Category → Notes
Monty Williams wants Greg Monroe suspended for pushing Jason Smith
Bradley Handwerger / WWLTV.com (hat tip: Brian Packey of Detroit Bad Boys):
Monty Williams has sent to the NBA film of the foul in the Hornets’ game against Detroit that sent forward Jason Smith to the injured list.
Williams believes Pistons center Greg Monroe, a New Orleans native, should be suspended for flagrantly tossing Smith into another player, giving the Hornets’ energetic forward a concussion in the process.
“I believe the NBA needs to look at that play and maybe suspend Monroe because it was a violent play that should have been penalized and the refs didn’t catch it,” Williams said. “I think that’s one of the things they have to look at on film because that can’t happen. Those kinds of plays can cause fights in the game.”
John Kuester will be a head coach again (for one game) … in Philadelphia
Dan noted yesterday that former Pistons coach John Kuester may have been up to his old “annoying the players” tricks again with the Lakers. Now, with Lakers coach Mike Brown suspended one game for an outburst at officials, Kuester gets a one-game audition as head coach. Guess where that game is? Via NBA.com:
Brown will serve his suspension Monday when the Lakers play the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center.
If everyone shows up for him this time, that’s half the battle.
John Kuester spats with Matt Barnes
Barnes was subbed out of the game and is now cursing/gesturing towards one of the Lakers’ assistants. I think Q. Chuck is peacemaker.
Barnes is a bit of a loose cannon, so this isn’t necessarily a redux of John Kuester’s Pistons tenure. Plus, it appears they made up. Kevin Ding of The Orange County Register:
Matt Barnes was visibly upset after getting taken out of the game early in the fourth quarter Saturday night, cursing toward the Lakers’ assistant coaches. Lakers assistant coach Chuck Person tried to calm Barnes down at the time, and Barnes said in the locker room afterward to reporters that he didn’t want to discuss anything but what happened between the lines.
“If you want to talk about the game, we can talk about the game,” said Barnes, who had positive interaction with Lakers lead assistant John Kuester in the postgame locker room.
Everyone loves Walker Russell
A lot of Pistons fans already dig the way Walker Russell plays — a pass-first point guard? What the What is that? — but he seems to be a bit of a folk here on the D-League, where he spent a good chunk of his professional career racking up assists. Ryan Ripley of Ridiculous Upside recent wrote about Russell’s NBA opportunity:
That confidence showed the night before during the Piston’s game against the New Jersey Nets. Late in the fourth quarter, Russell came off the bench to try to help secure the win. Unfortunately, the Piston’s lost 99-96; however, Walker contributed a career-high 12 points, along with 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
When asked about putting up those types of numbers in the NBA, Russell said, “It feels great. What’s even greater is that I was in during crunch time. I appreciate the confidence that the coaches have in me and I just keep on learning from these experiences.”
Walker spent part of the last five years in the D-League working to get an opportunity to play in the NBA. He only had positive things to say about how the NBA D-League prepared him to play at the highest level.
“The NBA is a lot faster and the guys are bigger. Besides that, the D-League does a good job of preparing guys. I feel like I was well-prepared, and people are saying that it looks like I’ve already adapted to the NBA and now I’m playing solid minutes,” Russell said.
Dave Mayo of MLive reports the Pistons will have to make a decision on Russell soon:
At issue is next week’s Feb. 10 deadline for NBA teams to release players with non-guaranteed contracts, like Russell, or guarantee their contracts for the rest of the season …
Will Bynum is close to coming back from a foot strain, but he’s already on the active roster anyway. Charlie Villanueva isn’t close to coming back, is the only Piston on the inactive list, and it’s his spot that Russell took anyway, so that helps Russell’s chances of sticking. Ben Gordon remains out with a shoulder strain, too. And even with Russell, the Pistons are only carrying 14 players, one fewer than the maximum.
I think most Pistons fans would like to see Russell stick around. He’s a great story, seems like a great teammate and his passing has been fun to watch.
Kyle Singler hasn’t decided whether he’ll play in the NBA next season, either
Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype has an interview with everyone’s favorite Piston draft pick, Kyle Singler. Singler talks about his season with Real Madrid. Then there’s this:
Are you watching the Pistons games this year?
KS: I know they are not doing too well. But they are a team that’s building, they are young and they are not going to have a great year. But as long as they compete and play hard, that’s all you can ask for.
What’s going to happen with you next season?
KS: I have not decided. I haven’t made up my mind yet. I can stay for another year or I can go back. I really don’t know. I’m not leaning one way or the other. I’m concentrated and focused on playing here right now and winning basketball games.
Singler also notes in the interview that he was disappointed he wasn’t drafted in the first round. It’s pretty clear why that’s probably the case: he missed out on a fully guaranteed contract and more money by three picks. The money he was able to make with Real Madrid trumps what he would’ve made with the Pistons as a second round pick.
Honestly, I don’t really care if Singler never plays for the Pistons. But he at some point will have to show that he actually wants to play in the NBA if the Pistons ever want to trade his draft rights somewhere. He genuinely seems to love playing in Spain, and it’s hard to fault that. He’s playing at a very high level of pro basketball.
Pistons discuss Charlie Villanueva’s ankle injury
The mystery of what is going on with Charlie Villanueva‘s ankle gets some clarity, via David Mayo of YELLOWMLive:
The Detroit Pistons updated Charlie Villanueva’s status in a medical-lingo-heavy press release Friday, which essentially indicated he has tendinitis and bone spurs in his ailing right ankle and that he will be partially immobilized for “a few weeks.”
Here’s the “lingo-heavy” release Mayo referred to:
Following repeated imaging studies as well as multiple consultations from foot and ankle orthopedic surgeons, it has been determined that Charlie Villanueva’s right ankle soreness can be attributed to a resolving posterior tibial tenosynovitis with small talotibal spurs.
A few weeks of partial ankle immobilization have been recommended in an attempt to alleviate the soreness and discomfort.
That fits with what a team spokesman said the course of action would be with Villanueva, despite Villanueva possibly saying that he needs surgery.
Greg Monroe makes Tom Ziller’s All-Star reserve ballot
Tom Ziller of SBNation chose his backup All-Stars, including Greg Monroe:
CENTER: Greg Monroe. Detroit’s Monrobocop has been the conference’s second best center, no matter how bad the Pistons have looked. He’s averaging 16 points and almost 10 rebounds a game on 51 percent shooting while picking up more assists than turnovers. He edges Roy Hibbert, who plays for a much better team. But you can’t pick your teammates, unless you’re LeBron James or Stephen Jackson.
Earlier in the season, Patrick made the case that Monroe should be an All-Star. I’m not so sure. Since Patrick’s post, Monroe has tailed off a little and Joakim Noah has improved. It could come down to the wire.
Regardless, I doubt Monroe will make the All-Star Game. Still, it’s a credit to him that he’s in the discussion of who deserves to make the All-Star Game.
Greg Monroe ranked as No. 2 sophomore, Jonas Jerebko 14th
Greg Monroe graded very well in David Thorpe of ESPN’s sophomore-class rankings:
2. Greg Monroe, Pistons
How good has Monroe been this year? Not good enough to get Detroit out of the bottom five of the league, unfortunately, but I’ll tell you this: If Detroit was a better team, then Blake Griffin would have some competition for "best of class."Monroe is top 12 in the NBA in PER and offensive rebound rate and top 20 in overall rebound rate. And while Detroit is an awful defensive team, only Ben Wallace is playing better defense than Monroe, who has to carry an offensive burden far more than Wallace does.
There are still questions about how Monroe would perform on a better team, or if he’s good enough to be a top-three player on a good team. But all things considered, no one in this class besides Griffin can touch Monroe right now.
Thorpe also ranked Jonas Jerebko fairly high:
14. Jonas Jerebko, Pistons (missed last year due to injury)
Jerebko is proof that tall guys who compete really hard can find their way on an NBA roster and even get playing time on bad teams. JJ hustles everywhere, even when he shouldn’t sometimes, like when he catches in space and tries to dribble attack. As a decent midrange shooter and an adequate defender, his energy is what ultimately gets him on the court.
Brandon Knight’s mother suing hotel
Jennifer Hewlett of KentuckySports.com (hat tip: David Mayo of MLive.com):
Turgenia "Tonya" Knight, the mother of former University of Kentucky basketball player Brandon Knight, has sued Lexington’s Hyatt Regency Hotel and the hotel’s operations director, Jeff Westin, for discrimination, battery, assault and defamation stemming from an incident that allegedly occurred Jan. 7 at the hotel’s bar.
In the suit, filed this week in Fayette Circuit Court, Tonya Knight says Westin tried to detain her and grabbed her arm, causing a bruise, after telling her she could not sell her book, Diary of a Basketball Mom, on the hotel’s premises. Knight says she went to the bar to socialize with friends before attending a UK game.
Knight, who lives in Lexington, says in the suit that when she pulled away from Westin in an attempt to leave with her friends, he said, "That’s the problem with you people." Knight says that when she asked what "people" he was referring to, Westin used the n-word.
Hewlett’s article has a more detailed account of the incident, according to the suit.
Pistons would draft Anthony Davis No. 1 and Andre Drummond No. 2
Chad Ford of ESPN believes every team in the NBA would draft Kentucky’s Anthony Davis with the No. 1 pick, and Ford explained why for projected lottery teams:
Odds of winning the lottery: 19.9 percent
Of the teams near the top of the lottery, no one needs Davis more than the Detroit Pistons. The team currently has just one big — Greg Monroe — with any sort of long-term appeal. Pair Monroe with Davis on the front line and the Pistons immediately become a much more dangerous team.
Monroe’s offensive abilities would mesh very well with Davis’ defensive abilities. Put them together with other young players like Brandon Knight and Rodney Stuckey, and suddenly the Pistons have one of the best young cores in the NBA.
Ford thinks the No. 2 pick would depend on the team, but he projects the Pistons would draft Connecticut’s Andre Drummond:
No. 2: Andre Drummond
As we noted on Tuesday, the Pistons currently have just one big — Greg Monroe — with any sort of long-term appeal. While pairing Monroe with Davis on the front line might be more appetizing, the Pistons wouldn’t sneeze at adding Drummond either. On sheer physical talent, he may have more upside than Davis. If he can get his act together, he and Monroe could make a seriously awesome front line.
