Pistons Rumors

Central Notes: Cavaliers, Smith, Pistons

December 24th, 2014 at 4:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jermaine O’Neal confirms he has heard from the Cavaliers, but tells Chris Haynes of Northeast Ohio Media Group that he will need two to three weeks to get ready. O’Neal will decide soon if he wants to retire or return to the NBA for a 19th season. He said he has spoken to a few teams personally, but Cleveland isn’t among them. The Cavaliers are in the market for a big man after a season-ending injury to Anderson Varejao.

There’s more from the Central Division:

The Pistons gave Josh Smith a gift beyond the chance to play for a contender when they waived him Monday, according to Jonathan Nehring of Taxaball.com. Smith can also realize a tax savings estimated at $1.3MM. Athletes are required to pay state and local income tax for each game they play. Smith won’t play any more games for the Pistons, so his salary from them — the remainder of $13.5MM for the rest of this season and $27MM stretched over the next five years — is free from that tax. If, as rumored, he signs with the Rockets for their $2.077MM biannual exception, state and local taxes for the games he plays will be applied to that salary.
Stan Van Gundy deserves criticism for not resolving the Smith situation sooner, opines Michael Lee of The Washington Post. He notes that the Kings were interested in trading for Smith last summer, and offered various packages that included Jason Thompson and either Derrick Williams or Carl Landry. Van Gundy, Detroit’s coach and president of basketball operations, reportedly didn’t like the deals and elected to keep Smith. That led to Monday’s release, which an unidentified general manager termed as “reckless.”
Getting rid of Smith was the first of many problems that have to be addressed in Detroit, writes Vince Ellis of USA Today. He notes that the Pistons rank 24th in defensive efficiency and are struggling to score. Van Gundy was alarmed with Smith’s usage rate, which ranked 30th in the NBA. “We ran a lot of stuff through him and, clearly, if you want other people to have more offensive opportunities, you would have to take some away from him,” the coach said. “I didn’t think that would be good for him; I didn’t think he would be happy with that, so I think it’s easier moving forward this way.”

Pistons, Suns Swap Tolliver, Mitchell

December 24th, 2014 at 11:40am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons have acquired Anthony Tolliver from the Suns in exchange for Tony Mitchell, the teams announced via press release. It’s a straight one-for-one swap. The Suns are expected to waive Mitchell, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). Both teams had cap space going into the deal, and both remain under the cap, so there was no salary matching necessary. Detroit is just a sliver under the cap after taking on Tolliver’s $3MM salary, while the Suns open up nearly $2.184MM in additional cap room in the exchange, even though Mitchell’s guaranteed minimum salary will stick on Phoenix’s books if he indeed hits waivers.

Tolliver, a 6’8″ combo forward, helps make up for the loss of Josh Smith, whom the Pistons shockingly waived Monday. He’s a much more proficient outside shooter than Smith is, having nailed 38.5% of his three-point attempts so far this season and 35.5% for his career. He shot 41.3% on three-pointers last season, helping him earn a two-year, $6MM deal with the Suns, who needed to replace Magic signee Channing Frye. Tolliver nonetheless saw only 11.3 minutes per game for Phoenix, which clearly saw him as expendable. Only $400K of next season’s $3MM salary is guaranteed for Tolliver, so the Pistons largely preserve their cap flexibility for the summer ahead.

Mitchell, a power forward not to be confused with the former Bucks small forward by the same name, had been on his fourth D-League assignment of the season since December 12th. The 37th overall pick in the 2013 draft had yet to appear in a regular season game this season for new coach/executive Stan Van Gundy after seeing only 79 minutes spread over 21 games as a rookie last year.

Eastern Notes: Monroe, Nets, Embiid

December 23rd, 2014 at 10:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

A number of league insiders believe that Greg Monroe, who will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, will end up with the Knicks, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops writes. “I could see $48MM for four years. I don’t think he’s a max [contract] guy, but he is pretty good. He might get more based on who is left on the board. I could see New York overpaying him,” a league executive told Scotto.

An Eastern Conference scout also believes that Monroe and the Knicks could be a fit down the line. “I think the Knicks are a possible free agency destination,” the scout told Scotto. “He has above-average passing ability, which makes him attractive for the triangle. If the Knicks strike out on the so-called top-tier guys, I think it makes sense.”

Here’s more from the East:

Jorge Gutierrez has been acquired as a returning player by the Canton Charge of the NBA D-League, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports (Twitter link). Gutierrez was recently waived by the Sixers after they acquired him from the Nets in the deal for Andrei Kirilenko.
According to Howard Beck of Bleacher Report, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov is to blame for the mess that the franchise has become. Prokhorov’s push for “star power” to be added to strengthen the team’s brand during the move to Brooklyn led to a number of questionable decisions, as well as the team stripping itself of future draft picks and tradeable assets, Beck opines.
While Joel Embiid isn’t likely to suit up for the Sixers this season, coach Brett Brown is still counting on the rookie to become a leader on the team, Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com writes. “We’re really trying to go overboard and help him understand what leadership is,” Brown said. “I’m desperately trying to build something that’s not top-driven. I don’t want it to be top-driven down. It needs to be the team dictating some rules and habits. And what is culture? What’s the behavior we want amongst our players? And I think the most powerful way to do that is something that’s player-driven.”

Pistons Notes: Smith, Drummond, Van Gundy

December 23rd, 2014 at 10:34am CST by Chuck Myron

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy spoke earlier this month of a four-day break in the team’s schedule as the point at which he’d examine where the team was and make changes, if necessary. Monday was the first of those four days, and Van Gundy wasted no time, waiving Josh Smith and using the stretch provision to somewhat ease the pain of the remainder of his four-year, $54MM contract. Here’s more on the upheaval in the Motor City:

The Kings offered weaker proposals to the Pistons for Smith in recent weeks than they had over the summer, as Sacramento began to insist on receiving a first-rounder in the near future instead of one that wouldn’t come until a few years from now, reports Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. The Pistons countered with second-round picks that would end up with Sacramento in the near term, but the Kings weren’t receptive to that, Ellis adds.
Jeff Schwartz, who recently became the agent for center Andre Drummond, will be keeping a close eye on how the Pistons’ situation develops to ensure his newest client has a bright future in Detroit, notes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter links). Drummond will be up for a rookie scale extension this coming summer.
Former Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars approached owner Tom Gores a few years ago about using the stretch provision to rid the team of Ben Gordon instead of trading him, but Gores wasn’t willing to go along, Free Press scribe Drew Sharp writes. This time, Gores didn’t make the same mistake, as Sharp argues.
Releasing Smith is an expensive proposition and a painful admission of a mistake, but it’s the right decision for the Pistons, MLive’s David Mayo believes.
The passion and temerity that makes Van Gundy a successful coach didn’t serve him well in the way he handled Smith as an executive, SB Nation’s Tom Ziller believes.

Alex Lee contributed to this post.

Josh Smith Rumors: Heat, Clippers, Lakers

December 22nd, 2014 at 10:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Pistons coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy pulled a stunner today, waiving Josh Smith. Reports quickly identified the Clippers, Mavs and Kings as suitors for Smith in free agency once he clears waivers, as expected, and more clubs are lining up for a chance to obtain him on the cheap. There’s plenty of news rolling in related to Detroit’s bold move and what happens next with the tweener forward, and we’ll pass along the latest in this thread, with any additional updates posted on top:

The Heat have formally applied for a disabled player exception from the league after losing Josh McRoberts for the year, reports Marc Stein of ESPN. While the exception, which would be worth $2.653MM, hasn’t been granted yet, the Heat are hopeful they’ll have it before Smith makes his decision (Twitter links here).

9:46pm update:

The Clippers will have interest in Smith if he clears waivers, ESPN’s Arash Markazi hears from multiple team sources. Markazi adds that the team can only offer Smith the veteran’s minimum and would likely cut Jared Cunningham to make room on its roster. Cunningham’s contract becomes guaranteed on January 10th and he is likely to be released before then either way, per Markazi.

8:51pm update:

Should Smith clear waivers, the Lakers will have a significant financial advantage over most of his other suitors, writes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. The disabled player exception they received from Steve Nash‘s season-ending injury allows the Lakers spend up to $4.85MM on a single player, per Pincus, which is more than twice what most other teams can offer. Pincus adds that the Lakers should have the cap space next summer to re-sign Smith.

7:14pm updates:

There is a strong belief among Rockets players, even beyond Howard, that they’ll convince Smith to sign in Houston, reports Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said that Smith “fits the profile of the type of guys we love to bring in,” reports Bryan Gutierrez of Mavs Outsider. Cuban added that the Mavs would use Smith more down low than on the wing should they add him, per Gutierrez (Twitter links).
While it’s hardly a surprise, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports that the Sixers, flush in cap space, have zero interest in claiming Smith off waivers (via Twitter).

4:05pm update:

The Grizzlies have expressed interest in Smith, too, Grantland’s Zach Lowe hears, acknowledging that it’s nonetheless a long shot for him to wind up in Memphis (Twitter link). The Grizzlies couldn’t pay him any more than the minimum.

3:49pm update:

The Lakers would like Smith to play for them, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link), but they wouldn’t fall into the category of a playoff-bound team, the only sort that Smith is reportedly considering (below).

1:55pm update:

Teams that aren’t headed for the playoffs are out of the running for Smith, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. That stance would appear to damage the chances of the Kings most of all among the clubs that reports have so far linked to the forward.

1:40pm update:

Smith was “fixated” on finding a way to join the Rockets before he signed with Detroit in 2013, according to Wojnarowski, who writes in a full piece.

1:05pm updates:

The Heat are in the running for Smith, Stein reports (on Twitter). Miami has only the minimum to give.
Houston will allow Smith to choose whether he wants a one-year or two-year deal, Amick hears (Twitter link). The biannual exception limits contracts to no more than two seasons, and the Rockets are without a way to sign him to a longer deal.

12:39pm update:

The Rockets are taking an aggressive stance in their pursuit of Smith, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). They attempted to trade for him but couldn’t find a workable salary match that didn’t involved Howard or James Harden, Wojnarowski adds in a second tweet.

12:28pm updates:

Houston will offer Smith its $2.077MM biannual exception, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The Rockets are optimistic about their chances to land Smith, given their status as a contender, the opportunity to offer him a large on-court role, and their financial advantage of having the biannual while others are limited to the minimum salary, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
No one has been a bigger fan of Smith in recent months than Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, according to Stein (Twitter link).

12:17pm updates:

The Clippers would like to research the matter more thoroughly before committing to a pursuit of Smith, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). Though Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears the Clippers are indeed interested, coach/executive Doc Rivers said he doesn’t know quite yet what his team will do, as he told reporters, including Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
The Rockets do have interest in signing Smith, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link). Stein reported earlier that Houston, which has the $2.077MM biannual exception to spend, was still thinking about whether it wanted to go after Smith, who’s a friend of Dwight Howard‘s. Howard has said in the past that he and Smith have had conversations about playing together again as they did when they were AAU teammates, notes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
The Kings were the only team to express interest in trading for Smith as the Pistons sought to move him in recent weeks, Stein tweets. The Pistons refused to part with draft picks in any deal or take on burdensome contracts in return, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Derrick Williams was alongside Jason Thompson in the Kings‘ earliest trade proposals to the Pistons regarding Smith over the summer, and Carl Landry later replaced Williams in those offers, according to Stein (on Twitter). Van Gundy turned them down because he wanted to coach Smith before cutting ties, Stein adds (Twitter link).

Stan Van Gundy On Josh Smith Decision

December 22nd, 2014 at 9:39pm CST by Alex Lee

This morning’s news that the Pistons waived Josh Smith certainly qualifies as one of the more interesting and shocking NBA personnel developments in recent memory. It’s also no surprise that teams around the league are preparing their recruiting pitches for the volatile but talented forward, who is still only 29 years old. Pistons president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy spoke to the media this afternoon, including Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, and had the following to say about the team’s jarring decision:

On why the team felt the need to move on from Smith:

“Josh is the guy on our team with the highest usage rate. He’s taken the most shots. He’s a high-assists guy. He’s got the ball in his hands a lot. We would have had to reduce his role offensively. I don’t think he would have been happy with that at this point in his career. I don’t think it necessarily would have been fair to him. But I think it’s something we need to do to try to move on.”

On how access to the stretch provision impacted the deal:

“We gain an advantage the next two summers and then the three years after that, he sits on our cap – but with the cap going up, I think you’re looking at that being a very small percentage of the cap. It helps a great deal.”

On how this move improves the future of the team:

“I think this is about a few things. It’s, No. 1, making significant improvement, particularly at the defensive end of the floor. No. 2, it’s about developing our young core of guys. No. 3, it’s about acquiring as many assets and as much flexibility as we can going forward to make the moves.”

On what the Pistons will do with the open roster spot:

“Maybe find a guy off the waiver wire, a D-League guy, something like that. Or in a trade where you send one guy out and get two guys back. It does give you some flexibility and I think flexibility right now in trying to move things forward is important.”

On why they didn’t move Smith when they had the chance in the summer:

“I would rather be where we are right now than having taken back the players we were offered that would’ve sat on our cap for the next three years. That would have slowed down our rebuilding effort. We went into the season expecting much, much better than this. To just continue on the same course and not do anything differently at 5 and 23 would be pretty bad leadership at this point. Looking back, I would rather have this situation than the opportunity we had in the summer.”

Central Notes: Pistons, Love, Bucks, Stephenson

December 22nd, 2014 at 5:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

Greg Monroe and agent David Falk have made it clear that they don’t want any trade this season, though the Pistons have asked about Monroe’s willingness to approve a trade, writes Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. Monroe has the right to block any deal because he signed his qualifying offer in the offseason, and he’d lose his Bird rights if he were to be traded. There have been conflicting reports about whether the Pistons are shopping Brandon Jennings, but Goodwill writes that he is indeed on the block. The team’s brass is setting a high price for its assets, but other front offices have yet to meet those demands, according to Goodwill, who wrote his piece before today’s Josh Smith bombshell. We’ve been tracking the latest on Smith all day, and as we continue to do so, here’s more news from the Central Division:

Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders insists that had it not been for the offer from the Cavaliers, he wouldn’t have traded Kevin Love this year, as Saunders told reporters, including Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter link). There were simply no other proposals he liked, despite seemingly fevered interest from half of the league’s teams.
Saunders also seemed to confirm that Love had forced his way off the Wolves, as Krawczynski relays in a full piece. “Minnesota people are pretty loyal,” Saunders said. “When you turn on Minnesota they don’t forgive you.” Still, Saunders added that he has no hard feelings, Krawczynski tweets.
Bucks owners Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry saw the Milwaukee franchise as a “blank slate,” Krawczynski writes in another piece, adding that the ownership duo has quickly revamped the business side of the team and is very pleased with how their roster is taking form. “It’s better than the Spurs. Those are the old guys,” Edens told Krawczynski. “Would you trade Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and Jabari [Parker] and all the rest of the young guys for them?”
While initial reports had Edens and Lasry pledging $100MM towards a new arena in Milwaukee, the actual number the owners have agreed to commit has since grown to $150MM, reports Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Walker reminds us that former Bucks owner Herb Kohl agreed to kick in $100MM himself and that there might be additional private capital coming. Whatever amount on top of that is required to build the arena will come from public financing, Walker says, adding that the team faces an NBA-mandated deadline of fall 2017 to have the new facility in place.
Pacers players aren’t embracing the idea of bringing Lance Stephenson back to the team, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). Indiana’s front office was reportedly cool to the idea as the Pacers engaged in preliminary talks with the Hornets about trading for the shooting guard.

Alex Lee contributed to this post.

Pistons Waive Josh Smith

December 22nd, 2014 at 10:51am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons have waived Josh Smith, the team announced via press release. A source tipped Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press to the news shortly before it happened (Twitter link). The team will use the stretch provision, tweets Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. The stretch provision will spread Smith’s $13.5MM salaries for 2015/16 and 2016/17 in equal $5.4MM amounts each season through 2019/20, but his full $13.5MM for this season is stuck on the payroll, assuming he clears waivers and assuming Smith and the team didn’t agree to a buyout.

“Our team has not performed the way we had expected throughout the first third of the season and adjustments need to be made in terms of our focus and direction,” Pistons president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy said in the team’s statement. “We are shifting priorities to aggressively develop our younger players while also expanding the roles of other players in the current rotation to improve performance and build for our future. As we expand certain roles, others will be reduced. In fairness to Josh, being a highly versatile 10-year veteran in this league, we feel it’s best to give him his freedom to move forward. We have full respect for Josh as a player and a person.”

It’s a shocking move, but the team was had been “desperately” seeking to trade Smith and rival teams were insisting that the Pistons attach a first-round pick to him, according to Ellis (Twitter link). The Kings had maintained interest in trading for Smith, though recent reports made it unclear just how warm Sacramento has been to the idea recently after the team appeared to make a strong push for Smith over the summer, when Van Gundy rejected the Kings’ entreaties. Sacramento offered Jason Thompson and Carl Landry, but Detroit said no, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Kings have interest in signing him as a free agent, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter), though they only have the minimum salary to offer.

Smith will surely be a sought-after commodity on the free agent market once he, as expected, clears waivers in two days. The high cost of his contract makes him an unlikely candidate to be claimed off waivers. The Clippers are among the teams with interest, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The forward is close with with new Maverick Rajon Rondo, Chris Mannix of SI.com points out (on Twitter), and the two have spoken many times about playing together, according to Smith. Still, early indications are that the Mavs won’t pursue him and that Rondo won’t press the team to do so, as USA Today’s Sam Amick tweets, though Stein hears that Dallas is interested (Twitter link). The 29-year-old Smith is also close with former AAU teammate Dwight Howard, and the Rockets have had interest in the past, according to Spears (Twitter link). Still, Houston hasn’t decided whether to pursue him at this point, Stein reports (on Twitter). The Rockets would have a financial edge on the Mavs, since they have the $2.077MM biannual exception to offer, while the Mavs, like the Kings and Clippers, are limited to the minimum salary.

The Pistons enticed Smith, a Wallace Prather client, to sign a four-year, $54MM deal in the summer of 2013, but he never worked out in Detroit, and the contract quickly became an albatross as he struggled to fit in with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. His subtraction ostensibly allows the Pistons to move forward with Monroe and Drummond as their lone marquee big men, but Monroe is an unrestricted free agent at season’s end after signing his qualifying offer this past summer, and he seems to have soured on Detroit. Perhaps letting go of Smith is an appeal of sorts to Monroe, letting him know that he won’t be crowded out of playing time, but that’s just my speculation.

And-Ones: Koufos, Brewer, Pistons, Hayward

December 21st, 2014 at 10:14pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Cavs have reportedly expressed interested in Grizzlies reserve center Kosta Koufos, and Memphis coach Dave Joerger can understand why. “The guy’s a starting center in my mind,” Joerger told reporters, including Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. “I don’t want to say [for] eight teams, 10 teams. That’s not for me to say. But I believe he’s a starting center in this league. He’s absolutely the greatest teammate to be around.” Koufos has been stuck behind Marc Gasol on the Grizzlies’ depth chart this season, so while his minutes have been kept low, he’ll be an intriguing trade candidate going forward. As we wait to see if the 21-6 Grizzlies opt to move the 25-year-old or stand pat, let’s round up more from around the NBA:

Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders said he decided to trade Corey Brewer when he learned the 28-year-old was planning to turn down his 2015/16 player option, relays Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The improved play of Shabazz Muhammad was another factor that aided in Saunders’ decision to move Brewer, Greder notes.
In wake of a disappointing 5-23 start to the season, Pistons coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy admits that focusing on the future is the highest priority for the team, as Keith Langlois of Pistons.com transcribes. “The future certainly is the utmost priority at this point,” Van Gundy said. “The goals haven’t changed. We want to build a contending team. Rather than sacrifice the future to try to get to whatever number of wins is not probably the smart way to go. We’re still going to try to win as many as we can, but in terms of personnel moves, everything’s got to be aimed toward the future.“
The Hornets offered then-restricted free agent Gordon Hayward a maximum-salary contract last summer, but the Jazz elected to match Charlotte’s offer sheet and bring the swingman back to Utah. Derrick Favors expressed relief that the Jazz re-signed Hayward and believes the new deal has helped his teammate grow as a player, as Jody Genessy of the Deseret News details.

Central Notes: Cavs, Bucks, Bulls, Pistons

December 21st, 2014 at 8:57am CST by ChrisCrouse

Coach David Blatt believes the mediocre play of the Cavs this season is a result of their play on the defensive end, writes Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. “That’s the battle for consistency,” Blatt said of the defensive woes. “A lot of that is the plan and the principles and inherence to those things. A lot of that is commitment on the part of the guys to doing it. Of course you have the element of effort, which is critical. And then finally it’s the pride that you take in doing it if that is really and truly going to become part of who you are. And we’re working towards that.” The Cavs are allowing 99.7 points per game, which ranks 16th in the league.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

The Bucks are unexpectedly in the playoff hunt at 14-14, but even after the season-ending injury to rookie Jabari Parker, the team isn’t likely to make any moves with an eye only on contention this season, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. “Nothing has changed. This is still about the future and the goals we have as we move forward, and that is to build this into a championship-caliber team,” GM John Hammond said. “We like where we’re at today, and we’re going to continue to battle throughout the season.”
The Bulls have a fortunate problem in that they have too many high caliber players competing for playing time, opines Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald. McGraw argues that although Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson are all veterans who have earned their stripes, rookie Nikola Mirotic is playing at a level that doesn’t warrant being sent to the bench once they are all healthy. The forward is shooting 44.1% from the field and 80.9% from the foul line during his potential rookie of the year campaign.
The Pistons are off to a rough start at 5-22, but the team isn’t making any trades with the short-term in mind, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Ellis notes that Detroit would like to trade Josh Smith, but other teams are asking for a first-rounder to take the the 29-year-old forward. The Pistons were in a similar predicament in 2012 when they sent a first-rounder to Charlotte in order to move Ben Gordon because of his player-friendly contract. Ellis adds that the team is unlikely to have a repeat of such a short-sighted move.

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