Category: Detroit Pistons Blog

“Kentavious as a rookie doesn’t get wide-eyed,” said [Pistons coach Maurice] Cheeks, trying to resist a smile. “He has a poise about him when he plays. He doesn’t get stressed out, doesn’t get nervous. Today he had an excellent day. (Rodney) Stuckey had an excellent day.”

Caldwell-Pope and Stuckey went head-to-head in the team scrimmages Thursday, in the part the media was allowed to watch. While Stuckey beat him on a cut to the rim, he lost the rookie in the set offense, where Caldwell-Pope was able to probe the perimeter and make himself available for open threes, which he made with ease.

On a three that came up short, he timed the rebound and beat everyone to it for a layup, impressing his coach with the simplicity of the play.

“The thing about him — he plays defense and plays hard,” Cheeks said. “He runs the floor and does a lot of things well.”

Reported by Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News

Milwaukee center Larry Sanders raised eyebrows during Bucks media day when asked about former teammate Brandon Jennings, who is now with the Detroit Pistons.

He was asked by Fox Sports Wisconsin’s Andrew Gruman to comment on Jennings saying he was going to play with better bigs in Detroit.

Sanders said: “He has to pass it to them first.”

Ouch!

Jennings, acquired in a trade that sent Brandon Knight and Khris Middletonto the Bucks, has a shoot-first reputation.

Reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press

It is the Detroit Pistons’ only apparent open position in the starting lineup, largely because many of the potential shooting guards don’t fit the spot.

Chauncey Billups really doesn’t want the job.

Rodney Stuckey professed indifference, which he proved last year.

Kyle Singler started most of last season at the position. But he’s probably in a competition for backup small forward moreso than starting shooting guard.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope wants the job. But the rookie first-round draft pick has some proving to do first.

Of the several points of intrigue as the Pistons open training camp this morning, only one involves a starting role, with as many varied styles as candidates.

Reported by David Mayo of Michigan Live

Jennings sat on the outside looking in during this summer’s free-agency frenzy, arriving in Detroit in a three-year deal via sign-and-trade. The Pistons believe he’ll return to his prep school mode of being a distributor first, rather than primarily looking for his own offense, as he’s done during his first four years in the NBA.

Jennings represents an upgrade over Brandon Knight in terms of point guard aptitude, but he must be willing to buy into the system and set up his teammates.

Rumors of the Pistons pursuing Boston point guard Rajon Rondo won’t amount to anything anytime soon. Jennings can quiet them with steady play.

Josh Smith: The shiny new, $54 million signee gets a fresh start away from the sometimes-unfair scrutiny he faced in his hometown Atlanta. There’s no denying his talent, and he and Drummond can raise terror defensively and in the open floor with their length and athleticism. He’ll be the starting small forward, but is expected to see time at power forward as well, so his role in the offense remains to be seen.

Smith will face a bit of a culture adjustment this season, moving from the pressure of playing for his hometown team to the pressure of playing for a franchise with more of a winning tradition and the resulting higher expectations.

Reported by Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News

Greg Monroe’s restricted free agency figures to dominate Detroit Pistons news in summer of 2014, which is precisely where the forward-center plans to keep it.

Monroe made it clear today that he has no intention of fielding questions about his contractual future.

When it was suggested that such questions are precisely what he figures to face throughout this season, Monroe declared, “No, I’m not.”

He answered the question preemptively, with the caveat that he has no intention of addressing it again.

Reported by David Mayo of Michigan Live

If the Pistons plan on being dealers before the February 2014 trade deadline, they have a glut of small forwards and guards to possibly offer, if that’s team president Joe Dumars’ plan.

“We have a lot of flexibility,” newly acquired Josh Smith said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if guys played different positions in the backcourt or along the front line, depending on matchups.”

Smith is expected to start at small forward and also see time at power forward. Also on the roster are Kyle Singler, Jonas Jerebko and rookie Luigi Datome, who made a splash overseas with his shot-making ability and athleticism.

That’s four small forwards, and there aren’t enough minutes to play them all.

Reported by Perry A. Farrell of the Detroit Free Press

It sounds like his failure to land a top job in the NBA has more to do with his personality – and perhaps his past – than his coaching abilities.

Kate Fagan of ESPN.com wrote a lengthy feature story about Laimbeer that offers some insights as to why NBA general managers are turning their backs on the man who was perhaps the baddest of the Pistons legendary Bad Boys.

Under the headline “The Feminization of Bill Laimbeer,” Fagan discusses Laimbeer’s success in the WNBA – he won three titles with the now-defunct Detroit Shock – his brief tenure as an NBA assistant and some of the reasons he has failed to land a job as a head coach in the NBA.

Basically, it sounds like nobody wants to give Laimbeer a shot as a head coach because he’s the same guy who was despised as a player while helping the Pistons win back-to-back NBA titles in 1989-90.

Reported by Brendan Savage of Michigan Live

Detroit Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks will not be charged in a domestic incident that occurred Aug. 30 in Birmingham, Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper told the Free Press today.

Cheeks went to the Birmingham police station for questioning and was released after police were called to a Woodward Avenue address. He was not arrested. Birmingham police conducted an investigation and presented its findings to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.

Cooper said the witness in the investigation was uncooperative with prosecutors and refused to press charges.

Reported by the Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Pistons said this morning that there is no change in Maurice Cheeks’ status as the team’s coach after reports surfaced that he was questioned in a domestic incident Friday night in Birmingham.

Cheeks, 56, was brought to the Birmingham police station, questioned and released but not arrested after police were called to a Woodward Avenue address, according to WXYZ-TV.

“He’s our head coach, so nothing changes with his status,” Pistons spokesman Kevin Grigg said today. “We are not commenting on the situation.”

Reported by Tammy Stables Battaglia of the Detroit Free Press