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Clippers sign Reggie Jackson

The L.A. Clippers signed free agent guard Reggie Jackson today.

“Reggie is a proven playmaker and scorer, and we are looking forward to adding his experience and creativity to our team,” said Frank.

Jackson, 29, appeared in 14 games for the Detroit Pistons this season, averaging 14.9 points, 5.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 27.2 minutes. The 6’3”, 208-pound guard holds career averages of 12.9 points, 4.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 544 appearances across eight NBA seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit. Before being selected by Oklahoma City with the 24th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Jackson played three collegiate seasons at Boston College, where as a junior he was named first-team All-ACC.

Pistons waive Reggie Jackson, as part of buyout agreement

The Detroit Pistons and Reggie Jackson have agreed to part ways, completing a buyout agreement today. The Pistons therefore waive Jackson.

The Pistons originally acquired Jackson in a February, 2015 trade with the Thunder. As a Pistons, Jackson averaged 16.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game, shooting .425 from the field and .354 from three-point range in 299 games (293 starts).

According to the Detroit Free Press, Jackson “was in the final year of a five-year, $80 million deal signed in 2015, and making $18 million this season.”

Jackson has spent much of this season limited due to injury, and has already missed 43 games in 2019-20.

Jackson’s career high in scoring with Detroit was 40 points, in a November, 2015 game against the Trail Blazers.

The Detroit News had this to say: “After Drummond was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Jackson was one of the last vestiges of the Van Gundy era; the only remaining players from that group are Luke Kennard — who becomes the longest-tenured Pistons player — Blake Griffin and Langston Galloway. Galloway is in the final year of his contract and Kennard was rumored to be in trade talks before the deadline.”

Assuming he clears waivers, the veteran guard, per multiple reports, is expected to sign with the Clippers.

Pistons forward Blake Griffin out after knee surgery

Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin had knee surgery today and will be out for an indefinite period of time.

The team says that Griffin underwent a successful arthroscopic debridement of his left knee.

A six-time All-Star, Griffin is having an extremely disappointing season, averaging 15.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per outing.

Here’s the Detroit News reporting:

Griffin has struggled this season, missing the last four games; he last played in the loss San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 28, finishing with 12 points on 3-of-16 shooting — with 3-of-10 on 3-pointers. He missed the remainder of the western trip, including a notable matchup against his former team, the Los Angeles Clippers, on Jan. 2.

Last season, Griffin had the highest production, posting a career-best 24.5 points, along with 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists and was voted third-team All-NBA. Following a surgical procedure last summer, Griffin was expecting to return in a similar form, but he had setbacks, causing him to be limited in the preseason and then to miss the first 10 games of the regular season…

Griffin is in the third year of a five-year contract worth $173 million.

The Pistons are 13-24 this season, and face major decisions to make in regard to Andre Drummond, who openly plans to test free agency this summer. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they were to make a huge trade or two in the coming weeks, before February’s trade deadline.

Will the Pistons trade Andre Drummond?

 

 

 

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The Pistons are going nowhere fast this season, and Andre Drummond can opt out of his contract this summer. It will cost Detroit a ton of money to keep him. Naturally, this leads to trade speculation.

Here’s ESPN.com with an update:

Drummond, who has spent his entire eight-year career with the organization, did not hesitate when asked why he would like to stay in Detroit.

“I’m not a quitter, for one,” Drummond said after scoring 14 points and grabbing 18 rebounds in Saturday’s 111-104 win over the Golden State Warriors. “I was never brought up to be a quitter. If I start somewhere, I try to finish there, try to complete the mission, which is to win a championship here. It will never be me that wants to go anywhere … I love being here. I would love to play here the rest of my career.”

The Pistons are 13-23 this season. Drummond is putting up big stats, but Blake Griffin is having a very disappointing season, guards Derrick Rose and Luke Kennard are getting buckets, but there isn’t much else to write home about. The team has tough decisions to make. A rebuild is clearly necessary, and whether it should include Drummond on a massive new contract or not is up for debate.

Pistons guard Luke Kennard out with knee injury

In yet another indication of how a rough Pistons season is going, shooting guard Luke Kennard will miss the next two weeks with bilateral knee tendinitis.

Kennard will begin a treatment regimen and be re-evaluated for a return to action on January 7.

The Pistons are 11-20 this season, which is the 11th best record in the Eastern conference. Kennard this season is scoring 15.8 points per game, which tied him with Blake Griffin for the team’s third-leading scorer. The guard has started 25 ofhis 28 games played.

Andre Drummond hit by allergic reaction to avocados

Yesterday in Mexico City as part of the NBA’s Mexico City Games 2019 mini-trip, the Pistons lost to the Mavericks, 122-111. Detroit center Andre Drummond put up nice numbers, shooting 10 of 14 for 23 points, 15 rebounds and three steals. But he almost didn’t play, due to an allergic reaction to avocados, served at a restaurant that needs to review its ability to act as a responsible establishment. Here’s the Detroit News reporting:

“I went to a restaurant and asked for some ceviche and I know people put avocadoes in ceviche. I asked the lady four times and my friend knows Spanish and I had him ask her too,” Drummond told The Detroit News. “She said there wasn’t any avocado in there. I said, ‘Are you sure?’ before she brought out the food.

“The food comes out and my plate is green. I asked my friend: ‘Ask her again if there’s avocado in there because my plate is green.’ I wasn’t trying to eat it if there’s avocado in there. She said no.

“I started devouring it and I get to almost the bottom of the plate and I see a big strip of avocado in there. Three or four minutes later, my throat starts to close, everything starts to itch, and my eyes start watering.”

I wouldn’t mind learning the name of that restaurant. To avoid ever eating there.

It’s fortunate that Drummond quickly overcame the allergy.

 

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Blake Griffin must play better, says Blake Griffin

The Detroit Pistons are 4-10, which ties them for the second worst record in the Eastern conference through yesterday’s games. They are on a five-game losing streak.

It’s still early in the season, and rattling off a few quick wins would vault them up in the standings. And power forward Blake Griffin, who has been injured, has only played in three games so far. His stats have been disappointing in those contests: 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, shooting 34.8% FG.

Per the Detroit Free Press, here’s what Griffin said about it:  “I just got to be better… I can’t play the way I’ve played the last two games and expect us to win. I know people make more of a deal about numbers than I do, but it’s all encompassing, doing everything or not doing some of the things I’m doing will help us win… I fully take (the blame for) these last two. I just got to be better.” 

Tons of players are rusty merely a few games in after a return from injury. We’ll look at Griffin more closely in the coming 1-2 weeks.

 

Pistons injury updates on Glenn Robinson III and Ish Smith

Detroit Pistons injury updates on Glenn Robinson III (left ankle sprain) and Ish Smith (right adductor tear).

Glenn Robinson III has resumed basketball activity and is advancing on-court work this week with the goal to be ready for a return to action sometime during the club’s upcoming four-game road trip. That trip begins Friday at Indiana.

Ish Smith’s rehabilitation from an adductor tear has progressed to limited on-court basketball activities including strength work, light running and light shooting. His progression will continue to be monitored over the next 2-3 weeks with a gradual load increase and escalation towards full basketball related activity.

Pistons guard Ish Smith injured

Pistons guard Ish Smith injured

An MRI has revealed that Detroit Pistons guard Ish Smith has suffered a right adductor muscle tear. The injury occurred in the second quarter of the Pistons game at Milwaukee on December 5. Smith will be out and reassessed in two weeks.

Now in his 9th NBA season, Smith in 2018-19 is averaging 9.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 22 games.

According to the Detroit News, “it’s the third injury to the Pistons’ backcourt, along with Reggie Bullock (left ankle sprain) and Luke Kennard (right shoulder sprain). Kennard has returned and played in the last two games but has been ineffective as he’s tried to gain his game speed and timing back.”

Pistons winning, Blake Griffin leading

The Detroit Pistons are on a 5-game winning streak, and their 13-7 record this season is 4th best in the Eastern conference through Saturday’s games. The season is still young, but there is reason for optimism in Detroit. Here’s the Detroit News with more on the team and especially Blake Griffin, who has stepped up:

Detroit sports fans have seen this movie before: The Pistons get off to a hot start and look like a playoff team for the first part of the season, only to wither and miss the postseason. It’s been the narrative for the past few years — most recently last season, when they opened with a 14-6 record and became a national storyline, only to fizzle and miss the playoffs for the second straight year.

With a five-game win streak, including Saturday’s 111-102 victory over the Golden State Warriors, the Pistons have an opportunity to change the story. There’s plenty of room for growth, as seen by the array of blue and gold jerseys rooting for the two-time defending-champion Warriors at Little Caesars Arena…

The biggest reason to believe this time is the play of Blake Griffin, who’s putting up All-Star numbers: 24.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists, while hitting 36 percent on 3-pointers. After getting acclimated to the team in the second half of last season, Griffin has assumed the mantle of lead dog on the sled — and the Pistons are ready to follow his example.

Griffin is taking the reins at the ends of games, forcing other teams to double-team him, which opens lanes and shots for others. What’s making it work is that his teammates trust Griffin’s decision-making.

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