Pistons To Explore PG Market With Jackson Ailing
1:35pm: Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy told reporters this afternoon that surgery isn’t likely for Jackson, but the point guard could be out for six to eight weeks (Twitter links via Rod Beard of The Detroit News). While Detroit will explore its options at the point, Van Gundy said he’s comfortable starting Smith, so any move the team makes would likely be a minor one to add short-term depth.
10:13am: The Pistons fear that Reggie Jackson may miss “extended time” to start the regular season, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, who reports (via Twitter) that the team will explore the point guard market for possible alternatives.
Jackson was limited during training camp and was held out of practice on Tuesday this week, as he deals with a left knee issue. As Stein adds in a second tweet, Jackson told local reporters yesterday that he has been battling left knee tendinitis for years.
While it’s not yet clear how much time Jackson will miss, it makes sense that the team would keep an eye out for possible fill-ins. Internally, Detroit would turn to Ish Smith next, with Lorenzo Brown or Trey Freeman as options further down on the depth chart, as the team’s depth chart at RosterResource.com shows.
Stein’s report doesn’t make it 100% clear whether the Pistons would target a player on the free agent market or explore potential trades, but if they look to sign a player, their options are somewhat limited. Norris Cole has committed to play in China, while Toney Douglas signed with the Cavaliers this week, leaving Mario Chalmers, Kirk Hinrich, Kendall Marshall, Andre Miller, and Steve Blake among the only veteran options in free agency.
Of course, with teams set to cut their rosters down from 20 players to 15 for the regular season, more veterans could become available in the coming weeks. However, if the Pistons were to wait until the start of the season to add a point guard, that player wouldn’t have an opportunity to learn the system and mesh with his new teammates at all during the preseason.
Van Gundy Likes Marjanovic, Leuer
- Boban Marjanovic may still be considered a project, but Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy believes the 7’3″ center is “unstoppable” in the low post, relays Aaron McMann of MLive. Detroit is happy with the early returns on the $21MM it gave Marjanovic over the next three seasons. The 290-pounder remains the third-string center on the Pistons’ depth chart, but it sounds like he will be given playing time. “Once he gets established in the half-court, there’s not a good way to play him,” Van Gundy said. “There’s just not. He’s so big and he’s so skilled, that it’s hard.”
Pistons Notes: Gbinije, Caldwell-Pope, Smith
To help ease Michael Gbinije‘s transition to the NBA, the Pistons won’t be playing him at point guard during camp, according to Keith Langlois of NBA.com. The 49th overall pick out of Syracuse, Gbinije brings great versatility to Detroit, both on offense and defense. Coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said the decision to use Gbinije solely as as a swingman in the early going was made after summer league. That’s why the Pistons signed Ray McCallum to compete with Lorenzo Brown for the No. 3 point guard slot. Gbinije, who may get to hone his point guard skills with the Pistons’ D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids, said he accepts the decision. “I can just focus on one position at a time,” Gbinije said. “I’m sure the more comfortable I get, I might experience other positions. But right now, it’s good that I’m just limited.”
There’s more news from the Pistons’ training camp:
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope doesn’t mind waiting until next summer for a new contract if that becomes necessary, writes Aaron McMann of MLive. The fourth-year shooting guard is eligible for a rookie extension through October 31st, and his agent, Rich Paul, is now negotiating with the team after a quiet summer. No word has leaked about how close they may be to an agreement. If they can’t reach a deal before the deadline, Caldwell-Pope will enter next summer as a restricted free agent. “That’s all on the organization here, if they would like to keep me or let me go into free agency,” he said. “Right now, my focus is on the season. I can’t worry too much about that.”
- The decision on Caldwell-Pope is the most important one the franchise will face in the immediate future, contends David Mayo of MLive. Mayo estimates the Pistons could probably re-sign Caldwell-Pope to a contract starting at $15MM-$16MM annually if they hammer out an extension before the deadline. But if he has another good season, that price might be closer to $20MM in free agency.
- Ish Smith was the first free agent the Pistons targeted over the summer, according to Rod Beard of The Detroit News. At 28, Smith is one of the oldest players on the roster and is expected to provide steady veteran leadership as the backup point guard. “It’s so much better than I thought,” Smith said of the situation in Detroit. “When I was in Philly, we played them four times and you see [the chemistry] from the outside looking in. When you get here and see the hard work everybody puts in and the dedication to win.”
Leuer Makes An Impression On Defense
- The Pistons gave journeyman power forward Jon Leuer a surprisingly lucrative four-year, $41MM contract this summer because of his offensive versatility but he’s also making a strong impression defensively in training camp, according to Aaron McMann of MLive.com. “The one thing I would say I’m surprised with is that he’s a lot better defensively than I thought,” coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy told McMann. “I thought he was decent – maybe average – defensively. I think he’s got a chance to be a lot better than that.”
Pistons Owner Always Considering Move To Downtown Detroit
- The Cavaliers have the oldest roster in the NBA, but don’t view that as a problem heading into the 2016/17 season, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. Meanwhile, as Aaron McMann of MLive.com details, the Pistons are on the other end of the spectrum, with one of the youngest teams in the NBA, and will be looking for players to assume leadership roles this year.
- Pistons owner Tom Gores said during his team’s media day that he’s “always looking” at moving the franchise to downtown Detroit, particularly with the Red Wings set to move into Little Caesars Arena next fall. “It has to be good for everybody, us included, for our fans,” Gores said, per McMann at MLive.com. “We’re really in the middle of assessing it.”
Contract Details For Jovanovic, Freeman
- The one-year, minimum-salary deals Nikola Jovanovic and Trey Freeman inked with the Pistons are both worth about $543K, the rookie minimum. However, Jovanovic got a $30K guarantee from the team, while Freeman’s deal is fully non-guaranteed, Pincus notes.
Pistons Hope For Extensions: Drummond Happy
The Pistons will continue to purse rookie contract extensions with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Bullock until the October 31st deadline, according to Rod Beard of The Detroit News. A full-time starter in Detroit for the past two seasons, Caldwell-Pope appeared in 76 games last year, averaging 14.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per night. Bullock played 37 games, averaging 3.3 points and 1.8 rebounds. The Pistons are over the salary cap, but Beard reports that the team is willing to use its Bird rights to re-sign both players. “We’re all in agreement it’s an atmosphere and environment where they have good thoughts,” GM Jeff Bower said of negotiations. “We’re going to continue to take those talks a little bit further through the month and see if there’s an opportunity to reach an extension now.”
- As the longest-tenured player on the roster and with a max contract now in hand, Pistons center Andre Drummond feels like he’s entering a new chapter of his career, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. The 23-year-old has witnessed a lot of turnover in Detroit since he arrived four years ago. He has played for four coaches in that time, but with Stan Van Gundy firmly in place, the Pistons seem ready to commit to their current core. Drummond is happy to be a part of that group. “I signed a five-year deal, so I’m here for the long haul and I’m excited to be here,” he said. “Detroit is now my home and I’m ready to embrace it and try to bring great things to this city.”
Pistons Have Had Extension Talks With KCP, Bullock
According to Pistons general manager Jeff Bower, the team has engaged in dialogue with both Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Bullock about potential contract extensions, tweets Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Bower added that both players like their situations in Detroit.
Caldwell-Pope and Bullock were both first-round picks in the 2013 draft, with KCP coming off the board eighth overall, while Bullock was selected with the 25th pick. Because they signed their rookie-scale contracts that year, and haven’t been waived since then, both players are heading into the final year of those deals, making them eligible for a rookie-scale extension by October 31.
[RELATED: Players eligible for rookie-scale extensions]
While C.J. McCollum and Giannis Antetokounmpo have each signed rookie-scale extensions already with their respective teams, most negotiations around the NBA will likely go down to the wire, with teams and their extension candidates potentially reaching agreements during the final week of October.
The Pistons had an extension candidate a year ago at this time, in Andre Drummond, but ultimately waited until this summer to lock up the star center. If Detroit opts not to extend Caldwell-Pope and Bullock yet, they’d be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2017. Still, team head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy said today that “in a perfect world” the Pistons would get deals done for both players within the next few weeks (Twitter link via Rod Beard of The Detroit News).
Caldwell-Pope, the Pistons’ starting two guard, set new career highs in 2015/16 when he averaged 14.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.8 APG, and a .420 FG%. As for Bullock, in his first season with the Pistons after being traded to Detroit from Phoenix in 2015, he played sparingly, averaging 3.3 PPG and 1.8 RPG on 11.6 minutes per contest (37 games). He did make 41.5% of his three-point attempts, though the sample was relatively small.
Pistons Notes: McCallum, Brown, KCP, Smith
- As Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes, 14 of the Pistons‘ 15 regular-season roster spots appear set, with just one up for grabs. That last opening figures to come down to Ray McCallum vs. Lorenzo Brown for the No. 3 point guard job. Langlois speaks to both players about the possible opportunity ahead of them as they compete for that roster spot.
- In a separate piece for Pistons.com, Langlois fields Pistons-related questions from readers, discussing a possible extension for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, why Detroit chose Ish Smith as its backup point guard, and how the team’s roster might change over the next 12 months.
Ish Smith Believes Pistons Can Contend For Title
Ish Smith, who inked a three year, $18MM deal with the Pistons this summer, believes that Detroit has a legitimate shot to win an NBA title, Keith Langlois of NBA.com relays. “I always ask people, ‘What wakes you up at night?’ For me, now it’s the pursuit of a championship,” Smith said. “That really is what the case is. It’s like, we’ve got a real chance to be champions. And I know that sounds crazy and people think, ‘Naaah. Yeah, you guys got better; not champions.’ But we’ve really got a real legit chance. And as long as we believe it, nobody else matters.”