SLAM Online "While the NBA bans the use of marijuana, Kenyon Martin estimates that “85 percent” of the League continues to find ways to smoke marijuana. In a roundtable discussion with B/R Mag’s Master Tesfatsion, Matt Barnes added that not only the players—but coaches and executives—smoke weed. “Some of..." April 20
Bleacher Report "NBA commissioner Adam Silver reiterated Friday the league believes it should receive compensation if sports betting becomes legal in the United States. Silver explained his stance during an appearance on ESPN's Get Up!, per Andrew Joe Potter of The Score. "We've joined the fray ... and we..." April 20
SI "Pistons owner Tom Gores and president-coach Stan Van Gundy will meet next week to discuss Van Gundy's future with the team, reports ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The two were originally supposed to meet this week. Van Gundy has only one year left on his five-year contract. The Pistons..." April 20
Detroit Free Press "To some league insiders, it’s only a matter of time before Stan Van Gundy and the Detroit Pistons part ways — or adjust their working situation. When talking to those with firsthand knowledge of the situation, an easy path is laid out for Van Gundy’s return to the sidelines for the last..." April 18
Pro Basketball Talk "NBA commissioner Adam Silver has defined tanking so narrowly – a team purposefully losing – he can deny it happens. A team sitting good healthy players? Not necessarily tanking. A team using suboptimal lineup combinations? Not necessarily tanking. Players giving less effort as they feel..." April 18
Larry Brown Sports "As long as the NBA keeps its draft system the way it currently is, tanking will always be a huge issue across the league, particularly late in the season. For at least one team owner, tanking was an absolute must down the stretch. In the latest edition of his podcast with Bobby Marks, ESPN’s..." April 17
New York Times "The N.B.A. is instituting a long-anticipated salary increase in its developmental league, according to two people familiar with the league’s plans. Effective next season, players signed to G League contracts will earn $35,000 — or $7,000 per month — in addition to housing and insurance benefits..." April 17
Real GM Basketball "The NBA has not changed their preseason salary cap projection of $101 million for the 18-19 season and $108 million for 19-20 in a new memo to teams." April 17
Detroit News "Andre Drummond entered this season with plenty of questions about whether he could make a significant improvement in his production. Fans decried his horrific free-throw shooting, sporadic effort and disappearing acts at the ends of games. After Drummond’s turnaround season, those gripes all..." April 16
Hoops Rumors "The NBA conducted its draft tiebreakers on Friday evening, further cementing the draft order for 2018. While we’ll have to wait until the lottery to determine the exact order for this year’s event, we now know what most of the 60 selections look like. Listed below is the pre-lottery 2018 NBA..." April 16
Awful Announcing "It has been a good year for the NBA. Both conferences have featured more exciting races than expected, with mildly surprising results atop the standings and all kinds of unexpected outcomes (Jazz! Blazers! Pacers!) just a bit lower down. Superstars have played like superstars, young players have..." April 12
Detroit Free Press "It's a mess. That's indisputable. A mess of Stan Van Gundy's making, at least Van Gundy the general manager. That's inarguable, too. As for Van Gundy the coach of the Detroit Pistons? It makes sense to bring him back one more year. Because he can coach. At least if he's got a healthy..." April 10
Hoops Rumors "Pistons owner Tom Gores is still undecided whether he’ll retain coach and team president Stan Van Gundy for the final year of his contract, Rod Beard of the Detroit News reports. Gores met with the media during the team’s home finale on Monday night. The team has failed to make the playoffs in..." April 10
Detroit News "Fire Millen. Fire Leyland. Fire Hoke. Fire Ausmus. Fire Caldwell. Fire Holland. Fire Van Gundy. In recent years, Detroit sports fans have had their bloodlust for coaches and general managers they think are past their time and usefulness. When it becomes a hashtag on social media, the..." April 09
Bleacher Report "USA Basketball announced its 35-player roster for the 2018-20 international basketball schedule on Friday, with Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder's reigning MVP Russell Westbrook among the notable..." April 06
Detroit News "The injury bug has bitten the Detroit Pistons several times this year — and it has happened again, as starting guard Reggie Bullock will be shut down for the rest of the season. “He’s been battling a knee issue for a long time; he’s had increased swelling but he’s been pushing through,” coach..." April 06
Clutch Points "Stan Van Gundy’s stint as the head coach of the Detroit Pistons has had its highs and lows, but the boiler could be hotter than ever before after the Pistons were eliminated from the playoffs for the third time in four seasons after a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Barring a quick exit in a..." April 05
Michigan Live "The difference in the Detroit Pistons with and without Reggie Jackson in the lineup this season was striking. This team is 25-16 when its starting point guard has suited up and 12-25 when he was out with a grade 3 ankle sprain. Having Jackson on the floor Wednesday didn't make a difference..." April 05
Detroit News "With the regular season dwindling down to the final few games and the Pistons’ playoff chances dangling by a thinning thread, there doesn’t seem to be much to play for. They trail the Milwaukee Bucks by four games with five left to play and a magic number of two — a combination of wins by the..." April 04
Hoops Rumors "No NBA head coaches were replaced during the 2017 offseason, but that’s very unlikely to be the case for 2018. Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post and Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports suggest that as many as 10 or 11 teams could be on the lookout for a new head coach this offseason. That list of..." April 04
Detroit News "In his eight NBA seasons, Pistons guard Ish Smith has been around the block a few times: 10 different teams, with various short stints, from the Houston Rockets to the New Orleans Pelicans. He’s played for Golden State, before they were this championship version of the Warriors and he was with..." April 03
NBA.com "Brooklyn Nets forward Quincy Acy and Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond have each been fined for their roles in an on-court altercation, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations. The incident, for which both players were ejected, occurred..." April 03
Bleacher Report "Twenty-one years ago, the NBA broke the gender barrier when it hired Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner, becoming the first major U.S. professional men's league to hire women as full-time officials. But what was once seen as a sign of progress has not ushered in the cultural shift many expected. Today..." April 02
Bleacher Report "Trade speculation is rampant during the NBA offseason—for good reason. Every team is, ostensibly, granted a fresh slate each summer. Breaks in the action allow them to decide what's next. Where are they headed? Where do they want to go? Squads can kick around rebuilds. They can chase instant..." April 02
Newsday "Stan Van Gundy questioned how sincere the Knicks’ displays of appreciation have been for his brother Jeff Van Gundy and Patrick Ewing. Over the last couple of years, Jeff Van Gundy has been shown on the jumbotron when he’s been in the Garden working for ABC. He went many years without the..." April 01
The Score "NBA players are digging the long ball more and more. Teams combined to break a league-wide record for the sixth year in a row Friday night courtesy of the 23,749th made 3-pointer, surpassing the 2016-17 total. With 93 games remaining, players are drilling threes at more than eight percent above..." March 31
ESPN "Detroit forward Blake Griffin was a late scratch for the Pistons' 103-92 win over the Washington Wizards Thursday with a right ankle contusion. The announcement was made about a half-hour before the Pistons moved within 4½ games of the Milwaukee Bucks for the last Eastern Conference playoff..." March 30
Detroit Free Press "Blake Griffin will hit the bench after an MRI scan revealed a bone bruise in his right ankle, the Detroit Pistons announced Friday. Griffin, whom the Pistons acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 29, will be re-evaluated in one week, according to the Pistons. Griffin had the..." March 30
Detroit News "Reggie Bullock’s story isn’t a common one in today’s NBA. It’s the story of a guy who sat on the bench, learned the ropes and then pounced when given the chance. More than anything, Bullock’s ascension is a story of patience, something that isn’t very common in this league, where guys can see..." March 29
ESPN "Jason Kidd, Steve Nash and Grant Hill have been notified of their inductions into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2018, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. A formal announcement of the full 2018 Hall of Fame class will come at a Final Four news conference in San..." March 29
Bleacher Report "Zeke Upshaw, who played for the Detroit Pistons' G League affiliate, had a "sudden cardiac death" after collapsing during a matchup between the Grand Rapids Drive and Long Island Nets on Saturday." March 28
Awful Announcing "Last fall, YouTube TV served as the presenting sponsor for the World Series, plastering its logo all across the Fox broadcast and using a play-button image behind home plate to create the illusion that the entire game was a YouTube video. Now, the streaming service is at it again, having..." March 26
Hoops Rumors "Two days after collapsing on the court during a G League game, Zeke Upshaw of the Grand Rapids Drive has passed away, the team announced today (Twitter link). He was 26 years old. “After continued efforts from the medical team at Spectrum Health, Zeke made his transition at 11:16 am,” Jewel..." March 26
Michigan Live "Grand Rapids Drive forward Zeke Upshaw collapsed at the end of Saturday's game against Long Island and was taken by stretcher to a hospital, team officials said. Upshaw was playing defense on the court with 40 seconds remaining when he dropped to the court untouched and onto his stomach in the..." March 25
Detroit Free Press "Standing near the free-throw circle, Blake Griffin surveyed the Phoenix Suns defense early in the second half Tuesday night. On the weakside, center Andre Drummond set a back screen for Reggie Jackson, who suddenly moved toward Griffin. Griffin hit Jackson in stride and the Detroit Pistons..." March 21
CBS Sports "Last summer was one of change for the Clippers. Chris Paul was sent to the Houston Rockets in a big trade, JJ Redick went and signed with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Clippers acquired Danilo Gallinari and Milos Teodosic. Lob City was over, but one thing remained the same: Blake Griffin was the..." March 20
Detroit Free Press "Some critics say the Blake Griffin-Andre Drummond pairing can’t work in today’s NBA. The thought is playing with two traditional big men doesn’t provide enough shooting to keep up in this era of nightly 3-point barrages. But in a process that started toward the end of last season, Griffin..." March 20
Larry Brown Sports "Chauncey Billups was one of the candidates being considered for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ general manager job last summer before he withdrew his name from consideration, and it sounds like the former NBA point guard could end up joining the front office of a team he used to play for..." March 20
Clutch Points "Blake Griffin seemed destined for another five years in Los Angeles after the L.A. Clippers signed him to a five-year, $173 million deal and infamously pointed to the banners in hopes to make him a lifelong franchise player. The contract would have kept him in the City of Angels until age 33,..." March 20
Bleacher Report "The NBA fined Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy $15,000 Sunday for publicly criticizing officials following his team's 100-87 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, according to Yahoo Sports' Shams Charania. "They held and grabbed on every play and they got away with fouls all..." March 19
Detroit Free Press "Reggie Jackson was winded. But there was a smile as he spoke to reporters Sunday at a fitness center on the University of Portland campus. “Not in nearly basketball condition, but after missing three months, that’s expected,” he said Outside the gym, students worked out. Inside the..." March 19
Detroit News "Stan Van Gundy wasn’t happy with the officiating in the Pistons’ loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night. He also wasn’t concerned about a potential fine. Van Gundy unloaded in his postgame comments, frustrated that the Pistons weren’t getting the benefit of foul calls and..." March 18
Detroit News "Against the Cleveland Cavaliers two weeks ago, Pistons center Andre Drummond got the ball around the free-throw line in a first-quarter possession. Instead of looking for the next pass or driving to the rim, he flipped the script. Drummond pulled up for a 15-foot jumper and made it. He..." March 17
Detroit News "The Pistons’ season seems to be hanging on by the thinnest of threads. After Tuesday’s embarrassing 31-point loss at Utah, they look to be sleepwalking through the final stretch of the season, playing defense with their eyes closed. At 30-37, they’re not mathematically eliminated from the..." March 15
247 Sports "Five-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman has found himself in the headlines once again for all the wrong reasons but, this time, he won't face jail time because of it. According to a report from TMZ Sports, Rodman entered a guilty plea to two counts of misdemeanor DUI charges in a California..." March 12
Detroit News "Pistons forward Reggie Bullock sustained minor injuries after being hit in a minor two-car accident on Sunday morning, coach Stan Van Gundy said. Bullock was on his way to the Pistons’ practice facility in Auburn Hills when the incident occurred on Adams Road. The Pistons were having their last..." March 12
NBA.com "Any decision on the future for the Pistons and Stan Van Gundy’s role won’t come until after the season. That was the clear message Pistons owner Tom Gores gave at halftime of Friday’s game with Chicago. And Van Gundy endorses that approach emphatically. “Stan and I talked the other day. We..." March 10
Detroit News "As Reggie Jackson continued his rehabilitation from a severely sprained right ankle, he did some shooting drills with forward Henry Ellenson and assistant coach Otis Smith after Wednesday’s shootaround. On Monday, Jackson played one-on-one with Pistons assistant video coordinator Jordan Brink,..." March 07
Dime Magazine "Disrespect has become a punchline. It is the word chosen to describe acts done on the basketball court that are increasingly fun for NBA fans. A crossover, a stare down, a heat check three; all moves that can be described as disrespectful without being true to the exact definition of the..." March 06
Detroit Free Press "Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy’s words say he is keeping the faith. But it’s starting to sound like false bravado from a coach with an uncertain future. After the Pistons’ latest loss — a 112-90 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night to conclude a winless three-game trip — Van..." March 06