Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics Willing To Trade Rajon Rondo

December 17th, 2014 at 10:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

10:19pm: The Celtics are also talking to the Knicks and the Kings, though the discussions with the Mavs are the most serious, Stein reports. The Mavs would most likely send Wright and at least one first round draft pick to Boston for Rondo, Stein adds.

9:15pm: The Mavericks are serious suitors for Rondo, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link). Brandan Wright and Monta Ellis are among the players being mentioned who could potentially head to Boston, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com notes (Twitter links). The Rockets have also discussed a potential deal for the point guard with Boston as well, Wojnarowski adds.

4:29pm: According to Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link), word around the league is that the Celtics are the ones making preliminary calls to teams about Rondo. Mannix also notes that the Kings are the team to watch in regards to acquiring Rondo.

4:12pm: The Celtics are showing a renewed willingness to pursue trade packages that include point guard Rajon Rondo, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. According to Wojnarowski, Boston’s front office has left a strong impression with rival organizations around the league that it is prepared to make a deal that includes the veteran guard. Boston has been engaged in discussions described as “serious” in recent days, but no trade agreement is imminent, the Yahoo! scribe adds.

Trade discussions involving Rondo have been focused more toward Western Conference teams than with those in the East, Wojnarowski notes. The Celtics’ asking price for the 28-year-old remains “pretty high, probably higher than most want to pay,” one league official told Wojnarowski. Rondo is averaging 8.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 10.6 assists in 31.8 minutes per games this season.

Celtics GM Danny Ainge has been consistently shopping forward Jeff Green, in an attempt to secure a trade package that includes a first-round draft pick, Wojnarowski notes. With Boston now seemingly willing to trade Rondo, this would suggest that Ainge is prepared to embark on a full rebuild of the franchise, and perhaps attempt to guide the team toward a much higher spot in June’s NBA draft, Wojnarowski writes.

With Rondo set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and 2014 first-rounder Marcus Smart showing quite a bit of promise, trading Rondo instead of running the risk of losing him for nothing would seem like a wise move on the organization’s part. The Celtics have been hesitant to to commit to the idea of a maximum-salary deal for Rondo, something he will likely be seeking in free agency.

If Ainge is indeed looking at Western Conference teams, the two most likely suitors would probably be the Kings, who were previously said to be interested in acquiring Rondo, and the Lakers, another franchise also known to have significant interest in the point guard’s services. If Boston decides to try and deal with an Eastern team, the Knicks and the Pistons would immediately come to mind as potential suitors, though that is just my speculation.

Pistons Rumors: Monroe, Hawks, Smith, Kings

December 17th, 2014 at 2:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons are 5-20 with three frontcourt pieces that don’t appear to fit, making them a ripe contender to pull a trade this season. There’s been plenty of chatter in recent days, and we’ll round up the latest here:

Falk made it clear to Zillgitt, who writes in a full story, that Monroe doesn’t want a trade in part because he wants to honor a commitment he made to Pistons coach/president of basketball ops Stan Van Gundy. Teams have been calling the Pistons about Monroe, but the fifth-year big man continues to stonewall the idea of leaving Detroit. “He made a commitment to Stan (Van Gundy) when he took the qualifying offer that he would work as hard as he could and help the team as best that he could and he would keep his mind open and at the end of the season, he would evaluate all of his options,” Falk said. “That was his plan in July, and that’s his plan in December and that will probably be his plan in February and will be his plan when the season ends.”
Monroe will be seeking the best fit and not necessarily the highest payday in free agency this coming summer, as he and Falk have said, Zillgitt writes.

Earlier updates:

The Pistons are “shopping” Josh Smith and willing to trade him for the right return, writes Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. The Kings remain interested in Smith, a source tells Goodwill, and Kings owner Vivek Ranadive was behind Sacramento’s pursuit from the start, Goodwill adds. Yet while the Kings are still thinking about trying to trade for Smith, they’ve been gradually moving past that idea, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick (video link).
Greg Monroe says the Pistons would have to initiate discussions about a trade, since he wouldn’t ask for one, as Goodwill notes in the same piece, writing that it’s likely that Pistons GM Jeff Bower asked agent David Falk about his willingness to approve one. Monroe has a de facto no-trade clause this year because he signed his qualifying offer in the summer, and he’d lose his Bird rights if he gave the OK to a trade. Monroe prefers to play out the season as a Piston, agent David Falk told Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, who passes along his report in the same video with Amick.
Detroit asked the Hawks for Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver in exchange for Monroe this summer, but Atlanta wasn’t willing to go along with the sign-and-trade idea, Goodwill writes. The Hawks are reportedly set to pursue Monroe in unrestricted free agency this coming summer.
The Pistons never believed that Monroe would ultimately sign the qualifying offer, according to Goodwill.

And-Ones: Lopez, Matthews, Kings

December 16th, 2014 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Though there don’t appear to be any deals currently imminent, there is a tremendous amount of trade discussions going on amongst teams currently, far beyond the traditional mid-December volume, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter links). According to Wojnarowski, the most active franchises in terms of discussions are the Celtics, Pistons, Suns, Timberwolves, Hornets, Clippers, Pacers, Nets, Nuggets, and Rockets.

Here’s the latest from around the league:

Robin Lopez‘s broken right hand will likely keep him out longer than expected. While the initial prognostication was that the Blazers big man would miss four weeks, Lopez tweeted (hat tip to The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman) that it would be six to seven weeks before he would be back on the hardwood again.
The Cavs have made numerous attempts to work out a trade with the Blazers for Wesley Matthews, but barring an unexpected free fall in the standings, Portland isn’t expected to deal the swingman, Chris Haynes of The Northwest Ohio Media Group writes. Matthews will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, but the Blazers have every intention of re-signing him, Haynes adds.
The Kings‘ firing of Mike Malone may provide an unexpected benefit to the franchise, Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders writes. Many expect the Kings to regress under interim coach Tyrone Corbin, and if that occurs the team should be able to hold onto its 2015 first-rounder. Sacramento’s 2015 first round draft pick is owed to the Bulls if it falls outside of the top 10.

Eastern Notes: Pistons, Celtics, Stephenson

December 16th, 2014 at 9:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite the Pistons‘ struggles thus far this season, team owner Tom Gores is happy with the direction that team president Stan Van Gundy has the franchise heading, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. “The hardest part for me actually was Stan wants to win so bad,” Gores said. “He genuinely just wants for us to make progress. So the hardest part for me is I know everybody’s working hard, and when you’re not winning, and you’re working hard, it’s kind of tough. Maybe it’s not going to show on the court every night, but I’m personally so comfortable that he’s doing the right things every single day, and eventually, it’s going to convert to wins.”

Here’s more from the East:

The multitude of injuries the Heat have endured this season will test Pat Riley‘s patience and willingness not to sacrifice future cap space for a quick fix, Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report writes. Although, Miami’s lack of tradeable assets might make Riley’s decision easier than it would be otherwise, Skolnick adds.
Based on the Celtics‘ current record (8-14) and their roster composition, it’s far more likely for them to be sellers than buyers on the trade market, Brian Robb of Boston.com writes. Brandon Bass and Jeff Green are especially likely targets since the pair are putting up strong offensive numbers over the first quarter of the season, notes Robb.
As tempting as it may be for the Cavs to take a run at acquiring Lance Stephenson from the Hornets, Cleveland should steer clear of the mercurial player, Chris Fedor of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. Fedor asserts that Stephenson’s selfish attitude and disruptive locker room personality would far outweigh any good his skills would bring to the Cavs.
There will be numerous complications involved for the Hornets in trying to rid themselves of Stephenson, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. This is a situation that might require patience, notes Bonnell, since teams often don’t get serious about making an equitable deal until the trade deadline is near.

Central Notes: Monroe, Parker, Hansbrough

December 16th, 2014 at 5:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Greg Monroe is growing weary of the trade rumors surrounding him and the Pistons, Vince Ellis of USA Today reports. “The same thing happened this summer,” Monroe said. “They put that stuff out there, say somebody said it, and then I got to answer for it. I really don’t have time for that. Especially right now. After losing 13 straight and finally getting a couple of games, and then you got to come in here and hear this when you getting ready for a game. At this point, it’s definitely annoying. We’re trying to turn things around here right now, and I gotta come in here and answer to stuff that I absolutely have nothing to do with. It is annoying, yes.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

After being drafted by the Bucks with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, Jabari Parker said that he would like to remain in Milwaukee for his entire career, a statement Parker still stands by, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. “I want to be here as much as possible, I want to stay as long as possible,” Parker said. “I want to just grind it out and see what happens. Even if I were to slump and they wanted to trade me, I would probably want to try and get better so I could stay here.”
The primary reason for Parker’s comfort level with the Bucks is how team owners Marc Lasry and Wes Edens have sold their vision for the future of the franchise to the young player, Deveney notes. “I feel very comfortable with them [Lasry and Edens],” Parker said. “A lot of times, when you think of ownership, it is almost like you think of slavery. You’re a piece of property. But with them, it is a partnership.”
Ben Hansbrough will have his D-League rights rescinded by the Grand Rapids Drive, the Pistons‘ affiliate, to accommodate an overseas deal, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports (Twitter link). Hansbrough was in training camp with the Bulls this season.
Larry Drew doesn’t harbor any resentment toward the Bucks after being fired as head coach so that Milwaukee could replace him with Jason Kidd, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. “I’ve seen stranger things happen,” Drew said. “Whether you think it’s fair or not, I don’t really dwell on that. I look back at guys who have been in similar situations and had stuff happen to them. I’ve learned to move on. I don’t any hard feelings about how things happened. Certainly, I wish it could have been handled a little differently [in Milwaukee] but it wasn’t.”

Latest On Pistons, Josh Smith, Jennings, Monroe

December 16th, 2014 at 1:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 1:54pm: Smith is the only player the Pistons have talked about trading, and those discussions have merely been preliminary, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.

MONDAY, 9:20pm: Monroe refuted Deveney’s report and said he would never initiate trade talk on his own, writes David Mayo of the MLive Media Group. Van Gundy also brushed aside the idea that the team is actively looking to move Monroe and is asking for a first round pick in return, reports Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (via Twitter). “I don’t know where that stuff comes from,” he said. “We haven’t talked to anybody about trading Greg Monroe. We know there are teams with interest and that’s it.”

2:47pm: A source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that Monroe would approve almost any deal, conflicting with Zillgitt’s report that Monroe is putting the kibosh on trades. The Pistons are seeking a first-rounder in return for Monroe, Deveney hears. Monroe and agent David Falk had sign-and-trade deals in place for Monroe this summer, but the Pistons didn’t want to take back too much salary, according to Deveney.

2:09pm: The Pistons are looking to move Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith, executives from teams around the league tell Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck. Teams have been calling Detroit about Greg Monroe, but the soon-to-be free agent has made it known that he’s not interested in waiving the de facto no-trade clause he received when he signed his qualifying offer in the summer, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt tweets. Monroe would lose his Bird rights if he approved a trade, meaning whichever team that acquires him would need ample cap room to re-sign him in the offseason, and that’s dissuading the big man from giving the OK to a move, Zillgitt notes. There are no such restrictions on Jennings or Smith, both of whom are on contracts that cover next season.

Sacramento’s front office targeted Smith this summer over the objections of soon-to-be former coach Michael Malone, though Detroit reportedly had no interest in Sacramento’s proposals, none of which appeared to offer the Pistons much in return. Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press surmised today that the Pistons would probably need to attach a first-round pick to Smith to find a trade partner, making a deal unlikely, though that appeared to be educated speculation. Smith makes $13.5MM this season and each year through 2016/17. His 13.7 points per game this season are his fewest since 2005/06.

Jennings is on a cheaper contract and is only signed through 2015/16. He’ll make $8MM this season and more than $8.344MM next year. He, like Smith, has experienced a dip in scoring production this season, as Jennings is putting up 12.7 PPG, a career low. The Pistons are 5-19 in their first season under coach/executive Stan Van Gundy, who’s pointed to a four-day stretch of off days next week as a time when he’ll assess the direction of the club.

Kings Fire Mike Malone, Eye George Karl

December 15th, 2014 at 4:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:54pm: The Kings have formally announced that they’ve fired Malone and installed Corbin as head coach, though there’s no mention of the word “interim” regarding Corbin in the team’s statement.

“This was an extremely difficult decision, but one we feel is in the best interest of the franchise moving forward,” D’Alessandro said. “Michael made significant contributions to the organization on many levels and helped foster cultural changes that positively impacted our team. We’re thankful for the commitment he exhibited during his time in Sacramento and wish him and his family the very best in the future.”

4:19pm: The team hasn’t issued a formal announcement of the move, but D’Alessandro confirmed that Corbin has replaced Malone as he spoke to reporters in an impromptu press conference that the team is streaming on its website. D’Alessandro refused to answer whether Corbin would hold the job for the rest of the season, as USA Today’s Sam Amick notes (on Twitter).

8:30am: The Kings told coach Michael Malone on Sunday night that they’ve decided to fire him, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Assistant coach Tyrone Corbin will assume the head coaching job on an interim basis and is likely to serve in that capacity for the rest of the season, Wojnarowski writes, though the team has yet to make any formal announcement of a coaching change. Many around the league strongly believe that Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro will pursue George Karl, with whom he worked in Denver, but any such move probably wouldn’t take place until the offseason, Wojnarowski hears. Still, Corbin is expected to be replaced eventually, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick.

The timing of the news is shocking, coming as it does with DeMarcus Cousins having missed the past nine games with viral meningitis. The Kings (11-13) were 9-6 before Cousins fell ill, and had wins over the Spurs, Clippers and Bulls during that stretch, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com points out (Twitter link).

Still, tension between Malone and the Kings brass has been building for the past year, as Wojnarowski details. D’Alessandro and owner Vivek Ranadive want a faster style of play, Wojnarowski writes, as does consultant Chris Mullin, tweets Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Mullin, who holds the title of advisor to the chairman, is an influential force within the front office, Amick notes. Management was disappointed with Malone’s player development, game plans and adjustments, a source tells fellow Yahoo! Sports scribe Marc J. Spears (Twitter link). Malone and D’Alessandro didn’t communicate much over the offseason, Amick hears. The front office interviewed candidates for the lead assistant coaching job, but it was Malone who decided to hire Corbin for that role, according to Wojnarowski, who adds that Malone doesn’t believe Corbin attempted to undermine him.

Malone let Ranadive know he was no fan of the Kings’ pursuit of Josh Smith this summer, Wojnarowski reports. Still, Ranadive, who was involved in those talks with the Pistons, and D’Alessandro forged ahead, though Detroit wasn’t biting, as Wojnarowski adds on Twitter.

Karl, who’s been out of coaching since his tenure with the Nuggets ended in the summer of 2013, just weeks after he won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award, is a major fan of Cousins, and the Nuggets attempted to trade for the center during Karl’s time there, The Bee’s Jason Jones tweets.

Wojnarowski identifies Vinny Del Negro as another possible candidate for the job, while Mullin and Mark Jackson are tight, as Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group points out (on Twitter). Still, it’s unclear if the Kings are seriously considering either Del Negro or Jackson.

Ranadive’s first move after assuming ownership of the team in 2013 was to hire Malone, as Jones notes via Twitter, even before D’Alessandro or Mullin came aboard, in a departure from normal convention in which the coach is hired after the management team. Malone, who had been an assistant under Jackson in Golden State before he joined Sacramento, has gone 39-67 in his time with the Kings. Sacramento had given the well-regarded assistant his first NBA coaching job. He’s in the second season of a four-year deal worth approximately $9MM, though the final season is a team option that hasn’t yet been exercised, Amick notes.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Central Notes: Stephenson, Josh Smith, Bulls

December 15th, 2014 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Central Division hasn’t been the hub of many roster moves so far this season, aside from A.J. Price‘s Cavs-to-Pacers-to-Cavs odyssey and Will Cherry‘s brief tenure in Cleveland. That figures to change before too long, since today is the first day that most offseason signees are eligible for inclusion in trades. The Cavs apparently have their eyes on a pair of Grizzlies, while the Pacers are reportedly one of multiple teams in talks to trade for Lance Stephenson, though Indiana doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to make such a move. There’s more on Stephenson amid the latest items trickling out of the Central Division:

The chance the Pacers have to bring back their old core for another run in 2015/16 and erase the mistakes they and Stephenson made in free agency this summer should lead Indiana to trade for its former shooting guard, opines Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. Buckner thinks, after having spoken with league sources, that Stephenson would welcome a Pacers reunion.
Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press doesn’t foresee a Josh Smith trade happening soon, figuring that teams would want the Pistons to attach a first-rounder to Smith’s contract, worth $40.5MM between this season and its expiration after 2016/17 (Twitter links). Kings management tried to trade for Smith this summer over the objections of soon-to-be former coach Michael Malone, but the Pistons didn’t like what Sacramento was offering.
The Bulls‘ decision to deal Luol Deng turned out to be a prudent one, as Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes. In the short term, the cap flexibility that Chicago freed up in the Deng deal took them out of luxury tax territory. From a broader perspective, the deal (plus the amnestying of Carlos Boozer‘s contract) gave the Bulls enough wiggle room to land Pau Gasol.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

D-League Notes: Mitchell, Adams, Ledo

December 12th, 2014 at 6:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The D-League is becoming an integral part of the NBA’s process of developing younger players, as well as a source for locating hidden gems to bolster rosters during the course of the season. You can easily stay on top of which players are coming and going from the D-League all season by checking out our 2014/15 D-League Assignments, Recalls tracker, which is updated daily. You can also find this page anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.”

Here are the latest D-League moves:

The Pistons have sent Tony Mitchell to the Grand Rapids Drive, their D-League affiliate, Keith Langlois of NBA.com reports (Twitter link). This will be Mitchell’s fourth D-League assignment of the season.
Jordan Adams has been re-assigned to the Iowa Energy, the Grizzlies‘ affiliate, the team announced in a press release. In his three previous jaunts to Iowa, Adams has averaged 14.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in 30.0 minutes per contest.
The Mavericks have recalled Ricky Ledo from the Texas Legends of the D-League, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com reports (Twitter link). This was Ledo’s fourth assignment of the season to the D-League. In seven appearances for the Legends, he has averaged 13.3 PPG.
The Kings have re-assigned Eric Moreland to their D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, the team announced via Twitter. This will be Moreland’s fourth trip to Reno of the season, and he’s averaging 14.4 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks for the Bighorns this season.

Central Notes: Kidd, Hammond, Gasol, Pistons

December 12th, 2014 at 1:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jason Kidd has just as much authority on player personnel for the Bucks as GM John Hammond does, co-owner Marc Lasry tells Chris Mannix of SI.com. If Hammond and Kidd disagree, the owners will cast the deciding vote, Lasry adds.

“I don’t want John to say we need to do something and Jason to say the opposite, and then there is a fight,” Lasry said. “If John wants to do something, Jason should be on board. If Jason wants to do something, John should be on board with it. That’s how we do it in our business, that’s how we want to do it here.”

Reports from before Milwaukee hired Kidd as coach this summer indicated that Kidd was seeking to become Bucks president of basketball operations. Hammond’s deal with Milwaukee runs through 2015/16, but the new owners were reluctant to commit to him for this season before ultimately deciding to do so. Here’s more from around the Central Division:

The style of play the Bulls employ was key to their recruitment of Pau Gasol and to his early-season resurgence, as he told reporters, including Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. “It’s just a really nice fit for me and something I evaluated before I made my decision,” Gasol said. “… The system, the way we run things, our principles, how we want the ball to touch the paint and get to the post and then operate from there.”
Gasol’s performance so far this season has been impressive enough to create a compelling case that he was the most important free agent acquisition this summer outside of LeBron James, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. The ex-Laker is averaging 19.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per game.
The Pistons figure to be active in trade talk this season, and MLive’s David Mayo, amid his latest mailbag column, identifies a few potential buyers and sellers with whom Detroit could partner.