Pistons sign Kevin Knox, and re-sign Rodney McGruder

The Detroit Pistons have signed forward Kevin Knox and re-signed guard Rodney McGruder.

Knox, 6-7, 215, suited up for the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks in 2021-22, totaling 3.1 points and 1.5 rebounds in 7.4 minutes over 30 games. Knox played in two games for the Hawks in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, recording double-digit scoring in both outings while shooting .636 from the floor and .600 from distance in postseason action.

The Phoenix native was traded on Jan. 13 of this previous season from New York to Atlanta after spending three-plus NBA seasons with the Knicks. In his rookie campaign with New York in 2018-19, Knox tallied clips of 12.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 28.8 minutes through 75 games (57 starts). He holds career averages of 7.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in 18.9 minutes over 212 NBA games (61 starts).

Drafted ninth overall by New York in the 2018 NBA Draft, Knox played collegiately for one season at Kentucky where he earned SEC Rookie of the Year while being named to the SEC All-Freshman and All-SEC Tournament First Team in 2017-18.

McGruder, 6-4, 205, has averaged 5.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 14.1 minutes through 67 games (four starts) for Detroit from 2020-22. McGruder holds shooting clips of .458 from the field and .406 from 3-point range while with the Pistons over the last two seasons. His 3-point shooting percentage marks the fifth-highest in Pistons history by a player with a minimum of 150 3-point attempts. The six-year NBA veteran was originally acquired by Detroit from the L.A. Clippers via a three-team trade also involving the Brooklyn Nets on Nov. 19, 2020.

Following a four-year career at Kansas State where he was selected to All-Big 12 teams three times, McGruder made his NBA debut for the Miami HEAT on Oct. 26, 2016. He went on to play three seasons for Miami before suiting up for the Clippers for the 2019-20 campaign. He has posted career averages of 5.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 19.8 minutes over 285 NBA games (120 starts) and has played in nine NBA Playoff contests across two playoff appearances, one with each of his former teams.

Nuggets trade Bol Bol to Pistons for Rodney McGruder. UPDATE: TRADE NULLIFIED

UPDATE: The Detroit Pistons/Denver Nuggets trade of Rodney McGruder and draft consideration in exchange for Bol Bol has been rescinded because medical clearance was not received for all players involved.

ORIGINAL POST

The Detroit Pistons have acquired Bol Bol in a trade with the Denver Nuggets for Rodney McGruder and draft considerations.

Bol, 7-2, 220, has seen action in 53 career NBA games (two starts) with the Nuggets and averaged 2.7 points and 1.2 rebounds in 6.2 minutes per game. Drafted 44th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft by the Miami HEAT, Bol was traded to the Nuggets on draft night and signed a two-way contract on Sept. 4, 2019. He signed a regular NBA contract on Nov. 24, 2020.

Bol played one collegiate season at the University of Oregon where he averaged 21.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 2.7 blocks per game in 29.8 minutes.

A native of Sudan, Bol is the son of former NBA player, the late Manute Bol.

McGruder, 6-4, 205, played in 17 games for the Detroit Pistons this season, averaging 2.5 points and 1.6 rebounds while shooting 38.6% from the field in 9.5 minutes. Over six seasons, McGruder has appeared in 251 games (118 starts) for Miami, Los Angeles Clippers and Detroit, holding averages of 5.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists, shooting 41.7% from the field and 33.7% from three in 20.1 minutes per game.

The 30-year-old went undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft after playing four seasons at Kansas State University. McGruder played internationally in Hungary during the 2013-14 season and then in the G League from 2014-16 before signing with the Miami Heat.

Detroit Pistons re-sign guard Rodney McGruder

The Detroit Pistons have re-signed guard Rodney McGruder.

McGruder, 6-4, 205, tallied averages of 5.7 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists in 12.1 minutes over 16 games (two starts) with Detroit in 2020-21. The five-year NBA veteran shot .529 from the field and .458 from 3-point range a season ago. McGruder was acquired by Detroit from the L.A. Clippers as part of a three-team trade that also included the Brooklyn Nets on Nov. 19, 2020.

Following a four-year career at Kansas State, McGruder made his NBA debut for the Miami HEAT on Oct. 26, 2016. He went on to play three seasons for Miami before suiting up for the Clippers for the 2019-20 campaign. He has career averages of 5.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists in 234 NBA games (118 starts) and has played in nine NBA Playoff contests across two playoff appearances, one with each of his former teams.

Three-team NBA trade sends Landry Shamet and Bruce Brown to Nets, Luke Kennard to Clippers, Saddiq Bey to Pistons

The Brooklyn Nets have acquired guard Landry Shamet and the draft rights to forward Reggie Perry, the 57th overall pick in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft, from the Los Angeles Clippers and guard Bruce Brown from the Detroit Pistons in a three-team trade.

The Nets traded the draft rights to Saddiq Bey, the 19th overall pick in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft, guard Dzanan Musa, the draft rights to guard Jaylen Hands and Toronto’s 2021 second round draft pick to Detroit, and the draft rights to guard/forward Jay Scrubb, the 55th overall pick in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft, to the Clippers.

To complete the deal, the Pistons traded forward Luke Kennard, center Justin Patton, Portland’s 2023 second round draft pick and Detroit’s second round draft picks in 2024, 2025 and 2026 to the Clippers. And the Clippers dealt guard Rodney McGruder and cash considerations to the Pistons.

Shamet (6’4”, 190) has appeared in 132 games (57 starts) across two seasons with Philadelphia (2018-19) and the Clippers (2019-20), recording averages of 9.2 points on 42.0 percent shooting from the field and 40.2 percent from 3-point range, 1.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 24.7 minutes per game. In the 2019-20 season, the Kansas City, Mo., native saw action in 53 games (30 starts), averaging 9.3 points on 40.4 percent shooting from the field and 37.5 percent from 3-point range, 1.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 27.4 minutes per contest. As a rookie, Shamet split the season between the Sixers and Clippers, registering averages of 9.1 points on 43.1 percent shooting from the field and 42.2 percent from distance, 1.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 22.8 minutes per game in 79 games (27 starts) en route to NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors. Shamet was originally selected with the 26th overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft by Philadelphia after spending three years (2015-18) at Wichita State, where he earned All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team honors in 2017, All-American Athletic Conference First Team honors in 2018 and honorable mention All-America honors from the Associated Press in 2018.

Brown (6’4”, 202) has seen action in 132 games (99 starts) in the past two seasons with the Pistons, registering averages of 6.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 23.4 minutes per game. As a rookie in the 2018-19 season, Brown registered averages of 4.3 points on 39.8 percent shooting from the field and 25.8 percent from 3-point range, 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 19.6 minutes per game across 74 games (56 starts). In the 2019-20 campaign, Brown appeared in 58 games (43 starts) and improved his statistics across the board, averaging 8.9 points on 44.3 percent shooting from the field and 34.4 percent from 3-point range, 4.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.1 steals in 28.2 minutes per contest. The 24-year-old Boston native was originally selected with the 42nd overall pick in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft by Detroit after spending two years (2016-18) at the University of Miami.

Perry (6’10”, 250) played two collegiate seasons (2018-20) at Mississippi State, recording averages of 13.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 27.3 minutes per contest in 65 games (49 starts). As a sophomore last season, Perry appeared in 31 games (all starts) and averaged 17.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 31.1 minutes per game en route to earning consensus All-SEC First Team honors from coaches and media and being named the SEC’s Co-Player of the Year by the Associated Press. The Thomasville, Ga., native also earned All-SEC Freshman Team honors for his play during the 2018-19 season, when he averaged 9.7 points and 7.2 rebounds in 23.9 minutes per game in 34 contests (18 starts). In addition to his time with the Bulldogs, Perry competed on USA Basketball’s team in the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup, where he won a gold medal, was named Most Valuable Player and was selected to the All-Tournament Team.

Musa appeared in 49 games in two seasons with the Nets, posting averages of 4.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per game. In 40 games during the 2019-20 campaign, Musa recorded averages of 4.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 12.2 minutes per contest. A native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Musa was originally selected with the 29th overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft by Brooklyn.

Bey, 6-8, 215, was taken with the 19th selection of the 2020 NBA Draft after playing for Villanova for two seasons. Bey finished his sophomore campaign with averages of 16.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 33.9 minutes through 31 games. He shot .477 from the floor and .451 from distance a season ago, marking the fourth-highest 3-point shooting percentage in the nation. Bey finished with a .418 clip from 3-point range for his collegiate career. He was named a 2019-20 Honorable Mention AP All-American and unanimous All-Big East First Team selection. He was a Top-15 finalist for the 2019-20 John Wooden Award and was the winner of the 2019-20 Julius Erving Award, recognizing the nation’s top small forward. The Charlotte, N.C. native was also selected to the 2018-19 Big East All-Freshman team.

Hands, 6-3, 180, played for the Long Island Nets in the NBA G League in 2019-20. He averaged 11.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steals in 22.6 minutes in 41 games. Hands was drafted 56th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft by the L.A. Clippers and played two seasons at UCLA from 2017-19.

McGruder, 6-4, 205, played for the L.A. Clippers in 2019-20 after spending three years with the Miami Heat. McGruder holds career averages of 5.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 218 NBA games (116 starts). The Kansas State product has played in nine NBA Playoff games in two playoff appearances, one with each of his former teams.