March 2013 Detroit Pistons Wiretap

Josh Smith Takes Offense To Cheeks Calling Him Out For Not Playing Hard

Dec 28, 2013 11:45 PM

Josh Smith did not play in the second half of the Detroit Pistons' 106-82 blowout loss against the Washington Wizards, the second time Maurice Cheeks has made that decision this season.

Smith took "real offense" to Cheeks calling him out for not playing hard.

"Like I told y'all before when we had this conversation, when you hit adverse times, characters are gonna be tested," Smith said.  "It's either that we're gonna come closer together and make it all one team, or are you gonna use a scapegoat to get away from what's really at hand?"

Smith said he isn't inclined to have a personal discussion with Cheeks about their disagreement before the next game.
"To me, it's over with," Smith said.  "But you know, some people hold grudges longer than others.  I don't know.  I don't know.  I'm not saying that he (Cheeks) does.  I don't know.
"But I'm not the type of person that really likes to go all the time in the coach's office and have one-on-one sitdowns.  I'm more of a team morale guy, worrying about what we can do, as far as teammates are concerned, to make ourselves more successful."

David Mayo/MLive

Tags: Josh Smith, Detroit Pistons, NBA

Discuss
Pistons Assign Peyton Siva, Tony Mitchell To D-League

Dec 26, 2013 4:18 PM

The Detroit Pistons have assigned forward Tony Mitchell and guard Peyton Siva to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League.

Siva has played 13 games for the Pistons this season while Mitchell has appeared in 10 contests.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Peyton Siva, Tony Mitchell, Detroit Pistons, NBA, NBA Misc Official Transaction, D-League, D-League Transaction

Discuss
Jennings: Offseason Was 'Humbling Summer'

Dec 22, 2013 2:47 PM

Brandon Jennings is settling in with the Detroit Pistons after a difficult offseason in which free agent interest was less enthusiastic than he had been expecting.

Jennings leads the Pistons in scoring and assists.

“The perception of me is totally wrong but maybe because I don’t open up as much,” said Jennings. “The people who do know me, I’m real cool, laid back. I just don’t open up to everybody. I just chill and stay in my lane. I think another thing is the summer just humbled me a lot overall. I took a lot of criticism this summer, saying teams didn’t want me, I wasn’t this caliber of player. I call it a humbling summer.”

The Milwaukee Bucks were uninterested in re-singing Jennings and agreed to a sign-and-trade with the Pistons for Brandon Knight.

“I had to look at the man in the mirror and ask myself if I was doing everything I was capable of doing,” he said. “There were a lot of distractions, a lot of things I was worried about that weren’t important. I will always love the game of basketball, but the perception was that I didn’t care and didn’t love the game, so I wanted to make sure this year people know I love playing the game. This is what I do.”

The impact of the Bucks is not loss on Jennings.

“I still have love for Milwaukee, that’s where I started my career,” he said. “They took a chance on me because I was a kid that went overseas and nobody knew me or knew I can play. I still got love for everything we did there. I’m not going to take all the full credit, but I brought a lot of spark to the city, going to the playoffs two years, just changing it a little bit, the [high-top fade] haircut, everything.”

Gary Washburn/Boston Globe

Tags: Brandon Jennings, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA, NBA B-Ball IQ

Discuss
Drummond Uses Games Against Hibbert As ‘Measuring Stick’

Dec 20, 2013 12:19 PM

The Detroit Pistons handed the Indiana Pacers their first home loss of the season earlier this week thanks in part to a near double-double from Andre Drummond. In two games against the Pacers this season, Drummond is averaging 7.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 0.5 blocks per game. Those numbers, in addition to his minutes, are significantly lower than his season averages.

That's because Drummond has had to face off against Roy Hibbert, one of the few traditional big men in today’s guard-orientied NBA. Drummond has collected nine fouls in the two games. Facing off against Drummond, who is seven years younger, hasn’t been easy for Hibbert either. The two seem to neutralize one another when the Pacers and Pistons battle. Hibbert, who averages 12.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.9 blocks, has posted just 14 points and 14 boards in 69 minutes against the Central Division rival.

“It's fun playing those types of games, especially against a guy like Roy Hibbert,” Drummond told RealGM. "I can use playing against him as a measuring stick as to where I am and where I need to get to.”

Drummond is one of just eight players averaging a double-double this season, posting 13.3 points, 12.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks for Detroit. He also has a PER of 22.49, which ranks 14th in the league and is fourth among all big men.

Andrew Perna/RealGM

Tags: Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons, NBA, NBA B-Ball IQ

Discuss
Rodney Stuckey Day-To-Day With Left Knee Tendinitis

Dec 8, 2013 6:53 PM

Rodney Stuckey missed Sunday's Detroit Pistons game against the Miami Heat due to tendinitisin his left knee.

Stuckey is listed as day-to-day.

Maurice Cheeks does not believe the issue will linger.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Rodney Stuckey, Detroit Pistons, NBA, NBA Injury

Discuss
Brandon Jennings Not Surprised By His Success, Nor Monta's In Leaving Bucks

Dec 5, 2013 11:41 AM

The Milwaukee Bucks are 3-15 after losing both members of their starting backcourt from last season, Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis, in free agency.

Jennings and Ellis are both playing well with their new teams.

"It's the situation he's in," Jennings said of Ellis' explosion.  "He's on a team where they need somebody to score.  Dirk (Nowitzki) is not that scorer like he used to be. He still can do it, don't get me wrong. But he (Ellis) is in a situation kind of like he was in at Golden State, before Stephen Curry and all of them got there. So he's the main scorer and he's the guy."

The pairing of Jennings and Ellis was ill-fitted.

"We're two players that need the ball," said Jennings.

"Here, I can just run the team," Jennings said.  "I'm playing with an unbelievable frontcourt. My assists are high, higher than they ever have been so far, which I'm really happy about. I'm just finding guys and just learning how to control the game down the stretch and win."

David Mayo/MLive

Tags: Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA, NBA B-Ball IQ

Discuss