Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavs Notes: Griffin, Brown, Irving, Waiters

April 22nd, 2014 at 11:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Reports have linked Cavs interim GM David Griffin to the front offices of the Knicks, and, more recently, the Pistons, but he indicated a strong preference to remain in Cleveland as he spoke today with reporters, including Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer.

“You’re either all the way in, or you’re all the way out,” Griffin said. “There’s no in-between. This is where I want to be.”

Here’s more on Griffin and the Cavs:

Griffin said he doesn’t know when he’ll hear about his future with the team from owner Dan Gilbert, and while he said he’s confident that he and Gilbert are moving in the same direction, Griffin also said he needs to improve, Valade notes in the same piece. Still, the acting GM gave the impression that his job is safe, as Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio observes (Twitter link).
Coach Mike Brown is on shakier ground, according to Amico, and ownership is looking for honest assessments of Brown from the team’s players and, once in place, its front office staff, Amico writes.
Griffin would like to shift the team’s focus from “asset accumulation mode” to “target acquisition mode,” he says, and he plans to target size, toughness, basketball IQ and shooting, as Valade chronicles. Still, he’s high on his backcourt pairing of Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters. “I’ve seen flashes of them being very, very good together,” Griffin said. “… They’re two ball-dominant, drive-and-kick players. They require spacing and shooters. It’s too easy to look at them and blame one of them. It’s a collective thing.”

Central Rumors: Griffin, Cavs, Bucks, Pistons

April 21st, 2014 at 6:24pm CST by Zachary Links

While nothing is etched in stone, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (on Twitter) hears that the “feel inside” the organization is that David Griffin will be the Cavs‘ GM next season. There has been question about whether Griffin would be retained or if he might jump ship to take the now vacant Pistons’ GM job. More out of the Central..

Once the front office is in place, the source tells Amico (link) that the Cavs will seek “honest opinions” from players and management on whether they truly believe in coach Mike Brown.
The NBA has the right to buy back the Bucks from incoming owners Wesley Edens and Mark Lasry if a deal to a bring a new arena to the city is not in place by November 2017, sources briefed on the situation tell Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The team, purchased for $550MM, can be bought back by the league for $575MM in construction isn’t underway by the deadline. One source added that the league would likely only take that step if it didn’t see “significant progress” by then.
Former Pistons executive Scott Perry could be ready for his shot as General Manager, writes Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. Perry had two stints with the Pistons, first as a college scout (2000-02) and then director of player personnel (2002-07) before leaving then returning as Vice President from 2008-12. Perry, along with Thunder assistant GM Troy Weaver, Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk, Celtics assistant GM Michael Zarren and Griffin, are the hot names Detroit will likely interview.
Questions swirl as the Cavaliers enter the offseason, writes Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer. It remains to be seen who will stay and who will go, and that includes from Griffin, coach Mike Brown, free agents Luol Deng and Spencer Hawes, and even star Kyrie Irving.

Pistons Notes: Monroe, GM Search, Gores

April 20th, 2014 at 9:05am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pistons need to hire a new GM after Joe Dumars stepped down from the position. Whoever takes the job has one big decision looming in regards to what do do with Greg Monroe, writes Dave Pemberton of The Oakland Press. Monroe is a restricted free agent, only 23 years old, and coming off a season where he averaged 15.2 PPG and 9.3 RPG. Pemberton opines that Monroe’s agent David Falk will seek at least $15MM a season for his client. The article also uses Roy Hibbert‘s situation from two years ago as a reference for what tactics Falk might employ to up Monroe’s final price tag.

Pistons Rumors: GM Search, Monroe, Loyer

April 19th, 2014 at 11:19am CST by Cray Allred

Vincent Ellis of Detroit Free Press looks at the background of the interim team currently running the Pistons front office, led by assistant GM George David and director of basketball operations Ken Catanella. Ellis believes ownership would be comfortable progressing through the draft without making a GM hire, based on the current personnel’s experience. Here’s more out of Detroit:

Ellis says that David and Catanella will be considered for the permanent GM role, and that interim coach John Loyer will likewise be a candidate for the permanent head coaching job.
Loyer told David Mayo of MLive.com that he is proud of his time at the helm this season, working with a team under-performing and fractured by the firing of Maurice Cheeks. “I felt very confident going in that I’d earn their trust. And I feel very confident, going into the last game of the season, that I’ve got their trust,” said Loyer. “I’ll let what I’ve done and what I’ve brought to the table every day speak for itself.”
In a separate mailbag post, Mayo opines that Greg Monroe‘s tendency not to make strong statements concerning the team could be influenced by Detroit’s decision to bring in Josh Smith rather than trust Monroe to lead a young frontcourt.
Mayo thinks Detroit’s plans for the offseason are a crapshoot at this point, citing the front office turmoil.
Mayo doesn’t believe the uncertainty surrounding Detroit’s first round pick in the draft is as significant as the myriad of other issues and decisions the team needs to work through.

And-Ones: Draft, Bucks, Cavs, Pistons

April 18th, 2014 at 9:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors weighed in on the Eastern Conference playoffs as a guest on The Baseline podcast at Shaw Sports.

More from around the Association and college ranks:

Kentucky coach John Calipari has no idea if Andrew Harrison and Aaron Harrison will declare for this year’s NBA Draft, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Calipari said, “They have ‘til the 27th to make a decision. I don’t even know what the NCAA date is because we don’t worry about it. It has nothing to do with us. The only date they have to be concerned about is the 27th, when they have to put their name in or they don’t put their name in.” Draft Express has Andrew ranked as the 39th best prospect and Aaron as the 53rd.
The NBA Draft Experts at ESPN.com examine the scouting report and draft prospects of Kentucky’s James Young, who has announced that he will enter this year’s draft. Young ranks 15th on Chad Ford of ESPN.com‘s Big Board.
Duke’s Rodney Hood also gets profiled by ESPN.com’s draft experts. Hood has declared he’s entering the draft this year, and Ford has him ranked 22nd. You can also check out our prospect profile on Hood.
Adam Silver doesn’t anticipate any issues affecting league approval of Herb Kohl’s sale of the Bucks to Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry, as the commissioner told reporters today, including Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Silver informed fellow Journal Sentinel scribe Charles F. Gardner that he expects approval to occur within a month (Twitter link).
Despite the talk that Cavaliers guards Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters don’t get along, Luol Deng has said the two players “love” each other, writes Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal.
Part of the reason the Pistons had such a poor season was due to bad chemistry, writes Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Ellis’ article speculates as to what caused this issue.
Larry Coon of the CBA FAQ Blog (via RealGM.com) is reporting that the 2014/15 salary cap is now projected to be $63.2MM and the tax level is projected to be $77MM. The numbers for 2015/16 are now projected to be $66.5MM and $81MM, respectively. This season’s figures are $58.679MM for the salary cap and $71.748MM for the luxury tax level, so the cap projection for next season is a 7.7% increase over this year’s.

Pistons Considering Griffin, Zarren, Vandeweghe

April 18th, 2014 at 5:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars’ announcement that he was “stepping aside”, the speculation as to who would take over his post began. The team intends to conduct a comprehensive search for their next GM, report Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick of USA Today. According to the article, there are several names are on the Pistons’ radar.

The latest names to be mentioned in connection with Detroit are Cavaliers acting general manager David Griffin, Celtics assistant GM and team counsel Mike Zarren and NBA senior vice president of basketball operations Kiki Vandeweghe.

Other names connected with the search per the article, are Magic assistant GM Scott Perry, who is from Detroit and used to work for the team, Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk, and former Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo.

It was also reported earlier this week that Grant Hill, a former Pistons player who is now working for Turner Sports, is also a possibility for the post. The Pistons may also look into an arrangement similar to the one Doc Rivers has with the Clippers, the article notes. Rivers is both coach and senior vice president of basketball operations and works with vice president of basketball operations Gary Sacks on personnel decisions.

The other wild card here could be former Pistons great Isiah Thomas, who was reported to be openly campaigning for the job, despite the team shooting down those rumors. There has also been talk that the team may want to hire Chauncey Billups for the front-office, but the exact role hasn’t been revealed.

Currently Pistons director of basketball operations Ken Catanella and assistant GM David George are preparing for the draft and free agency. They report to ownership executives Phil Norment and Bob Wentworth, both of whom are partners is Gores’ private equity investment firm, Platinum Equity, write Zillgitt and Amick.

Central Notes: Bucks, Monroe, Billups, Pistons

April 17th, 2014 at 8:47pm CST by Alex Lee

Earlier tonight we broke down the bevy of news coming out of Cleveland. Here is what is going on in the rest of the Central Division on Thursday night:

Once the dust settles from the Bucks ownership change, many league insiders expect the new regime to make changes in the front office and on the coaching staff in Milwaukee, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. As Kyler notes, general manager John Hammond and assistant GM David Morway are both under contract for two more seasons. Head coach Larry Drew inked a four-year, $10MM pact last summer.
Soon-to-be restricted free agent Greg Monroe spent what might be his last season with the Pistons keeping his head down and concentrating on his own production, writes Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News.
Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press suggests the Pistons would probably exercise their $2.5MM team option on Chauncey Billups for next season if the 37-year-old elects not to retire, but it seems questionable that the team would commit to that kind of money to him.
Several Pistons players conceded that chemistry issues plagued the team all season, with Brandon Jennings admitting that he never would have agreed to come to Detroit last summer had he known how things would turn out, writes David Mayo of MLive.com. Based on player comments, Mayo infers that veteran Josh Smith, the team’s highest paid player, is one of the reasons for the team’s fractured locker room. In a separate piece, Ellis concurs.

Candidates Emerge For Pistons Top Exec Job

April 16th, 2014 at 1:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:33pm: Hill would be interested in taking a front office job eventually, but not now, tweets Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News.

11:16am: The Pistons appear to be targeting Grant Hill and Magic assistant GM Scott Perry as candidates to replace Joe Dumars atop the Detroit front office, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein cautions that the Pistons have promised a broad search, so Hill and Perry will likely be two of many in the running for the job.

Perry has spent most of his NBA career with the Pistons, joining the team as a scout during the same offseason in which Dumars became the club’s top basketball executive. He ascended through the ranks to become vice president of basketball operations for the team after a one-year stint as assistant GM to Sam Presti with the Thunder in 2007/08. He was said to have advocated for the Pistons to draft Carmelo Anthony rather than Darko Milicic while serving as Pistons director of player personnel in 2003, USA Today’s Sam Amick notes (Twitter link).

Hill was rumored to be a candidate for the Suns GM job last year shortly after he retired from playing at the end of the 2012/13 season. NBA teams were still interested in the 41-year-old as a player earlier this year, but Hill rejected those entreaties and has spent the season as a broadcaster. The Pistons drafted him third overall in 1994, and he played his first six NBA seasons with the team.

Amick also names Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk and former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo as possible candidates (Twitter link).

Pistons To Have Own D-League Affiliate

April 15th, 2014 at 3:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

APRIL 15TH: The deal has been officially announced (Twitter link; hat tip to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com), giving the Pistons a one-to-one D-League affiliate for next season and leaving the Nets without one, for now.

MARCH 26TH: The Pistons won’t have to share a D-League team next season, as they’ll have a one-to-one affiliation in 2014/15 with the Springfield Armor, who are moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan, as MLive’s David Mayo reports. The Armor are in the final season of their contract as the direct affiliate of the Nets. It’s unclear what sort of D-League affiliate the Nets will have next year.

Michigan-based ownership will take over the Armor, though the Pistons themselves won’t own the club. Instead, the arrangement will be a hybrid partnership in which independent owners run the business side of the organization while the Pistons run the basketball operations and pay the salaries of the coaches and players.

Detroit is currently affiliated with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, a D-League team it shares with five other NBA clubs. The Pistons have made just four D-League assignments this season, sending rookies Peyton Siva and Tony Mitchell to Fort Wayne two times each. The plan for a one-to-one affiliation in close geographic proximity to Detroit indicates that the Pistons intend to make significantly more frequent assignments next season.

Mayo suggests that all NBA teams want to have one-to-one affiliations with a D-League teams within the next three years. However, the Blazers recently ended their arrangement with the Idaho Stampede and will share a D-League affiliate next season, believing that player development is best performed at the NBA level. Still, a growing number of NBA teams have been aligning directly with D-League teams in the past few years, and this year only three of the 17 teams in the D-League are without one-to-one NBA partners.

Eastern Notes: Stoudemire, Odom, Cavs

April 15th, 2014 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Amar’e Stoudemire is thinking about leaving the NBA after next season to instead play for the team he owns in Israel, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. Stoudemire is part of a four-man group that holds a 60% stake in Hapoel Jerusalem.

“We’ll see,’’ Stoudemire said. “You can’t rule anything out. The future is unknown and so if I have an opportunity to [play in Israel] and am still in great health, it would be great. I have one more year left on my deal and we’ll go from there.’’

Stoudemire seemed more enthusiastic about the idea in other remarks, saying he’s “absolutely” considering the possibility and that there’s a “high chance” he’ll go through with it, observes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter links). He has an early termination option on his contract for 2014/15, but he’ll almost certainly opt in and collect the more than $23.4MM coming his way in the final season of his deal with the Knicks. Here’s more from the East:

The Knicks apparently had interest in Lamar Odom even before Phil Jackson arrived, as coach Mike Woodson told reporters today that the 34-year-old’s name came up in the team’s conversations earlier this season, Berman notes via Twitter.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is upset with his team’s performance, and a source tells Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that Cleveland will make a significant trade this summer. That’s a sign that Gilbert is no fan of his roster, Amico concludes.
People around the league indicate that the Pistons will likely hire someone from outside the organization to replace Joe Dumars, Amico writes in the same piece.
Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News lays out some of the issues that will confront the new head of basketball ops for the Pistons.