Pistons Sign Peyton Siva
6:38pm: Keith Langlois of Pistons.com has more since the signing became official.
5:46pm: Pistons PR released a statement making the Siva signing official today:
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has signed draft selection Peyton Siva to a contract. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Siva was drafted by Detroit with the 56th pick in the second round of the 2013 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 10.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists as a senior last season while leading the University of Louisville to the NCAA Championship. He scored in double figures in 23-of-40 games last year, including 18 points and five assists in the championship game. A native of Seattle, Wa., Siva was named to the All-Big East Third team and the Final Four All-Tournament Team as a senior. He finished his collegiate career as Louisville’s second all-time assist leader with 677 assists.
11:30am: Siva tweeted a picture of himself signing the contract, so it seems the deal is complete (hat tip to MLive's Brendan Savage).
10:59am: The deal has not yet been made official, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, though he suggests that it will happen soon.
10:27am: The Pistons have signed 56th overall pick Peyton Siva, as Rick Pitino, Siva's college coach at Louisville, tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Last week's three-for-one trade that brought Brandon Jennings aboard cleared room for the rookie point guard. Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News reported last week that Siva was likely to sign.
Siva drew plenty of looks from teams during the lead-up to the draft, even as pundits like Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress and Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranked him as no better than a late second-round pick. That's what the defensive-minded 6'1" Siva became before heading off to the Orlando summer league. In four games with the Pistons squad in Orlando, Siva averaged 6.0 assists and 1.5 turnovers in 25.7 minutes of action, garnering Honorable Mention All-League honors.
Of course, that pales in comparison to Siva's decorated college career, when he garnered the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the NCAA's best undersized player in 2013 as he helped lead Louisville to the national championship. Despite his heroics, he's probably getting a minimum-salary contract from the capped-out Pistons, unless they're dipping into their $2.652MM room exception for him.
Spencer Lund contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Ivan Johnson, Wizards, Pistons
The Eastern Conference has been the weaker side of the NBA for more than a decade, but the teams at the top of the conference should rival their counterparts from the West this season. The Bulls, Pacers and Nets all figure to be tougher competition for the Heat in 2013/14, with the Knicks right behind. As we wait to see how it plays out, here's the latest news related to Eastern teams:
- Agent Jeremiah Haylett tells Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype that he's exploring overseas options for Ivan Johnson (Twitter link). The Knicks are one of six NBA teams who've spoken to the burly power forward, and though the Hawks were reportedly interested in bringing him back as of mid-July, they've since renounced his rights.
- Wizards coach Randy Wittman is glad the team locked up John Wall, who became the 15th NBA player to have a maximum-salary contract on the books when he signed his extension this week. J. Michael of CSNWashington.com has Wittman's thoughts on the team's offseason.
- The gamble that Brandon Jennings will be better than Brandon Knight in the long run is the latest in a series of risks that will decide Joe Dumars' fate, opines Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press. Of course, Dumars and the Pistons might already be plotting to move on from Jennings, according to a report we passed along earlier today.
Pistons Maintain Interest In Rajon Rondo?
The Pistons made an upgrade at point guard this week, acquiring Brandon Jennings in a sign-and-trade from the Bucks, but they may still be interested in Rajon Rondo, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes amid his weekly league roundup. Washburn says that the Pistons might attempt to use Jennings as a trade chip in a deal for the Celtics point guard.
Washburn had one of multiple reports last month linking the Pistons to Rondo, writing then that Detroit's preferred offer of Brandon Knight and an expiring contract was unlikely to get Celtics GM Danny Ainge to budge on his insistence that he won't trade Rondo. Knight went to the Bucks in the Jennings deal, so perhaps Pistons president of basketball ops Joe Dumars will offer Jennings and an expiring contract to the C's instead, though that remains unclear.
Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, Jennings can't be traded until December 15th because he signed a new contract this summer, so the Pistons and Celtics would have to wait if they want to make him any part of a deal. Rondo suffered a torn ACL in January, and the extra time before Jennings is able to be traded could give the Pistons a better chance to assess Rondo's health. Washburn figures that there will be plenty of other suitors for Rondo, especially after he recovers from the injury, so the Pistons could face competition, forcing them to drive up their offer.
Contract Details: Jennings, Grizzlies, Henderson
Details are often scarce when free agents agree to sign with NBA teams, leaving reporters to gather many of the contract specifics later. That's what HoopsWorld's Eric Pincus has done throughout the summer, and last night he passed along information on a handful of players, as we detail below. All links go to HoopsWorld team salary pages.
- Brandon Jennings will make precisely $24MM in the sign-and-trade deal that sent him to the Pistons, with a starting salary of $7,655,503.
- The Grizzlies gave Mike Miller a one-year deal for the veteran's minimum, while their second-round pick, Jamaal Franklin, is making slightly more than the rookie minimum this season on his three-year contract. Pincus also has the figures for Jon Leuer's three-year deal.
- Gerald Henderson will make $6MM in each season of his three-year, $18MM deal with the Bobcats.
- Timofey Mozgov's starting salary on his new three-year deal is $4.4MM, with raises in subsequent seasons.
- Bucks second-round pick Nate Wolters, the 38th overall selection, gets a little more than the minimum salary as part of his three-year deal. The first two seasons are fully guaranteed.
- The Jazz gave summer league sensation Ian Clark a two-year, partially guaranteed deal for the minimum salary.
Eastern Notes: Wall, Monroe, Sixers, Humphries
Let's round up a few Thursday items from around the Eastern Conference….
- John Wall's five-year extension with the Wizards is fully guaranteed, with no player or team options involved, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Wall spoke to Monumental Sports Network about his new deal, and the additional pressure it will put on him over the next few years.
- According to Grantland's Zach Lowe, the Pistons don't seem overly enthusiastic about signing Greg Monroe to a maximum-salary extension. If the team "falls in love" with a frontline of Josh Smith and Andre Drummond, Monroe could be dangled at some point, Lowe suggests.
- Monroe, Paul George, and Larry Sanders are among the Eastern players who could follow in Wall's footsteps and sign lucrative long-term extensions this offseason, as Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld writes.
- Spurs assistant Brett Brown continues to be a frontrunner for the Sixers' head coaching job, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). A report last month indicated Philadelphia would likely choose between Michael Curry and Brown, who Pompey calls "the preferred candidate."
- The Knicks would be interested in Kris Humphries if he's bought out by the Celtics, but that appears unlikely at this point, says Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter).
- The Hawks have yet to make a final decision on where Lucas Nogueira will play next season, but it still looks as if he'll return to Spain, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Brett Koremenos of Grantland speculates that if Gigi Datome has success with the Pistons, it could inspire other NBA teams to look more closely to Europe for inexpensive outside shooters.
Eastern Notes: Carmelo, Daye, Heat, Pistons
In his latest column for ESPN.com (Insider-only link), Chad Ford assigns grades to all 15 Eastern Conference teams for the moves they've made this summer. While I disagree with a few of Ford's grades, and think it may be a little early to assume each team's offseason work is done, his explanations are worth reading. It may come as no surprise that Ford, a draft expert, gives top marks to the Sixers, who snagged a pair of top-10 prospects in last month's draft and figure to have two lottery picks next year as well. Here's more from around the East:
- ESPN.com's 5-on-5 crew also breaks down a few questions relating to which Eastern teams made the best and worst offseason moves.
- While there's no real indication that Carmelo Anthony wants to explore the free agent market next summer, he also isn't saying he plans to be a long-term Knick, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Carmelo will have the chance to opt out of his contract in search of a new deal next summer.
- Before Austin Daye agreed to sign with the Raptors, the Heat were one team with interest, according to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, who also cites the Lakers as a suitor for Daye.
- The Pistons have two roster spots open after trading three players for Brandon Jennings, leaving room to sign second-round pick Peyton Siva. However, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, the more pressing need for the team may be a big man to provide frontcourt depth.
Pistons Acquire Brandon Jennings From Bucks
WEDNESDAY, 1:08pm: The swap has officially been completed, the Bucks announced today (via Twitter). The Pistons also confirmed the move in a press release.
TUESDAY, 4:39pm: TNT's David Aldridge confirms (via Twitter) that the two sides have reached an agreement. According to Stein (via Twitter), the four players reported so far are expected to be the only pieces involved, so it sounds as if there may not be any picks or cash changing hands.
With the Pistons set to acquire one player in exchange for three, the deal should open up room on the roster to sign second-round pick Peyton Siva, though it's not clear yet if he's in the team's plans for 2013/14.
4:35pm: Viacheslav Kravtsov and Khris Middleton are also headed to the Bucks in the deal, tweets Wojnarowski. Using those two salaries, along with Knight's, the Pistons would be able to offer Jennings a starting salary of $7.72MM, which sounds about right, based on the reported terms. So there may not be any more players involved in the swap.
4:31pm: Knight will be part of the package that the Pistons send to Milwaukee, Wojnarowski confirms (via Twitter).
4:14pm: The Pistons have emerged as a serious candidate to acquire Brandon Jennings from the Bucks in a sign-and-trade, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). According to Stein, the two sides are in "advanced talks" about a potential deal. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports confirms Stein's report, tweeting that the Pistons and Bucks are nearing an agreement.
According to Stein (via Twitter), if and when the two teams finalize a sign-and-trade, Jennings' contract with the Pistons will be in the three-year, $25MM+ range, similar to what his former backcourt partner Monta Ellis received from the Mavericks. Wojnarowski (via Twitter) pegs the value of the deal at three years and $24MM.
There had been rumblings earlier in the month that the Pistons had an eye on Jennings, but GM Joe Dumars adamantly denied that he'd had any trade talks with the Bucks. Either that changed in the last two weeks or Dumars was trying to throw rival suitors off the scent. Regardless, it's easy to see why Milwaukee and Detroit would be a match.
At least one report has suggested Jennings wasn't interested in remaining in Milwaukee, and there have been indications that he was considering accepting his one-year qualifying offer in order to hit unrestricted free agency next summer. A sign-and-trade would be a win-win for Jennings and the Bucks, allowing the young point guard to secure a long-term pact with another club, and allowing Milwaukee to pick up at least an asset or two in return.
It's not clear yet who the Pistons would be parting with in the deal, but Brandon Knight seems like a logical candidate. If Knight were to be included, Detroit would have to add more salary to make the deal work, making Charlie Villanueva or Rodney Stuckey potential fits as well.
Odds & Ends: Pacers, Billups, Mavs, Reinsdorf
The Mavs have had a busy offseason, since there was so much turnaround after loading up on expiring contracts last season with a chance to nab Dwight Howard or Josh Smith in free agency this summer. Since they failed to land any of the upper-tier free agents, they decided to surround 35-year-old Dirk Nowitzki with mid-tier acquisitions in an attempt to get Dirk a second title, but without spending their way out of contending for the free agents next summer when Dirk, Shawn Marion and others have their contract's expire.
Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram listed all the Mavericks from last season who will be playing on different rosters next season (Twitter): O.J. Mayo is on the Bucks, Elton Brand and Jared Cunningham joined the Hawks, Darren Collison signed with the Clippers, Chris Kaman joined the Lakers after they failed to re-sign Howard, and Anthony Morrow joined an improved Pelicans team. Two former Mavs are still unsigned, though, as Price tweets: Rodrigue Beaubois and Mike James.
Here are a few more tidbits as the NBA comes up on the end of the free agency period…
- Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press tweets that the Pistons have talked with recent free agent signee Chauncey Billups about joining the front office in Detroit after he retires
- The Pacers are “going for it” with their recent trade for Luis Scola, writes Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star.
- Kyrie Irving has been impressing once again at Team USA tryouts in Las Vegas this past week. Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer talked with the 2012 Rookie of the Year about what he's trying to improve as he comes up on his third season in the league with a much-improved Cavs team.
- Melissa Harris and Jared S. Hopkins of the Chicago Tribune profile Bulls COO, Michael Reinsdorf, the son of Bulls owner, Jerry Reinsdorf. The younger Reinsdorf is seen as his father's successor with the team.
- The bizarre Tennesse "Jock Tax" that Grantland's Zach Lowe wrote about a couple weeks ago, is something NBA millionaires can afford, writes Geoff Calkins of the Commercial Appeal.
- Pablo Prigioni is "really excited" to come back to the Knicks next year reports Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
Eastern Notes: Monroe, Knicks, White, Heat
Let's round up a few Wednesday morning items from around the Eastern Conference….
- Pistons big man Greg Monroe tells Ben Golliver of SI.com that any trade speculation or rumors involving him are "foolish."
- Mark Deeks' latest update of Knicks salaries for ShamSports.com includes two interesting notes on J.R. Smith and Pablo Prigioni. The Knicks will pay Smith half of his salary for this season by November 15th (Twitter links), while Prigioni's third season contains some complicated provisions that could affect the level of guarantee. To check out the full details, hover over Prigioni's name on the ShamSports.com page.
- In addition to having the ability to veto trades, Nazr Mohammed also received a 15% trade kicker on his new deal with the Bulls, tweets Deeks.
- The Sixers have yet to establish a plan to deal with Royce White's fear of flying, GM Sam Hinkie told reporters, including Jason Wolf of USA Today. Philadelphia will have to decide this offseason whether to exercise White's 2014/15 option, so if the team turns down that option, the 2012 first-round pick will become an expiring contract.
- After being released by the Pistons two weeks ago, Kim English is seeking a new NBA deal, and tells Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star that "three or four teams" are showing interest.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel explores the possibility of the Heat signing Greg Oden, Marcus Camby, or Mo Williams.
Eastern Notes: Irving, Bulls, 76ers, Wall, Heat
Speaking to reporters in Las Vegas, including Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, Kyrie Irving was dismissive of a recent report suggesting he wants out of Cleveland.
"I’m a Cavalier right now, I’m happy to be a Cavalier," Irving said. "I kind of had a sarcastic approach to [the report] because it was a rumor starter. I don’t think he knows anybody in my camp and I don’t know who the guy is. That type of stuff I don’t pay any attention to. Right now I’m a Cleveland Cavalier and I’m happy to be here."
Here's more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Malcolm Thomas' release doesn't necessarily mean the Bulls are clearing room to sign Marcus Camby, a source tells Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Sixers GM Sam Hinkie confirmed to Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com (Twitter link) that the first-round pick the team will receive from the Pelicans is top-five protected over the next six drafts, starting in 2014.
- John Wall confirmed to Shams Charania of RealGM.com that his reps and the Wizards have begun discussions on a contract extension, but Wall says he doesn't plan to get too involved in those talks.
- After passing along a few Joe Dumars quotes on the amnesty provision and his team's offseason yesterday, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press has a few more items from the Pistons GM on Rasheed Wallace's new gig as a coach, and the trade that sent Chauncey Billups to Denver five years ago.
- The Magic signed Jason Maxiell in part so he can act as a mentor and leader for the team's younger players, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
- Ira Winderman's latest mailbag for the South Florida Sun Sentinel includes questions on a potential Joel Anthony trade and the possibility of the Heat signing Greg Oden. Winderman adds (via Twitter) that Miami was among the teams in attendance at Oden's workout today.