Pistons Notes: Jenkins, Rotation, Cunningham, Thompson
Pistons guard Daniss Jenkins has been one of this season’s biggest surprises, but he’s gone through a difficult stretch since receiving a standard contract on February 8. That changed on Tuesday against Washington as he was forced into a larger role as a result of an injury to Cade Cunningham, Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press writes in a subscriber-only story.
Jenkins entered the game at the start of the second quarter and posted 15 points, seven assists and two steals in 21 minutes. With Cunningham’s return date still uncertain, Sankofa notes that Jenkins will have an opportunity to reclaim his normal role before the playoffs begin.
“That’s what life is about,” he said. “Don’t get too high, don’t get too low. It’s a part of it. I shot out of a cannon and then you hit some rough patches. It’s all good, that’s what life is about. I take it on the chin and I keep working. I don’t shy away from nothing. Stay ready so when my number is called I do what I’m supposed to do.”
Sankofa notes that injuries to Jaden Ivey, Caris LeVert and Marcus Sasser gave Jenkins a shot at regular playing time early in the season, and he responded with several huge scoring performances. He quickly used up his 50 games of eligibility as a two-way player and was promoted shortly after the trade deadline passed. An extended slump followed, but he received reassuring words from coach J.B. Bickerstaff after being benched following a March 7 loss to Brooklyn.
“He just told me just to be me because that’s what got me this position,” Jenkins said. “Try to do nothing extra, try to do nothing different other than who I am. I just look myself in the mirror every day and I just stay with it, good, bad and ugly.”
There’s more from Detroit:
- Bickerstaff has been forced to tinker with his rotation because of injuries to Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart, who’s expected to miss at least another week with a strained left calf, Sankofa adds. Sasser and Kevin Huerter have been seeing rotation minutes lately after being kept on the bench through most of February, and backup big man Paul Reed has seen an increase in playing time with Stewart unavailable. “It’s one of those things that, unfortunately, we’ve dealt with a lot this season and had to call on different guys throughout the year,” Bickerstaff said after Tuesday’s game. “Tonight was an opportunity to do that, give guys the minutes, give guys the opportunities to see what they can do. It’s extremely important trying to find the right combinations for the different situations that we might face. And we’ll continue to grow.”
- Cunningham has already been ruled out of Thursday’s rematch with Washington due to a left back contusion, per Hunter Patterson of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- Ausar Thompson was limited to four points and three assists in 23 minutes on Sunday in his return to action after spraining his right ankle, notes Coty M. Davis of The Detroit News (subscription required). “Being on a minutes restriction is hard,” Bickerstaff said. “Trying to figure out how to keep him in a rhythm, getting back to playing with the group. His effort was great — his ability to defend was great. He is just working his way back. He’ll be fine.”
Pistons’ Cade Cunningham Exits Early Due To Back Spasms
Pistons All-Star guard and Most Valuable Player candidate Cade Cunningham departed his team’s game against the Wizards on Tuesday during the first quarter due to back spasms, according to Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press.
He asked to sub out with 6:40 remaining in the quarter. Moments earlier, Cunningham collided with Wizards rookie Tre Johnson when the two were attempting to corral a loose ball, according to Hunter Patterson of The Athletic.
Afterward, coach J.B. Bickerstaff did not provide an update on Cunningham’s condition or availability for upcoming games. Detroit defeated the lottery-bound Wizards 130-117 behind a career-high 36 points from its other All-Star, Jalen Duren.
Cunningham is averaging 24.5 points, 9.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists for the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons. He needs to play in at least five more games to meet the NBA’s 65-game rule regarding eligibility for major awards. Detroit has 14 regular season games remaining.
The Pistons play the Wizards in Washington, D.C. once again on Thursday before beginning a four-game home stand against Golden State on Friday. If Cunningham needs to miss some time, they will have to rely on Marcus Sasser and Daniss Jenkins to run the point. The duo combined for 24 points and 11 assists on Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, we’ve dealt with a lot this season and had to call on different guys throughout the year,” Bickerstaff said, per Patterson. “Tonight was an opportunity to do that, give guys minutes and give guys opportunities to see what they could do.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the Pistons announced that key reserve Isaiah Stewart would miss at least a week of action due to a calf strain.
“The most important thing is health and habits,” Bickerstaff said of approaching the postseason. “We’ve got to make sure, this month has been a lot of games for us, it will be a lot of games for us. So, making sure that we’re doing things right on the off days, how we’re recovering and all those things, to get guys opportunities to get on the floor, so that we can continue to work those habits. That’s priority number one for us.”
Pistons Notes: Cunningham, Duren, Sasser, Huerter, Stewart, Jenkins
Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff detailed during his pregame press conference on Friday his reasons why Cade Cunningham should receive the Most Valuable Player award.
“I wish I could (state Cade’s case MVP) with a better, stronger voice…I mean, he deserves it,” Bickerstaff said. “Right now, again, if the season were to end today, the best player on the team with the best win percentage, to me, is the guy that deserves to be the MVP.
“What he does for us on both ends of the floor; he doesn’t take nights, or times, or possessions off defensively. We’ll put him on the other team’s best perimeter player, and he’ll go down on the offensive end and score his 25 points but create for his teammates. He’s second in the league in assists and makes his teammates better also. And, then the game’s on the line, you can give him the ball, and he’s one of the best clutch players we have in this league. So, I’m hard-pressed to find a better example or statement of who the MVP should be.”
Cunningham is averaging 25.4 points, a career-high 9.8 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game for the East-leading Pistons, whose 44-14 record is the NBA’s best mark.
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- All-Star center Jalen Duren said he never wanted to leave the organization, even during its franchise-worst 14-win season in 2023/24. “That’s not my character. That’s not me. I’m super loyal,” Duren told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “I hang my hat on loyalty. I was raised on loyalty. These are my brothers, man. Honestly, I don’t just say that just because we’re all on the same team. I honestly love these guys. So, in my head, looking at it, I didn’t see a bad team. I was young. I knew we had pieces. We were just missing something. Experience would be the easy thing to say. We were just missing something. We were missing a lot, actually. But for me, I just never saw it as this is not going to work. I always knew that once we figured some things out, grabbed a couple pieces, established a culture, maybe we can be something.”
- Marcus Sasser and trade deadline acquisition Kevin Huerter haven’t cracked the rotation, but Bickerstaff said there will be opportunities for both players to earn minutes next month. “We got a heavy March, right? We got a ton of games in March where everybody will get an opportunity to play,” he said. “And because of our depth, we feel confident that we can still compete at a high level with the depth that we have and get those guys some chances to play.” Sasser played 11 minutes during Friday’s overtime win against Cleveland but didn’t score.
- Isaiah Stewart, who is still serving a seven-game suspension for his involvement in a pre-All-Star break brawl with Charlotte, says he patterns his game after Hall of Famer Ben Wallace, who earned four Defensive Player of the Year awards with Detroit. “He paved the way for us undersized guys,” Stewart told Vince Goodwill of ESPN. “I’m trying to live up to that and put my name somewhere positive in this organization.”
- Daniss Jenkins, who was promoted from his two-way contract with a two-year, $8MM deal earlier this month, hit three clutch free throws after getting fouled on a three-point attempt in the closing seconds of regulation on Friday. That allowed the Pistons to steal a game against the Cavs in overtime. “He’s been mature. I hate to say that, but it’s not surprising anymore what he’s done,” Bickerstaff said. “When his number has been called, whatever the moment has been, he’s been a productive for us and effective for us.”
Pistons Promote Daniss Jenkins, Waive Dario Saric
February 9: The moves are official, according to a team press release.
February 8: The Pistons are converting Daniss Jenkins from a two-way contract to a two-year standard deal using a portion of their bi-annual exception, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.
Jenkins will receive a two-year, $8MM contract, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). His salary will represent the largest single-season sum a two-way player has ever received on a conversion, Scotto notes.
The second-year guard’s new contract will feature a team option for 2026/27, Charania adds.
To make room on their standard roster, the Pistons are expected to waive veteran forward/center Dario Saric, sources tell Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (Twitter link). Hunter Patterson of The Athletic confirms Saric will be the odd man out (Twitter link).
Jenkins will now be eligible to play for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs. Two-way players are not playoff-eligible.
Pistons head of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said prior to Friday’s game that the team planned to promote Jenkins this weekend. Jenkins reached his 50-game active limit on Friday evening in the blowout victory over New York.
Jenkins reportedly turned down a two-year, minimum-salary contract offer near the end of January, which turned out to be the right call. The 24-year-old point guard recently told Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press that he was motivated by going undrafted out of St. John’s in 2024.
“If I’m being honest, and everybody knows I’m a very humble guy, but in college, most of these dudes that got drafted, what was the difference between me and them?” he said. “What? You tell me, what was the difference? For me, going undrafted is insanity to me, literally insanity, and that burns inside of me every single day.”
In 42 games this season (16.8 minutes per contest), Jenkins has averaged 8.2 points, 3.3 assists, 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 steals on .430/.391/.800 shooting. He has been Detroit’s primary backup behind Cade Cunningham for much of 2025/26.
The bi-annual exception, as its name suggests, is only available to teams once every two years. Detroit will not have access to the exception in ’26/27.
Saric is earning a guaranteed $5,426,400 this season, but most of that total was already paid by Sacramento, which traded him to Chicago on February 1. The Bulls sent him to the Pistons a couple days later in the deal that saw Kevin Huerter land in Detroit and Jaden Ivey in Chicago.
Saric, 31, only appeared in five games in 2025/26 after playing in 16 contests with Denver last season.
Pistons Notes: Jenkins, Trade Deadline, Buyout Market, Huerter
Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon stated on Friday that the team plans to sign two-way guard Daniss Jenkins to a standard contract prior to their road game against the Hornets on Monday. Jenkins reached his NBA two-way eligibility limit on Friday and displayed why the Pistons want him on the 15-man roster. He scored a team-high 18 points as the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons blew out the second-place Knicks.
Jenkins was “saved” for that matchup with New York after sitting out Thursday’s loss to the Wizards.
“I was really frustrated yesterday because I didn’t get to play,” Jenkins told Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “I hate missing games. I just wanted to come out and impact the game. We forgot about it, we flushed that game yesterday, but it’s still on my mind. It was definitely not a game that we should have lost. I just wanted to come out and impact the game like I always do. Just change the energy. My teammates played really well tonight. We all played a really good game and I just had to come in and do my job.”
Jenkins’ emergence made former lottery pick Jaden Ivey, who was dealt to Chicago, expendable. Jenkins is motivated by the fact he entered the league as an undrafted player.
“If I’m being honest, and everybody knows I’m a very humble guy, but in college, most of these dudes that got drafted, what was the difference between me and them?” he said. “What? You tell me, what was the difference? For me, going undrafted is insanity to me, literally insanity, and that burns inside of me every single day.”
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Other than acquiring reserve guard Kevin Huerter in the Ivey deal, the Pistons took a “stay the course” approach to the trade deadline. “There were some things, whether it was the other team pulling out or us just saying, now’s not the right time for that,” Langdon said, per Vince Goodwill of ESPN. “There were some things that I wouldn’t say, got close, that we thought about but didn’t execute.” Langdon is eager to see how his team responds in the postseason as likely the top East seed. “What are we going to do in the postseason? What’s our rotation, who are the guys that step up in crunch time,” Langdon said. “The hope is we give ourselves a chance to play meaningful basketball in the postseason and that’ll allow us to assess what this team is and who we are going forward.”
- Langdon wouldn’t rule out picking up a player from the buyout market if it’s a good fit, Hunter Patterson of The Athletic tweets. “We’ll always look at opportunities to get better,” he said. “We’ll definitely explore it, see who becomes available and if some of those players fit for us. We’ll keep looking to see if can get better if possible.”
- Huerter scored eight points in eight minutes against the Knicks. There’s no certainty he’ll be in the rotation but his outside shooting could prove valuable, Patterson writes. “He’s a complete basketball player,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He’s versatile in the things that he can do. Obviously, (he has) the ability to make shots. But he has the ability to make plays, he can play the pick-and-roll. He’s an elite cutter, understanding spacing. Just his ability to process the game as a whole. As a person he’s going to fit right in. He’s a great dude who understands the situation he’s coming into and what these guys have already accomplished. He’s not here to rock the boat by any means. He’s here to help and contribute, and we feel like his skill set can do that.”
- Huerter grew up as a fan of the Pistons, according to Sankofa. “Back when you’re growing up as a kid, whatever team is on TV are the ones you gravitate towards,” he said. “One of the first basketballs that I had was a Detroit Pistons basketball. Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, that whole team was one of my favorite teams. … I always liked the Pistons.”
Pistons Plan To Promote Daniss Jenkins This Weekend
Pistons head of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said on Friday that the team plans to promote two-way standout Daniss Jenkins to a standard contract over the weekend, per Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter video link).
Jenkins, who reportedly turned down a two-year, minimum-salary contract offer near the end of January, will hit his 50-game active limit on Friday against New York.
“We’re having conversations with (Jenkins’) agent about what that looks like going forward,” Langdon said. “We’ll convert him over the weekend and he’ll be a rostered player in our game in Charlotte (on Monday). At least that’s the goal, that’s the hope.”
Langdon praised the former undrafted free agent for the steady improvements he has made during his two seasons with the Pistons.
“Kudos to him, he’s worked his butt off,” Langdon continued. “All last season, playing a ton of games for Motor City (Detroit’s G League affiliate), we saw his improvement during the year. And I think everybody saw how he played in the Summer League in (Las) Vegas, and he just continued to improve.
“ … (He) had a great camp and he’s just continued this trajectory on getting better. When the opportunities came, he’s taken advantage of them.”
Jenkins has been the Pistons’ primary backup point guard for most of the 2025/26 campaign. Through 41 appearances, the 24-year-old is averaging 7.9 points, 3.3 assists, 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 steals in 16.8 minutes per game, with a shooting slash line of .421/.385/.797.
Detroit still has a full 15-man roster after the trade deadline, but veteran big man Dario Saric, who was acquired along with Kevin Huerter in a deal with Chicago, seems likely to be on the chopping block to make space for Jenkins.
Sixers’ Walker First Two-Way Player To Reach Active Game Limit
The Sixers played their 50th game of the season on Tuesday in Golden State and forward Jabari Walker has been active for all 50 of them, making him the first player on a two-way contract to reach his active game limit this season.
A player on a two-way deal is ineligible to be active for more than 50 regular season games (or a prorated portion of that 50-game limit, if he signs after the season has begun). That means Walker will have to be promoted to a standard contract if Philadelphia wants to continue playing him.
The 76ers may have cleared a path for Walker to get a spot on the 15-man roster when they agreed to trade Jared McCain to Oklahoma City earlier today. That move moved Philadelphia below the luxury tax line by about $3MM, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks, which gives the team more than enough flexibility to sign Walker to a standard deal without going back into the tax.
The Sixers will probably wait until after the trade deadline to officially promote Walker to ensure they don’t need that open roster spot for a separate deal, but it seems likely it will just be a matter of time before he gets his promotion. Philadelphia also seems likely to convert another two-way standout, Dominick Barlow, to a standard contract in the coming weeks, but that’s not as pressing a concern, since Barlow still has 10 games before he reaches his own limit.
Still, the 76ers would have to maintain a full 15-man roster in order to continue using Barlow, since they’ve hit their “under-15” limit for two-way players — teams can only use their two-way players for a combined total of 90 games while they’re carrying fewer than 15 players on standard contracts. Philadelphia, which has been carrying just 14 players for most of the season, recently reached that 90-game limit.
Even if they promote Walker, the Sixers will likely dip back below 15 players, since Charles Bassey‘s 10-day contract expires on Thursday, so it may make sense for the club to just promote both its two-way standouts sooner rather than later.
While we wait to see what the Sixers’ plan is, it’s worth noting that several other two-way players are just one game away from reaching the limit of 50 active games and will need to be converted to standard deals soon if their teams want to keep using them.
Spencer Jones of the Nuggets, Daniss Jenkins of the Pistons, Pat Spencer of the Warriors, and Chris Youngblood of the Thunder are each at 49 active games entering Wednesday’s action, tweets Marks.
Daniss Jenkins Reportedly Declined Two-Year Deal From Pistons
Second-year guard Daniss Jenkins recently declined a two-year, minimum-salary contract offer from the Pistons, report Jake Fischer and Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
Jenkins, 24, is currently on a two-way deal and soon needs to be converted to a standard contact to remain eligible to play, as he’s only three games from his 50-game active limit after Friday’s win at Golden State. To be clear, the two-year offer would have covered the remainder of 2025/26 as well as 2026/27.
However, there’s still an expectation that Jenkins will come to a more lucrative contract agreement with Detroit, according to Fischer and Stein, who cite Ajay Mitchell (three years, $9MM with Oklahoma City) and Miles McBride (four years, $12MM with New York) as points of reference.
An offer above the minimum would require the Pistons to use the bi-annual exception, as they spent their entire non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Caris LeVert in the offseason. Bi-annual offers are limited to two years.
If the two sides are unable to reach an agreement in the short term, Fischer and Stein hear the 24-year-old is expected to receive multiyear offers in restricted free agency this summer. The Pistons would have the right to match any potential offer sheet Jenkins signs in that scenario.
Jenkins has been a rotation regular for Detroit, averaging 7.7 PPG, 3.4 APG, 1.7 RPG and 0.9 SPG on .418/.386/.787 shooting in 39 games (16.7 MPG). He’s had some memorable performances this season and has a reputation as a solid defender.
It’s worth noting that Detroit currently has a full 15-man standard roster and the team would have to make at least one change to convert Jenkins’ contact. Stein previously reported the promotion was likely to occur after the February 5 trade deadline, enabling the Pistons to maximize their financial and roster flexibility.
Although the Pistons have been signaling for weeks that they don’t plan to make a major move ahead of the trade deadline, they continue to weigh the possibility of pursuing wing scorers like Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. or Hornets forward Miles Bridges, according to Fischer and Stein. However, there’s no indication Detroit has been in active discussions about those players.
Fischer and Stein hear Charlotte wants at least one first-round pick for Bridges, while Brooklyn “is known to be seeking more than that” for Porter.
Spencer Jones Among Two-Way Players Nearing Active-Game Limit
Second-year forward Spencer Jones has emerged as a key part of the Nuggets‘ rotation this season, starting 31 games and averaging 23.5 minutes per night for the Western Conference’s No. 3 team. However, Jones’ two-way contract only allows him to be eligible for up to 50 regular season games and he’s just three away from that limit — he has appeared in 43 contests and was a DNP-CD in four more early in the season.
While the Nuggets have let Jones and his representatives know that they want to promote him to the standard roster, the 24-year-old is also aware he may run out of games before that happens, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required).
“You want to figure out, where you’ve got a championship push, everything you need to make that push. So yeah, I always knew the decision wasn’t going to be until the (trade) deadline, (that it) won’t be decided until around then,” Jones said. “I may run out of games before then. So they’ve mentioned the possibility of sitting out one or two just ’cause. So we’ll see how it pans out.”
Denver has an open spot on its 15-man roster, so the front office could convert Jones’ contract today without making a corresponding move. However, the Nuggets will likely want to hold that spot open for a few more days to maximize their roster flexibility at the trade deadline.
The Nuggets are also operating above the luxury tax line by about $400K and have reportedly made it a priority to finish this season as a non-taxpayer. That means Jones might have to wait for his promotion until after Denver makes a move to shed a little salary.
If they were to trade one of their lowest-paid players without taking back any salary, the Nuggets could sign Jones and remain below the tax line due to the gap between a full-season and prorated salary. For instance, Hunter Tyson‘s deal features a $2,221,677 cap hit, whereas a minimum-salary contract for Jones would count for just $871K as of February 6 (Denver could also use a portion of its mid-level exception to sign Jones for more than the minimum).
“Whatever happens with Spence, he’ll be fine. What he’s done and what he’s put on tape is a professional basketball player that belongs in a rotation,” head coach David Adelman said. “And he’s earned it. … We’ll figure it out. What that means, I don’t know. And those are Ben (Tenzer) and Jon (Wallace) questions; we’ll have that conversation with them. But we’ll do the best we can do for (Jones) and for the whole roster as we go forward.”
As Durando points out (via Twitter), Jones got a bit of a reprieve when the Nuggets had a game postponed last Sunday and rescheduled for March. But Denver still plays four times between now and next Thursday’s deadline, so if the club isn’t ready to promote Jones until after the deadline, he’ll have to sit out one of those four contests.
There are several other two-way players around the NBA who are nearing their active game limits. Here are the players who are within 10 of the limit, with the number of games they have remaining noted in parentheses:
- Chris Youngblood, Thunder (2)
- Pat Spencer, Warriors (3)
- Jabari Walker, Sixers (3)
- Note: The Sixers have reached their limit of 90 “under-15” two-way games and must maintain a full 15-man standard roster to use their two-way players.
- Daniss Jenkins, Pistons (4)
- Johnny Juzang, Timberwolves (4)
- Nae’Qwan Tomlin, Cavaliers (5)
- Sidy Cissoko, Trail Blazers (7)
- JD Davison, Rockets (8)
- Ryan Nembhard, Mavericks (9)
- Caleb Love, Trail Blazers (10)
- Kobe Sanders, Clippers (10)
Pistons Notes: Keys To Success, Holland, Grades, Stewart, Duren
The Pistons will reach the midway point of the season on Monday with a solid grip on the top spot in the Eastern Conference. How have they achieved that status? In a subscriber-only story, The Detroit Free Press’ Omari Sankofa II breaks down three key elements to their success.
Sankofa highlights the Pistons’ defensive rating, points in the paint, and efficiency rating — they rank second in the league in each of those categories. Sankofa adds that the Pistons have won at least 30 of their first 40 games for just the second time in franchise history (along with 2005/06) and are on pace to win more than 60 games.
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Key reserve and 2024 lottery pick Ron Holland is questionable to play in Monday’s showdown with the Celtics due to an illness, Hunter Patterson of The Athletic tweets. The Pistons and Celtics hold the top two spots in the Eastern Conference. Holland is averaging 8.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.4 steals in 21.1 minutes per game this season.
- As you might expect, Sanfoka gives out a lot of high midterm grades to the members of the roster. Isaiah Stewart and Daniss Jenkins got As, while Jalen Duren earned an A-minus. What about Cade Cunningham? He gets a B-plus — his subpar three-point shooting dragged down his grade — and no one got anything lower than a B-minus.
- Speaking of Stewart and Duren, “Dawg Pound” is now painted above their lockers in Detroit’s home arena. Why? The Athletic’s Fred Katz interviews the big man duo to explain the mentality they take on and off the court.