Blogs > Pistons' Point

An inside look at the Detroit Pistons and the NBA.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Edgar Sosa signs with Italy's Angelico Biella

Louisville's Edgar Sosa had an impressive showing with the Pistons summer league team, but it appears he won't be coming to Pistons training camp after he signed with Angelico Biella (Italy).

The 6-foot-2 point guard averaged 6.5 points and 2.8 assists in the Las Vegas Summer League, which aren't impressive numbers but he drew plenty of praise from Pistons assistant coach Pat Sullivan. Sosa was probably a long shot to make the Pistons roster, especially if they re-sign Will Bynum.

Former Michigan State big man Goran Suton also signed with Angelico Biella.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Detroit Pistons first-round pick Greg Monroe has successful foot surgery

Pistons first-round pick Greg Monroe underwent successful surgery on his right foot, the Pistons announced Thursday. It was an out-patient procedure performed by Dr. Aruther Manoli at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pontiac.

Monroe will began rehab immediately and is expected to resume full basketball activities in three to four weeks.

The No. 7 overall pick played five games in the Vegas Summer League averaging 14.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 30.3 minutes per game.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Ben Wallace agrees to two-year deal with Detroit Pistons

Ben Wallace has agreed to a two-year deal with the Detroit Pistons. Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars confirmed the deal via e-mail Sunday night, but nothing has been signed yet. Wallace will make $1.9 million each season.

Wallace told the Associated Press he heard from a lot of teams, but agreed to a two-year deal about a week ago because he wants to retire with the Pistons.

Wallace averaged 5.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.2 steals for the Pistons last season.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Negotiations continue between Pistons and Will Bynum

The talks between the Pistons and restricted free agent Will Bynum continue each day. Pistons general manger Joe Dumars and Bynum’s agent Mark Bartelstein have been talking nearly every day to try to get a deal done, but nothing has been agreed upon yet.

“Joe and I are talking quite a bit,” Bartelstein said. “It’s a process we are working on every day and we will see what happens. They want him back and other teams are interested. We will work through this thing and see what happens."

Restricted free agency is always tricky because of the player’s current team being able to match any deal, which makes many teams hesitant to tie any money up for a player they might not get anyways. Meanwhile the current team does not want to start bidding against itself.

“It takes a little longer, it’s more deliberate when you are restricted,” Bartelstein said.

Bynum averaged 10.0 points and 4.5 assists in 63 games for the Pistons last season. Bynum started the final 20 games, averaging 10.4 points and 5.4 assists. The highlight of Bynum’s season was likely his 20-assist night against the Wizards on March 12.

Bynum battled injuries to both his ankles during the season, but showed his toughness early in the year by refusing to miss any time before eventually having to shut it down for a few weeks.

Last season was Bynum’s second full season in the NBA. Bynum played 15 games for the Golden State Warriors during the 2005-06 season before playing overseas for two years.

Bartelstein did not want to get into what specific teams have inquired about Bynum, but said there have been several. Bartelstein did add he felt Bynum and Raymond Felton are the two best point guards on the market right now.

“There’s been a number of teams interested,” Bartelstein said. “Will when healthy had a terrific season. A lot of people have taken notice. The Pistons gave him an opportunity and that’s important to him. He would prefer to stay. … Joe and I will talk and will get something done if we can.”

Bynum may be looking to get a deal similar to the one the Lakers gave Steve Blake (4 years, $16 million) or the Magic gave Chris Duhon (4 years, $15 million). Only time will tell.

Note: Bartelstein represents nearly 20 players who are still free agents and when asked if the Pistons had inquired about any besides Bynum, Bartelstein said him and Dumars have talked several times about Ime Udoka and Bobby Simmons.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Pistons summer league roster features some intriguing players

The Pistons open up Summer League play on Friday against the Lakers and to learn a little bit more about the players on the Pistons summer league roster that are not named Greg Monroe, Terrico White, Jonas Jerebko, Austin Daye or DaJuan Summers check out ridiculousupside.com's break down of the roster.

It's got all kinds of information on the Pistons summer league team, which feature some intriguing players. For example Northern Iowa's Jordan Eglseder earned all-tournament honors at the Portsmouth Invitational (a tournament featuring the best college seniors) by averaging 14 points and 10 rebounds and DePaul's Mac Koshwal averaged 16.1 points and 10.1 rebounds in the Big East, but at 6-foot-10, 240 pounds is considered a tweener because he prefers to play small forward.

It's a good read if you plan on watching the Pistons summer league games on NBA TV and want to know a little bit more about some of the undrafted players. Of course most are a long shot to make the team, but hey one might be the next Paull Millsap, who coincidentally has a little brother Elijah on the Pistons summer league squad.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Pistons sign first-round pick Greg Monroe

The Detroit Pistons signed first-round draft pick Greg Monroe on Tuesday. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

The NBA has a rookie salary scale in place and the No. 7 pick is slotted to earn $2.3 million in the first season. The actual contract can range between 80-120 percent of that amount.

Detroit selected Monroe seventh overall in the first round of the NBA Draft. The 6-foot-11 Monroe averaged 16.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.5 blocks for Georgetown last season as a sophomore.

Monroe had 14 double-doubles last season and was named to the Big East all-tournament team after averaging 19.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and shooting 54.5 percent on his way to leading the Hoyas to the championship game.

The Pistons are hoping Monroe will bolster a thin frontcourt that was a weak spot last season as Detroit finished the season 27-55 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2001. Monroe can play either power forward or center and will likely see time at both.

“We think he’s a guy that can come in and help us right away,” Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said on draft night. “Whether he starts or not, we can’t tell until he gets here.”

Expectations are high for Monroe, who is the Pistons first lottery pick since Darko Milicic.

“When you have a pick at seven, that seven is going to have responsibilities a lot of other picks might not have,” Pistons coach John Kuester said on draft night.

Detroit will get a chance to see Monroe in action on Friday when the Pistons open up summer league play against the Lakers. The game can be viewed on NBA TV at 8 p.m.

Monroe will be joined on the summer league team by second-year players Jonas Jerebko, Austin Daye and DaJuan Summers as well as second-round pick Terrico White, among others.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Pistons fortunate Dumars plans on sticking around

Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars has denied having any interest in the Nets general manager, which is good news for the Detroit Pistons organization.

Despite all his detractors, Dumars has a proven track record as a GM and the Pistons would be hard-pressed to find a suitable replacement. With the Pistons currently for sale and the future of the franchise uncertain, the job would not be very appealing for any possible candidates.

Dumars has made his share of mistakes as GM, drafting Darko Milicic being No. 1 on everyone’s list, but he has made more good moves than bad ones in my book and has often corrected many of his bad moves (see Nazr Mohammed).

Detroit obviously took a step back last season, going 27-55 and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2001, but it was just the second time the Pistons missed the playoffs since Dumars has been GM.

Obviously Detroit will need to get more out of Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, who the Dumars signed as free agents last offseason, but both severely underachieved last season.

Dumars deserves a chance to rebuild the Pistons and Detroit is fortunate he wants to stick around to take a shot at it.

The drafting of Greg Monroe is a step in the right direction and Dumars has gone on record saying he wants to be busy this offseason. It may be easier said than done, but Detroit fans should feel more comfortable that it is Dumars trying to get it done as opposed to any alternatives.

Dumars: 'I do not have any interest in a basketball operations position with the Nets'

Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars has denied having any interest in the Nets general manager job.

“In response to today’s media reports regarding the New Jersey Nets, I can say that I do not have any interest in a basketball operations position with the Nets," Dumars said in a statement released by the Pistons. "My priority is to continue leading the Pistons’ basketball operations efforts and putting together a team that is ready to compete and get back on track next season.”

A New Jersey paper reported Dumars had interviewed for the Nets position, which will open up July 15 when Rod Thorn resigns.

Report: Nets interview Joe Dumars for GM job

The Bergen (N.J.) Record is reporting Joe Dumars interviewed with the New Jersey Nets for their vacant general manger job. Current Nets general manager Rod Thorn is resigning on July 15. The Bergen Record also reported New Orleans general manger Jeff Bower also interviewed for the opening and Thunder general manager Sam Presti is also a candidate for the job.

Dumars has denied interviewing for the job.

Dumars has been the Pistons GM since 2000, but could be looking to leave with the uncertainty of the Pistons ownership. The team is currently for sale and owner Karen Davidson recently said she expects the team to be sold by the start of next season.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Pistons reach out to Brendan Haywood

Yahoo! Sports is reporting the Pistons were one of five teams that contacted Brendan Haywood when the free agency period began after midnight Thursday. The Pistons also contacted their own free agents Ben Wallace and Will Bynum.

The 7-foot Haywood averaged 9.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks last season, playing for the Wizards and Mavericks.

It's also being reported that the Pistons contacted Matt Barnes, who averaged 8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Magic last season.