Hoops Rumors

7:10pm: The extension is official, tweets Keith Langlois of NBA.com. 5:05pm: Head coach Dwane Casey will receive a contract extension from the Pistons that will run through the 2023/24 season, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Casey still has two years remaining on the five-year deal he signed when he came to Detroit in 2018,

May 11th 2021 at 9:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum Pistons rookie guard Killian Hayes has appreciated the opportunity to log some time as a combo guard alongside fellow rookie ball handler Saben Lee as Detroit’s season wraps up, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. “I love it,” the 6’5″ Hayes said of his minutes alongside Lee in the

The Pistons’ four rookie draft picks continue to receive extensive playing time and coach Dwane Casey is encouraged by the progress of the team’s so-called “Core Four,” Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. That quartet of Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, Saddiq Bey and Saben Lee combined for 73 points, 22 rebounds and 19 assists against the Bulls

Although the races for the final playoff positions in the Eastern and Western Conference will generate more excitement during the last week of the NBA’s 2020/21 season, the jockeying for lottery positioning near the bottom of the league’s standings may ultimately be more meaningful in the long run. The seventh and eighth seeds rarely win

As his first year with the Bulls nears its end, veteran swingman Garrett Temple praised the job that president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley have done for the franchise so far, suggesting that the front office is one reason why Chicago will be an appealing destination for free agents. “I

May 7th 2021 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder Nikola Vucevic didn’t shoot three-pointers when he entered the league in 2011, but it’s become a big part of his offensive game in recent years, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times notes. The All-Star center has drained 44.1% of his long-range shots since joining the Bulls.

The Cavaliers recently signed veteran center Anderson Varejao to a 10-day contract, honoring the 38-year-old with a celebratory deal for his past stints. Varejao, who played with Cleveland from 2004-16, was part of numerous playoff runs and appeared in 591 regular-season games with the team. He received a phone call from GM Koby Altman just last

Heat star Jimmy Butler recently reflected on his relationship with head coach Erik Spoelstra, a partnership that’s lasted since the team acquired Butler in a sign-and-trade back in July of 2019. Butler and Spoelstra are known as basketball purists, a competitive player-coach duo that helped lead Miami to its first Finals berth since 2014 last

After P.J. Tucker requested a trade for months from the rebuilding Rockets, the veteran big man ended up with the Bucks, an Eastern Conference powerhouse in recent seasons. However, despite leading the league in wins two years in a row and getting back-to-back MVP seasons from Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee has endured multiple disappointing playoff exits.

April 29th 2021 at 5:32pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum At 19-43, the Pistons currently are tied with the Magic for the third-best lottery odds in the NBA. James L. Edwards III of The Athletic wonders if Detroit is willing to go all-in on playing youngsters – including projects like Deividas Sirvydis – over veterans in its

The Hornets will see if LaMelo Ball and Malik Monk are ready for game action during their off days Thursday and Friday, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Ball had surgery March 23 on his fractured right wrist, while Monk has been sidelined since April 1 with a sprained ankle. Both players will take

Cedi Osman has temporarily regained a rotation spot, giving the Cavaliers forward another shot to prove his value before the season ends, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. Due to injuries, Osman made his first start since March 26 and his first appearance since April 14 on Sunday. Osman, whose front-loaded contract lasts

Pistons forward Jerami Grant isn’t unfamiliar with lottery finishes, but he feels his current situation is much different from his team’s situation in Philadelphia earlier in his career, writes Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. Grant spent just over two seasons with the Sixers from 2014-17, teams that were mostly known for focusing

April 21st 2021 at 5:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff will miss Wednesday’s game against Chicago due to personal reasons, the team tweets. Assistant Greg Buckner will fill in for Bickerstaff, who is expected to return for the team’s road game against Charlotte on Friday. Cleveland remains on the fringe of the

The Cavaliers are playing important games late into the season again for the first time in years, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. At 20-37, the Cavaliers are 3.5 games behind the Bulls for the tenth seed  in the East. Should Cleveland make up that ground, the team would qualify for the play-in tournament this season. This

The Thunder used the remainder of this year’s non-taxpayer mid-level exception — a little over $3.87MM — in Gabriel Deck‘s creatively constructed four-year contract, Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports tweets. The remainder of the contract includes a non-guaranteed salary of $3,676,852 next season; A non-guaranteed $3,483,334 in 2022/23, with the guarantee kicking in if he’s on

April 17th 2021 at 10:31am CST by Dana Gauruder The Knicks could make a roster move to replace John Henson, who didn’t receive another 10-day contract. A wild card could be Baskonia combo guard Luca Vildoza. According to Lithuanian journalist Donatas Urbonas (Twitter link), Vildoza is on the Knicks’ radar. The 25-year-old, 6’3” Vildoza is averaging

All 30 of the NBA’s teams are carrying some sort of “dead money” on their respective books for the 2020/21 season. Dead money is the guaranteed salary paid or owed to a player who is no longer under contract with the team. In some cases, teams are carrying cap hits for players whom they released

The Bulls are 3-8 since adding five new players in two big trade-deadline moves. Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic assesses the players club’s new additions in an extensive piece. Though All-Star center Nikola Vučević has produced offensively, the team is struggling to cling to the No. 10 seed (and thus a play-in tournament opportunity) in the East. Vučević’s

The tightened schedule the NBA adopted to squeeze 72 games into five months is being criticized amid an increase in injuries, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN. Holmes talked to several general managers and training staff officials who believe players are more at risk than ever. The torn ACL suffered this week by Nuggets guard Jamal