Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: AK47, Prince, Blatche, Bass

February 23rd, 2015 at 6:14pm CST by Zachary Links

Andrei Kirilenko said he doesn’t understand why the Sixers kept him for more than two months, waiving him only this weekend instead of cutting him soon after they traded for him in December, as he told Pavel Osipov of Sport-Express (translation via Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net). He said he didn’t hear anything from Sixers brass for two weeks following the trade, and the forward confirmed that he went on unpaid suspension when he refused to report. Here’s more from the Atlantic..

The Celtics promised Tayshaun Prince that they would buy him out but reneged when they traded him to the Pistons, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. The Clippers, he adds, were likely disappointed when Prince was shipped to Detroit.
The Nets don’t have any other moves planned at this time and they’re not willing to eat any of their current contracts to make space for Andray Blatche, according to Robert Windrem of NetsDaily (on Twitter).
While his role in Boston has fluctuated, Brandon Bass told A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com that he would “definitely” be open to signing a new deal to stay with the Celtics. “If I’m wanted back then yeah, I would want to be back for sure,” said Bass. “It’s been a blessing for me to be here four years, to finish out my contract here. I’m excited about that. Hopefully everything will continue to go in a positive direction.” Bass is earning $6.9MM in his walk year.
A chance to get on the floor was among the many reasons Gigi Datome was excited when he learned that he had been traded to the Celtics, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes.
76ers GM Sam Hinkie is stockpiling second-round picks because, out of a handful, he figures to hit on at least one, as Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “We will not bat 1.000 on every single draft pick,” Hinkie said. “We have them by the bushelful in part because of that, because we don’t have any hubris that we will get them all right. We’re not certain we have an edge over anyone else. We’re not certain we have an edge at all. That’s OK. It’s a hard league, with 30 teams trying to clamor to the top of the same mountain.” The GM continued his polarizing rebuild plan at this year’s trade deadline when he moved Michael Carter-Williams for draft considerations.
New Nets acquisition Thaddeus Young is motivated by the death of his mother and the promise of making a playoff push, Lenn Robbins of BrooklynNets.com writes.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Aldridge’s Latest: Thunder, Lopez, Jackson

February 23rd, 2015 at 2:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder aren’t making moves simply out of fear that Kevin Durant will jump ship in 2016 and Russell Westbrook will follow suit the next year, a league source tells TNT’s David Aldridge for his Morning Tip column on NBA.com. Still, it’s been an active season for GM Sam Presti, who went over the tax line to acquire Dion Waiters and stayed above it after Thursday’s swap that sent out Reggie Jackson and brought in Enes Kanter. Aldridge has much more in his column, and we’ll hit the highlights, many of which are Thunder-related:

The Thunder let the Nets know they wouldn’t do the proposed Jackson/Brook Lopez trade just 15 minutes before the deadline, Aldridge reports. The Nets likely would have dealt Jarrett Jack to the Wizards if they’d done that deal, Aldridge adds.
The concern that Arron Afflalo would turn down his player option and hit the open market dissuaded the Thunder from trading for him, as Aldridge explains.
The Rockets preferred Goran Dragic to Jackson and the Celtics weren’t willing to trade young players for the then-Thunder guard, Aldridge writes.
The Thunder didn’t have plans to re-sign Kendrick Perkins in the summer even before they traded him at the deadline, according to Aldridge.

Pistons Notes: Prince, Jackson, Van Gundy

February 23rd, 2015 at 11:00am CST by Chuck Myron

Tayshaun Prince said he was angry when he realized the Celtics had traded him Thursday, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press details. Prince didn’t call him out by name, but Ellis believe Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is the object of Prince’s rage.

“I thought no trade was going to happen at all,” Prince said. I was going to be in Boston and see what happened, whether the buyout was going to happen or not. The buyout wasn’t 100%. So I thought there was no trade at all. We get ready to go on the bus to practice and they said, ‘Come here, you’ve been traded.'”

Prince was set to talk buyout with the Celtics before the trade, but Pistons coach/president Stan Van Gundy doesn’t believe Prince will push for a buyout with his new team, and Van Gundy isn’t inclined to give him one. Here’s more from the Motor City:

Prince added that he felt disrespected when the Pistons traded him to the Grizzlies two years ago, but “that’s a story for back then,” Prince said, according to Ellis.
Owner Tom Gores is impressed with the “nimble” handling of the trade deadline that Van Gundy and GM Jeff Bower displayed, as Ellis notes in a separate piece. “Stan believes he can do very special things in this league,” Gores said of new acquisition Reggie Jackson. “I believe there’s something Stan saw in Reggie and thinks he can be a real superstar in the league,” Gores said.
Van Gundy has said he believes the Pistons job will be his last coaching gig, and he’s not sure if he’d want to work as an executive without coaching, as MLive’s David Mayo notes. The 55-year-old made it sound as if he’d rather coach than manage if it came to that. “I don’t know about that,” he said of an executive-only role. “I didn’t really think about that [after the deadline]. I know I was glad when it passed and you can sort of get back to just having your mind on coaching now, until the season’s over, and then you go back to the draft and free agency. But being able to just focus on what goes on on the court, it’s nice, because that last week, it was tougher on Jeff than it was on me, but it was tiring.”

Central Notes: LeBron, Prince, Knicks

February 22nd, 2015 at 10:12pm CST by Zachary Links

It was obvious to Frank Isola of the Daily News that LeBron James wasn’t being entirely honest when he announced his return to Cleveland in July. “I’m not promising a championship,” James wrote in Sports Illustrated. “I know how hard that is to deliver. We’re not ready right now. No way. Of course, I want to win next year, but I’m realistic. It will be a long process, much longer than it was in 2010.” Now, however, it’s clear that the Cavs are gunning to win it all. Here’s more from the Central Division..

Some have speculated that Tayshaun Prince would ask the Pistons for a buyout, but coach Stan Van Gundy doesn’t see that happening, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press writes. “I don’t think it’s a case of that,” Van Gundy said. “You guys can talk to him. I think what happened is, quite honestly, he expected one thing and it didn’t happen. It takes a little bit to adjust, but we talked today and I think he’s ready to go and will be a big help to us down the stretch.”
If LeBron were ever to leave the Cavs for the Knicks, it would be to team up with Carmelo Anthony and not because he wants to play in the Garden, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. James once again professed his love for MSG as the Cavs came to town to take on the Knicks this weekend.
When the Knicks traded J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to the Cavaliers, the idea was addition by subtraction, but they have become vital cogs for the title-contending Cavs, Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal writes. “Both of those guys have come in with such great attitudes and given us such great play,” Cleveland coach David Blatt said on Saturday. Still, Beaton writes that it’s not clear if the duo could have found that same success in New York as they might have needed a change of scenery.
Smith is silencing critics with his play with the Cavs, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes.

Atlantic Notes: Prince, Celtics, Sixers

February 21st, 2015 at 9:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Pistons president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy says Tayshaun Prince should blame the Celtics, not Detroit, if he is unhappy about not receiving a buyout, according to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. The Pistons acquired Prince in a deal shortly before Thursday’s trade deadline, sending Jonas Jerebko and Luigi Datome to Boston. Now there are rumblings that Prince would like a buyout, even though he would be giving up money, so he can join a contending team. “The reason Boston made the trade was to save money,” Van Gundy said. “We’re paying Tayshaun more money. If he was going to get bought out, he should have done it in Boston. … We weren’t told of this until after we made the trade by Tayshaun’s agent.” In a separate story, Ellis noted that Prince didn’t seem thrilled when he learned he was going back to Detroit. “Reggie [Jackson] was really, really excited,” Van Gundy said. “I think Tayshaun was — not unhappy, but he was sort of trying to figure out what the hell happened, and I understand that.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics‘ trade deadline deals brought the number of players who’ve been on Boston’s roster this season to 39, notes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Since July 2014, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has made 11 trades involving 25 players. “The constant change, it’s certainly a challenge,” said coach Brad Stevens. “But it was anticipated, too, [20] months ago when I took the job. I didn’t know it would be quite this much, or quite this consistent.”
Even Ainge was surprised by the trades the Celtics made Thursday, reports Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. The GM said two deals materialized within an hour of the deadline. In addition to the trade with Detroit, Boston sent Marcus Thornton and Cleveland’s first-round pick in 2016 to Phoenix for Isaiah Thomas. “Things were quiet for us, and then some opportunities opened up,” Ainge said. “There was the possibility of the Detroit trade, but I just didn’t think the Phoenix deal was going to happen. I think it was just the other stuff going on there [the Suns’ dealing of Goran Dragic to Miami and their pick-up of Brandon Knight from Milwaukee] that changed that.”
The Sixers‘ desire to take “big leaps” was behind Thursday’s deal that sent Michael Carter-Williams to Milwaukee, writes Tom Moore of Calkins Media. GM Sam Hinkie moved the reigning Rookie of the Year in a three-team trade that saw Phoenix send Philadelphia the Lakers’ 2015 draft pick, which is top-five protected. “We don’t think it’ll necessarily be linear, that each year you will add five wins and after 10 years you will get to 50,” Hinkie explained. “… You have to be prepared to put yourself in a position where you might be able to take big leaps.”

Pistons Sign Quincy Miller To 10-Day Deal

February 21st, 2015 at 11:10am CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 11:10am: The signing is official, the Pistons announced in a press release.

THURSDAY, 5:39pm: The Pistons agreed to sign Quincy Miller to a 10-day contract on Saturday, agent Jared Karnes tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Miller and the Kings had been set to talk after the All-Star break about a deal that would cover the rest of the season, but it appears there’s been a change of plans for the 38th overall pick in the 2012 draft. The Pistons are juggling their roster amid their deal to acquire Reggie Jackson.

The Pacers, Hawks, Spurs, Thunder and Clippers were all reportedly interested in Miller before he joined the Kings on a pair of 10-day deals, and he had a workout set with the Lakers earlier this season. He averaged 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game across six appearances with Sacramento.

Miller put up strong numbers in the D-League with Sacramento’s affiliate earlier this season, averaging 25.3 PPG and 7.6 RPG in 28.9 MPG across 15 appearances. That helped rehabilitate his value after the Nuggets cut him loose at the end of the preseason after failing to find a trade partner.

Pistons Notes: Jackson, Prince, Singler

February 20th, 2015 at 10:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pistons president of basketball operations and coach Stan Van Gundy stressed that Detroit acquired Reggie Jackson with an eye on signing him to a long-term deal this summer, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “We wouldn’t have made the move we did if we didn’t feel ready to make it a long-term commitment,” Van Gundy said. “There’s no guarantees. He’s a [restricted free agent]. We know we can keep him through next year no matter what he does, but we feel good about making a long-term commitment to him and hopefully he’ll feel real comfortable making a long-term commitment here and we’ll get it done. We’ve got a chance to put together a really solid young core and continue to develop them. You’ve got to have some patience, but I’m not all that patient, so hopefully it will come together sooner. But you do see a window there and it’s not a short window. It’s not a two- or three-year window.”

Here’s more from Motown:

Van Gundy told newly acquired swingman Tayshaun Prince that the team had no intention of buying out the veteran’s contract, Langlois tweets.
Jackson is overjoyed to be a starter with the Pistons, and relieved to be putting the difficulties he had with the Thunder behind him, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes. “I wasn’t always perfect, nor was the situation, but I became the brunt of the blame there,” Jackson said. “Everything bad that happened, I was the scapegoat. I’m taking all this blame, and I’m wondering: ‘How am I supposed to change it all here, make an impact, in eight minutes a game?’ Everybody is jumping down my neck, and it gets annoying when I’m supposed to have this great impact playing so little this season.”
Out of the four players the Pistons traded on Thursday, the only one who the team didn’t want to part with was Kyle Singler, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. Detroit liked the idea of having Singler as a lower budget backup at small forward, Mayo notes.
It was Jackson’s desire not to stay in Oklahoma City beyond this season, not his trade request, that led to him being dealt by the Thunder, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com writes. The point guard also had an offer sheet in the $14.5MM per season range “already in the bank,” a league source told Berger. OKC wasn’t willing to remain in luxury tax territory to re-sign a player who didn’t want to commit to them, Berger adds.

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Afflalo, Jackson

February 20th, 2015 at 2:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

Blazers GM Neil Olshey made it clear that Thursday’s trade for Arron Afflalo was a product of the team’s emphasis on the present, as he told reporters and as The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman transcribes.

“It’s one of the things about our league; you can’t be a development team and a winning team,” Olshey said. “They’re not always independent of one another, but they’re more independent than people would like to admit.”

All five Northwest Division teams made trades Thursday, and that included two deals in which Northwest teams hooked up with each other. We rounded up the latest on the Wolves, the lone team that didn’t make an intradivision trade, earlier today, and now here’s what’s happening in the rest of the division:

The Nuggets expected that Afflalo would command $9-10MM a year in a new contract this summer, reports Chris Mannix of SI.com, who writes in his Open Floor column. The new Blazers shooting guard has a player option likely worth $7.75MM for next season, up from his base salary of $7.5MM. That’s because playing with Portland means he’ll probably trigger the bonus for making the playoffs that’s part of his contract, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
There were strong feelings in the Nuggets organization that the presence of JaVale McGee negatively influenced a “winning culture,” Mannix also writes in the same piece.
Reggie Jackson sat out a game at the beginning of the season because he was disappointed the Thunder didn’t trade him, a source tells Royce Young of ESPN.com, who delves into the frayed relationship between Jackson and his now former Thunder teammates.
The development of Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors and the desire for cap flexibility motivated the Jazz’s decision to trade Enes Kanter, not Kanter’s trade request, Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey insists, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune relays.
Dorell Wright, a free agent at season’s end, would prefer re-signing with the Blazers over a deal with any other NBA team, as he tells Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders.
There’s a decent chance Tibor Pleiss, the draft-and-stash prospect whom the Jazz acquired Thursday from the Thunder, leaves his Spanish team soon, making him available to sign with Utah, a source indicated to Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). Pleiss, a center, is currently under contract through 2016, as our draft rights held database shows.

Celtics Trade Tayshaun Prince To Pistons

February 19th, 2015 at 7:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

7:49pm: The trade is official, the Pistons have announced in a press release. “Tayshaun Prince is certainly well known to fans in Detroit and we’re pleased to welcome him back,” said Stan Van Gundy, Detroit’s coach and president of basketball operations. “He fills a position of need for us at small forward with his offensive and defensive versatility. We thank both Jonas and Gigi for their hard work and wish them well going forward.”

6:26pm: The Pistons intend to keep Prince, Ellis tweets.

2:23pm: The Pistons are acquiring Tayshaun Prince from the Celtics, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Gigi Datome and Jonas Jerebko head to Boston in return, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (on Twitter).

In 917 career games, Prince has averaged 11.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. His career slash line is .455/.369/.758.

Pistons Acquire Reggie Jackson

February 19th, 2015 at 7:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

7:13pm: The release on the Thunder’s website indicates that the Thunder received Detroit’s unprotected 2019 second-round pick, too.

6:34pm: The Jazz have formally announced that the deal is official. The Pistons and Thunder have also confirmed the trade in press releases. Utah has acquired Jerrett, the rights to Pleiss, Perkins, and a future first-round pick from Oklahoma City, as well as a 2017 second-round pick from the Pistons. The Thunder will receive Kanter and Novak from Utah, and Augustin and Singler from the Pistons, while Detroit garners Jackson.

4:06pm: The Jazz are getting Jerrett, a protected first-round pick from the Thunder and a second-rounder from the Pistons in addition to Kanter and the rights to Pleiss, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

3:49pm: Several picks are changing hands in the deal as well, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, suggesting that a significant chunk of the draft considerations are heading Utah’s way (Twitter link).

3:33pm: The Thunder dealt for Kanter with the intention of re-signing him this summer, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

3:25pm: Grant Jerrett is headed out in the deal, too, according to Mayberry, though he doesn’t specify which team he’s going to (Twitter link). The Thunder are expected to waive Ish Smith to accommodate all the moves, Mayberry adds.

2:49pm: The Thunder will send the draft rights to center Tibor Pleiss to the Jazz, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman (on Twitter).

2:44pm: Guard D.J. Augustin is headed from the Pistons to OKC in the deal, according to Wojnarowski (on Twitter). The former No. 9 overall pick averaged 10.6 PPG and 4.98 APG in 23.8 minutes per game for the Pistons this season.

2:15pm: Steve Novak is heading from the Jazz to the Thunder in the deal, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com (on Twitter). Jody Genessy of The Deseret News (on Twitter) first reported that Novak would be included in the three-way swap.

1:56pm: It’s now a three-way deal, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter links). The Jazz will send Enes Kanter to OKC, the Thunder will ship Kendrick Perkins to Utah, and Detroit will send Kyle Singler to OKC.

Talks with the Jazz about Kanter picked up today as OKC weighed the pros and cons of the Nets’ Brook Lopez/Jackson proposal. For his part, Kanter made it clear last week that he’s frustrated with his role and wants a trade. In 49 games this season, Kanter has averaged 13.8 PPG and 7.8 RPG – both career-highs, in 27.1 minutes per contest. For his career, the former No. 3 overall pick has put up 9.3 PPG and 5.9 RPG across four seasons in Utah.

Perkins, 30, is now slated to join the third franchise in his NBA career. The big man has been playing mostly in a reserve role this season, averaging 4.0 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 19.2 minutes per contest. In total, Perkins has put up 5.6 PPG and 6.0 RPG over the course of 12 seasons with the Celtics and Thunder.

1:50pm: The Thunder have traded Jackson to the Pistons, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).

1:34pm: The Pistons are making a strong run at Reggie Jackson, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Jackson appeared to be Brooklyn-bound earlier today, but it’s not clear if that deal will be consummated.

The Thunder and the Nets were discussing the framework of a deal that would involve Brook Lopez going to OKC and Jackson going to Brooklyn. However, the Thunder pumped the breaks a bit on the talks when they started looking at a deal with another team. Given that Detroit is enthusiastic about landing Jackson, the PIstons might be the party putting a spoke in that wheel.

Jackson’s agent, Aaron Mintz, recently requested that the Thunder trade his client, who’s due for restricted free agency this summer. The Kings, Bucks, Heat, Pacers, Rockets and Nuggets also registered their interest in Jackson, while there are conflicting reports about whether the Celtics are pursuing him.

The 24-year-old turned down an extension offer in the neighborhood of four years and $48MM this past fall, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick (Twitter link). That was around the time teams around the league thought he’d end up commanding $13-14MM a year this summer, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported at the time.