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Latest On Greg Monroe, Pistons

August 6th, 2014 at 2:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons recently upped their offer to Greg Monroe from a five-year, $60MM package to one that’s slightly more lucrative than the four-year, $54MM contract that Josh Smith signed last summer, but negotiations have stalled, reports Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. The David Falk client remains in limbo, like fellow restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe, as Detroit’s power to match any offer from another team appears to have scared off suitors.

Falk has been widely expected to seek a max contract for the 24-year-old big man, though many around the league don’t believe he’s worthy of one. Philadelphia is the only team other than Detroit that possesses the cap flexibility to make such an offer sheet at this point, and there have been no indications that the Sixers are willing to do so.

Monroe’s interest in returning to the Pistons reportedly isn’t that strong, but while the Pistons have explored the sign-and-trade market for him with teams including the Blazers, Hawks and Pelicans, no deals have come close to materializing. The Magic and Cavs were linked to Monroe at the beginning of free agency, but Cleveland has since acquired LeBron James and is zeroing in on Kevin Love, and Orlando’s interest was “lukewarm at best,” as Ellis wrote in July.

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy was in frequent contact with Falk shortly after taking his post in Detroit this spring, and while he reiterated last month that Monroe was still in the team’s plans, Van Gundy admitted the process has left him nervous. Still, the Pistons wield control over where he’ll play next season. That’s true even if Monroe takes the drastic and unlikely step of signing his one-year qualifying offer for less than $5.5MM, a maneuver that would allow him to hit unrestricted free agency in 2015.

Central Notes: George, Butler, Rose

August 2nd, 2014 at 10:32am CST by Eddie Scarito

Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird issued a statement via press release regarding the injury to Paul George last night. Bird said, “Our first thoughts are with Paul and his family. It is way too early to speculate on his return as the No. 1 priority for everyone will be his recovery. Our initial discussions with our doctors and the doctors in Las Vegas have us very optimistic. We are hopeful at some point next week Paul will return to Indianapolis to continue his recovery. There is no question about the impact this will have on our team but our goal is to be as strong-willed and determined as Paul will be in coming back. Our franchise has had setbacks in its history but has demonstrated the ability to recover.”

Here’s more on George and the Central Division:

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver released a statement on George’s injury via NBA.com, Silver said, “It was difficult to watch the injury that Paul George sustained tonight while representing his country. The thoughts and prayers of all of us at the NBA are with Paul and his family.”
With the horrific injury suffered by George there will be many who think that star players should cease their participation with Team USA, but Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News disagrees. Sefko is against legislation banning players to take part, and believes it should still be left up to each individual player to decide if they wish to play in FIBA events.
Out of all the moves the Pistons made this off season, the one that might pay off the most is bringing in Caron Butler, writes Kirkland Crawford of the Detroit Free Press. Crawford believes that in addition to his outside shooting, Butler will bring a toughness and strong work ethic to the team.
Derrick Rose has changed his stance on the reports regarding a potential rift between he and Bulls management, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Rose acknowledged speaking to Chicago’s chairman Jerry Reinsdorf by phone after the story broke and also said, “He [Reinsdorf] told me don’t worry about it, just stay focused and, like I said, it’s the past. It’s funny just hearing so many stories about what’s going on, and they’re coming out of, like, kind of nowhere, so it’s funny to hear about them, but it’s nothing that’s going on.’’

Eastern Notes: Caboclo, Antetokounmpo, Murry

August 1st, 2014 at 7:00pm CST by Alex Lee

The Raptors front office staff gave broad support to selecting Bruno Caboclo 20th overall when GM Masai Ujiri brought up the idea to them on draft night, observes Chris Mannix of SI.com. The Mavericks and Celtics were also interested in the unheralded Brazilian prospect, Mannix reveals, and an earlier report indicated that the Jazz and Suns were poised to draft Caboclo, too. Toronto pulled another surprise when it signed Caboclo for this season rather than stash him overseas, even before he impressed in summer league play, as Mannix writes.

“When a guy goes overseas you don’t get to monitor him as closely, to see if he is getting stronger, to see all of what he is doing,” Ujiri said. “Keeping him here, we can do that. When he needs playing time, send him to the D-League. He can play in NBA practices, he can go through a training camp and after the year we will wait to see where he is and what more he needs to develop.”

Here is what else is going on in the Atlantic division on Friday evening:

When the Knicks took Greek guard Thanasis Antetokounmpo with the 51st pick in June, many believed they did so with the intent of stashing him overseas. As Marc Berman of the New York Post points out, the team could also assign Antetokounmpo to their D-League affiliate without giving him an NBA contract, in turn preventing him from taking up one of their 15 NBA roster spots.
The Heat are indeed among the teams with interest in free about Toure’ Murry, a source tells Ian Begley of ESPN New York. Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune suggested as much late last month.
Pistons assistant coach Scott Roth will become the new head coach for Sevilla of the Spanish League, reports ESPN’s Marc Stein, where he will coach 2015 lottery hopeful Kristaps Porzingis. Roth joined the bench in Detroit mid-season in February after three years as an assistant in Toronto. In all, he worked as an assistant on six NBA teams and was also a coach in the D-League. (Twitter links)
Pistons center Andre Drummond is confident that current teammate Greg Monroe will be back in Detroit for the 2014/15 season, writes Vince Ellis of USA Today. We heard this morning that Monroe might not want to return to the Motor City and this isn’t the first time Drummond has addressed his teammate’s status as a restricted free agent. Monroe has the option of signing his qualifying offer from the Pistons and becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: LeBron, Wade, Monroe, Bucks

August 1st, 2014 at 9:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Dwyane Wade said today that he didn’t try to recruit LeBron James back to the Heat when the two spent time together shortly before the four-time MVP announced his decision to sign with Cleveland, as Wade told reporters, including Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post. James didn’t tell Wade about his decision until after their time traveling back to Miami from Las Vegas, according to Wade, but James dropped enough hints to make his choice apparent.

“We had a long flight back from Vegas,” Wade said. “I probably knew then, without him telling me at that moment. You could tell where someone’s heart is and what they’re thinking. I kind of knew at that moment. As his friend, I’m just supportive. As crazy as that might sound, I’m supportive of my friend doing what makes them happy. Obviously same thing with him in this situation. You’ve gotta do what makes you happy — selfishly do what makes you happy. The decision to go back home was that.”

There’s more from Wade amid the latest from the Eastern Conference:

Wade also said that he wanted to be with a winning team more than he wanted the money he sacrificed when he opted out of his contract and re-signed with the Heat on a discount deal, as Lieser notes. Wade is convinced that the total of $10.694MM over the next two seasons that the transactions cost him gives Miami a better chance at success. (Twitter links).
Greg Monroe‘s interest in returning to the Pistons isn’t too strong, but while Detroit talked with the Hawks and perhaps the Suns about sign-and-trades involving him, those teams have moved on, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports told podcaster Aime Mukendi Jr. Buddy Grizzard of Hawks/Hoop provides the transcription.
The Bucks gave second-round pick Johnny O’Bryant $600K in the first year of an otherwise minimum-salary contract, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Milwaukee used part of its cap space to complete the deal with this year’s 36th overall pick.

Central Notes: Rose, Van Gundy, Waiters

July 29th, 2014 at 7:05pm CST by Ryan Raroque

As Derrick Rose inches closer toward his return to NBA action in 2014/15 following a season-ending injury last season, Kevin Pelton of ESPN explains why the Bulls superstar is better preparing himself by starting his adjustment period against some of the league’s best point guards in Team USA camp rather than waiting until Bulls training camp in the fall to begin playing at a high level (Insiders only). With that aside, here’s more of what we’ve gathered out of the Central Division this evening:

Rose outlined what his pitch to Carmelo Anthony had been as he spoke with reporters, including Kurt Helin of NBCSports.com. Rose’s message was simple, but it was seemingly more than just the brief hello that one report had indicated was the extent of the contact between the two stars.
Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy acknowledged that the team had to be more aggressive in its pitches to free agents this summer because of its lack of success on the court of late, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press notes.
Dion Waiters and Andrew Wiggins have both been in plenty of trade chatter, but if they both remain with the Cavs, only one of them seems likely to start. Waiters isn’t demanding that he be the starter, but he’s resolute in his belief that he’s the man for the job, as he tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
Doug McDermott is aware that his name is being attached in trade talks regarding Kevin Love; however, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that the Bulls rookie hasn’t asked the front office to keep him updated on those rumors as he waits to see what happens.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pistons Sign Spencer Dinwiddie

July 29th, 2014 at 10:13am CST by Zachary Links

JULY 29TH: The deal is official, according to the RealGM transactions log, though the team has yet to make an announcement. He’ll get $700K in the first year of his contract, about $200K more than the minimum, but he’ll make the minimum in the final two seasons of the deal, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. The team clearly used cap space on the contract, since the room exception wouldn’t have allowed for a three-year contract.

JULY 22ND: The third year isn’t guaranteed, MLive’s David Mayo writes.

JULY 21ST: The Pistons and second-round pick Spencer Dinwiddie have agreed to a three-year deal, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Dinwiddie was selected with the eighth pick in the second round (38th overall).

The 21-year-old was viewed as a possible lottery candidate before his knee injury last season and was still projected as a late-first round choice by DraftExpress. The former Colorado standout might be limited in his first NBA campaign, but president/coach Stan Van Gundy and the rest of the front office obviously sees a high ceiling for the shooting guard. Last season, Dinwiddie averaged 14.7 PPG and 3.8 APG while shooting 41.3% from downtown and 85.7% from the charity stripe.

And-Ones: Villanueva, Grizzlies, Clippers

July 26th, 2014 at 2:31pm CST by Charlie Adams

The NBA is looking to extend the All-Star break into a seven day hiatus from regular season play, reports Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. The longer break will likely be in effect for the 2014/15 campaign, says Winderman, who adds that the increased time off at midseason will mean an extra set or two of back-to-back games for clubs around the league. Let’s look at a few more miscellaneous notes from around the NBA..

Free agent Charlie Villanueva remains unsigned after working out for multiple teams, but is excited about chronicling the process in his own web series despite the uncertainty, as he tells Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. “It’s been five years with the Pistons and that road has come to an end, but I have a couple things lined up,” Villanueva said. “One of the things obviously is working out for some teams, but at the same time capturing every moment of free agency and what I’m going through.”
After recently narrowing the field of candidates, the Grizzlies search for a GM-in-waiting has stalled, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe (on Twitter). Lowe’s sources say that it’s now possible Memphis doesn’t hire anyone as the successor in waiting for current GM Chris Wallace. The Grantland scribe suggests the team could promote from within the organization, citing in-house counsel Joe Abadi as a hot name.
Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe clues readers in about Natalie Nakase, an assistant video coordinator for the Clippers with ambitions of becoming the first female head coach in NBA history.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

Contract Details: LeBron, Deng, Carter, Gasol

July 24th, 2014 at 10:04am CST by Chuck Myron

The idea that the Cavs would trade LeBron James sometime during his two-year contract is outlandish, but just in case it happens, the deal includes a 15% trade kicker, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports. Deeks has updated his salary database with plenty of new information on deals signed within the past few weeks, so we’ll pass along some of his noteworthy findings. All links to go the relevant salary page at ShamSports.

Luol Deng, LeBron’s replacement with the Heat, also has a 15% trade kicker, as do new Grizzlies swingman Vince Carter and Knicks signee Jason Smith.
The last year of Pau Gasol‘s three-year deal with the Bulls is a player option.
The final season of the contract Joe Harris signed with the Cavs is non-guaranteed.
Eric Griffin‘s three-year, minimum-salary contract with the Mavs is non-guaranteed, with the exception of a $150K partial guarantee for this coming season.
Jodie Meeks‘ deal with the Pistons was originally reported to be more than $19MM, but it actually checks in at $18.81MM.
Damjan Rudez will make $3.449MM over the life of his three-year deal with the Pacers, which includes a team option for the final season. Shayne Whittington‘s partial guarantee with the team this year is worth $25K.
Russ Smith‘s deal with the Pelicans runs three years at the minimum salary, but only the first season is fully guaranteed. Fellow Pelicans rookie Patric Young‘s two-year deal is non-guaranteed, save for a $55K partial guarantee this year.

And-Ones: Mavericks, Williams, Bzdelik

July 22nd, 2014 at 8:28pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Last season, D.J. Augustin, Glen Davis, Danny Granger, and Caron Butler were just a handful of rotation-worthy players who were able to land on playoff-bound teams after being waived during the regular season. Keeping this in mind, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said on the “Fitzsimmons and Friedo Show” on 103.3 ESPN in Dallas that his team could hold off on using its $2.732MM exception this summer, waiting to see who could become available if notable players are released from their respective teams during the regular season (hat tip to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com).

Here are more miscellaneous news and notes to pass along tonight:

While there has been mutual interest between Dallas and free agent guard Mo Williams, the 31-year-old guard has fielded offers that are more lucrative than the Mavs’ $2.732MM exception, says MacMahon. A source also tells MacMahon that Williams hasn’t even been Dallas’ top target with that exception.
Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger is in advanced talks to hire former Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik to be an assistant on his coaching staff, hears Marc Stein of ESPN (Twitter link). Bzdelik is expected to sign a contract tomorrow, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
Free agent swingman Dahntay Jones will audition for 15-20 teams in Las Vegas next week, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
Hornets big man Al Jefferson told Kennedy that he’s thrilled with his team’s offseason moves. “I told (management) how I felt when the season went over well. They did everything they said they were going to do [this summer]. I think (we’ve gotten) better.”
The Pistons are not currently considering the possibility of moving from the Palace of Auburn Hills, reports Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. Mark Barnhill, senior partner at Platinum Equity, made a statement reflecting the views of Pistons owner Tom Gores in light of the Ilitch family’s plans to build a $650MM entertainment district in downtown, which will in part house the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. “We have a beautiful arena, and we have invested tens of millions of dollars over the past three years to modernize and improve that facility…At the same time, we would never close the door on alternatives if they made good sense for our fans, for our team, for our business and for Michigan.”

Latest On Josh Smith

July 22nd, 2014 at 8:21am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 8:21am: The Smith talks were serious between the Kings and Pistons, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe, contradicting part of Wojnarowski’s report. Lowe also suggests there’s a decent chance that they pick up again at some point.

MONDAY, 1:05pm: Van Gundy has told Smith that reports about trade talk with the Kings have been inaccurate and assured him that he’ll begin this coming season with the Pistons, barring an unexpected turn of events, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Kings had called about Smith, but Detroit never heard an offer it liked, and the discussion never reached a serious stage, sources tell Wojnarowski. Smith likes the idea of remaining with the Pistons, Wojnarowski also hears.

SATURDAY, 2:49pm: A source tells Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press that there are “no legs” to reports suggesting that the Kings and Pistons are discussing a deal involving Smith.

THURSDAY, 8:59am: The idea of a Smith deal didn’t intrigue Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro, tweets Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News, who says it seems like coach Mike Malone is the catalyst for the talks. Stein noted Malone’s fondness for defense in story, one in which Stein also points to Smith’s defensive capabilities as one of the reasons the Kings are pursuing him. Pistons president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy didn’t give Smith any promise that he wouldn’t trade him when they met recently, but while Van Gundy is open to trading the forward, he wants value in return, Goodwill also tweets.

8:14am: The Pistons and Kings are once more discussing trade scenarios involving Josh Smith and are on the hunt for a third team to make a deal work, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Sacramento remains interested in the 28-year-old forward, as the Kings brass is fond of his defensive capabilities and intrigued by the idea of acquiring a player of his talent without giving up a piece of the team’s core, Stein hears.

The teams reportedly had talks last month before the Pistons put a stop to them, and the framework involved then would have seen Jason Thompson and either Derrick Williams or Jason Terry off to Detroit, Stein adds. It’s unclear whether any of that trio are subjects of the latest conversations, but Terry is seemingly agitating for an exit for Sacramento, having spoken of his fondness for the Mavericks and criticized Kings teammates DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay in a recent interview. The Kings would rather trade Terry than let him buy his way out of his contract, according to Stein.

Smith signed a four-year, $54MM contract with the Pistons a year ago, but the team’s decision to line him up next to Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond was ill-fated, and it’s left the club with a dilemma involving Monroe’s restricted free agency. The Pistons had serious talks with the Blazers about a sign-and-trade that would have sent Monroe to Portland, but the Blazers dropped out of the running for Monroe when they struck a deal with free agent Chris Kaman, Stein reports.

Smith has appeal to the Kings based on his relationship with Rajon Rondo, whom the team has long coveted, as Stein points out. Smith would love to play with Rondo, having called him “my best friend” in an interview this spring in which Smith said he and Rondo have had multiple conversations about the possibility of becoming teammates. The Celtics point guard is poised to become a free agent next summer.