Training camp begins this week for the Detroit Pistons. But they will have to wait a few weeks, at least, for one of their key offseason additions to return to from a foot injury.
Alec Burks is rehabbing a navicular fracture and will be re-evaluated in three weeks, the team announced Monday. The Pistons’ preseason schedule begins Oct. 4 and they will tip off the regular season Oct. 19, so it remains to be seen if Burks will be cleared in time for the season based on his timeline.
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The Pistons acquired Burks in a June trade that also brought back big man Nerlens Noel, Detroit’s own 2023 second-round pick, a 2026 second-round pick via Minnesota or New York, and $6 million in cash in exchange for draft rights to Serbian guard Nikola Radicevic and a protected 2025 second-round pick. Burks, a 31-year-old wing, is a career 38% 3-point shooter and will give Detroit a lift on that end of the floor once he’s healthy.
Noel and Kevin Knox, who the Pistons signed to a two-year, $6 million contract this summer, are expected to be limited participants in training camp. Noel is dealing with plantar fasciitis (foot), and Knox is recovering from a right gastroc strain (calf).
The team also announced that Kemba Walker, who they acquired in a separate trade with the Knicks that also brought back 13th overall pick Jalen Duren, will not report to training camp. The Pistons and Walker are expected to part ways before the start of the 2022-23 season.
More roster news
The team announced Monday it has picked up the fourth-year team options in 2023-24 for Saddiq Bey, Killian Hayes and Isaiah Stewart, who were all first-round draft picks in 2020. The Pistons also picked up the third-year option for the 2021 No. 1 overall pick, Cade Cunningham, for the same season.
The team also displayed the No. 16 strip on the upper-right section of the jersey to honor Bob Lanier this season. The team will also host a Bob Lanier tribute on Jan. 23 when the Pistons play the Bucks, the other NBA team Lanier played for. Lanier, an eight-time All-Star and 1992 Hall of Fame inductee, died in May.