Detroit Pistons Blog – Page 52 – NBA Blog

Charlie Villanueva will pick up $8.5-million player option

Charlie Villanueva laughed when asked about his future with the Detroit Pistons.

Specifically, he was asked if he was going to pick up the final season of the five-year, $35-million deal he signed in the summer of 2009.

He has the option of declining the $8.5-million player option by June 30 and becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Villanueva, 28, said there’s no decision.

“It’s obvious what I’m going to do,” Villanueva told the Free Press before the Pistons topped the Bobcats on Tuesday night. “Would you let that money go?”

— Reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press

Kobe Bryant nixed trade to Pistons in 2007

Kobe Bryant a Piston?

It could’ve happened before the 2007-08 season, if Bryant would’ve waived his no-trade clause, according to a report by Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Pistons and Lakers agreed in principle on a deal but Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss, who passed away early Monday, and Bryant, who wanted out of Los Angeles but Detroit wasn’t one of his preferred destinations, passed.

A source confirmed the Pistons and Lakers agreed on a deal, which most likely included Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Amir Johnson and a future first-round pick for Bryant, who wound up being the 2007-08 MVP.

Another league source said former Piston Grant Hill, who was a free agent that summer as a member of the Orlando Magic, would’ve likely returned to the Pistons to fill Prince’s void at small forward.

— Reported by Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News

Andre Drummond has eyes on slam dunk title

Raptors rookie swingman Terrence Ross already has a challenger for his slam-dunk crown.

Pistons rookie Andre Drummond tossed his hat into the ring Friday morning, saying he was hoping to compete in the dunk contest this season before a stress fracture in his lower back ended that dream.

“That was my goal to be in the dunk contest,” Drummond said. “I can’t really do that now, so hopefully next year.”

Ross won the slam-dunk title Saturday night as part of the NBA’s All-Star weekend. Drummond watched from courtside.

— Reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press

Metta World Peace suspended one game for foul on Brandon Knight

Metta World Peace of the Los Angeles Lakers has been suspended one game without pay for grabbing Brandon Knight of the Detroit Pistons around the neck and striking him in the jaw, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 1:43 remaining in the 2nd period, of the Lakers’ 98-97 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, Feb. 3 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

World Peace will serve his suspension tonight when the Lakers visit the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center.

To view the play, click on this link.

Tyson Chandler has 20 boards again, Knicks rout Pistons

The toughest part of Tyson Chandler’s night was the postgame interview.

The California native and San Francisco 49ers fan, who had just tied a franchise record with his third straight 20-rebound game, was forced to face the media wearing a Ravens Super Bowl champion hat, payment of a lost bet with Baltimore fan Carmelo Anthony.

”That made my day. You just don’t know,” said Anthony, who stood across the locker room and watched Chandler’s interview with a smile. ”It was a good day for me, it just was a coincidence that he had three games with 20 rebounds. That picture will be everywhere.”

That’s about all that hasn’t gone Chandler’s way lately.

The veteran center added another highlight to his first All-Star season, Anthony scored 27 points, and the New York Knicks beat the Detroit Pistons 99-85 on Monday night for their fifth consecutive victory.

In a game that was decided early, Chandler played long enough to grab his 20th rebound midway through the fourth quarter. After grabbing 20 in victories on Friday and Saturday night, he became the first Knicks player to have 20 in three straight games since Hall of Famer Willis Reed in December 1969…

Amare Stoudemire added 20 points and J.R. Smith added 16, along with a couple of comedic highlights in a game that was mostly a yawner…

Newly acquired Jose Calderon scored 15 points in his Detroit debut, while Greg Monroe had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Pau Gasol helps Lakers hold on to beat Pistons 98-97

In a season full of turmoil and frustration, this would have been a particularly exasperating loss for the Los Angeles Lakers.

One of the most accurate free throw shooters in NBA history had missed two, giving the Detroit Pistons one more chance at a game-winning shot. Kyle Singler lobbed the ball toward the basket, and rookie Andre Drummond stretched his 6-foot-11 frame and tried a one-handed dunk with Pau Gasol defending.

No good. The Lakers held on for a 98-97 victory.

”Every game is like a playoff game for us right now,” Los Angeles coach Mike D’Antoni said. ”And some crazy things happen in playoff games.”

Gasol had 23 points and 10 rebounds and was the last line of defense on Detroit’s final alley-oop attempt Sunday. The Lakers blew an 18-point third-quarter lead but overcame their late free throw struggles to win for the fifth time in six games.

Los Angeles has won two in a row without Dwight Howard. The All-Star center sat out again with a right shoulder problem…

Detroit was still without guard Jose Calderon, who the Pistons acquired from Toronto on Wednesday. The Spanish-born Calderon has not been available to play because of unresolved visa issues.

The Lakers trail eighth-place Houston by 3 1/2 games in the Western Conference playoff race. Bryant scored 18 points but shot poorly from the perimeter. After an airball with the score tied at 95, he decided to drive to the basket the next time down. Bryant muscled through a foul and scored a basket that was counted on a continuation call…

Bynum had 18 points and 10 assists for the Pistons, and Greg Monroe added 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Clark had 17 points for Los Angeles. Nash had 11 points and 10 assists…

Bryant had five assists, snapping his streak of five straight games with at least eight.

— Reported by Noah Trister of the Associated Press

New Pistons guard Jose Calderon waiting for work visa

New Detroit Pistons guard Jose Calderon isn’t expected to have his work visa cleared in time for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, which brings his availability Monday against the New York Knicks into question, too.

Calderon has watched a shootaround, a game and a practice. He has taken notes and studied plays. He can fly on the team plane late Sunday afternoon.

But the Spaniard can’t work with the team until his visa situation is resolved and with Sunday’s game followed by a road game the next night, there is some question whether Calderon could play Monday against the Knicks.

The Pistons traditionally don’t have a game-day shootaround for a back-end game but that’s predicated upon playing the night before. Sunday’s 1 p.m. tipoff could alter Monday’s plan. It’s akin to traveling after a practice, the night before a game, like any other single-game road trip.

— Reported by David Mayo of Michigan Live

Jose Calderon will start at PG for Pistons

Pistons coach Lawrence Frank immediately declared that Calderon will become his starter after working out some kinks with the player’s work visa, which kept Calderon in street clothes Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and perhaps a couple of quick practices.

“It’s no different than in football when you’ve got a quarterback,” Frank said. “It’s no knock on anything that you’ve got now. It’s just that Jose is really elite at it. He understands how to get guys the ball in the right place at the right time. Plus, he loves doing it. That’s his instinct. His instinct is to give. His instinct is to get everyone involved.”

Calderon has ranked in the top three in NBA assist-to-turnover ratio for three consecutive years. His 4.44 ratio ranks fourth in the league this season.

“He’s a giver,” Frank said. “He makes other people feel real good about their games.”

Calderon was acquired Wednesday in a three-team trade, in which the Pistons sent Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Frank said having Calderon and Brandon Knight in the starting backcourt, and Will Bynum and Rodney Stuckey on the reserves — all of whom have extensive point-guard experience — gives the Pistons “four guards that can all come with a basket-thrust mentality.”

— Reported by David Mayo of Michigan Live

New Piston Jose Calderon helps create cap space

The financial ramifications of the deal for the Pistons are obvious — Calderon’s $10.5 million comes off the books after this season.

If they do nothing else through the Feb. 21 trade deadline, Charlie Villanueva picks up his $8.5-million option for next season, and they decide to keep Rodney Stuckey for the full $8.5 million for next season, the Pistons will be roughly $20 million-$23 million under the cap. If they decide to invoke the amnesty clause on Villanueva during a weeklong window in July and cut Stuckey (they would owe him $4 million) before the June 30 deadline, the total could move to roughly $30 million-$35 million.

The cap space means the Pistons could be players in free agency next summer. A more likely outcome is the Pistons being in position to facilitate a trade with a team looking to dump a good player for financial reasons.

But don’t discount the Pistons trying to keep Calderon — at a reasonable price.

— Reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press

Three-team Grizzlies trade sends Rudy Gay to Raptors, Jose Calderon to Pistons

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday they have acquired forward Rudy Gay and centre Hamed Haddadi from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for guard Jose Calderon, forward Ed Davis, a second-round draft choice in 2013 and cash considerations. The Grizzlies traded Calderon to the Detroit Pistons for forwards Austin Daye and Tayshaun Prince.

“This is the type of deal we have been looking for to take our team another step forward,” said Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo. “Rudy Gay is a dynamic wing that elevates our talent level significantly.

“We want to thank Jose and Ed for their dedication and service to our organization. Both individuals are wonderful young men beyond just talented basketball players.”

Gay, 6-foot-8, 230 pounds, has averaged 17.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 36.2 minutes in 479 career games (443 starts).

According to ESPN.com, “Gay, averaging 17.2 points and 5.9 rebounds, signed a five-year, $82 million maximum contract in July 2010 with Memphis. The 6-foot-8 small forward is due $16.5 million this season with $37 million more over the next two years. Just over a week ago, the Grizzlies sent valuable reserve Marreese Speights and two other players to Cleveland in a move that cleared $6.4 million in salary and avoided a $4 million luxury tax hit this season. Team officials said that move put the Grizzlies in position not to have to make a move this season.”

The 26-year-old has played all seven of his NBA seasons in Memphis. He was selected with the eighth pick in the first round of the 2006 Draft by the Houston Rockets and his draft rights were traded to the Grizzlies.

Gay has averaged at least 18.9 points and 5.5 rebounds each season since his rookie campaign. He has also played in more than 95 per cent of the games in five of the past six seasons.

Gay has topped 90 steals in five of six seasons. He is the Grizzlies’ franchise leader in thefts (640), games (479) and minutes (17,338). He ranks second in total points (8,562).

Gay posted career highs of 20.1 points in 2007-08, 6.4 rebounds in 2011-12 and 1.7 steals in 2010-11. He shot .396 from three-point range in 2010-11 and poured in 134 three-pointers in 2007-08.

Gay netted a career-best 41 points at Miami on December 13, 2009. He has posted personal bests of 13 rebounds three times, five steals four times and 52 minutes on two occasions.

Gay averaged a team-high 19.0 points, a career-high 6.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 37.3 minutes in 65 games during the 2011-12 season. He was one of seven players in the NBA to rank in the top 20 in both scoring and steals.

Gay saw his first playoff action last season when he led the Grizzlies in scoring at 19.0 points in seven games. He also contributed 6.6 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 39.9 minutes.

Haddadi (ha-DAH-dee), 7-foot-2, 265, is the first Iranian-born player in the NBA. He has averaged 2.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 6.1 minutes in 134 career outings, all with Memphis.

Calderon averaged 10.0 points, 7.2 assists and 28.4 minutes in 525 games with Toronto. In the playoffs, he averaged 12.5 points, 6.1 assists and 24.1 minutes in 11 appearances.

Calderon averaged 11.1 points, 7.4 assists and 28.3 minutes in 45 contests this season.

Calderon was originally signed by the club as a free agent in 2005. He is the franchise leader in assists (3,770) and free throw percentage (.877). He ranks second in games played (525), fourth in minutes (14,909) and fifth in total points (5,235).

Davis was drafted by the Raptors in the first round (13th overall) in 2010. He has appeared in 176 outings with Toronto, averaging 7.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 24.0 minutes.

Davis averaged 9.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 24.2 minutes in 45 games this season. He has started in a career-high 24 games.