Detroit Pistons Blog – Page 42 – NBA Blog

Pistons, Greg Monroe together for another season

Here’s the Detroit News with an update on a key Piston that will be around for another season but is likely to hit the road after that:

Greg Monroe has officially agreed to a one-year qualifying offer with the Pistons, according to a source.

Monroe, a restricted free agent, will be paid $5.5 million this season after not being able to agree to terms with the Pistons on a long-term contract. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent next July, free to sign with any team.

Pistons president and coach Stan Van Gundy has said Monroe was his first priority since taking over basketball operations this spring, and all indications were the Pistons were prepared to match any prospective offer sheet a suitor would’ve signed Monroe to, even a max contract.

Detroit Pistons name Otis Smith head coach of Grand Rapids Drive

The Detroit Pistons announced today that the club is appointing Otis Smith as head coach of its NBA Development League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive.

“I’m pleased to welcome Otis Smith to the Detroit Pistons organization as the head coach of the Grand Rapids Drive,” said Van Gundy. “Otis understands the vision and connectivity we want to create between the Detroit Pistons and the Grand Rapids Drive, our NBA D-League affiliate. His experiences as a general manager, director of player development and NBA player will pay dividends as he spearheads our efforts in Grand Rapids.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Otis into the Grand Rapids Drive organization,” said Steve Jbara, President of the Grand Rapids Drive. “His basketball and player development knowledge as well as his front office experience will be extremely beneficial moving forward with the franchise. There is no doubt in my mind that Otis is the right man for the job. Our fans and the local basketball community are in for a special season.”

Smith brings 25-plus years of basketball experience to the bench, most recently serving as the president of basketball operations and general manager of the Orlando Magic from 2010-12. Smith first joined Orlando as director of player development in 2003-04 and was promoted to assistant general manager in 2005-06 before being named general manager in May of 2006.

Under Smith’s leadership Orlando made the playoffs six times, recorded a franchise-record four straight seasons with 50-plus wins (2007-11), won three Southeast Division Titles (2007-10) and reached the NBA Finals in 2009. During his time with the Magic, the team accumulated a record of 299-177 (.628).

Prior to his time with Orlando, Smith spent the 2002-03 season as executive director of basketball operations with the Golden State Warriors. He also served as director of community relations/Warriors foundation for Golden State from 1999-02 and as community relations manager with the Orlando Magic from 1996-98. As a player, Smith appeared in 375 career NBA regular-season games with Denver, Golden State and Orlando, averaging 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 20.6 minutes.

Born and raised in Jacksonville, FL, Smith graduated from Jacksonville University in 1986.

Pistons sign Cartier Martin and Aaron Gray

The Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Stan Van Gundy announced today that the club has signed free agent forward Cartier Martin and center Aaron Gray to contracts.

Martin, a 6-7, 220-pound forward has career averages of 5.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 14.3 minutes in 220 games for Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, Golden State and Charlotte. Martin played in a career-high 59 games last season with Atlanta and Chicago averaging 5.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 14.7 minutes. He played in 53 games for the Hawks, scoring a season-high 17 points in 17 minutes at Dallas (10/30) and finished the year averaging 5.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game.

A native of Crockett, TX, Martin went undrafted in the 2007 NBA Draft out of Kansas State University after averaging 13.8 points (.399 3FG), 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 112 games during his four-year career. He had a breakout junior season, averaging career-highs in points (18.0) and rebounds (6.6) in 28 games and averaged 17.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 35 games as a senior. He has played professionally in Turkey, Italy and China, while also spending time in the NBA Development League with the Iowa Energy, where he was selected as a NBA D-League All-Star in 2009.

Gray, a 7-0, 270-pound center holds career averages of 3.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 12.1 minutes in 318 career games with Chicago, New Orleans, Toronto and Sacramento. He split time between Toronto and Sacramento during 2013-14 season, appearing in 37 games and averaging 1.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 9.6 minutes.

A native of Tarzana, CA, the 29-year-old spent the majority of last season with the Kings after being traded in December. Gray averaged 1.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 10.2 minutes in 33 games with Sacramento.

Gray played collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh from 2003-07, where he averaged 9.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.2 blocks and 20.9 minutes in 113 games. During his junior year with the Panthers, Gray earned the Big-East 2005-06 Most Improved Player and was named to the All-Big East First Team after averaging 13.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 blocks in 33 games. He followed up his junior season with a solid senior year, averaging 13.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 blocks in 36 games and again, was named to the All-Big East First Team.

Greg Monroe still lingering in free agency

Here’s the Detroit News with an update on talented young Pistons big-man Greg Monroe, who remains unsigned:

The Greg Monroe watch is entering its seventh week, with another seven weeks remaining before there’s a guarantee his restricted free agency will be resolved, one way or another.

While the Pistons big man has not pursued an offer sheet from another team, he has pursued sign-and-trade possibilities, and Monroe is “definitely” willing to take the one-year qualifying offer worth $5.3 million from Detroit in order to ensure his unrestricted free agency next summer, a source familiar with Monroe’s thinking told The Detroit News.

The source requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the contract talks. Monroe has until Oct. 1 to agree to a deal or sign the qualifying offer.

Part of Monroe’s thinking could be the Pistons’ likely stance of matching any contract offer, even if the max is well above their reported offer of four years and $50-plus million, similar to the deal Josh Smith signed last summer. Through his Twitter account, Monroe has disputed being offered a deal with that framework, or the five years/$60 million that has been reported by other outlets.

Detroit Pistons name coaching staff

Detroit Pistons Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations Stan Van Gundy announced Thursday that the team has named Tim Hardaway and Malik Allen as assistant coaches, Jeff Nix as assistant general manager and Quentin Richardson as director of player development. The club also added Jon Ishop as Director of Sports Medicine and Anthony Harvey as strength and conditioning coach.

“We are pleased to announce the addition of some quality people to our coaching and basketball operations staffs and the Detroit Pistons Organization,” Van Gundy said. “These are all highly-qualified individuals who bring a wide range of experience and will all play very important roles in helping to shape our vision.”

Hardaway enters his first season as an assistant coach with the Pistons. A 13-year NBA veteran, he averaged 17.7 points, 8.2 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 867 career games with Golden State, Miami, Dallas, Denver and Indiana. A five-time NBA All-Star, Hardaway also earned All-NBA honors five times (First Team once, Second Team three times and Third Team once). Drafted 14th overall by the Warriors in the 1989 NBA Draft, he was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 1989-90 and was a member of the USA Men’s Senior National Team which captured the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Hardaway played collegiately at the University of Texas at El Paso and was named the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Player of the Year in 1989.

Allen enters his first season as an assistant coach after a 10-plus year playing career in the NBA with Miami, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, New Jersey, Milwaukee, Denver and Orlando. He averaged 4.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 15.2 minutes in 478 career games and last played for the Orlando Magic during the 2010-11 season. A native of Medford, NJ, Allen played four seasons at Villanova University, averaging 9.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in 125 career games.

Richardson enters his first year as director of player development. A 13-year NBA veteran, Richardson was the 18th overall pick of the 2000 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. In 783 career games, he averaged 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists with the Clippers, Suns, Knicks, Heat and Magic. He averaged a career-high 17.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 2003-04 with the Clippers. A native of Chicago, IL, Richardson played two seasons at DePaul University where he averaged 17.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. As a freshman, he was elected both the Conference USA Player of the Year, and Freshman of the Year.

Nix brings a wealth of basketball experience both at the professional and collegiate levels. He spent 15 years in the New York Knicks organization serving as assistant coach (1992-2000), assistant general manager (2000-2005) and director of scouting (2005-2007). He was a key member of the Knicks front office staff when the team won two Eastern Conference titles in 1994 and 1999. Nix spent the last two-plus seasons as director of basketball operations for the Wake Forest University Men’s basketball team. He’s held assistant coaching positions with Canisius College, St. Francis University, Loyola College, Xavier University and University of Notre Dame. Nix played basketball at Canisius College and graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration and a Master’s in Sports Administration.

Ishop comes to the Pistons from the New Orleans Pelicans where he spent the last four seasons as director of sports medicine/head athletic trainer. With the Pelicans, Ishop oversaw healthcare, prevention and rehabilitation of injuries and daily training room operations. Prior to the Pelicans, Ishop served as an assistant athletic trainer with the NFL’s Houston Texans for eight seasons. A certified athletic trainer, he is also a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Performance Enhancement Specialist, Graston Technique Certified, a kinesiotape practitioner and a licensed massage therapist. Ishop received his Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology from the University of Texas at Austin and his master’s degree in sports administration from the University of Houston.

Harvey spent the last two seasons as an assistant strength and conditioning coach with the Orlando Magic. Previously, he worked at Florida A&M University from 2005-12 serving as a senior personal trainer, interim director of strength and conditioning and finally as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. Harvey earned his BS in Health Science Pre-Physical Therapy at Florida A&M.

The club also announced that Arnie Kander will remain as the team’s physical therapist, overseeing injury prevention and recovery, while Mike Abdenour will serve in a newly created administrative role as Director of Team Operations.

Andre Drummond has good shot at making Team USA

Here’s the Detroit Free Press with an update on Team USA, which is currently training in Las Vegas and preparing to trim their roster:

Reports out of Las Vegas say Pistons third-year center Andre Drummond should make the USA FIBA World Cup team as a second-team backup to starters Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins.

Davis (New Orleans) is projected as the starter at power forward, Cousins (Sacramento) the starter at center.

Other projected starters are Stephen Curry (Golden State), James Harden (Houston) and Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City).

With decisions not to play from Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and Dwight Howard, the U.S. team is short on big men, which makes Drummond almost a lock to make team.

Pistons sign Caron Butler

The Detroit Pistons announced today that the club has signed free agent forward Caron Butler to a contract.

The two-time NBA All-Star holds career averages of 15.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 33.8 minutes in 786 games with the Miami HEAT, L.A. Lakers, Washington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks, L.A. Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks and Oklahoma City Thunder. Butler split time last season between Milwaukee and Oklahoma City, averaging 10.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 25.3 minutes in 56 games.

Butler has appeared in 65 postseason games during his 12-year career, averaging 11.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 31.4 minutes. He’s scored 20-plus points in a playoff game eight times, recorded 10-plus rebounds six times, has five career playoff double-doubles and was a part of the Dallas Mavericks’ 2011 NBA Championship team despite not competing due to injury. During the 2013-14 playoffs with Oklahoma City, Butler averaged 6.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 23.3 minutes in 18 appearances. He scored a playoff-high-tying 15 points in the Thunder’s Game 7 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round (120-109), helping Oklahoma City advance to the Western Conference Semi-Finals.

Pistons sign D.J. Augustin

The Detroit Pistons announced today that the club has signed free agent guard D.J. Augustin to a multi-year contract.

The 6-0, 183-pound guard had a resurgent year last season after signing with the Chicago Bulls and helping replace an injured Derrick Rose. He averaged 14.9 points, 5.0 assists, 2.1 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 30.4 minutes in 61 games with the Bulls, after appearing in 10 games to start the season with the Toronto Raptors.

Among NBA leaders, the 26-year-old Augustin ranked fifth in free throw percentage (.885) and tied for 19th in 3-point field goal percentage (.401). He posted a career-high 33 points (10-14 FG, 3-4 3FG, 10-10 FT) in 31 minutes during a 107-102 win at Boston (3/30). Augustin helped the Bulls claim the No. 4 seed in the NBA Playoffs and continued his strong play by averaging 13.2 points, 4.8 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 28.2 minutes in five postseason games. In Game 4 of the first round against the Washington Wizards, a 101-99 loss, he scored a team-high 25 points and dished out seven assists.

Detroit Pistons signing of Jodie Meeks becomes official

The Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Stan Van Gundy announced today that the club has signed free agent guard Jodie Meeks to a multi-year contract.

According to the Detroit Free Press, “Meeks, who signed a three-year deal worth around $19.5 million, comes to Detroit with a shooting arm locked and loaded.”

“We’re pleased to welcome Jodie Meeks to the Pistons organization,” said Jeff Bower, General Manager for the Detroit Pistons. “Jodie’s approach to the game fits the style of basketball we want to play and his ability to shoot the ball from the outside is a skill that will help our team moving forward.”

The 6-4, 208-pound guard has career averages of 9.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 24.3 minutes in 355 games (194 starts) with the L.A. Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks. He joins the Pistons after spending the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers where he averaged 11.8 points (.435 FG%, .381 3FG%, .867 FT%), 2.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 27.2 minutes.

The 26-year-old native of Nashville, TN, had a career-year with the Lakers last season, averaging career-highs in points (15.7 ppg), field goal percentage (.463 FG), 3-point field goal percentage (.401 3FG), rebounds (2.5 rpg), assists (1.8 apg) and minutes (33.2 mpg) in 77 games (70 starts). Meeks connected on a career-high 162 3-point field goals last season (T-17th in the NBA) and was one of 21 NBA players to shoot over 40% from 3-point range (40.1% – T-19th in the NBA). He scored a career-high 42 points (11-18 FG, 14-14 FT) in a 114-110 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder (3/9).

Meeks, a second round draft selection of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2009, spent three years at the University of Kentucky where he averaged 15.4 points (.368 3FG), 3.0 rebounds and set a single-season school record for 3-point field goals made (117). He averaged 23.7 points and 40.6% from 3-point range as a junior while setting Wildcat records for most points in a single-game (career-high 54) and most 3-pointers made in a single-game (10) during a 90-72 win over Tennessee (1/13/09). Meeks recorded the nation’s top three college regular-season scoring efforts during the 2008-09 season (54, 46 and 45 points, respectively).

Brian Wright is new Detroit Pistons assistant general manager

Detroit Pistons Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations Stan Van Gundy announced today that the team has named Brian Wright as assistant general manager.

“I’m pleased to welcome Brian Wright to the Detroit Pistons,” said Van Gundy. “Brian understands our vision and what we are trying to accomplish as a front office staff. He has a sharp basketball mind and will be an asset for our organization.”

Wright joins the Pistons after eight seasons with the Orlando Magic. He served as the Director of College Scouting last season, overseeing and managing all aspects of the college scouting department and executing preparations the NBA Draft. He was also responsible for overseeing the player development department.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to come to Detroit and begin working with the staff,” Wright said. “I firmly believe in the basketball vision that Stan (Van Gundy) and Jeff (Bower) have outlined for the organization and look forward to being a part of that process.”

Wright began his career with the Magic as a summer intern in 2006 and was hired as the scouting coordinator prior to the 2006-07 season. He also served as scouting manager and spent the 2012-13 season as the team scouting/player development manager.

Wright attended graduate school at the University of Central Florida, earning an MBA and Master’s in sports business management from the DeVos Sports Business Management Program. Prior to his time at UCF, he was an undergraduate student-athlete playing basketball at La Sierra University in Riverside, CA.