Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Rumors: Turiaf, Blatt, Bucks, Augustin

September 22nd, 2014 at 10:52pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Cavs are still looking to add a big man to their roster, as we passed along earlier tonight. Ronny Turiaf might be an appealing trade target for Cleveland, observes Jerry Zgoda of the Star-Tribune (on Twitter). The center is a favorite of new Cavs power forward Kevin Love, according to Zgoda. We’ll round up more on Cleveland and the Central below:

David Blatt‘s first season coaching the Cavs will be less stressful with talent like Love and LeBron James on the roster, as Blatt tells Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. “Things get a lot easier when LeBron James and Kevin Love come walking into your door,” Blatt said. “It makes my job easier, maybe my responsibility greater but the job easier in terms of having to teach (James) what to do and not to do.”
There’s optimism within Milwaukee that the city has the political pieces in place to satisfy the Bucks‘ quest for a new arena, as David Aldridge of NBA.com passes along in his Morning Tip column. Acquiring a top flight talent like Eric Bledsoe would only aid the Bucks in their mission, opines Aldridge,
NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum was in Milwaukee last week to meet with the Mayor and the Bucks’ new owners, according to Aldridge, who adds that the group spent time identifying potential locations in the city for a new arena.
Pistons president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy was pleasantly surprised that his club was able to afford D.J. Augustin this summer, reports Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Detroit inked the guard to a two-year, $6MM contract in July.

Denzel Bowles In Talks With Chinese Team

September 20th, 2014 at 1:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Free agent center Denzel Bowles is closing in on a deal with the Jilin Northeast Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). This continues what has become a suddenly robust Asian market for free agents, with Andray Blatche and Jordan Crawford recently inking deals with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers.

The 6’10″ Bowles is familiar with Jilin, having played for the Tigers last season, averaging 26.0 PPG and 8.6 RPG in 32.5 MPG in 34 appearances. He played for the Nuggets in this year’s NBA summer league, logging 5.0 points and 4.2 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per contest.

Bowles had recently worked out for the Pistons, and Charania also reports that Detroit invited him to training camp. But as we saw with Blatche, who received a one-year, $2.5MM deal, playing five months overseas and then trying to latch onto an NBA team in March can be much more financially rewarding than competing for a roster spot with little-to-no guaranteed money to bank on. Bowles had also reportedly displayed his wares for the Spurs, but likely wasn’t offered a deal or a camp invite.

Central Notes: Bynum, Alexander, Gibson

September 18th, 2014 at 7:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Will Bynum, who is now the longest-tenured member of the Pistons, couldn’t be happier with the arrival of Stan Van Gundy, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. “Stan is straightforward with me and in return I’m the same way,” he said. “I’m all business, all work when we’re here. I’m trying to be the first one in everything that we do, every single day, I’m the one challenging, talking, keeping the guys motivated and I’m trying to take on the leadership role. I’ve been here the longest. My character fits a leader because I’m always going to be the one that works the hardest. That’s what Stan is. Stan’s a worker. He’s a basketball guy, he’s on the court, and I’ve learned a lot just in the short amount of time being here.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

E’Twaun Moore is expected to provide the Bulls with backcourt depth, Adam Fluck of NBA.com writes. “E’Twaun is a young guard who we really like and he’s got a lot of potential,” said Chicago GM Gar Forman. “He’s shown that he’s got some versatility given he can play at both the one and two. He can also shoot the ball. We feel he’s absolutely our kind of guy—he’s a worker and we are confident he’ll be a good fit with our roster.” Moore also considered the Cavs and the Grizzlies before choosing the Bulls, Fluck notes.
With the signings of Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic the power forward position is getting crowded in Chicago. Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders believes the Bulls should consider dealing Taj Gibson since he might be more valuable as a trade asset since his minutes and production are likely to decline this season.
Former Bucks lottery pick Joe Alexander has auditioned for a number of NBA teams, David Pick of Eurobasket reports (Twitter link). Alexander has been out of the NBA since the 2009/10 season when he appeared in eight games for the Bulls.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Pistons Try Out Ben Hansbrough, Andrew Warren

September 16th, 2014 at 12:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons have arranged for free agents Ben Hansbrough and Andrew Warren to work out for the team today and Wednesday, a source tells Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter link). Both spent the past season playing overseas, though Hansbrough was with the Pacers in 2012/13, when he played alongside brother Tyler Hansbrough.

Hansbrough put up 2.0 points in 7.4 minutes per game in 28 appearances with the Pacers in his lone NBA season, and the 26-year-old is coming off a season with Gran Canaria in Spain in which he put up 10.9 PPG in 23.1 MPG. The 27-year-old Warren’s stops have included Australia, New Zealand, Cyprus and Argentina since he went undrafted out of Bradley in 2011. Warren, a 6’5″ two-guard, shot the three-pointer consistently well throughout his travels, nailing 39.5% of his treys last season in Argentina.

Detroit reportedly worked out former James Madison center Denzel Bowles on Monday, and it appears the team is focused on filling out its camp roster with 16 fully guaranteed deals already in tow, as seen on our roster counts. The Pistons have no shortage of cap space to go after more noteworthy figures, but with the roster already over the regular season limit, it looks like they’ll largely preserve that room for now.

Pistons Work Out Denzel Bowles

September 15th, 2014 at 12:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons are putting free agent center Denzel Bowles through a workout today, and there’s a distinct possibility the former James Madison standout will be auditioning for the Bulls, too, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link).

The 6’10” Bowles has played overseas each of the past three seasons after going undrafted in 2011, with stops in Lithuania, the Philippines and China. He joined the Nuggets for summer league in July, averaging 5.0 points and 4.2 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per contest. His numbers were more impressive in China last season, when he put up 26.0 PPG and 8.6 RPG in 32.5 MPG in 34 appearances with the Jilin Northeast Tigers.

The Pistons wouldn’t offer Bowles much opportunity to make the opening night roster if they were to add him for training camp, since they’re already carrying 16 guaranteed deals, as our roster counts show. It’s possible that the Pistons envision bringing Bowles to camp so they can get an extended look at him for down the road and so that they can retain his D-League rights for their new one-to-one affiliate. The Bulls have only 12 guaranteed pacts, but they haven’t carried more than 13 players on opening night in any of the last three seasons, as I pointed out. Chicago is among a host of teams targeting Ray Allen, and it would make sense that the contending Bulls would prioritize adding a veteran.

And-Ones: Rubio, Ayon, Garnett, Karasev

September 14th, 2014 at 10:07pm CST by Zachary Links

Wolves guard Ricky Rubio told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports that he never tried to talk Kevin Love out of asking for a trade. “If he wanted to leave, there’s no reason to talk to him about it,” Rubio said. “I really liked playing with him, but I’ll play with the players who want to be there. Kevin wants to win. That’s normal. He’s been there six years without the playoffs. I understand. If I was in the same situation – being one of the best players in the league – and not being able to be in the playoffs, I’d have a lot of frustration, too.” When asked about his own future, Rubio said that he is “loyal” and wants to give back to the organization. The guard can be a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension. Here’s tonight’s look around the Association..

The Spurs continue to eye center Gustavo Ayon, tweets Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net. Ayon is reportedly on his way to play for Spain’s Real Madrid, but no deal with the team can become official until he comes up with the equivalent of about $376K to pay off Spanish rival FC Barcelona, which holds his European rights, according to Javier Maestro of Encestando (translation via HoopsHype).
There has been some retirement speculation surrounding Kevin Garnett but the veteran has been one of “about ten” players who have already been working out at the Nets‘ East Rutherford, New Jersey practice facility, team insiders tell Robert Windrem of Nets Daily.
Anthony Puccio of Nets Daily ran down the best pickups made by the Nets this offseason. Trade acquisitions Sergey Karasev and Jarrett Jack make the list as well as 2011 first-round pick Bojan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic, 25, may be an NBA rookie but he comes with seven seasons of international experience and should be ready to hit the ground running.
According to his Pistons preview, Adi Joseph of USA TODAY has the franchise improving their win total slightly, but still missing the playoffs.

Eastern Notes: Knicks, Pistons, Cavs, Sixers

September 11th, 2014 at 10:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Team USA continued their run through the FIBA World Cup with a 96-68 victory over Lithuania earlier today. Kyrie Irving led the way with 18 points and four assists, James Harden and Klay Thompson added 16 points each, and Stephen Curry dropped 13. For Lithuania, Jonas Valanciunas led the way with 15 points and seven rebounds.

Here’s the latest from the Eastern Conference:

The Knicks have partially guaranteed the contracts of Travis Wear for $62K, and Langston Galloway for $31K, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). Both players were recently signed to one-year, minimum salary deals.
The Cavaliers had the biggest offseason of any franchise with the return of LeBron James and the acquisition of Kevin Love. The crew at Basketball Insiders previews Cleveland’s upcoming season, and the consensus has them finishing first in the Central Division.
There’s a new regime in Detroit this season with the arrival of Stan Van Gundy. In their season preview, the majority of the staff at Basketball Insiders pick the Pistons to improve slightly and finish third in the Central Division this upcoming season.
The Sixers might “best” their 2013/14 total of 63 losses this upcoming season, according to Adi Joseph of USA Today. In his pre-season rankings, Joseph predicts Philadelphia will lose 74 games next season, which would eclipse the current NBA record of 73 losses set by the 1972/73 Sixers team.

Central Notes: Sanders, Bucks, Marion, Billups

September 11th, 2014 at 9:07am CST by Chuck Myron

Murphy’s Law governed Larry Sanders last season after the Bucks signed him to a four-year, $44MM extension, and a report this summer indicated that the team was making him available in trade talk. Still, the Bucks maintain their faith in the 25-year-old, as Milwaukee assistant GM David Morway tells HoopsHype’s David Alarcon.

“Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. Larry is in our future plans,” Morway said. “We are hopeful that this year Larry gets back to being the basketball player that he was two years ago. He is a defensive presence and a game-changer on the court. So when you have his length along with Giannis [Antetokounmpo], Jabari Parker, John Henson and then Zaza Pachulia, Damien Inglis, who is very long, and if you play Khris Middleton at the two … We are a fairly long team. We’ve got good experience with O.J. Mayo, Jerryd Bayless … And we like Kendall Marshall. So we are excited for next year.”

The executive had more to say about his club, as we’ll note amid the latest from around the Central Division:

Morway says the Bucks are “pretty much done” with their offseason moves, as he also tells Alarcon. Morway mentions the presence of 15 guaranteed contracts on the roster, though it appears as though Milwaukee only has 14. It’s likely he’s counting Marshall’s non-guaranteed deal in the guaranteed category, given the prominent role that Marshall is set to play, though that’s just my speculation.
The Bucks had a desire to let Caron Butler play for a winner when they let him out of his contract at midseason last year, as Morway mentions in his interview with Alarcon. Butler joined the Thunder for the stretch run, and while the Pistons are far from contention, the idea that they’ll start winning sometime soon was apparently key to Butler’s decision to sign with Detroit this summer.
Shawn Marion‘s pact with the Cavs is fully guaranteed, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), who confirms that he’s getting the minimum salary, which is all Cleveland could give him. It’s a one-year deal, as Pincus shows on the Basketball Insiders salary pages.
The leadership of Chauncey Billups is what led the Pistons to sign him a year ago for what turned out to be his final season, but for most of his career he was the rare player who combined professionalism and All-Star talent, writes Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press.

Pistons Notes: Bower, Butler, Meeks

September 10th, 2014 at 12:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

Chauncey Billups might not be headed for the Hall of Fame, as a majority of Hoops Rumors readers who voted in Tuesday’s poll believe, but he’ll remain a Pistons icon, and his retirement serves as further notice of the changing times in Detroit. The 2013/14 season was the last with the organization for Billups, Joe Dumars, and a host of others. Greg Monroe is the only one among the team’s six signees to have played for the team last year, and it seems more likely than not that he’ll depart after his one-year qualifying offer expires next summer. Here’s more from a different-looking Motown:

GM Jeff Bower tells MLive’s Peter J. Wallner that he doesn’t see it as a threat to his job that the Pistons hired Otis Smith as the new D-League coach, even though Smith was a candidate to fill the GM job before Bower came aboard. “When Stan [Van Gundy] talked to me, I thought [Smith] was the perfect guy because he embodies everything that the developmental league is all about,” Bower said. “He’s great for this. [The D-League] is about getting the best out of guys.”
The chance for plenty of playing time and the promise that the team will be competitive sooner rather than later helped convince Caron Butler to spurn other suitors and sign with the Pistons, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
Playing time was also a key to securing fellow free agent Jodie Meeks after a season in which he saw plenty of it with the Lakers, as Langlois notes in a separate piece.

Chauncey Billups Retires

September 9th, 2014 at 8:46pm CST by Charlie Adams

Chauncey Billups confirmed that he won’t be returning to the hardwood next season, telling Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that he’s retiring after 17 seasons in the NBA. The Pistons turned down a team option earlier this summer that would have paid the 37 year old $2.5MM to return to Detroit. He worked out for the Cavs in August, and although he was reportedly interested in teaming up with LeBron James in Cleveland, the veteran point guard has decided to hang up his jersey and move on from playing in the NBA.

While Billups acknowledged that he still had “a couple opportunities to play” if he had opted not to retire, the 2004 Finals MVP said he couldn’t ignore his deteriorating health that has limited him to appearing in only 49 games over the past three seasons. “It’s just time. I know when it’s time,” Billups said. “My mind and my desire is still strong. I just can’t ignore the fact that I haven’t been healthy for three years. I can try again and get to a point where I think I can go, but I just can’t sustain. Me not being able to play the way that I can play, that’s when you kind of know it’s that time.”

Billups expressed interest in taking a front office role at some point, but he told Spears nothing is imminent for the time being. The Timberwolves were reportedly likely to target Billups earlier this summer for an assistant coaching role, but the former Pistons stud indicated he’d be more interested in taking a television position or a job in a front office.

Over his career, Billups averaged 15.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per night in 1043 games. He shot 41.5% from the floor and an impressive 38.7% from beyond the arc. The former third overall pick took home the NBA championship with the Pistons in 2004 and appeared in five All-Star games. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Billups earned $107,227,720 during his time in the NBA, having spent time with seven different clubs.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.