Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Tony Mitchell To Play In Puerto Rico

February 5th, 2015 at 10:07am CST by Chuck Myron

Former Pistons and Suns power forward Tony Mitchell will play for Atleticos de San German in Puerto Rico, agent Christian Santaella tweets (hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The Suns released Mitchell last month to accommodate their trade for Brandan Wright a little more than two weeks after acquiring him from the Pistons in a one-for-one swap for Anthony Tolliver. Mitchell, a 22-year-old who was the 37th overall pick in 2013 out of North Texas, is not to be confused with the undrafted small forward by the same name who signed a 10-day contract with the Bucks in April.

The Mitchell who’s headed to Puerto Rico didn’t appear in an NBA game this season with either Detroit or Phoenix in spite of a guaranteed minimum salary. He saw just 3.8 minutes per game as a rookie in the NBA last year, spread over 21 appearances. The Pistons assigned him to the D-League on four occasions this season, but he put up modest numbers with Detroit’s affiliate, averaging 8.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in 24.8 minutes per game.

It’s unclear if his arrangement to play in Puerto Rico would allow him to return to the NBA this season. Mitchell had been drawing offers from European teams shortly after his release from the Suns, as David Pick of Eurobasket.com reported last month.

Deveney’s Latest: Afflalo, Jackson, Hill

February 4th, 2015 at 4:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA trade deadline is just over two weeks away and the front office activity around the league is sure to ramp up as February 19th rapidly approaches. Sean Deveney of The Sporting News ran down a number of tidbits regarding players who are on the trading block. Here are some of the highlights:

The Nuggets have discussed dealing Wilson Chandler but would prefer to trade Arron Afflalo instead, Deveney notes.
The trade market for Reggie Jackson is much weaker than the Thunder expected, Deveney adds.
Lakers center Jordan Hill remains a hot commodity despite Los Angeles informing interested teams that he isn’t available, Deveney reports. Hill is out with a quad injury that could sideline him until the deadline has passed, but the Sporting News scribe expects the interest in the big man to remain high.
Los Angeles is willing to deal Jeremy Lin if it could nab an asset in return, but the market for the Lakers‘ point guard has been weak, Deveney notes.
Bulls forward Taj Gibson has been linked to a number of interested teams around the league over the past few months, including the Raptors, Suns, Pistons, Trail Blazers, and an unspecified team from Los Angeles, Deveney relays.
The Wolves are open to the idea of trading Mo Williams, but with his team friendly salary and Minnesota’s young backcourt, the franchise isn’t desperate to make a deal, Deveney adds.
The Pistons are seeking backcourt depth in the wake of Brandon Jennings‘ injury and Jonas Jerebko is Detroit’s best available trade chip, Deveney opines. The Pistons have depth at the forward position and would like to deal Jerebko for a point guard, notes Deveney.
The Lakers have had their eyes on Suns guard Goran Dragic all season, but Los Angeles lacks the assets needed to get a deal done, the Sporting News scribe notes.
Kemba Walker‘s injury could change the Hornets‘ willingness to make a trade, but the team would still prefer to move Lance Stephenson, Deveney notes. There is still the possibility that talks with the Nets could start again for the mercurial guard, and the Pacers and the Knicks also remain possible destinations for Stephenson, Deveney reports.

Pistons Notes: Trades, Cap, Jerebko

February 4th, 2015 at 11:09am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s been a rollercoaster season for the Pistons, who’ve won consecutive games against would-be playoff teams after a four-game losing streak that followed the tear they went on when they waived Josh Smith. The trade deadline, just two weeks and a day away, provides another avenue for substantial change. There’s more on potential trades amid the latest from the Motor City:

Pistons GM Jeff Bower came up empty as he sought a trade to offset the loss of Jennings, but Bower’s boss, Stan Van Gundy, isn’t ruling out a swap even after the team signed John Lucas III to a 10-day deal to fill the gap at point guard, as MLive’s Brendan Savage notes. “Right now, we’re happy with what we have but you’re always exploring trades,” Van Gundy said Monday. “That’s just being honest. Those guys know that and they know you’re not being honest if you said anything else. You’re always exploring what’s out there. You’ve got to see what’s possible. But with John coming in now, there’s nothing specifically that we have to get done. We’ve got our roster, we’re happy with it. If there’s something out there that makes us better, then we’ll do it.”
The 10-day contract with Lucas doesn’t cost the Pistons much, but it nonetheless exhausted the tiny amount of cap room the team had left, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders points out (Twitter link). The team still has the use of its room exception, worth a prorated amount of $2.732MM, and Detroit can of course continue to use the minimum-salary exception.
Jonas Jerebko is set to become a free agent this summer, but he hinted Tuesday as he played his 300th game with the Pistons that he’d like to stick around, as David Mayo of MLive relays. “It’s a milestone for me. I want to play 300 more,” Jerebko said. “I’m definitely proud that I’ve been a Piston that many games. I want to keep going and raise that number.”

Amico On Nets, Lawson, Williams, Kings

February 3rd, 2015 at 7:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the NBA trade deadline just over two weeks away, many GMs from around the league are certain to be burning up their phone plan minutes while trying to improve their teams for a playoff run, or for others, trying to clear as much cap space as possible for the summer’s free agent signing period. Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio ran down a number of rumors from around the league. Here are some of the highlights:

The Nets have been seeking trade partners for Brook Lopez, Joe Johnson, and Deron Williams, but they are looking to receive assets in return, and not to just dump salary in the deal, Amico notes. “I’ve talked to Brook about it, I’ve talked to Joe, I’ve talked to Deron,” Brooklyn GM Billy King said. “The players all know it’s part of the business, but we’re not looking just to get rid of these guys just because they’re saying they’re gonna do that. We’re exploring things that make sense as people call, but we’re not going to be making a trade to make a trade. That’s foolish.“
Brooklyn had originally spoken with the Kings regarding a possible deal for Williams over a month ago, but those discussions have since died out, Amico adds. The Nets had also discussed a trade with the Hornets involving Johnson and Lance Stephenson.
The Nuggets appear to be willing to trade point guard Ty Lawson, but Denver’s asking price is currently high enough that it is scaring away inquiring teams, the FOX Sports scribe notes.
The Timberwolves are willing to deal Mo Williams, and the Kings are interested, Amico hears. Other teams reportedly interested in the veteran guard are the Pistons, Heat, Cavs, and Clippers.
Barring a sudden turnaround in Sacramento, the odds are against Tyrone Corbin being retained as coach for next season, Amico notes. In addition to Kings executive Chris Mullin being a potential replacement, both Tyronn Lue and Larry Drew will be considered candidates as well, Amico adds.

Eastern Notes: Lowry, Pistons, Heat, Kidd

February 2nd, 2015 at 3:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

DeMar DeRozan stayed in touch with Kyle Lowry this summer but didn’t try to pressure him into re-signing with the Raptors, and the soft-sell approach worked, as the point guard tells TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Lowry confirms that the Rockets met with him on the first day of free agency but suggests that the Heat only made contact via email, as Lowry also says to Aldridge. Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Pistons GM Jeff Bower looked into trade possibilities as the team sought a point guard, but no amenable deal emerged that would have allowed Detroit to acquire a player on an expiring contract, as president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy told reporters today. Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press has the details. Detroit, which temporarily filled its vacancy with a 10-day deal for John Lucas III today, reportedly had interest in Norris Cole, who’s on an expiring deal, but the team evidently couldn’t work out a deal for him.
Lucas is willing to stick around if the Pistons want him beyond his 10-day contract, though he acknowledges that the team has made no promises for after the 10 days, as Ellis observes in the same piece.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called 10-day signee Tyler Johnson “the model of player development” today, as Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald tweets, leading Goodman to wonder if the club has long-term plans for the guard. Miami can’t sign Johnson to anymore 10-day deals this season after this one expires at the end of Saturday, so a season-long commitment would be required if he’s to remain with the Heat.
Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders makes the case that Jason Kidd should be a leading candidate for Coach of the Year thanks to the job he has done in his first year with the Bucks. Kidd is no stranger to surprising turnarounds as a player, since he helped take the Nets from a 26-56 team in 2000/01 to the Eastern Conference title in 2001/02 upon his arrival. We’re only just past the midway point of the season, but Hamilton has Kidd as his top coach of the 2014/15 season, ahead of Steve Kerr and Mike Budenholzer.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Pistons Sign John Lucas III To 10-Day Contract

February 2nd, 2015 at 9:43am CST by Zachary Links

MONDAY, 9:43am: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

SUNDAY, 2:12pm: The Pistons plan to sign John Lucas III to a 10-day deal, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Lucas is being brought aboard to help fill the void created by the loss of star guard Brandon Jennings.

Lucas, a seven-year NBA vet, called off a scheduled workout with the Lakers back in November to sign with a Chinese team, the Fujian Sturgeons. That somewhat surprising decision capped what proved to be a very weird offseason for the 32-year-old guard. The Jazz had him under contract for a non-guaranteed $1.6MM at the beginning of the offseason, but they traded him to the Cavs in July. Cleveland flipped him two months later to the Celtics, who promptly waived him. The Wizards picked him up in late October, presumably with an eye on keeping him for the start of the regular season, but Washington put him back on waivers before opening night.

Now, Lucas is on his way back to the Association, this time to help give Detroit backcourt depth in the wake of Jennings’ torn Achilles. Jennings was averaging 19.8 points and 7.0 assists since the departure of Josh Smith and helped lead the club to a 12-4 record in that time period.

The Pistons had their eye on Heat guard Norris Cole as a possible backcourt addition, but it’s not clear if they’ll continue to pursue him via trade.

Western Notes: Grizzlies, Nuggets, Smith, Cooley

February 1st, 2015 at 10:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

Sunday’s signing of JaMychal Green to a 10-day contract shows the Grizzlies aren’t afraid to gamble on inexpensive talent, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal reports in a subscription-only article. “You’re basically playing the odds that you find one that hits,” Memphis GM Chris Wallace said. “If none of them hits, it’s not skin off your back. It’s a free shot.” The 24-year-old Green hit the open market after the Spurs declined to sign him to a second 10-day contract last week. He received interest from the Knicks, Bulls, Bucks and Blazers before signing with Memphis. The Grizzlies cleared a roster spot when they decided not to offer Tyrus Thomas a second 10-day contract. Thomas will join the Grizzlies’ D-League affiliate in Iowa, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. (Twitter link).

There’s much more from the Western Conference:

The Nuggets are showing fortitude by trying to make a deal for Nets center Brook Lopez, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. While there are roadblocks to getting a deal done, Dempsey feels that it’ll come down to how motivated the Nuggets are to acquire Lopez and not how desperate the Nets are to unload him.
“Fed up” is how Ty Lawson described Nuggets coach Brian Shaw after Saturday’s 18-point loss to the Hornets, according to Nick Groke of The Denver Post. Groke believes Shaw’s job may be in jeopardy after a bad week that included a 69-point performance in Thursday’s loss to the Grizzlies. “You can tell his spirit is getting lower and lower,” Lawson said of his coach. “Just game in and game out, I guess we’re not executing the way we want to or according to the game plan.”
Josh Smith admits he was shocked when the Pistons waived him in December, but he’s already grown comfortable with the Rockets and is high on the idea of re-signing with Houston this summer, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports details.
Former Jazz camp invitee Jack Cooley is again drawing NBA interest, a source tells Gino Pilato of D-League Digest (Twitter link). The 23-year-old center, who was with the Jazz this past fall, pulled down 19 points in a recent game for Utah’s D-League affiliate, Pilato notes. It’s unclear if the Jazz are among those thinking of him for a spot on their NBA roster.

Chuck Myron and Zach Links contributed to this post.

Rockets Notes: McHale, Smith, Johnson

February 1st, 2015 at 1:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rockets coach Kevin McHale didn’t talk to anyone about Josh Smith before the forward arrived in Houston, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Smith came to Houston with a questionable reputation after being waived by the Pistons December 22nd, but the coach said that didn’t influence any of his decisions. “The minute I start talking to him, I form my own opinion,” McHale said. “I don’t listen to anybody else. I never have. I’m friends with a lot of people that people don’t like. I deal with people how they deal with me. If he had a problem with anybody else, it didn’t bother me. He’s been great here.”

There’s other news from Houston:

Smith returned to Detroit Saturday night, and Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle reports that the crowd loudly expressed its displeasure. Pistons fans booed Smith the first time he stood up to come into the game and every time he touched the ball. Smith, who spent less than a season and a half in Detroit, said he wasn’t bothered by the hostile reception. “It wasn’t emotional to me because I haven’t been here long enough to feel any kind of weight,” he said. “The booing didn’t affect me.”
Smith has settled into a reserve role in Houston, but Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy tells Feigen for a separate piece that he never considered using Smith off the bench before making the decision to waive him. “He’s in a totally different situation, with a totally different team, in a totally different role,” Van Gundy said. “People around him are not even similar. Possibly, we could have done that. I just don’t know. How he would have played here probably would not have changed a lot. He just would have been coming off the bench.”
The Rockets have recalled guard Nick Johnson from their D-League affiliate in Rio Grande Valley, the team announced. Johnson, the 42nd pick in last year’s NBA draft, appeared in three games for the Vipers, averaging 21.7 points, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals per contest. He has seen limited playing time in Houston, averaging 3.2 points in 17 games.

Eastern Notes: Pistons, Young, Celtics, Heat

February 1st, 2015 at 8:59am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pistons are still searching for a third point guard after the season ending injury to Brandon Jennings, but with about two and a half weeks until the trade deadline, the team wants to remain as flexible as possible just in case it can find a trade partner, writes David Mayo of Mlive.com. “We could do two 10-days, and then if nothing materializes, we’ve got a guy who’s been with us for three weeks,” team president Stan Van Gundy said. “And if something does, then we make a move. That’s part of the timing issue.” Mayo identifies Norris Cole of the Heat as a potential trade target that makes sense. The Pistons were one of the teams interested in Cole, and our own Chuck Myron examined the point guard as a trade candidate earlier in the week.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Celtics on Saturday assigned James Young to their D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, according to the team’s twitter feed. Young has already appeared in eight games for the Red Claws, averaging 22.4 points per game while shooting 47.9% from three point range.
Going into the season, the Celtics didn’t expect to contend for a playoff berth, but president of basketball operations Danny Ainge would love to make the playoffs as long as the team keeps improving, writes Kevin O’Connor of SB Nation. “I would love to see our team in the playoffs, but I don’t want to see us back into the playoffs with a really bad record and not even have a fighting chance. If our team can keep getting better by developing, if we can make some deals at the trade deadline that put us in position to actually get into the playoffs and have a chance to win a playoff series, I think that would be a lot of fun,” Ainge said. Boston is unlikely to make any moves that sacrifice the future in order to climb up the standings this season.
The Heat, with a record of 20-26, remain a good bet to make the playoffs thanks to the improved play of Hassan Whiteside, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Winderman argues that Whiteside has nearly become irreplaceable for Miami and with Dwyane Wade‘s recent injury, the center may take on an even bigger role. The 25-year-old has 15.3 points, 17.7 rebounds and 4.3 blocks in just 29.8 minutes per game over his last three contests.

Pistons Notes: Point Guards, Jerebko, Van Gundy

January 30th, 2015 at 5:47pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pistons president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy needs to add another point guard to the roster in the wake of the injury to Brandon Jennings, but he wants to wait to find the right fit instead of rushing to sign a player, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “Being honest, preferably we’d like to get somebody with NBA experience. There are some of those guys in the D-League,” Van Gundy said. “But the overriding thing is we want the best player. If we think one of those guys is better, we will do that. There are D-League guys we’ve looked at and talked about.”

Here’s more from Motown:

Van Gundy will also look to the trade market for a point guard, but he isn’t keen on taking on a player whose contract extends past this season, Langlois adds. “That becomes a complicating factor, too, because depending on Brandon’s recovery, you would very well have three point guards under contract and still need another for next year,” Van Gundy said. “So to be tied into another one from this year – unless he’s a guy you know you want to go forward with – you could be at five point guards. That’s not going to work. We may have to carry four early in the year, which is a lot, but you certainly don’t want to be in a situation with five. It’s not like we can just go out and trade for anyone. We can’t.“
The Pistons not having yet brought in any players on 10-day contracts this season will work to the team’s advantage, Langlois notes. “[Two 10-day contracts] will take us to the trade deadline, which I think is an advantage,” Van Gundy said. “We could do two 10 days, the trade deadline and then if nothing materializes, we’ve got a guy who’s been with us for three weeks, and if it does, then we make a move. That’s part of the timing issue of it, too.“
Despite having had previous success playing overseas, Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko is adamant that he has no plans to leave the NBA when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders writes. “No, I’m in the NBA,” Jerebko told Greene. “That’s it. I’m not even considering going overseas right now. The NBA is where I want to be. I want to stay in this league. The summer is the summer and I’ll evaluate [free agency] when it comes, you know.”