Pistons' Crowded Rotation May Force Decision
- Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy says the idea of a 10-man rotation isn’t workable, even though the team is getting past its injury problems, relays Aaron McMann of MLive. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jon Leuer recently returned to the lineup, giving Detroit 10 players who have seen regular playing time this season. But Van Gundy says decision have to be made on what’s best for the team, not to make sure certain players get enough minutes. “I like having all of those guys available,” he said. “It certainly gives us more flexibility, but the idea it’s as simple as, ‘Play 10,’ or ‘Play nine’ … you start charting out the minutes guys should get, and it doesn’t work.”
Pistons Get Healthy; Few PG Upgrades Available On Trade Market
- The Cavaliers aren’t the only Central team whose point guard situation has been in the news. Reggie Jackson‘s name surfaced in a a trade rumor last week, but Rod Beard of The Detroit News makes the case that there just aren’t many point guards on the trade block that would be an upgrade over Jackson if the Pistons wanted to make a move.
- With Kentavious Caldwell-Pope back in the lineup, the Pistons have a healthy roster for the first time in a while, creating some interesting decisions for Stan Van Gundy, Beard writes in a separate piece for The Detroit News.
Pistons Notes: Jackson, Caldwell-Pope, Bullock
Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy sent Reggie Jackson a text relaying that there was no imminent deal involving the Pistons point guard getting shipped anywhere, but stopped short of saying anyone on the roster was untouchable, Aaron McMann of MLive relays. Van Gundy, speaking generally, said no standout player in the league is not asked about and it only makes sense that teams often only call in regards to another team’s top talent, McMann adds. In that vein, Van Gundy said the Pistons have received offers for Jackson, but did not offer specifics.
“I got asked the other day, ‘There’s a report out there that Reggie’s available for the right price,'” Van Gundy said. “Everybody in the league is available for the right price. Just your main guys, the price is a lot steeper and usually doesn’t come around.”
Here’s more out of Detroit:
- There is a good chance Kentavious Caldwell-Pope returns to action this week after being out with an injury and when he does, Van Gundy will have to make playing time decisions with a fully healthy roster for the first time, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. Reggie Bullock and Stanley Johnson are likely candidates to see their minutes compromised, Langlois notes, but Bullock is the team’s best 3-point shooter and Johnson has versatility on both ends of the court. Still, this is a problem that Van Gundy likely wants to have, Langlois surmises.
- Speaking of Bullock, he is playing well this season because he has refocused on fundamentals, including cutting more effectively in an effort to create space and give himself opportunities for more shots, Rod Beard of the Detroit News passes along.
Trading Jackson Wouldn't Be Right Move
- Trading Reggie Jackson isn’t the right answer for the Pistons, argues Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News. A rumor made the rounds Friday that Detroit was considering a deal with Minnesota involving Jackson and Ricky Rubio. Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy contacted Jackson and assured him it wasn’t true. Wojnowski states that it would be a mistake for the team to trade its floor leader after investing so heavily in him two years ago. “If he traded me, I told him it was news to me,” Jackson said. “I appreciated the text, just let me know I’m his guy. But I don’t really pay attention much to it.”
Van Gundy: Jackson Won’t Be Traded For Rubio
Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy took the unusual step of assuring point guard Reggie Jackson that there’s no substance behind a rumored deal to Minnesota in exchange for Ricky Rubio, relays Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
Van Gundy said trade rumors are a normal part of NBA life this time of year and he typically doesn’t address them with players. However, Jackson’s agent called GM Jeff Bower after hearing the Rubio rumor, so Van Gundy felt the need to put Jackson’s mind at ease.
Van Gundy admits that it’s possible the Wolves called to see if there was any interest in a Jackson-for-Rubio swap, but says the fact that it didn’t happen means the Pistons didn’t like the deal. He adds that he never hears about most of the proposed trades Bower discusses.
“To be honest, I don’t know if the discussion was had, because Jeff only brings to me the stuff that we would consider. There’s so many of these discussions that he’s not even going to bring to me [smaller stuff],” Van Gundy said. “He doesn’t do that with me. He brings me the stuff, like when we got close to Reggie two years ago or Marcus [Morris] when we traded for him or Tobias [Harris]. That stuff comes to me.
“I don’t even know if that discussion took place — I’m just saying it’s very possible because we’ve had calls on Reggie; we’ve had calls on Andre [Drummond]. People are interested in those guys. If you’re not getting any calls on your guys — wow.”
Jackson has been rumored to be on the trade market because the Pistons has been less effective since he returned from tendinitis in his left knee that cost him the first 21 games of the season. His scoring and assist numbers are down from last year, and Detroit’s defense has been worse with him in the lineup. Jackson has three seasons and more than $51MM left on his contract.
Timberwolves, Pistons Have Discussed Rubio, Jackson
The Timberwolves and Pistons have discussed a point guard swap of Ricky Rubio and Reggie Jackson, Marc Stein of ESPN reports. Nothing is imminent, as each team is in the “talking stage,” and as Stein notes, any deal would expand to involve other players, such as Shabazz Muhammad.
While the Timberwolves have reportedly been actively shopping Rubio, the Pistons have contended that Jackson wouldn’t be available via trade, though rival clubs aren’t so convinced. Both players have multiple years left on long-term deals, but could be available in the next month for different reasons. Jackson and the Pistons have struggled this year, and in their ESPN report, Stein and Haynes note that rookie Kris Dunn is regarded as Minnesota’s “point guard of the future,” making Rubio expendable.
The 26-year-old Rubio has averaged 7.7 points with 7.9 assists in his sixth NBA season. The Spaniard missed a five-game stretch in November due to an elbow injury, but has otherwise remained healthy in 2016/17. Now in the second year of a four-year, $55MM contract, Rubio has a cap hit of $13,400,000.
On the heels of a breakout 2015/16 campaign, Jackson’s statistics have slightly regressed this season; averaging 16.7 points with 5.3 assists through 23 games. The 26-year-old Jackson missed the season’s first 21 games with left knee tendinitis, but has come on strong of late; scoring 20.2 points on 46.4% shooting over his last 10 games.
If the Timberwolves are seeking a “bridge” guard to assume starting duties until Dunn is ready, as has been reported, Jackson would be a peculiar choice for a few reasons. Jackson is slated to make $16MM, $17MM+, and $18MM+ over the next three seasons, making him an expensive option to bridge the gap at point guard. What’s more, the role of (eventually) backing up Dunn may not come naturally to Jackson, who hasn’t played in a reserve role since 2012/13 with the Thunder.
Ish Smith Goes Team-First With Benching
- Pistons point guard Ish Smith did his best to keep a team-first attitude when he learned of his brief benching last week, relays Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Smith, who was the starter for the season’s first 21 games while Reggie Jackson was injured, had appeared in all 41 before coach Stan Van Gundy told him he wouldn’t be playing. Van Gundy compared it to a baseball manager giving a slumping player a game off. “In shootaround, I wasn’t happy at all when he told me,” Smith said. “That was the decision he made and when I talked to my mother and my family, they said, ‘Get your head out of your behind and be a good teammate.’”
Pistons Notes: Jackson, Van Gundy, Trades
Although the Pistons maintain that Reggie Jackson is not on the trade market, rival teams get a sense that he’s more available than Detroit has let on, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com writes. It was previously reported that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has moved ahead of Jackson on the team’s list of untouchable players. KCP and Andre Drummond are reportedly the only players ahead of the point guard on that list.
The Pistons struggled while Jackson was sidelined with knee tendinitis and when he returned to the court, it didn’t help them improve as much as they anticipated. The team owns a record of 19-24 and sits two games behind the Bulls for the eighth seed in the conference.
Here’s more from Detroit:
- The Pistons aren’t likely to make a major deal before the deadline, David Mayo of MLive writes. Executive/coach Stan Van Gundy believes this year’s trade deadline will be different than it has been in the past. “You’re not going to get the deals, or at least very few of them, where people don’t want to pay people,” Van Gundy said. “We’ve been able to take advantage of that a little bit. With Tobias, [the Magic] wanted to be under the cap to do stuff next summer. We were able to do that with Reggie, same reason, [the Thunder] didn’t want to meet his price. I don’t know that those kinds of deals are going to come up now. They’ll be more straight, basketball-type deals.”
- In the same piece, Mayo speculates that Beno Udrih and Aron Baynes could be trade candidates. Udrih would be expendable if the Pistons feel Jackson and Ish Smith can remain healthy for the season and Baynes is likely to opt out of his deal in the offseason, so getting value for him now may be a smart move.
- Van Gundy said the Pistons won’t look to make a trade simply “for the sake of change,” as Rod Beard of the Detroit News relays (Twitter link). “It would have to be a deal that in our mind was a pretty obvious step forward,” Van Gundy said.
- Van Gundy believes the Pistons need to play harder on defense, Beard passes along in a separate tweet. “It’s not enough to say they’re trying hard. That’s a start, but [that] should be a given. This isn’t the YMCA; it’s the NBA–you got to do both,” Van Gundy exclaimed.
Pistons Owner Has ‘Full Confidence’ In Van Gundy
It has been a rough month for the Pistons, who were off to a 14-13 start this season before dropping 11 of their next 16 games to slip to 19-24. Still, despite the club’s struggles, head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy doesn’t have to worry about his job security, according to team owner Tom Gores. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Gores said he has “full confidence” in Van Gundy, whom he met with on Saturday.
“We are having a hard time and Stan and I are very real about that, but we also know we have a great group of guys,” Gores said, per Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. “We believe they’ll work through this. We’ve hit a bump in the road and that’s what success is about – you gotta work through it.
“I never worry about Stan, because he wants to win,” Gores continued, per ESPN. “He’s the hardest worker I’ve ever seen in my life. I believe in him as a man and I believe in him as a strong person.”
As Ellis details, Van Gundy also spoke to reporters about Saturday’s meeting with the Pistons owner. Van Gundy explained that he and Gores agreed that the last six weeks shouldn’t outweigh the positive work the franchise has done over the past couple years.
“His thing was to not overreact to six weeks out of what has been over a two-and-a-half-year building process,” Van Gundy said. “We talked through our team and our options and what I thought we had to do to play better this year and what the long-term picture was and everything else.”
One player who could be a key part of that long-term picture for the Pistons is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The fourth-year guard is averaging career-best numbers in several categories, including FG% (.426) and 3PT% (.404). While the Pistons didn’t extend Caldwell-Pope back in the fall when they had the chance, the club remains committed to retaining him when he becomes eligible for restricted free agency this summer.
“I know Kentavious well. He is a hard worker. He is reliable and is improving every day,” Gores said, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “He should be a Piston. That’s just bottom line. He has what it takes to be a Piston. He was a shy kid when I met him and he’s become a leader.”
Gores Thinks Pistons Will Make Run; Bullock Thrown Into Rotation
Despite the team’s dismal record, Pistons owner Tom Gores has every bit of confidence in Stan Van Gundy to lead the franchise, and is optimistic that the club will turn things around in the second half. “I think we’re going to make a run,” Gores told the media on Sunday night, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “I like our guys. I like this group of guys. We’re going to make a run.”
After sneaking into the playoffs and faring as well as anybody could have hoped against the Cavaliers in the first-round, the Pistons have struggled in 2016/17. Heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Lakers, the team was 11th in the Eastern Conference.
- It didn’t take long for Reggie Bullock to get dropped into the deep end for the Pistons, writes Rod Beard of the Detroit News. Bullock had intended to work his way back from a torn meniscus slowly, but injuries to other perimeter threats on the roster have pushed him into a bigger role, faster.