DETROIT (AP) — Troy Weaver's first season as Detroit's general manager ended with the Pistons holding the second-worst record in the league. Finally, though, it felt like the future looks a little brighter for this franchise. “Obviously, the optimism is not in the record, because the record stinks," Weaver said Monday. "We'll continue to fight — claw, scratch, fight, whatever we've got to do to get out of this hole.” For over a decade now, the Pistons have been mired in mediocrity, rarely making the playoffs and exiting quickly whenever they did. Detroit began rebuilding in earnest in early 2020, moving on from Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson. Then Weaver arrived and made an even clearer break from the past, implementing a thorough overhaul in a matter of months. The result was a 20-52 record, but the roster now includes a few promising rookies. Detroit showed some competitive spirit this year, but the Pistons were still bad enough to lock in one of the top six picks in the draft no matter... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — LaMelo Ball scored 23 points, including two free throws with 5.8 seconds left, and the Charlotte Hornets took another step toward the postseason with a 102-99 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night. Detroit trailed by two when rookie Killian Hayes was fouled with 9.4 seconds remaining, but he made just one of two free throws. Ball made his free throws at the other end, and Hayes missed a last-second 3-pointer. Hamidou Diallo scored a career-high 35 points for Detroit. The Hornets are in eighth place in the Eastern Conference and are in solid shape to make it at least to the play-in round. They are two games behind seventh-place Boston. “Every game’s important late in the season,” Charlotte's Terry Rozier said. “Melo came in and put us on his back.” Charlotte was without Miles Bridges, who was out because of health and safety protocols. “I don’t know the extent, the days. We have not confirmed that yet," coach James Borrego said before the game. “What that means,... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — LaMelo Ball scored 23 points, including two free throws with 5.8 seconds left, and the Charlotte Hornets took another step toward the postseason with a 102-99 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night. Detroit trailed by two when rookie Killian Hayes was fouled with 9.4 seconds remaining, but he made just one of two free throws. Ball made his free throws at the other end, and Hayes missed a last-second 3-pointer. Hamidou Diallo scored a career-high 35 points for Detroit. The Hornets are in eighth place in the Eastern Conference and are in solid shape to make it at least to the play-in round. They are two games behind seventh-place Boston. Charlotte was without Miles Bridges, who was out because of health and safety protocols. “I don’t know the extent, the days. We have not confirmed that yet," coach James Borrego said before the game. “What that means, for us down the road, I don’t know. He is out tonight, and we’ll just take it from here.” Terry Rozier scored 18... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Pistons have agreed to trade Svi Mykhailiuk and a 2027 second-round draft pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for guard Hamidou Diallo, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday night because the deal had not been announced. The 22-year-old Diallo is averaging a career-best 11.9 points this season. The 6-foot-7 Mykhailiuk, who is 23, is averaging 6.9 points. It's another step in a drastic roster overhaul for Detroit under new general manager Troy Weaver, who was previously an executive for the Thunder. Only one player who appeared in a game for the Pistons last season is still on the roster — 20-year-old Sekou Doumbouya. Detroit recently traded Derrick Rose and bought out Blake Griffin. ESPN first reported Friday's deal. ___ Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Pistons finally broke up their trio of Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson.Only Griffin remains — and the 2019-20 season was yet another reminder of how fragile the star forward’s health has been.Griffin played just 18 games this season because of knee problems. The Pistons were 20-46 and well out of playoff contention when the coronavirus interrupted the season in March. By then, Detroit had traded Drummond and bought out Jackson, two clear steps toward a rebuild for a franchise that has been stuck in neutral for about a decade.The season was a step backward for the Pistons, who made the playoffs in 2019 thanks to a marvelous performance by Griffin. He averaged a career-high 24.5 points per game in 2018-19, then followed that with a career-worst 15.5 this season in limited action.“Obviously, this past season was I guess disappointing — not really being healthy, and for the most part, a lot of our guys not being healthy," Griffin said. “Didn't really... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Pistons confirmed Saturday that rookie Sekou Doumbouya is back in France while NBA play is on hold because of the coronavirus crisis.The league recommended players avoid non-essential travel, but players — in concert with their team — could choose to go to another city and stay there. International travel could lead to logistical concerns if play resumes and a player faces hurdles returning to the U.S.A Pistons spokesman said the team is aware that the 19-year-old Doumbouya is in France, and that he left to be closer to family during this pandemic.Detroit drafted Doumbouya in the first round last year. A native of Guinea, he moved to France when he was young and played there before coming to the Pistons. He has averaged 6.4 points in 38 games for Detroit this season.___More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DETROIT (AP) — Ed Stefanski needed only about a minute in his conference call before he said the word the Detroit Pistons have seemingly avoided for so long.“We were always discussing that we were going to have to probably rebuild here,” said Stefanski, a team executive. "We're in the middle of the pack. To me, that's not the place that we want to be in and where fans want to be in.”The Pistons have been hesitant to rebuild, but Stefanski said Friday that injuries and the team's performance made it the best option. Detroit traded Andre Drummond on Thursday to Cleveland, a team in the Pistons' own division. The return wasn't much. In exchange for a two-time All-Star center, Detroit received Brandon Knight, John Henson and a second-round draft pick in 2023.It's hard to view that as anything other than an attempt to remove a high-priced player from the roster and break up the core of a team that hasn't performed as hoped. The Pistons haven't won a playoff game since 2008. Drummond has put... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cavaliers were expected to move a big man. Instead, they added another one.In the final hour before the NBA trading deadline, Cleveland acquired two-time All-Star center Andre Drummond from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for forward John Henson, guard Brandon Knight and “the less favorable” of its two second-round draft picks in 2023.The teams made the deal official Thursday night after getting league approval.Cleveland needed to do something to save a season that's been worsening by the day. The Cavs are just 13-39 under first-year coach John Beilein and some recent blowout losses have raised concerns about the team's direction under general manager Koby Altman.But by landing Drummond, who leads the league in rebounding, the Cavs helped themselves in the short-term and positioned themselves for the future.The Cavs had been expected to be aggressive leading into the deadline and signs pointed to the team moving either star forward Kevin Love or center Tristan Thompson,... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cavaliers were expected to move a big man. Instead, they added another one.In the final hour before Thursday's NBA trading deadline, Cleveland agreed to acquire two-time All-Star center Andre Drummond from the Detroit Pistons, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.The struggling Cavs will send forward John Henson, guard Brandon Knight and one of their two second-round picks in 2023 to the Pistons, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the teams were still working out some details and seeking league approval.Cleveland, which is just 13-39 this season, was expected to be aggressive at the deadline and signs pointed to the Cavs moving either star forward Kevin Love or center Tristan Thompson, who is in the final year of his contract and will be a free agent this summer.However, Love and Thompson are staying put — for now— and will be joined up front by Drummond, a 6-foot-11 force who leads the league with 15.8 rebounds per game... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson is out at least four weeks with a back injury, the team announced Saturday.Jackson, who played the season's first two games but has missed the last four, has a stress reaction in his lower back. The team announced treatment and rehabilitation is under way and he will be re-evaluated in four weeks.The Pistons (2-4) also have been without All-Star Blake Griffin for the first six games, and he also is listed as out for Saturday's game against Brooklyn with his lingering soreness in his left knee and hamstring. It was announced before the season that Griffin would be re-evaluated in early November.First-round pick Sekou Doumbouya also has not played for the Pistons after suffering a concussion in training camp.Jackson, 29, averaged 5.0 points and 4.0 assists in 18.0 minutes in two games this season. He played all 82 games last season, scoring 15.4 points per game to bring his career average up to 12.9 points per game entering the season.Detroit's backup point guards, Derrick Rose (right hamstring tightness) and Tim Frazier (right shoulder strain), were both listed as questionable for Saturday, one night after the Pistons lost 112-106 in Chicago.

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Pistons will begin the season without star forward Blake Griffin, whose injury issues have flared up again.The Pistons said Tuesday that Griffin would not travel for Wednesday night's game at Indiana and would continue a treatment and conditioning regimen for left hamstring and posterior knee soreness. He will be re-evaluated for a return the first week of November.Griffin was mostly healthy last season until the very end, when he was limited in the playoffs. He had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in the offseason.Griffin averaged 35.0 minutes per game last season, his most since 2014-15, and averaged a career-high 24.5 points. Coach Dwane Casey admitted at media day that the Pistons "rode him like a cheap horse" — and suggested that they might manage his minutes a bit more conservatively going forward.First-round draft pick Sekou Doumbouya (concussion protocol) is not traveling to Indiana either, and Markieff Morris (low back tightness) is questionable. Point guard Reggie Jackson (low back tightness) is probable.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Pistons will begin the season without star forward Blake Griffin, whose injury issues have flared up again.The Pistons said Tuesday that Griffin would not travel for Wednesday night's game at Indiana and would continue a treatment and conditioning regimen for left hamstring and posterior knee soreness. He will be re-evaluated for a return the first week of November.Griffin was mostly healthy last season until the very end, when he was limited in the playoffs. He had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in the offseason.First-round draft pick Sekou Doumbouya (concussion protocol) will not travel to Indiana either, and Markieff Morris (low back tightness) is questionable. Point guard Reggie Jackson (low back tightness) is probable.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports