
Van Gundy said he’s been perplexed for a while that Pacers assistant coach Nate McMillan hasn’t received an opportunity to be a head coach again, Mayo passes along in the same piece.
The Pistons were really surprised to nab Tobias Harris prior to the deadline this year, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. “His name wasn’t even out there for us until two days before we did the deal,” Van Gundy said.
Harris’ focus since joining to the Pistons has been making the playoffs, which was something he really didn’t come close to in Orlando, Beard passes along in the same piece. “If we didn’t make the playoffs, I don’t know if I’d sleep at night,” Harris said. “I’ve been in situations on the other side for four years and that’s a tough side to be on, when you’re not in the playoff hunt.”

Lorenzo Brown Inked For Practice Depth

April 16th, 2016 at 1:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said the team inked Lorenzo Brown in order to have enough bodies to practice heading into the playoffs with Reggie Jackson needing rest to recover from an abdominal injury, tweets Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press.
Andre Drummond is pleased with how his relationship with Jackson is developing as well as what the point guard has brought to the Pistons franchise, David Aldridge of NBA.com relays. “You know, getting Reggie last season at the trade deadline, I didn’t know what to expect,” Drummond told Aldridge. “He came off the bench for OKC. I didn’t know what he’d be like as a starter. When he came, I spoke him, told him these are the different things that I’m going to need from a point guard. He embraced it. And he’s been playing great for us. He’s building, and we’re working together.”

Harris Trade Came Together Late

April 14th, 2016 at 10:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

The trade that brought Tobias Harris to the Pistons emerged right before the deadline, according to Rod Beard of The Detroit News. “His name wasn’t even out there for us until two days before we did the deal,” said coach/executive Stan Van Gundy. “We were really surprised.” Harris averaged 16.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game after arriving from Orlando, helping Detroit secure its first playoff spot since 2009 and the first of Harris’ career.

Gores Credits Van Gundy For Success

April 13th, 2016 at 9:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pistons owner Tom Gores credits the decision to unify the position of coach and chief basketball executive and the subsequent hiring of Stan Van Gundy to fill that post as the primary reason the team was able to advance to the playoffs this season, Keith Langlois of NBA.com relays. “I think throughout the league are disconnects between the floor and the front office, but not everybody can do what Stan can do,” Gores said. “Coach and then think big picture, high level and what’s good for the franchise long term. I thought that was a way to accelerate our progress and I had seen enough in terms of how that can be disconnected. Hopefully, it has, and we’re in the playoffs now.”

Pistons Sign Lorenzo Brown To Two-Year Deal

April 13th, 2016 at 1:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:29pm: The signing is official, the team announced.

7:53am: The Pistons plan to re-sign point guard Lorenzo Brown to a contract that encompasses tonight’s regular season finale against Cleveland, the playoffs and a team option for next season, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). It’s a move that hints at some concern regarding an abdominal strain that kept Reggie Jackson from playing in Tuesday’s loss to Miami, since coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said last week that he didn’t plan to re-sign Brown and intended to keep an open roster spot, barring injury. Van Gundy nonetheless said Tuesday that he wasn’t too worried about Jackson’s availability for the start of the playoffs in spite of the ab issue, MLive’s Aaron McMann notes.

Brown didn’t appear in a game for the Pistons on either of the 10-day contracts he signed last month. Van Gundy referred to the first 10-day deal with Brown as an insurance move, as Jackson was dealing with a viral issue while third-stringer Spencer Dinwiddie recovered from a deep bone bruise in his ankle. Brown’s last NBA action came in January, when he was on two 10-days with the Suns. The 25-year-old averaged 2.5 points, 1.4 assists and 1.1 turnovers in 7.6 minutes per game across eight appearances with Phoenix. He spent much of the season with Detroit’s D-League affiliate, putting up 18.3 points, 5.8 assists and 2.9 turnovers in 33.3 minutes per game. The relationship between the Pistons and the former N.C. State standout, who was the 52nd pick in the 2013 draft, dates to the 2014 preseason, when Brown was on Detroit’s NBA roster for training camp.

The latest deal between the Pistons and Brown figures to be worth $5,572 for the balance of this season, plus whatever playoff share Brown receives, assuming it’s a minimum-salary arrangement, as would be standard for this type of signing. Next season’s minimum for Brown is $1,015,696, though a chance exists that it’s a non-guaranteed salary rather than a true team option.

Stan Van Gundy Won Trade Market

April 12th, 2016 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy won the trade market this season, with his deals for Marcus Morris, Reggie Bullock and Tobias Harris being clear victories for the franchise, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. The scribe also points to the offseason signing of Aron Baynes, who has provided solid minutes as the backup center, as another strong roster move by Van Gundy.

Van Gundy Not Upset About Drummond's Sulking

April 12th, 2016 at 11:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Soon-to-be free agent Andre Drummond endured criticism for the lack of enthusiasm he showed after Friday’s playoff-clinching win, one in which Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy sat Drummond for much of the fourth quarter because of his poor free-throw shooting, but Drummond was upset about the death of a friend, notes Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter link). The center nonetheless apologized to his teammates about his demeanor, as Beard points out (Twitter links here), and Van Gundy isn’t upset, MLive’s David Mayo notes. “I’m sure that getting the criticism he got in the newspapers and things like that, I’m sure it does help him to understand that he’s being watched at all times and part of his responsibility as a cornerstone guy in the franchise is to lead and set an example and everything else,” Van Gundy said. “So I do think it’s a good learning experience. But I think the criticism is — look, I think commenting on it is fine. But to really get deep into that it reveals some flaw in his character or something I think would be going way too far.”

Pistons Notes: Jackson, Van Gundy, Harris

April 10th, 2016 at 2:12pm CST by Will Joseph

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy‘s roster overhaul paid off significantly as Detroit clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2008/09, David Mayo of MLive details. Andre Drummond and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are the only remaining players from the roster Van Gundy inherited 23 months ago, as Mayo writes. Van Gundy made his first blockbuster addition with the February 2015 trade for Reggie Jackson, positioning the team for this run, Mayo adds. Jackson has become one of the league’s top point guards after serving as a backup with the Thunder prior to joining Detroit.

Here’s more out of the Motor City:

Landing Tobias Harris in a trade at the deadline with the Magic worked out similarly to when the Pistons acquired Rasheed Wallace in 2004 because they are both power forwards who played significant roles in Detroit making the playoffs, Mayo writes in a separate piece. By trading for Harris, Van Gundy illustrated that the Pistons should be considered as a serious playoff contender, Mayo adds. “When I came over in the trade, there was one thing I texted coach about, and that was making the playoffs,” Harris said. “I just told him that was one of my biggest goals and I’m here to help you guys do that. And it would be a job undone for me, mission unaccomplished, if we didn’t make the playoffs, and I’d be pretty devastated.”
The future looks bright for the Pistons because most of the key players in the rotation are under contract beyond this season and team still has some flexibility to make another addition in the offseason, Rod Beard of the Detroit News opines.
With more on how Jackson transformed into a quite a catch for the Pistons, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press details how the point guard is one of the league’s most clutch shooters in an interesting profile.

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Detroit Pistons

Pistons Elect Not To Re-Sign Lorenzo Brown

April 8th, 2016 at 2:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons have decided against re-signing Lorenzo Brown and plan to keep a 14-man roster the rest of the season, barring injury, coach/executive Stan Van Gundy told reporters, including MLive’s David Mayo and Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter links). The Pistons have three healthy point guards aside from Brown, so Van Gundy saw no need to keep him once his second 10-day contract with the team expired Wednesday, according to Ellis. Brown didn’t appear in a game during his 20 days with Detroit.

Pistons Undecided Regarding Lorenzo Brown

April 6th, 2016 at 8:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lorenzo Brown‘s second 10-day deal with the Pistons is set to expire this evening and the team is still undecided as to whether or not it will ink him for the remainder of the campaign, Rod Beard of The Detroit News notes (Twitter link).