Draft Updates: Ferrell, Ndiaye, Moore, Hawks
A major draft-related event takes place this week, as scouts, executives and these prospects will gather for the NBA combine in Chicago from Wednesday through Sunday. Teams will start working out players in earnest after that, though some auditions have already taken place. Here’s the latest on that front with the June 23rd draft little more than six weeks away:
- The workouts that former Indiana University point guard Yogi Ferrell has with the Lakers and Clippers are slated for May 16th and 18th, respectively, tweets Jonathan Goodman of ESPN.com, advancing an earlier report from Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Ferrell will also work out for the Suns on the 20th, Jazz on the 22nd, Bulls on the 23rd, Hawks on the 25th, Mavericks on the 26th, Pistons on the 31st, Wizards on June 2nd, Nets on June 8th, and Knicks on June 10th, Goodman reveals. Ferrell is trying to work his way into the second round, with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranking him No. 66 while Chad Ford of ESPN.com rates him only 99th.
- Massive UC Irvine center Mamadou Ndiaye will work out for the Rockets and Lakers, Goodman tweets. Givony, who ranks him the 30th-best prospect among juniors, lists Ndiaye at 7’6″, while Goodman says he’s 7’5″. Ford, who also lists him at 7’6″, ranks him the 136th-best prospect overall.
- Utah State small forward Jalen Moore will work out with the Grizzlies on May 16th, the Timberwolves on the 18th and the Nets on the 23rd, as he tells Goodman (Twitter link). Moore is Givony‘s 69th-best junior and Ford‘s 190th prospect overall.
- The Hawks worked out Taurean Prince, Justin Jackson, Nigel Hayes, Pascal Siakam, Alex Hamilton and Wes Washpun on Saturday, a source told Jake Fischer of SI Now (Twitter link).
Pistons Eye Evan Fournier?
The Pistons targeted another Magic player before settling on the trade for Tobias Harris in February, and that player was likely Evan Fournier, as Rod Beard of The Detroit News writes in a slideshow of mostly far-fetched candidates to sign with the Pistons in free agency. Fournier is poised to become a restricted free agent in July, but Magic GM Rob Hennigan, who can match all competing bids for the swingman, expressed determination to keep him, and Fournier apparently wants to stay in Orlando.
2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Pistons
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.
This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.
We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team, and we’ll continue with the Detroit Pistons, whose D-League affiliate is the Grand Rapids Drive:
The Pistons made 18 assignments for the 2015/16 campaign, sending four players to the D-League for a total of 42 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Detroit for the 2015/16 season:
- December 5th: Assigned Spencer Dinwiddie (1st) — Recalled December 6th
- December 5th: Assigned Darrun Hilliard (1st) — Recalled December 6th
- December 6th: Assigned Spencer Dinwiddie (2nd) — Recalled December 9th
- December 6th: Assigned Darrun Hilliard (2nd) — Recalled December 9th
- December 13th: Assigned Spencer Dinwiddie (3rd) — Recalled December 14th
- December 13th: Assigned Darrun Hilliard (3rd) — Recalled December 14th
- December 17th: Assigned Brandon Jennings (1st) — Recalled December 21st
- December 19th: Assigned Darrun Hilliard (4th) — Recalled December 21st
- December 19th: Assigned Reggie Bullock (1st) — Recalled December 21st
- January 7th: Assigned Spencer Dinwiddie (4th) — Recalled February 9th
Grand Rapids also had one player assigned to it from another NBA franchise via the flexible assignment rule:
- The Clippers sent Branden Dawson (two assignments, 48 days).
Here is how the Pistons’ players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:
- Reggie Bullock: In one D-League appearance, the swingman scored 29 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists while shooting 83.3% from the field.
- Spencer Dinwiddie: The combo guard appeared in 13 D-League contests and averaged 14.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists to accompany a shooting line of .421/.340/.869.
- Darrun Hilliard: The shooting guard made three D-League appearances and compiled averages of 25.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists to go along with a slash line of .490/.440/.800.
- Brandon Jennings: The point guard made one D-League appearance and scored 11 points, snagged three rebounds and issued 11 dimes while connecting on 44.4% of his field goal attempts.
Anthony Tolliver Wants To Remain With Pistons
- Power forward Anthony Tolliver is poised to become an unrestricted free agent, and though he prefers to remain with the Pistons, he understands the team has more pressing needs to attend to first, writes Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. “Who knows what’s going to happen,” Tolliver said. “I’ve been in this league long enough to know nothing’s promised. I feel good about my role here, and how I’ve helped this team in many different ways — on and off the court. But at the end of the day, it’ll be up to my agent and the team to see if we can figure something out and see if we can make it a long-term home.”
Pistons Open To Re-Signing Steve Blake
- The Pistons are open to re-signing Steve Blake when he hits free agency in July, but coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said in his season-ending press conference that improving at backup point guard will be a priority, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. The 36-year-old would like to keep playing for the Pistons, but he indicated in statements he made after Detroit’s playoff ouster last month that he wants to retire in a year. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I loved my experience here,” Blake said. “It was great playing for [Van Gundy], and I really love playing with these guys. If they wanted me back, I’d be thrilled, but you never know in this league. I’d love to play one more year. That’s my goal, but someone has to want me.
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Detroit Pistons
It’s no secret by now that the Pistons will keep Andre Drummond officially unsigned as long as they can to maintain his relatively paltry cap hold instead of a max-salary figure on their books. The maneuver will give the Pistons an opportunity to open cap space, but it won’t be a massive amount. They’ll most likely have less than $20MM to spend against a projected $92MM cap, which wouldn’t be enough for even the lowest tier of max salaries, and with eight players on the roster who have fully guaranteed salaries, not including Drummond, don’t expect drastic changes unless they come by trade. The Pistons have nearly $5MM in non-guaranteed salary to four players, giving them plenty of trade ballast, if necessary. See how Detroit’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed salary
- Tobias Harris ($17,200,000)
- Reggie Jackson ($14,956,522)
- Aron Baynes ($6,500,000)
- Jodie Meeks ($6,540,000)
- (Josh Smith $5,331,729) — Salary remaining from release via stretch provision
- Marcus Morris ($4,625,000)
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($3,678,319)
- Stanley Johnson ($2,969,880)
- Reggie Bullock ($2,255,644)
- Darrun Hilliard ($500,000) — Partial guarantee; non-guaranteed portion listed below
- Total: $64,557,094
Player options
- None
Team options
- None
Non-guaranteed salary
- Joel Anthony ($2,500,000)
- Lorenzo Brown ($1,015,696)
- Spencer Dinwiddie ($980,431)
- Darrun Hilliard ($374,636) — Partial guarantee; guaranteed portion listed above
- Total: $4,870,763
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Andre Drummond ($4,433,683/$8,180,228)
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Anthony Tolliver ($3,900,000)
- Steve Blake ($2,821,605)
- Total: $6,721,605
Other Cap Holds
- No. 18 pick ($1,420,100)
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Caldwell-Pope May Not Sign Extension
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope may think twice before committing to a contract extension with the Pistons, according to David Mayo of MLive. The third-year shooting guard will be eligible for an extension this offseason, but he may try to increase his value with another productive season and then take his chances as a restricted free agent next summer. “I think what’s important is we’ll have to have discussions and see what’s important to Kentavious and have a sense of where they’re at with the whole thing,” said GM Jeff Bower. “It’s something that doesn’t have to take place. But what does have to take place is an understanding of what’s important, what time frames are important, how he understands his place and role here.” Caldwell-Pope started all 76 games he played this season, averaging 14.3 points per night.
- Replacing Ersan Ilyasova with Tobias Harris in a February trade helped the Pistons reach the playoffs, Mayo writes in a separate piece. Ilyasova tended to slow down the offense, while Harris displayed a willingness to pass, shoot, drive, rebound and do anything the team needed from him. Detroit’s offensive rating improved nearly three points per 100 possessions after Harris arrived. Mayo adds that the Pistons will emphasize shooting as they search the free agent market for backups at the point guard and power forward positions.
Pistons Expect To Keep Core Intact
Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said his team is in good shape heading into free agency because the roster has but a few holes needing attention, though he did add that he wouldn’t be opposed to adding a starter via free agency and moving a player to the bench, as Rod Beard of The Detroit News relays in a series of tweets. “We’re reasonably confident we can keep that core together going forward,” Van Gundy said. “It will take some things falling in place.” While the team will consider bringing back unrestricted free agents Steve Blake and Anthony Tolliver, Van Gundy indicated that the Pistons have more pressing priorities to take care of first, the scribe relays. The Pistons aren’t opposed to trading their first-round pick this year if it would help them land the right player in a deal, according to GM Jeff Bower, Beard adds.
Pistons Seek Shooting Big Man, Backup Point Guard
- The Pistons will target a big man who can shoot, and backup point guard is a major need, too, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Coach/executive Stan Van Gundy confirmed in a press conference today that finding a backup point guard will be a priority, notes Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter link).
Pistons Need To Add Depth This Offseason
- If the Pistons hope to advance deeper in the playoffs than the first round, the team will need to add depth to its bench via free agency and the NBA draft, writes Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. The scribe does note that Detroit enters the offseason with few holes to fill, which should allow the team to focus on its deficiencies in its quest to return to the postseason in 2016/17. Potential draft targets for Detroit, which owns the No. 19 overall pick this June, include Michigan State wing Denzel Valentine, Turkish guard Furkan Korkmaz or Gonzaga’s Domantas Sabonis, Bontemps opines.