Detroit Pistons Blog – Page 49 – NBA Blog

Joe Dumars wants Detroit Pistons to win now

Dumars is in the final year of his contract and making the playoffs now seems essential, with a new owner in Tom Gores, a half-empty arena and five straight losing seasons. The Pistons have fine young pieces in Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe, but trying to win with an unproven point guard is tough. It’s partly why Dumars bypassed Trey Burke in the draft, and why the Pistons are mentioned in every trade rumor involving the Celtics’ Rajon Rondo, even though Dumars denies them.

It’s why the Pistons drafted someone who appears more NBA-ready, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and why they doled out $54 million for mercurial but talented forward Josh Smith.

“I know we can compete for (the playoffs) now,” Dumars said. “We’ve upgraded the talent, the shooting, the leadership, the athleticism. I’m really comfortable if we had to go into the season with this roster. But you can’t shut the door and say, ‘OK, we’re done.’ ”

Reported by Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News

Chauncey Billups is back on the Detroit Pistons

Apparently you can go home again, sometimes.

Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has signed free agent guard Chauncey Billups.

“We are pleased to announce Chauncey Billups’ return to the Pistons organization,” said Dumars. “Chauncey played an integral part in the success of the franchise from 2002-2008. His playmaking ability and experience will provide depth in the back court while his leadership and commitment to winning will help our club.”

Billups is at the end of his career, but would still be able to provide deep bench depth for a championship-contending team. But on the Pistons — who are nowhere near even thinking about winning an NBA championship, Billups can act as a player-coach and provide leadership and help various young players improve their games.

Billups, 36, has NBA career averages of 15.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 31.9 minutes in 1,024 games (930 starts) with the L.A. Clippers, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons. The 15-year veteran is a five-time NBA All-Star, ranks fourth in NBA history for three-pointers made (1,816) and is the seventh active NBA player to reach 5,000 assists. He is one of only 31 players (four active) in NBA history to score over 14,000 points and distribute more than 5,000 assists. Billups has played in 146 career playoff games (143 starts) during 12 trips to the NBA playoffs and averaged 17.3 points, 5.7 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 36.4 minutes per game. He won the NBA’s inaugural Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award this past June, which recognizes the NBA player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to his team.

Billups’ six-year career in Detroit is highlighted by back-to-back Eastern Conference Championships and two NBA Finals appearances in 2004 and 2005. He was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player during the Pistons NBA Championship season in 2003-04 when he averaged 21.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists in five games vs. the Los Angeles Lakers. The Denver, CO native was named an NBA All-Star three times with Detroit, All-NBA Second Team (2006), All-NBA Third Team (2007) and All-NBA Defensive Second Team (2005, 2006). In 463 games with the Pistons, Billups averaged 17.0 points, 6.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 34.4 minutes per game.

Detroit Pistons sign forward Luigi Datome

Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has signed free agent forward Luigi Datome to a multi-year contract.

Datome, 25, has played professionally in Italy since 2003 with Montepaschi Siena, Givova Scafati Basket, Basket Olbia and Acea Virtus Roma. The 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward was named Italian League Most Valuable Player with Roma in 2013, posting averages of 16.7 points (.478 FG%, .415 3FG%, .928 FT%), 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 33.1 minutes in 45 games. He’s played with Roma for the past five seasons (2008-2013).

The 25-year-old Italy native has been a member of the Italian National Team since 2007. His basketball achievements internationally include being a member of Italy’s U16 National Team (2003), U18 National Team (2003-05) and the U20 National Team (2004-07). He was a member of the Italian U20 National Championship team in 2004. In the qualifier for the European Championships in 2012-13, Datome averaged 11.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 51.5% from the field and 48.4% from 3-point range in eight games. He was named Eurobasket.com All-Italian SerieA Player of the Year, All-Italian SerieA Domestic Player of the Year and All-Italian SerieA First Team last season.

Detroit Pistons re-sign guard Will Bynum

Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has re-signed guard Will Bynum to a multi-year contract.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Will Bynum,” said Dumars. “Will provides depth at the point guard position while possessing the unique ability to change a game with his aggressiveness both offensively and defensively.”

Bynum appeared in a career-high 65 games (no starts) last season averaging 9.8 points (career-high .469 FG, .316 3FG, .809 FT), 1.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 0.7 steals in 18.8 minutes per game. He scored a season-high 31 points (career-high 13 FG and 26 FGA) at Atlanta (12/26), made a single-season career-high 24 3-pointers and scored his 2,000th career point vs. New York (1/17).

In 297 career NBA games, Bynum has averages of 8.1 points on .446 (923-2,068 FG) shooting with 1.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 18.5 minutes per game. He set a Pistons franchise record for points in a quarter with 26 fourth quarter points vs. Charlotte (4/5/09) during the 2008-09 season. The 6-0, 185-pound guard also dished out career-high 20 assists vs. Washington (3/12) during the 2011-12 season – the most by a Piston since Isiah Thomas recorded 21 on April 12, 1985.

The Chicago, IL native was undrafted out of Georgia Tech and originally signed with the Pistons as a free agent on July 30, 2008. Bynum signed a second multi-year contract to remain with the club on July 30, 2010.

Pistons sign Italian League shooter Luigi Datome

The newest member of the Detroit Pistons made the announcement on Facebook.

Italian small forward Luigi Datome wrote: “I made my decision to be a player of the Detroit Pistons. I think that Detroit is the right place to make another step in my career and to realize a dream. I am very excited to play with the Pistons.”

A person familiar with the situation confirmed the signing and told the Free Press the deal is expected to be two years. The source requested anonymity because the deal isn’t final until Wednesday, when the league’s annual free agency moratorium ends. Yahoo! Sports is reporting the agreement is worth $3.75 million.

With the agreement, the Pistons addressed one of their biggest needs — outside shooting.

Reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press

Datome, 25, averaged 16.6 points and 5.8 rebounds for Virtus Roma last season, shooting 47 percent from the field (41 percent on 3-point attempts) and 92 percent from the free throw line.

The Pistons can’t announce contract agreements with free agents until Wednesday, when the league moritorium on signings is lifted.

Reported by the Associated Press

Rasheed Wallace to become Detroit Pistons assistant coach

Rasheed Wallace to be Detroit Pistons assistant coach

It hasn’t been announced, but former Piston Rasheed Wallace will join the Pistons’ coaching staff this season.

Wallace strolled into the Amway Center wearing a polo shirt with the Pistons’ team logo on Monday, and prompted some light teasing when observers thought he was wearing a Celtics baseball hat. Turns out Wallace is a big fan of Notre Dame football.

Wallace played for the Pistons from 2004-09, being the final piece to a championship puzzle in 2004, and has generally been regarded as one of the smarter players in the game.

In every year but one in Detroit, Wallace helped the Pistons get to the Eastern Conference finals and twice the Pistons advanced to the NBA Finals.

Reported by Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News

InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner says: Rasheed can set an NBA record for most technical fouls called on an assistant coach

Pistons players excited about Josh Smith joining team

The Pistons’ acquisition of Josh Smith sent shock waves through the NBA and it received positive reactions from two of the team’s building blocks.

Smith will make life easier for Brandon Knight and Andre Drummond, the team’s first-round picks in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

“Honestly, he’s a great player,” Drummond said after the Pistons‘ 76-67 Summer League win over the Brooklyn Nets Sunday at the Amway Center. “He creates shots for himself and his teammates. He’s (like) a big guard.”

Knight, who didn’t play with the summer league team but practiced with them this week, approved of the deal — which was to be expected.

“Athletic player, competitor, tough, tough guy,” he said. “If he does decide to come, he’ll be a great player to have.”

Smith agreed to a four-year, $54 million deal with the Pistons Saturday afternoon, which sprouted from the Pistons having interest in the former Atlanta Hawks forward for years on end.

Reported by Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News

Detroit Pistons will sign Josh Smith

The Josh Smith era in Atlanta is over.

The Hawks forward has reportedly agreed to a four-year, $56 million contract with the Pistons according to WSB.

Smith played all nine seasons with his hometown Hawks, who selected him with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. He is ranked in the top 10 in most of the Hawks’ all-time statistical categories, including games, points and rebounds.

Smith could have received a maximum deal of five years and $94 million from the Hawks.

Reported by Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Detroit Pistons jumped into free-agency feet first after testing the waters, striking a deal with Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith to a four-year, $54 million deal, sources tell the Detroit News.

The deal could rise to $56 million if Smith reaches performance incentives but for the moment, he’ll be making $13.5 million per season to play both forward spots for the Pistons, immediately turning them into a more athletic and dynamic team.

The Pistons were first at Smith’s door in Los Angeles at the dawn of free agency, at 12:01 AM Monday morning, making clear their intentions to be a real player in free agency with over $20 million in cap space.

Reported by Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News

Jonas Jerebko excited about fresh start under new Pistons coach

With every new coach comes change and it’s likely none of the Detroit Pistons welcomes that more than Jonas Jerebko.

The veteran forward spent much of last season in former coach Lawrence Frank’s doghouse, getting buried on the bench for long stretches as the Pistons missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season.

Now, with Maurice Cheeks in place as the 33rd coach in Pistons’ history, Jerebko feels like he’s got a new lease on his professional life.

Like everybody else, he’s starting fresh with Cheeks.

“It feels good,” Jerebko said Thursday after Cheeks was introduced during a press conference at The Palace. “I want to start playing right now and it’s June. I’m just excited for a fresh start.”

No wonder.

After missing just four of 148 games during his first two NBA seasons, Jerebko saw action in 49 of 82 last season.

Reported by Brendan Savage of Michigan Live

Detroit Pistons name Mo Cheeks head coach

Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has named Maurice Cheeks as head coach, signing him to a multi-year contract.

Cheeks brings more than 30-plus years of NBA experience to the job and becomes the 29th head coach in Detroit franchise history. He will be formally introduced to the Detroit media later this week.

“We’re pleased to welcome Maurice Cheeks to the Pistons organization,” Dumars said. “The leadership and player development qualities he brings as a former player and coach blends nicely with the roster we are building for the future. He’s won an NBA championship, coached in two NBA Finals as an assistant coach and mentored some of the top young players in the NBA.”

“After spending some time with Maurice, I was very impressed not only with his basketball knowledge but his communication and leadership skills,” said Pistons owner Tom Gores. “We are very excited to have someone of his experience and talent help take this franchise into the future.”

Cheeks joins the Pistons after serving four years as an assistant coach with Oklahoma City, where he helped guide the Thunder to a 212-100 (.707) record, four playoff appearances and an NBA Finals appearance in 2012.

The 56-year-old Chicago native served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers from 2001-05 recording a 162-139 (.538) regular-season record, the fourth-highest win total in Blazers coaching history. His Portland teams made consecutive playoff appearances in 2001 and 2002 and posted records of .500 or better three times, including a 50-32 mark in 2002-03 which tied for second in the Pacific Division. Portland’s defense ranked in the top-10 in points allowed and steals in both 2001-02 and 2002-03.

Cheeks was named head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2005 and led the Sixers to a 122-147 (.454) record in three-plus seasons. He led the team to the playoffs in 2008, marking the club’s first postseason appearance in three years. The 76ers were 12 games under .500 in early February that season and improved to 21-7 the remainder of the year to clinch a playoff berth. Cheeks owns a career record of 284-286 (.498) in 570 games as an NBA head coach.

Prior to his head coaching stints, Cheeks spent seven seasons as an assistant coach with the 76ers serving under John Lucas (1994-96), Johnny Davis (1996-97) and former Pistons’ head coach Larry Brown (1997-2001). As a member of Philadelphia’s 2000-01 staff under Brown, he helped guide the club to a 56-26 (.683) record and a spot in the NBA Finals. Cheeks began his coaching career with the Quad City Thunder of the Continental Basketball Association. During his only season with Quad City (1993-94), he helped guide the club to the CBA Championship.

A 15-year NBA veteran (11 with Philadelphia), Cheeks was a key member of the 76ers’ 1983 NBA Championship team. He was named to the NBA All-Defensive Team five times, which included four first-team honors and one second-team honor. A four-time NBA All-Star, Cheeks averaged 11.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 2.1 steals while shooting 52% from the field in 1,101 career games. He enjoyed his best year during the 1985-86 season when he averaged 15.4 points and a career-high 9.2 assists. Drafted 36th overall in the 1978 NBA Draft, Cheeks currently ranks 11th all-time in NBA history in assists (7,392) and fifth all-time in steals (2,310). His #10 jersey was retired by the 76ers in 1995.