Quincy Miller

Pistons Acquire Steve Blake

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

7:01pm: The trade is official, according to a Brooklyn press release.

6:37pm: The Pistons have acquired Steve Blake from the Nets in exchange for forward Quincy Miller, Shams Charania of RealGM tweets. Charania adds that Brooklyn is likely to release Miller, whose salary is non-guaranteed if waived before Wednesday.

The Nets acquired Blake during last month’s draft in the Mason Plumlee trade. It was reported last week that the Nets were contemplating whether or not to try to negotiate a buyout with the point guard.  Blake salary is slightly more than $2.17MM this season. Detroit will absorb Blake’s salary into its cap space, since the team’s signing of Reggie Jackson has yet to become official, former Nets Executive Bobby Marks tweets.

The trade is another cost saving move for Brooklyn this offseason. The team waived forward Cory Jefferson earlier today and used the stretch provision to waive Deron Williams over the weekend.

D-League Notes: Powell, Nogueira, Jerrett

The D-League continues to be an integral part of the NBA’s process of developing younger players, as well as a source for locating hidden gems to bolster rosters during the course of the season. You can easily stay on top of which players are coming and going from the D-League all season by checking out our 2014/15 D-League Assignments, Recalls tracker, which is updated daily. You can also find this page anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.”

Here are the latest D-League moves:

  • The Raptors have recalled center Lucas Nogueira from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team announced on Twitter. This concludes Nogueira’s second trip of the season to the D-League, where in four contests he averaged 8.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in 20.0 minutes per night.
  • Kyle Anderson has been assigned by the Spurs to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Anderson’s fifth jaunt to the D-League this season.
  • The Mavericks have recalled Dwight Powell from the Texas Legends, their D-League affiliate, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com reports (Twitter link). Powell has made a dozen trips to the D-League this season.
  • Grant Jerrett has been assigned by the Jazz to the Idaho Stampede, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be the forward’s tenth sojourn of the season to the D-League.
  • The Pistons have recalled Quincy Miller from the Grand Rapids Drive, their D-League affiliate, Keith Langlois of NBA.com reports (Twitter link).

Eastern Notes: Rose, Miller, Price, Shved

Hornets assistant coach Mark Price agreed to terms with UNC Charlotte to become the program’s new head coach, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer reports. The 51-year-old replaces Alan Major, who resigned two weeks ago, Bonnell adds. Price has been an assistant with the Hornets for the past two seasons. When discussing the loss of Price, Hornets coach Steve Clifford said, “It’s not good for us, but that is how this profession works. If you hire good people they are going to get other opportunities,” Bonnell tweets.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Pistons assigned Quincy Miller to the Grand Rapids Drive, their D-League affiliate, the team announced via Twitter. This will be the second trek to Grand Rapids of the season for Miller, who inked a two year deal with Detroit earlier this month.
  • Derrick Rose is confident that he’ll return to action for the Bulls this season, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune tweets. “Oh yeah. I’m not worried about that. I don’t have any pain,” Rose said.
  • The Bulls‘ oft-injured point guard wouldn’t elaborate on his possible return date, notes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com (Twitter link). Regarding him returning by the playoffs, Rose said, “That would be the plan, but who knows? Whenever I’m ready to come back, that’s when I’m going to come back.
  • Alexey Shved had an MRI that revealed an incomplete fractured rib and he will be out of action indefinitely, the Knicks announced. The guard will be reevaluated in two or three weeks time. The regular season ends three weeks from tonight.

Pistons Sign Quincy Miller To Two-Year Deal

SUNDAY, 11:02pm: The Pistons still haven’t made a formal public announcement of the move, but the RealGM transactions log shows the signing as having taken place Friday.

10:34am: There’s been no formal announcement from the team, but Miller took to Twitter to declare that he is “officially a Piston,” and Keith Langlois of Pistons.com retweeted Miller’s dispatch. Charania indicates in a follow-up story that the figure approaching $1MM represents Miller’s full salary and not the amount of his partial guarantee, and he’s followed up with a tweet that confirms that’s the case. Miller is receiving a minimum-salary deal, as Charania clarifies, rather than one via the room exception.

THURSDAY, 7:45am: The deal is for two years and is partially guaranteed for nearly $1MM next season, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Since Miller would make $981,348 next season on a minimum-salary deal, it sounds like the Pistons are using a portion of their room exception to accommodate the signing, though that’s not entirely clear.

WEDNESDAY, 8:37pm: The Pistons intend to sign Quincy Miller for the remainder of the season, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The deal also includes a training camp invite for next season, but there doesn’t appear to be any guaranteed money for 2015/16 included, though that is just my speculation since training camp deals usually carry little or no guaranteed cash.

Miller, 22, has not appeared in a game for Detroit thus far, despite being on his second 10-deal with the club. The forward did notch six appearances for the Kings while on two 10-day contracts earlier this season. Miller averaged 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game for Sacramento, who had reportedly discussed inking him for the rest of the season, but no deal came to fruition.

The forward put up strong numbers in the D-League with Sacramento’s affiliate in Reno earlier this season, averaging 25.3 PPG and 7.6 RPG in 28.9 MPG across 15 appearances. Those stats served to rebuild Miller’s value after the Nuggets cut him at the end of the preseason after failing to find a taker for him in the trade market.

Central Notes: George, Miller, Jackson

Pacers fans may have to wait a bit longer than anticipated for Paul George to make his return to the court, Matthew Glenesk of USA Today writes. The swingman has been increasingly hesitant to discuss when or if he’ll be playing this season, Glenesk notes. The 24-year-old has been experiencing increased soreness in his injured leg as he attempts to work his way into game shape. George also worries about disrupting Indiana’s team chemistry, the USA Today scribe adds. “I’m on the fence,” George said. “Part of me is, they’re playing so well, they’ve come together, to shake up the chemistry and add another body, another player in there. I don’t want to be that guy that destroys what these guys have going.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

  • The Pistons wouldn’t have made the Reggie Jackson trade if Brandon Jennings hadn’t torn his Achilles tendon, and the team would likely match an offer of $13-14MM a year to Jackson when he’s a restricted free agent this summer, as MLive’s David Mayo writes in his mailbag column. Mayo also figures the team will target Paul Millsap this summer.
  • Quincy Miller showed the Pistons enough potential in practice that the team inked him to a deal that includes the remainder of this season, the summer league, and training camp next season, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “We’ve seen a couple of practices and we know what we had before,” Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said of Miller. “He’s a guy with size and length and athletic ability and can shoot the ball. He’s somebody that we want to see.
  • Van Gundy noted that inking Miller wasn’t a high-risk move on the team’s part, Langlois adds. “It’s not a huge investment for us,” Van Gundy said. “We’re getting it set up so we have him through the summer and through training camp next year, so we get a good, long look at him. He’s a guy that’s got great potential to develop. He’s a really, really hard worker, so we’ll see where it goes.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Franklin, Draft, Matthews

Based strictly on his skills on offense, Jahlil Okafor is likely to be the No. 1 overall pick in June’s NBA draft, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes. The Duke freshman doesn’t project as a good enough defender to become an impact pro on both sides of the ball, and he isn’t a good enough athlete to have an extremely high ceiling, Howard-Cooper adds. “His offensive ability on the box,” one NBA executive said of the draft appeal of Okafor. “I’m not a huge Okafor guy. But I think the general consensus is that he’s the best player in college basketball.” Both ESPN and DraftExpress have Okafor projected to be the first player selected in this year’s draft.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Jamaal Franklin, who currently plays for the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the Lakers’ D-League affiliate, is likely to receive an NBA callup soon, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Franklin appeared in 21 games for the Grizzlies last season, averaging 1.9 points in 7.7 minutes per game.
  • Karl-Anthony Towns has overtaken Okafor for the top spot in Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com‘s (Insider subscription required) latest mock draft.
  • Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said that he likes Quincy Miller, who is inked to a 10-day pact, and the team is considering signing him for the remainder of the season, Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press tweets.
  • Wesley Matthews is scheduled to undergo surgery to repair his torn left Achilles on Wednesday, the Blazers announced. Matthews, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, is out for the season courtesy of the injury.

Pistons Sign Quincy Miller To Second 10-Day

9:11am: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

8:40am: The Pistons and Quincy Miller have reached agreement on a second 10-day pact, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). His first deal with the team expired last night. Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said Friday that he was leaning toward bringing the forward back for a second 10-day stint, though Friday was the same day the team sent him on D-League assignment.

The former 38th overall pick didn’t appear in an NBA game for Detroit on his first 10-day contract with the club. He displayed strong rebounding while in the D-League over the weekend, grabbing 18 rebounds in 39.5 total minutes across two games. However, he didn’t hit the boards at nearly that rate in 15 games with Sacramento’s affiliate before he signed with the Pistons, grabbing 7.6 rebounds in 28.9 minutes per contest, and he’s averaged just 6.6 rebounds per 36 minutes for his NBA career.

Detroit has 14 other players signed through the end of the season, so the roster spot the team has earmarked for Miller is its only vacancy. The 22-year-old was reportedly set to discuss a deal for the rest of the season with the Kings after inking a pair of 10-day contracts with Sacramento earlier this year, but no such deal materialized. The Pistons would have to sign Miller for at least the balance of the season if they’re to renew their relationship once his second 10-day deal expires.

Eastern Notes: McGee, Pistons, Wittman

A third of the league is showing interest in JaVale McGee, whom the Sixers waived late Sunday, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Most of those 10 teams are playoff contenders, Spears adds, though their identities remain shrouded in mystery. The Clippers don’t appear to be one of them, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times hears they’re “not very” interested in the 27-year-old center (Twitter link). The teams that are in the mix for him envision him as a third-string center and wouldn’t shell out more than the minimum, a league source told John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com. There’s more from Gonzalez on McGee’s Sixers tenure amid the latest from around the Eastern Conference:

  • The Sixers were reluctant to waive McGee immediately after trading for him last month because they wanted to have a first-hand look to see if they would come away with a more positive impression of him than other teams have, a league source told Gonzalez for the same piece.
  • The Pistons recalled Quincy Miller from the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link). He averaged 11.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in just 19.7 minutes per contest during two games on his D-League stint, which began Friday. That was the day Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said he and his staff were leaning toward re-signing him to a second 10-day contract, notes Dave Pemberton of the Oakland Press (on Twitter). Today is the final day of his first 10-day pact.
  • There’s increasing pressure on Randy Wittman and others involved with the Wizards amid the team’s slump, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes in his weekly power rankings. Still, Wittman is in no immediate jeopardy, Stein cautions, and the team isn’t thinking about a coaching change, as J. Michael of CSNWashington.com wrote this weekend.
  • Lou Amundson hopes his stay with the Knicks will be “somewhat permanent,” in the words of Fred Kerber of the New York Post, who examines the positive effect the midseason addition has had. The pact he signed with New York after inking a pair of 10-day contracts runs only through the end of the season.

Pistons Sign Quincy Miller To 10-Day Deal

SATURDAY, 11:10am: The signing is official, the Pistons announced in a press release.

THURSDAY, 5:39pm: The Pistons agreed to sign Quincy Miller to a 10-day contract on Saturday, agent Jared Karnes tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Miller and the Kings had been set to talk after the All-Star break about a deal that would cover the rest of the season, but it appears there’s been a change of plans for the 38th overall pick in the 2012 draft. The Pistons are juggling their roster amid their deal to acquire Reggie Jackson.

The Pacers, Hawks, Spurs, Thunder and Clippers were all reportedly interested in Miller before he joined the Kings on a pair of 10-day deals, and he had a workout set with the Lakers earlier this season. He averaged 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game across six appearances with Sacramento.

Miller put up strong numbers in the D-League with Sacramento’s affiliate earlier this season, averaging 25.3 PPG and 7.6 RPG in 28.9 MPG across 15 appearances. That helped rehabilitate his value after the Nuggets cut him loose at the end of the preseason after failing to find a trade partner.

Kings, Quincy Miller To Talk Rest-Of-Season Deal

The Kings and Quincy Miller plan to engage in negotiations after the All-Star break about a deal that covers the rest of the season, league sources told Shams Charania of RealGM. The forward’s second 10-day deal expired Sunday, so the Kings will either have to agree to a contract for the balance of the season or leave him in free agency.

Sacramento has 14 players already signed through season’s end, as our roster counts show, so a new deal with Miller would limit the team’s flexibility. The Kings are one of the most active teams in trade talks, with rumors surrounding Nik Stauskas, Derrick Williams, Jason Thompson, Ramon Sessions, so it wouldn’t be entirely surprising to see the club wait until after the trade deadline to strike any deal with Miller, though that’s just my speculation. The team is also reportedly in talks with George Karl, who coached Miller in Denver, about taking over the head coaching job.

Miller, whom Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro drafted 38th overall when he was Nuggets GM in 2012, has seen 10.2 minutes per game in six appearances for Sacramento. He’ll represent the affiliate of the Kings in the forthcoming D-League All-Star Game.