Detroit Pistons Blog – Page 22 – NBA Blog

Stan Van Gundy out, Pistons will seek new president and head coach

The Detroit Pistons announced today that Stan Van Gundy will not return as the team’s President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach. The search process for new basketball leadership, including a new head of Basketball Operations and a new Head Coach, will start immediately.

“We have decided that this change is necessary to take our basketball organization to the next level,” said Pistons owner Tom Gores. “This was a very difficult decision and we did not come to it lightly. I am grateful to Stan for everything he’s done for the Pistons and for the City of Detroit. He rebuilt the culture of our basketball team, re-instilled a winning attitude and work ethic, and took us to the playoffs two years ago. He went all-in from day one to positively impact this franchise and this community.

“But over the past two seasons our team has not progressed, and we decided that a change is necessary to regain our momentum,” Mr. Gores said, emphasizing that Mr. Van Gundy, who has a year remaining on his contract, wanted to return.

“Stan is a competitor and he wanted to finish the job,” Mr. Gores said. “He retooled a roster that we think can be very competitive in the East. I know he’s disappointed, and that he cares deeply about his players, his staff, this organization and this city. He’s also a professional who will make sure this is a seamless transition, and someone I hope will be a friend and adviser to me long after this transition is completed.

“I have nothing but respect and love for Stan. I think he is a great coach and a great man, and his presence and leadership helped move this franchise forward,” Mr. Gores said. “Although we did not get the success both of us wanted, his efforts and leadership have put the franchise in better shape today than when he came on board.”

According to the Detroit News, “Van Gundy was one of the last remaining figures to hold both roles as team president and coach and although Gores said he saw value in that synergy, it was one of the things that made assessing them difficult. Van Gundy had one year remaining on his five-year deal worth $35 million.”

Van Gundy, who was named president of basketball operations and head coach on May 14, 2014, tallied a regular-season record of 152-176 (.463) in four seasons with the Pistons. He posted a 44-38 (.536) regular-season record in 2015-16 and led the club to its first postseason appearance since the 2008-09 season. As president of basketball operations, Van Gundy and general manager Jeff Bower initiated the re-signing of Andre Drummond, selected first round draft picks Stanley Johnson, Henry Ellenson and Luke Kennard and made notable trade acquisitions for Blake Griffin, Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris, Tobias Harris and Avery Bradley.

Fan reaction and discussion of this news is here

Will Pistons stick with Stan Van Gundy?

With a huge dual role as Pistons head coach and president of basketball operations, Stan Van Gundy runs the show in Detroit. Will the team take some of his responsibilities away? Part ways altogether? With the team’s lack of success in recent seasons, anything is possible. It’s worth keeping an eye on. Here’s Michigan Live reporting:

It has been a week since the Detroit Pistons season ended and there is no word yet on the fate of Stan Van Gundy, or whether he has met with owner Tom Gores.

Gores said during the April 9 home finale that he planned on meeting with Van Gundy this week, likely at the owner’s home in the Los Angeles area. Gores said changes need to be made after the team missed the playoffs for the third time in Van Gundy’s four seasons as coach and president of basketball operations but did not mention anything specific.

Van Gundy has one year remaining on his contract.

Three teams have fired coaches thus far – the New York Knicks (Jeff Hornacek), Orlando Magic (Frank Vogel) and Charlotte Hornets (Steve Clifford).

Full article

Pistons need serious rally to make playoffs

The Pistons got off to a nice start to the season, began to fade, traded for Blake Griffin, but have kept fading, and are now four games behind the Heat for the 8th spot in the Eastern conference. Detroit needs a serious rally starting fairly immediately if qualifying for the playoffs is something they aim to achieve this year. Here’s the Detroit News reporting after tonight’s results:

The result could be the death knell for the Pistons season: a 105-96 loss to the Heat on Saturday night at American Airlines Arena.

The loss is the second straight and eighth in the last 10 for the Pistons (29-34), who fell four games behind the Heat for eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 19 games remaining.

Blake Griffin had his best game since the trade to the Pistons, with 31 points, four rebounds and six assists and Andre Drummond added 22 points and 18 rebounds. Reggie Bullock was the only other Piston in double figures with 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Pistons needed more.

More defense. More scoring. More fight.

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Struggling Pistons currently 9th in East

The Pistons (28-32) have lost three straight games and through Monday’s action are in 9th place in the Eastern conference. That’s lottery territory. Sure, Blake Griffin is fairly new to the squad, but you think he and Andre Drummond want to sit there and look at the standings together and accept this? Well, they may have to. Here’s the Detroit News with the latest:

The buzzards are flying overhead, attracted by the Pistons’ carrion. In the midst of a horrendous skid of six losses in the last seven games, the Pistons are struggling and sinking, matching their low-tide mark for the season at four games under .500.

Seemingly, the blood is in the water and the Pistons have been looking for anything to grasp onto to avoid drowning in the remaining 22 games of the regular season. What’s more, of the final stretch of games, 13 are on the road, including nine of the next 12.

The tail end of that string is a 12-day, six-game western trip…

Coach Stan Van Gundy said Monday that Reggie Jackson could return ahead of the big road trip, a potential life preserver to help them stay afloat. He said Jackson is projected to return to practice ahead of the western trip, which could be the boost they need. Before Jackson’s injury, the Pistons were 19-14; they’re 9-18 since. There’s something to be said for that.

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Reggie Jackson still recovering from ankle sprain

Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson is entering the next stage of his rehabilitation this week in preparation for a return from a Grade 3 right ankle sprain suffered Tuesday, December 26 vs. Indiana.

Jackson has been cleared to begin light running, shooting and continued ankle strengthening exercises. The Detroit Pistons medical staff will monitor progress throughout the week in anticipation of beginning an escalation process towards resuming normal basketball activities.

No timeframe has been set for a return to practice or game action.

Pistons season has been a roller coaster

This has been a wild Pistons season, first with stretches of success and also plenty of losing, then a huge trade for Blake Griffin, and to make sense of some of this, here’s Michigan Live reporting:

Said forward Anthony Tolliver: “All the years I’ve played in this league this team has been a little bit more roller coaster as far as high highs and low lows.”

The Pistons reached the All-Star break at 28-29, 1 1/2 games behind the Miami Heat for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

It’s not where they hoped to be following a promising 14-6 start. But they’ve had issues offensively, have lacked intensity on defense on too many nights, have lost too often to bad teams and haven’t capitalized enough at home (19-12). Losing point guard Reggie Jackson to an ankle injury on Dec. 26 also has hurt.

The Pistons return to practice on Wednesday and host the Boston Celtics next Friday (7 p.m., Fox Sports Detroit). With 15 of their final 25 games on the road, reaching the playoffs for only the second time in nine years will be a challenge.

Blake Griffin downplays game vs Clippers

Blake Griffin’s Pistons play his former team, the Clippers, this evening. Here’s what Griffin said earlier in the day, per ESPN.com:

Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin downplayed any extra motivation in his first game facing the LA Clippers, telling ESPN just hours before tipoff Friday night that “they’re just another team we’re trying to beat.”

“I spent a lot of time with some of those guys in that locker room,” Griffin said ahead of the 7 p.m. ET tipoff in Auburn Hills, Michigan. “Shared some memories, some good, some bad. At the end of the day, we’re worried about our playoff position, we’re worried about keeping this ship moving forward.” …

Asked if he’s spoken to Clippers coach Doc Rivers since the deal went down, Griffin said “no” without elaborating.

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Grizzlies trade James Ennis III to Pistons

The Detroit Pistons today acquired forward James Ennis III from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for forward Brice Johnson and a 2022 second-round draft pick.

Ennis, 6-7, 210, is in his fourth NBA season and has averaged 6.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 20.4 minutes in 193 career games with Miami, New Orleans and Memphis. The 50th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks, Ennis is averaging 6.9 points, career-high 3.5 rebounds, career-high 1.1 assists and 23.4 minutes per game this season. Ennis has also averaged 8.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists in six career postseason games.

A 27-year-old native of Ventura, CA, Ennis played his junior and senior collegiate years at Long Beach State University after playing his freshman year at Oxnard Junior College and his sophomore season at Ventura College. As a senior, he averaged 16.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.3 blocks and 33.1 minutes in 33 games (32 starts). He shot .491 from the field and .834 from the free-throw line and led the team in scoring and rebounding. Ennis was named the Big West Conference Player of the Year, an Associated Press Honorable Mention All American and earned All-Big West First Team honors while leading the team to the Big West Conference regular season title.

Johnson (6-10, 230) has appeared in 12 regular season games during his two-year NBA career and has averaged 1.7 points and 1.3 rebounds in 3.8 minutes for the Los Angeles Clippers. The 23-year-old was traded by Los Angeles on Jan. 29 as part of a package that sent Blake Griffin to Detroit but was assigned to the NBA G League’s Grand Rapids Drive and did not appear in a game for the Pistons. A native of Orangeburg, South Carolina, Johnson was selected in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft following a four-year collegiate career at the University of North Carolina, where he was named a consensus First Team All-American as a senior.

Kemba Walker replaces Kristaps Porzingis in All-Star game, Andre Drummond replaces him in Skills Challenge

Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker has been named by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to replace injured New York Knicks forward/center Kristaps Porzingis on Team LeBron in the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, which will be played on Sunday, Feb. 18 at Staples Center in Los Angeles (8 p.m. ET; TNT/ESPN Radio).

In addition, 2018 NBA All-Star Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons will replace Porzingis in the Skills Challenge.

Walker becomes an NBA All-Star for the second time, having made his All-Star Game debut last year in New Orleans. The seven-year veteran is averaging 22.6 points, 5.8 assists and 3.4 rebounds in 51 games, joining new All-Star teammate LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers as the only Eastern Conference players who are producing that many points and assists per game.

The 6-1 Walker has scored at least 40 points in a game three times this season, one of eight NBA players to do so. He also ranks ninth in the NBA in three-pointers made with 141. On Feb. 4, Walker became the Hornets’ all-time leader in three-pointers made, passing Dell Curry’s record of 929.

Since Jan. 1, Walker has led Charlotte to a 10-7 record while posting the third-highest scoring average in the Eastern Conference (24.6 ppg) to go with an increase in assists (6.2 apg). For the season, the Hornets are 17.4 points per 100 possessions better when Walker is on the court than when he is off the court, the highest mark among all qualifying NBA players, according to NBA.com/Stats.

Porzingis will not play in the NBA All-Star Game or defend his title in the Taco Bell® Skills Challenge after sustaining a torn ACL in his left knee in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 6. A first-time NBA All-Star selection in his third season, Porzingis is averaging 22.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and a league-leading 2.40 blocked shots in 48 games. He was selected by NBA head coaches as an All-Star reserve and drafted to Team LeBron by James.

According to NBA rules, when an All-Star is unable to participate, the commissioner shall choose a replacement from the same conference as the player who is being replaced. Porzingis and Walker both play for Eastern Conference teams.

Bulls trade Jameer Nelson to Pistons for Willie Reed, then waive Reed

The Chicago Bulls in a trade today acquired Willie Reed and the right to swap second-round picks in the 2022 NBA Draft from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Jameer Nelson.

In an immediate subsequent move, the Bulls waived Reed.

Nelson, 6-0, 190, has averaged 11.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 28.0 minutes in 871 career NBA games with Orlando, Dallas, Boston, Denver and New Orleans. A 13-year NBA veteran, he’s played in 44 career playoff games and averaged 15.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists. Selected 20th overall in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Nuggets, Nelson was part of a draft-day trade that sent him to the Magic where he played 10 seasons, including from 2007-12 for head coach Stan Van Gundy. A 2009 NBA All-Star, he averaged a career-best 16.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.2 steals during the 2008-09 season and helped the Magic reach the 2009 NBA Finals.

A native of Chester, PA., Nelson played collegiately at Saint Joseph’s University where he was named the Consensus National Player of the Year as a senior (2003-04) by earning the Associated Press, Wooden, Naismith, Rupp, Robertson and Chevrolet Player of the Year Awards, after leading the Hawks to a perfect regular season (27-0), the school’s first #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a trip to the Elite Eight. Nelson averaged 20.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 3.0 steals as a senior in 32 games. He was also chosen as Player of the Year by The Sporting News, ESPN.com, SI.com and Foxsports.com and garnered First Team All-America selection and Atlantic 10 Player of the Year.

Reed, 27, was acquired from the L.A. Clippers on January 29, 2018. He saw action in three games with the Pistons and averaged 0.7 points and 0.3 rebounds. The 6-foot-11 center has career averages of 4.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 152 games with Brooklyn, Miami and Detroit. The former Saint Louis University product averaged 5.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 0.66 blocks and 14.5 minutes in 71 games with the Miami HEAT last season while shooting 56.8 percent from the field.