Pistons Rumors: Duren, Thompson, Stars, Stewart, More
Little progress has been made in contract negotiations between the Pistons and restricted free agent center Jalen Duren, according to Hunter Patterson of The Athletic.
As Patterson writes, while Duren met with the Lakers and Kings when free agency opened to explore the possibility of sign-and-trade scenarios, there’s no indication that Detroit seriously entertained the possibility of actually moving him. Los Angeles subsequently acquired Walker Kessler from the Jazz, further limiting Duren’s leverage.
Retaining Duren remains the Pistons’ top offseason priority and the team is “confident” an agreement will eventually be reached, a league source told Patterson. That same source said both parties hope to work out a deal that’s mutually beneficial, and “all signs” currently point to the All-NBA big man re-signing with Detroit.
Here’s more on the Pistons from Patterson:
- Signing Ausar Thompson to a long-term rookie scale extension is another offseason priority for the Pistons, according to Patterson, but it’s less pressing than reaching a deal with Duren, since Thompson won’t be a restricted free agent until 2027.
- Although Detroit looked into trading for several big-name players — including Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and Trey Murphy III — the team balked at the high asking price to make a move of that nature, multiple sources tell Patterson. Still, the front office likes the roster it has assembled, Patterson writes, and was pleased with the shooting help it acquired (Isaiah Joe, John Collins, Taurean Prince, and Gary Harris).
- The Pistons’ decision to trade Isaiah Stewart to Memphis was financially driven, according to Patterson, who points out that backup big man Paul Reed – who will earn a non-guaranteed $5.6MM salary – will make far less money than Stewart (a guaranteed $15MM) in 2026/27. Patterson also notes that Stewart had multiple public spats with the coaching staff in the playoffs over his limited playing time, though those incidents don’t seem to have factored much into the decision to move him.
- While the Pistons had some interest in re-signing Tobias Harris and briefly talked to him about a new deal, those initial conversations revealed a gap in valuation, a source tells Patterson, which led to Harris signing a two-year, $31MM deal with San Antonio. Detroit, meanwhile, gave Collins a three-year, $51MM contract via sign-and-trade, but only the first season is guaranteed.
- Detroit is optimistic Collins can be a long-term answer at power forward, per Patterson. He’s six years younger than Harris and the team thinks his ability to be both a lob threat and floor spacer should complement its young core of Cade Cunningham, Duren and Thompson.
- Patterson gets the sense that the Pistons are unlikely to make another significant external addition this offseason and wouldn’t be surprised if the opening night roster is similar to how it looks now.
And-Ones: 2028 Olympics, Satoransky, NBA Europe, Vegas
Reporting earlier this week revealed the assistant coaches expected to become part of Erik Spoelstra‘s USA Basketball staff for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, but it will be a while before we learn which players will be representing Team USA at that event.
Still, it’s not too early to speculate, according to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports, who spoke to scouts, front office staffers, and media members to try to get a sense of what the 12-man U.S. roster in 2028 might look like.
Breaking down Team USA’s options, Helin lists Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Jayson Tatum, Cade Cunningham, Cooper Flagg, and Bam Adebayo as probable locks, assuming they’re healthy. Chet Holmgren, Jalen Johnson, and Evan Mobley are among the best bets to join them, says Helin, writing that most other contenders should be viewed as “bubble” candidates.
Helin places 11 players in that last group, including Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, and Devin Booker. While Kevin Durant is also technically on the “bubble” list, Helin doesn’t expect USA Basketball to turn down the four-time Olympic gold medalist if he decides he wants to play at age 39.
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA guard Tomas Satoransky has signed a one-year contract with Hapoel Tel Aviv, the EuroLeague club announced in a press release. A six-year NBA veteran, Satoransky has been out of the league since 2022 but has continued to thrive as a role player overseas. The Czech guard has spent the past four seasons with Barcelona and averaged 7.1 points and 4.3 assists per game with a .494 3PT% in 35 EuroLeague appearances in 2025/26.
- Buss Sports Capital – the sports investment firm run by former Lakers minority owners Joey Buss and Jesse Buss – is looking to become part of an NBA Europe ownership group, according to reports from Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter links) and Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter links). Woike says the Buss brothers are eyeing markets like London, Manchester, Lyon, and Rome, while McMenamin points out that they have a preexisting relationship with Tony Parker, whose Lyon-based ASVEL club has shown some interest in the NBA’s European league.
- Katie Baker of The Ringer breaks down a crowded field of potential bidders for a Las Vegas-based NBA expansion franchise, evaluating which prospective owners should be considered serious candidates and which are longer shots.
Siegel’s Latest: Durant, Sengun, Pistons, Brown, Duren
While there’s no indication to this point that the Rockets have shown interest in trading either player, they’ve received inquiries this offseason on forward Kevin Durant and center Alperen Sengun, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.
As Siegel outlines, the Pistons and Celtics had interest in engaging with the Rockets on a three-team scenario that would’ve sent Durant to Detroit, Sengun to Boston, and Brown to Houston, but the Rockets weren’t interested in the concept and it didn’t go anywhere. Houston never actively pursued Brown, Siegel writes, echoing other reports, and he says Detroit didn’t make any headway in direct talks with the Rockets about Durant.
The Pistons also had interest in pursuing both Austin Reaves and Coby White in free agency, per Siegel, but didn’t get the chance to make a pitch to either player, as they both agreed to re-sign with their current teams (the Lakers and Hornets, respectively) well before June 30.
Detroit maintains interest in Durant, and Siegel suggests that interest might be mutual, noting that the veteran forward would be intrigued by playing alongside Cade Cunningham. However, even though Durant isn’t considered “untouchable” in Houston, it’s unclear whether the Rockets will seriously explore a trade before the 2026/27 season tips off.
Here’s more from Siegel:
- When the Hornets inquired on Brown, they were prepared to discuss a package that would’ve included Naz Reid, Miles Bridges, and some form of draft compensation, sources tell Siegel, but the Celtics sought Brandon Miller and/or more draft capital than Charlotte was willing to offer. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype previously reported that Charlotte put Reid and Bridges on the table in talks for Brown before agreeing to send Bridges to Phoenix. Brown, who was being kept apprised of which teams Boston was talking to, expressed that he wouldn’t want to be dealt to Charlotte, Siegel reports.
- The Nuggets also looked into a potential Brown deal, but they had very few draft assets to offer and their preliminary conversations involved Cameron Johnson and Aaron Gordon rather than Jamal Murray, so the Celtics looked elsewhere, Siegel writes.
- Restricted free agent center Jalen Duren and his representatives view him as a maximum-salary player, whereas the Pistons prefer not to exceed an average annual value of about $35MM on a long-term contract for the big man, says Siegel. Because Duren made an All-NBA team, Detroit could technically pay him up to five years and $287MM ($57.4MM annually), whereas a max offer from a rival team would come in at $177.3MM over four seasons ($44.3MM per year). No team has the cap room necessary to put that sort of offer on the table at this point though, hurting Duren’s leverage.
Pistons Rumors: Duren, Cunningham, Sasser, Powell, Kawhi
Although Jalen Duren was reportedly underwhelmed by the Pistons‘ initial contract offers in restricted free agency, rival teams who spoke to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype believe the 22-year-old center will ultimately remain with Detroit.
Duren made the All-NBA third team and was runner-up for Most Improved Player but is coming off a disappointing playoff showing. He’s believed to be seeking around $40MM per year on his new contract, Scotto writes, while opposing teams project him to sign a deal in the neighborhood of the “mid-30s annually.”
The Pistons have long held a “strong desire” to retain Duren, and star guard Cade Cunningham hopes the team keeps him, league sources tell Scotto.
Here’s more from Scotto on the Pistons:
- While head of basketball operations Trajan Langdon publicly said the team wants to re-sign veteran forward Tobias Harris, a deal has not yet been reached ahead of the start of league-wide free agency on Tuesday. Harris, who turns 34 next month, is coming off a solid postseason run and is expected to draw interest from “several” teams if he reaches the open market, per Scotto. Jake Fischer previously reported that Detroit was “determined” to bring back Harris.
- Former first-round pick Marcus Sasser is on the trading block, according to rival executives who spoke to HoopsHype. The 25-year-old guard’s role was reduced in his third season and he’s entering the final year of his rookie scale contract, which will pay him $5.2MM in 2026/27. Sasser will be on track for restricted free agency next summer if he doesn’t receive a rookie scale extension this offseason.
- After agreeing to trade for Thunder sharpshooter Isaiah Joe, the Pistons seem less inclined to pursue Norman Powell in free agency, Scotto confirms. The Pistons have also been connected to Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, Scotto notes, but a trade for the veteran star seems unlikely because there have been “rumblings” around the league that the two-time Finals MVP wouldn’t be interested in signing a contract extension with Detroit, as Jake Fischer previously reported.
Pistons’ Langdon Talks Core, Offseason, Draft, More
While he didn’t specifically refer to them by name, Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon made it clear at a press conference on Thursday that the team views Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Amen Thompson as its core to build around, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscriber link).
Langdon repeatedly referenced Detroit’s three best players and said the team’s goal is to find the right mix of play-making and outside shooting to complement some of that trio’s weaknesses.
“Spacing the floor is huge and just giving more optionality on the offensive end to have more creativity,” he said. “When you have multiple ball-handlers and more shooting on the floor that opens it up for our three best players. Those are things we’re looking at. How do we fill that? Can we fill it with two players, do we fill it with one, or do we do it with a big, we’ll look at all those different options.”
Although Langdon reiterated the Pistons “really want” to re-sign Duren, he said contract negotiations with the restricted free agent center “haven’t been” progressing yet, according to Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. Thompson will also be eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason.
“Those will be conversations that will be had. But to be completely honest, you will never know how those conversations go,” Langdon said.
Here are a few more highlights from Langdon’s press conference:
- Langdon acknowledged that several players choosing to return to college due to lucrative NIL deals “thinned out the depth” of the 2026 class and expressed skepticism that a top shooter would be available at 21st overall, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “It’s pretty hard to find a good shooter at 21. They usually don’t get there,” Langdon said. “Maybe we can add play-making. For us, it’s who’s the best player is what we’ll look at. Does that player fit this environment? Does he fit the identity? Maybe it’s not next year, but in the future. We have players who’ll get expensive and we’re going to have to have players who hit and can help this team.” Langdon added that he expected the Pistons to either stand pat or move up in the first round and doesn’t anticipate moving down or out of the draft. “We feel we’re going to get a good player here,” Langdon said. “We think it’s still a good draft and we’ll find a good player at 21.”
- The Pistons are looking at several different options to upgrade their roster, but Langdon stressed that Detroit’s best chance at improvement will be in house. “We have player development plans for our guys. All of our guys will get better next year,” he said. “We’ll come back a better team. Overall, that’s the best way we’ll grow – internal growth.”
- Langdon stressed the team will be “very thoughtful and intentional” about roster moves with new contracts for Duren and Thompson (starting in 2027/28) on the horizon, Patterson notes. “That’s the tricky part, is trying to balance everything, trying to find things that fit,” Langdon said. “If it’s a trade, then it has to be a trade that we feel is worthwhile. We’re not going to go out and give out too many assets for a player. … Not having those assets down the road (can) hamper us in terms of making another move. We’re having internal thoughts and talks every day right now, the closer we get to that time.”
- The Pistons went from 14 to 44 to 60 wins over the past three years. After claiming the top seed in the Eastern Conference, they were eliminated by Cleveland in a seven-game second-round series. “I can’t sit here and say we don’t want to get better. Getting better means you’ve got to win the second round to get better,” Langdon said, per Langlois. “It doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve got to win 64 games. If we do that, it would be fantastic. We know we need to be more equipped in the postseason. We’re looking at adding pieces that accentuate our core three best players and if we do that, that’ll help us in the regular season and the postseason as well.”
- The Pistons are actively exploring ways to improve on the trade market, Sankofa reports in another subscriber-only story. Selecting an impact player at No. 21, making tangible upgrades to the team’s shooting and play-making, and being careful to not overpay Duren and Thompson would be an ideal offseason for Langdon, Sankofa writes.
Pistons Notes: Dosunmu, Duren, Thompson, Cunningham, Okorie
The Pistons pursued Ayo Dosunmu at the trade deadline, but the asking price was too high, Hunter Patterson of The Athletic reports. The Timberwolves gave up young guard Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round picks to the Bulls in exchange for Dosunmu and Julian Phillips. Dosunmu is headed to unrestricted free agency, which factored into Detroit’s thinking about not overpaying for the talented guard.
Patterson addressed a number of other topics in his mailbag article, including Jalen Duren‘s restricted free agency and potential trade targets for Detroit this summer.
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Despite his offensive limitations, Ausar Thompson is an irreplaceable core player as he becomes eligible for a rookie scale extension, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press writes. The Defensive Player of the Year finalist could command a contract similar to the one the Magic’s Jalen Suggs received, Sankofa continues. Suggs signed a five-year deal worth $150.5MM before the start of the 2024/25 season. ESPN’s Bobby Marks recently predicted a five-year extension worth $162MM for Thompson, given his ability to guard anyone on the floor. The front office is hopeful of getting both Duren and Thompson signed this offseason.
- Cade Cunningham‘s strong finish after suffering a collapsed lung late in the regular season added to his superstar trajectory, Sankofa writes for The Free Press. Cunningham averaged 28.1 points, 7.5 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 40.2% from three during the playoffs. Cunningham was named to the All-NBA First Team. He could meet the super-max (ie. Designated Veteran) criteria if he earns All-NBA honors again in 2027. That would make him eligible for a maximum-salary extension worth up to 35% of the cap instead of 30% on his next contract.
- The Pistons hosted Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie for a pre-draft workout on Wednesday, Patterson tweets. Detroit has the No. 21 overall pick but nothing in the second round, unless it makes a trade. Okorie could be a consideration at that spot — he’s currently ranked No. 27 on ESPN’s Best Available list. Okorie averaged 23.2 points per game in his one-and-done season with the Cardinal.
NBA Announces 2025/26 All-NBA Teams
The league has officially announced its three All-NBA teams, recognizing the top performers for the 2025/26 season (all Twitter links).
A total of 100 media members voted on the All-NBA teams, with First Team votes counting for five points, Second Team votes counting for three points, and Third Team votes counting for one point.
This year’s All-NBA teams are as follows (each player’s point total is noted in parentheses):
First Team
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder (500 points)- Nikola Jokic, Nuggets (500)
- Victor Wembanyama, Spurs (498)
- Luka Doncic, Lakers (482)
- Cade Cunningham, Pistons (414)
Second Team
- Jaylen Brown, Celtics (384)
- Kawhi Leonard, Clippers (277)
- Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers (276)
- Kevin Durant, Rockets (241)
- Jalen Brunson, Knicks (197)
Third Team
- Tyrese Maxey, Sixers (168)
- Jamal Murray, Nuggets (149)
- Jalen Johnson, Hawks (125)
- Jalen Duren, Pistons (121)
- Chet Holmgren, Thunder (87)
Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic, this season’s Most Valuable Player and runner-up, respectively, were the only unanimous first-teamers, with Wembanyama coming a single vote away — he had one Second Team vote to go along with 99 First Team votes.
Doncic and Cunningham each technically fell short of meeting the 65-game minimum required to be eligible for All-NBA and other major awards, but they appealed that ruling and were deemed award-eligible by the league. Doncic would have met the criteria if he hadn’t missed time due to the birth of a child, while Cunningham fell short after suffering a collapsed lung, so both players were granted “extraordinary circumstances” exceptions.
Notably, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, who played 61 games, also applied for an extraordinary circumstances exception. However, his request was denied, so his name didn’t show up on award ballots even though he likely would’ve been voted onto an All-NBA team if voters could’ve selected him. Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and LeBron James – who had made 21 consecutive All-NBA teams – were among the other superstars who didn’t meet the 65-game criteria.
Outside of the 15 players who made All-NBA teams, another dozen players showed up on at least one ballot, starting with Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who had 26 voting points (Twitter link).
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (14 points), Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (9), Cavaliers guard James Harden (6), Rockets center Alperen Sengun (6), Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (5), Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5), Heat big man Bam Adebayo (4), and Celtics guard Derrick White (3) all earned multiple votes, while Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg, Raptors forward Brandon Ingram, and Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley earned one Third Team vote apiece.
As usual, there are also financial implications worth noting related to the All-NBA teams. First and foremost, Duren will now be eligible to sign a contract with the Pistons that starts at up to 30% of the 2026/27 salary cap as a restricted free agent this summer. That means he could earn up to a projected $287.1MM over five years.
If he hadn’t made All-NBA, Duren’s maximum five-year contract with Detroit would’ve been worth a projected $239.3MM. Either way, the most a rival team can offer him is four years and $177.4MM.
Maxey and Cunningham are on their way to meeting the super-max (ie. Designated Veteran) criteria but would need to earn All-NBA honors again in 2027 to become eligible for maximum-salary extensions worth up to 35% of the cap instead of 30%.
Wembanyama is in a similar boat — despite making the All-NBA First Team and being named Defensive Player of the Year, he would need to achieve one of those feats again in 2027 in order to increase the maximum value of his next contract from 25% to the cap to 30% via the Rose rule. Wembanyama will be eligible to sign a rookie scale extension this offseason and is a lock to do so.
Paolo Banchero and Jalen Williams had Rose rule language in their maximum-salary rookie scale extensions, which were signed last offseason and will go into effect this July. They could’ve increased their respective starting salaries beyond 25% of the cap if they’d made an All-NBA team, but neither player did.
Interestingly, the maximum-salary rookie scale extension that the Thunder negotiated with Holmgren in 2025 did not include a Rose rule escalator, so the projected value of the big man’s contract (five years, $239.3MM) remains unchanged even though he earned a spot on the Third Team. It’ll go into effect this year and will be identical to Williams’ deal.
Finally, Edwards would have become eligible to sign a super-max extension with the Timberwolves during the 2027 offseason if he had been named to an All-NBA team this season. Because he didn’t qualify, he’ll need to make All-NBA next season in order to meet the performance criteria for a Designated Veteran extension.
Pistons’ Langdon Hopeful Of Re-Signing Duren, Extending Thompson
Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said on Tuesday he’s hopeful of signing both Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson to long-term deals this offseason, according to Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. Duren will be a restricted free agent, while Thompson will be eligible for a rookie scale extension.
Duren gained All-Star status for the East’s No. 1 seed but struggled during the postseason and at times was benched in the second half in favor of Paul Reed. Duren averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in 28.2 minutes per game during the regular season. He averaged 10.2 PPG and 8.5 RPG in 30.1 MPG during 14 postseason contests.
“First of all, J.D. had a fantastic season,” Langdon said. “All-Star, one of the biggest contributors to us being a No. 1 seed. Darn near 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. An incredible year and an incredible leap from last year to this year because of the work that he put in last summer and his focus. I have no doubt that we’ll put a plan together and he’ll attack it this summer, just like he did last summer, and he’ll come back a better player from his experience, not only during the regular season but also in the postseason just like all of our guys will. We look forward to coming together with his representative and getting a deal done, and for him to continue to be a Piston.”
The Pistons can give Duren a five-year, maximum-salary deal, though it seems likely that their offer will come in lower than that unless a rival suitor forces their hand. If the big man signs a offer sheet from another team, Detroit would be forced to decide whether to match it.
Reaching agreements with Duren and Thompson and still finding ways to upgrade the team’s offense will be tricky for Langdon. Both of those starters have offensive shortcomings.
“JD and AT will be expensive and once that happens, the optionality decreases,” Langdon said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “But right now, we have some things we can look at and we’ll look at everything and determine what things we can execute on to make us better. What things are the best path to go down now, not only for next year but building forward. This isn’t a one-year thing. The thing I’ve always said is sustainability in terms of being competitive. We have to keep that in mind, as well.”
Langdon chose not to make any major changes at the trade deadline. He’s also hesitant to read too much into the team’s Game 7 flop against Cleveland in the conference semifinals on Sunday.
“We’ll do a deep dive into what we feel made us successful and where we feel we came up a little short,” Langdon said. “A lot of people are looking at one game. If we would’ve won one game, you can’t say we’re going to play into one game of success, either. One game winning or losing can’t define how you’re going to move forward. We’ll take a holistic view of the roster. We’re still super young.”
Langdon wouldn’t commit to making a bold trade to improve the club. It’s no secret that the team could use a reliable secondary scorer and play-maker to ease the pressure off franchise player Cade Cunningham.
“I wish I was clairvoyant. I think so. You’re always going to iterate your team a little bit every year to get better. That’s the goal – to be a championship contender,” Langdon said. “We didn’t think it would come this fast. These questions about being a championship contender after year two. Two years ago when I took the job, nobody in here thought I’d be getting questions about championship contender two years after. Skipping steps, we don’t want to do that. And I don’t think we have.”
Retaining Tobias Harris, who will be 34 next season, is a possibility, but the veteran forward would likely have to take a pay cut from the $26.6MM he earned this season.
“Tobias has been great,” Langdon said. “We appreciate everything he’s brought. We hope we can bring him back. He’s somebody we’d love to put in a Pistons uniform.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Named 2025/26 NBA MVP
6:52 pm: Gilgeous-Alexander has officially been named MVP of the 2025/26 season, the NBA announced (via Twitter).
According to the league, the Canadian superstar received 83 of a possible 100 first-place votes and 939 total points (Twitter link). Nuggets center Jokic (634 points) was the runner-up, with more first-place (10) and second-place votes (48) than Spurs center Wembanyama, who finished third at 569 points.
Lakers guard Luka Doncic (250 points) was a distant fourth in voting, while Pistons guard Cade Cunningham was fifth (117 points).
8:57 am: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will win his second straight Most Valuable Player award, multiple sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). The formal announcement will be made Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime, just before the start of Game 7 of the Cavaliers–Pistons series.
The Thunder guard put up similar numbers to his MVP campaign from last year. In 68 games, he averaged 31.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists while shooting 55.3% from the field and 38.6% from three-point range. He helped Oklahoma City post a league-high 64 regular season wins and sweep its way through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
SGA is the 14th player in NBA history to claim back-to-back MVP honors and the first since Nikola Jokic did it in 2021 and 2022. Charania notes that he’s the first guard to win consecutive MVPs since Stephen Curry and the first backcourt player ever to average at least 30 PPG in a season while shooting better than 55% from the field. He also joins Michael Jordan as the only players to average at least 30 points and five assists while shooting 50% for four straight years.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored at least 20 points in every game he played this season, reaching a milestone previously only accomplished by Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor. His league-leading plus/minus rating of +788 for the season is far ahead of runner-up Victor Wembanyama, who was at +682.
Gilgeous-Alexander has a chance to move into the record book alongside Jordan, Bill Russell and LeBron James as the only players ever to win consecutive titles and back-to-back MVP trophies, per Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (Twitter link).
ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out that SGA currently ranks 34th in the league in salary, and that his current figure at 24.8% of the cap will dip to 24.6% next season (Twitter link). He’ll move near the top in 2027/28 when his super-max extension kicks in.
Jokic and Wembanyama are the other finalists for this year’s award. Although Charania’s report takes the drama out of tonight’s announcement, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press states that Jokic still has a chance to join Russell and Larry Bird as the only players ever to finish in the top two in MVP voting for six consecutive years (Twitter link).
Pistons Notes: Game 5, Thompson, Robinson, Huerter, TV
Tied at 103 in the final seconds of Wednesday’s matchup with Cleveland, the Pistons thought Ausar Thompson would be heading to the free throw line with a chance to with the game after he was knocked to the floor as he and Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen scrambled for a loose ball. However, no foul was called on Allen, with crew chief Tony Brothers explaining after the game that he and his fellow officials viewed the contact as incidental as both players went after the ball. Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff disagreed.
“He fouled Ausar,” Bickerstaff said, per Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscription required). “It’s clear. He trips him when he’s going for a loose ball. End-of-game situation, that’s tough.”
The no-call sent Game 5 to overtime, where the Cavaliers secured the victory and took control of the series — they’re heading back to Cleveland with a 3-2 lead and a chance to close out the series on Friday.
As disappointing as that last-second officiating decision was, the Pistons have to shoulder the brunt of the blame for the loss, Sankofa writes. Detroit held a nine-point lead with less than three minutes left in the fourth quarter, but they missed their last six shot attempts from the floor in regulation, allowing the Cavs to fight their way back.
“You’ve got that type of lead, man, in the playoffs,” Pistons guard Daniss Jenkins said. “We knew what game this was, how important it was. We can’t lose that win. We’ve gotta be better.”
The Pistons fell behind 3-1 in their first-round series vs. Orlando and won the next three games to advance. Bickerstaff remains confident in his team’s ability to pull off a similar comeback in this series.
“You’re going to have to choke the life out of this team,” he said. “We’re not gonna go down without a fight, we’re not gonna go down without kicking, punching, grabbing, clawing, and that’s just who we are. And we’ve been in this position before. And we were able to work our way through it. I expect our guys to be ready mentally to go out and compete at a high level, and bring this thing back here (for Game 7).”
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Trajan Langdon and the Pistons’ front office have faced some criticism for not making a move to add a more dangerous No. 2 offensive option to complement Cade Cunningham. Detroit’s lack of reliable scorers besides Cunningham was on display in Game 5, according to Hunter Patterson of The Athletic, who argues that the team’s ceiling is limited until those offensive shortcomings are addressed. As Patterson details, no team has been in more “clutch” games during the playoffs than the Pistons, but they have an offensive rating of just 91.5 in clutch time across those eight contests, with Cunningham (22 points on 7-of-14 shooting) outscoring the rest of the team (21 points on 8-of-26 shooting) in clutch situations.
- The Pistons were missing sharpshooter Duncan Robinson on Wednesday, as Jamal Collier of ESPN writes. Robinson sat out due to a lower back injury after initially being listed as questionable. Veteran wing Kevin Huerter, sidelined since Game 4 of the first round due to a strained left adductor, was active for Detroit but played just three minutes and went scoreless.
- The Pistons have a new local media television rights deal in place with Scripps Sports, the team announced in a press release. Beginning next season, WMYD TV20 Detroit will be the new home for Pistons games, which will be broadcast on free, over-the-air television. “This move is for our fans. They have been huge all season and throughout this playoff run. Their energy and support have lifted our team and helped fuel our resurgence,” Pistons owner Tom Gores said in a statement. “It’s a new era of Pistons basketball and we want to make sure that more people in Detroit and throughout Michigan can be part of the journey.” The Pistons were one of the 13 teams advised by the NBA to seek a new local TV deal with Main Street Sports Group headed for insolvency.