Detroit Pistons

The NBA apparently has a lot of fake tough guys.

After Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green accused Detroit Pistons wing Rodney McGruder of acting like a "tough guy" following a postgame exchange between McGruder and Juan Toscano-Anderson, Detroit's Wayne Ellington responded:

Here were Draymond's (NSFW) comments on the exchange:

Klay Thompson also had a few thoughts on McGruder from the broadcast booth:

Per Green's comments, McGruder was "taking up for Wayne Ellington" when he began jawing with Toscano-Anderson and the Warriors bench after the game:

"Also I think it was something Juan said in the first or second quarter to Wayne Ellington. You ain't got nothing better to do that you're still thinking of something from the first or second quarter when you weren't in the game. So apparently, Wayne Ellington must have went over to the bench. I guess he went and told Rodney McGruder because he hadn't been in the game. Yeah, I don't know."

So there is no love lost between the Warriors (11-9) and Pistons (5-15). 

Trash talk is commonplace in the NBA, but for Green and Thompson to so publicly and savagely rip McGruder—who is averaging 2.8 points in five minutes per game (four total appearances) for the bottom-feeding Pistons—felt a little more malicious than most back-and-forths.

Clearly, McGruder said something to Toscano-Anderson that the pair couldn't abide. Regardless, it's made for an entertaining spectacle for the rest of us.

Detroit Pistons rookie Killian Hayes will be out at least eight weeks due to a hip injury, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN.  

The team announced he will be treated with rest and rehabilitation before he is re-evaluated.

Hayes has already missed six games as a result of what was reported as a labral tear in his hip, per Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic. He picked up the injury in a Jan. 4 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks and has not returned to the court since.

"It's a gut punch for the kid because he wants to be successful like any other rookie," Pistons general manager Troy Weaver said last week. "And now that progress has to be slowed down, and he has to make sure he takes care of his business and his injury.

The No. 7 overall pick of the 2020 draft, Hayes was instantly thrust into the starting lineup to begin his career, averaging 4.6 points and 3.6 assists in seven appearances.

His shooting was especially concerning with just a 27.7 field goal percentage while he went 5-of-20 from beyond the arc.

Shot-creation was one of the guard's strengths entering the draft after he flashed a lot of offensive potential for Ratiopharm Ulm, but his slow start in the NBA, coupled with the latest injury, could raise some concerns.

Given this timetable, Hayes won't be able to return until at least after the All-Star break in mid-March.

Delon Wright and Derrick Rose have taken over point guard duties with the rookie unavailable.

The Detroit Pistons announced point guard Derrick Rose was ruled out for the remainder of Wednesday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks with a right knee contusion.

The 32-year-old University of Memphis product was one of the NBA's best players at his peak. He was named Rookie of the Year for the 2008-09 season, Most Valuable Player for the 2010-11 season and earned three consecutive All-Star Game selections from 2010 through 2012.

Injuries prevented Rose from remaining among the league's elite for a longer period of time, though. He suffered a torn ACL during the 2011-12 campaign and has since dealt with a variety of other ailments keeping him out of the lineup.

His extensive injury history includes hamstring, knee, hip and ankle issues.

Delon Wright figures to handle a majority of the ball-handling responsibility for the duration of the Chicago native's latest absence. Wayne Ellington, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Rodney McGruder are among the other Pistons players who can run the offense.

Rose has enjoyed some tremendous turn-back-the-clock moments in recent years, showcasing the all-world talent that allowed him to reach the pinnacle of the sport. Unfortunately, it's unlikely he'll maintain that level of play for an extended period of time because of the injury concerns.

Detroit Pistons rookie Killian Hayes' hip injury has reportedly been diagnosed as a labral tear, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. 

The injury occurred in the third quarter of Monday's 125-115 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Hayes was chasing down Jrue Holiday on a fast break when he fell to the ground. The 19-year-old writhed in pain for a short period before walking to the locker room. 

Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports reported Hayes could miss 4-6 weeks if he avoids surgery.

Hayes, who was born in Florida, made his professional basketball debut in October 2017 at the age of 16 in France. He played two seasons with the Cholet senior team in LNB Pro A before moving to Germany. 

In August 2019, Hayes joined Ratiopharm Ulm in Basketball Bundesliga. He averaged 11.6 points and 5.4 assists per game in 33 games last season. 

The Pistons selected Hayes with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft. Head coach Dwane Casey had used him as the team's starting point guard through the first seven games this season. 

Hayes' adjustment period in the NBA has been rough thus far. The rookie is averaging 4.6 points, 3.6 assists and 2.4 turnovers per game. He's shooting 28.3 percent from the field and is 5-of-20 from three-point range.

Detroit has lost six of its first seven games to start the 2020-21 season.  

Detroit Pistons power forward Blake Griffin left Tuesday night's game vs. the Golden State Warriors after taking an inadvertent elbow from James Wiseman, per Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports.

He is now in the concussion protocol and will not return. 

The 31-year-old has typically been one of the NBA's most productive players when healthy, but injuries have often slowed an otherwise strong career. He won Rookie of the Year for the 2010-11 season and proceeded to earn six All-Star selections since being selected first overall in the 2009 draft.

Griffin missed his entire first year in the NBA with a knee injury. After a four-year stretch of solid durability, he has played more than 70 games only once over the last six seasons because of a variety of knee ailments and other injuries.

Sekou Doumbouya will likely enter the starting lineup alongside Mason Plumlee in the frontcourt. It should also create the most extensive playing time to date for rookie Isaiah Stewart.

Griffin is a crucial piece of the Pistons' offensive game plan as they attempt to push for a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Another extended absence would be a major setback despite the team's depth at the 4.

Detroit Pistons governor Tom Gores responded to an ad taken out in the New York Times calling for him to sell the franchise.

Gores addressed the situation with reporters prior to Saturday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers:

"It hurts. I'm not gonna tell you that it doesn't. I have a family, but then I always kind of look at things and say 'Life's happening for a reason and you're put in that place to make a difference, so maybe that's a blessing.' Then, I also think about people, especially in the African American community who have gone through a lot more judgment and pain than I have. They might judge me a certain way and then I say, 'Get your s--t together, Tom, let's go fight this fight.'"

While the Pistons' on-court product has been lacking in recent seasons, the advertisement asking Gores to sell the team is unrelated to their record.

The Times ad, paid for by nonprofit group Worth Rises, directs people to the WorthRises.org website, which says the private equity firm Gores founded and runs as chairman and CEO, Platinum Equity, "owns one of the nation's largest and most predatory prison telecom corporations: Securus."

Per ESPN's Eric Woodyard, the advertisement in the Times included this line: "If Black Lives Matter, what are you doing about Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores?"

Bianca Tylek, who founded Worth Rises, spoke to Woodyard about the group's advertisement:

"The most important point is that we are three years into his ownership of the company and he's talking about changes now. Like, if that was really sincere and he had plans to do all of those things what has he been doing for three years? And the little that has happened, all happened in the last few months, all happened while the business was in a huge boom because of COVID, unfortunately. Right now, prison visits are shut down."

Per the NBA constitution (h/t Forbes' Leigh Steinberg), governors do have the ability to revoke a member's governorship by a three-fourths vote if the member "fails to fulfill" a "contractual obligation" in "such a way as to affect the [NBA] or its members adversely."

Gores purchased the Pistons in June 2011.

The Detroit Pistons announced Wednesday they've hired rapper Big Sean as their creative director of innovation heading into the 2020-21 NBA season. 

Big Sean, real name Sean Anderson, was raised in Detroit after being born in California. His most recent album, aptly titled Detroit 2, was released in September.

The 32-year-old has long discussed the city's impact on him.

"My music is the essence of Detroit," Big Sean said in 2011. "At one time we were the center of the world, man—Motor City. And us being down right now, this just gives us an opportunity to show how great we really are."

In September, he explained his latest album is an attempt to help other people capture that unmatched vibe.

"I want people to feel the roots of Detroit—the undeniable soul, that unbreakable spirit," he told Brian McCollum of the Detroit Free Press. "Detroit gets slept on sometimes, but I don't think there's any greater or more impactful city, especially musically throughout the decades. I couldn't let that die. I had to do my version of the impact all that music had."

A Pistons statement confirmed his role with the organization is highlighted by providing "creative strategy towards multiple team initiatives, including team apparel and in-game experience." His "Don Life" logo will also be used on the club's practice jerseys.

It'll likely be an arrangement similar to the one between the Toronto Raptors and fellow rapper Drake, who signed on as a team ambassador in 2013.

The Pistons open the regular season Wednesday night when they visit the Target Center to face the Minnesota Timberwolves. Their first home game at Detroit's Little Caesars Arena comes Saturday night when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Another of Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores' business ventures has led an advocacy group to start a push for Gores to sell the team.

Gores, who has owned the Pistons since 2011, also owns Securus Technologies, a company that sets prices for phone calls made from prison nationwide. The calls sometimes cost more than $14 for 15 minutes, according to John Barr of ESPN. 

Worth Rises, a New York-based organization that is aimed at prison reform, took out a full-page ad in the New York Times on Sunday, pushing the league's owners to organize against Gores. 

"At the end of the day, his business stands in complete tension with the notion that Black Lives Matter, and that's something he has to reckon with," Bianca Tylek, the founder and executive director of Worth Rises, told Barr. 

In the United States, 40 percent of the 2.3 million people who are incarcerated are Black, but Black people make up just 13 percent of the country's population, per the Prison Policy Initiative. 

As the league returned to play in the bubble in Orlando, Florida, earlier this year, the Black Lives Matter campaign was a centerpiece of the action, with players replacing their last names with phrases promoting equality and protests after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. 

Tylek, who co-signed a letter that resulted in Gores resigning from a position on the board of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, sent a letter to the league offices earlier this month, and she told Barr that a league executive said her "passion for reform ... is shared by Mr. Gores." 

"We are opposed to the notion of anybody making money off of incarceration," Tylek said. "The idea that anybody is going to privately build wealth off of people who are incarcerated, we don't support because those companies have a vested interest in people's incarceration."

The Pistons did not comment on the advertisement, and Mark Barnhill, Gores' partner in their firm, Platinum Equity, said the company works with organizations in Detroit in the fight for social justice and that Gores donates his profits from Securus to "reform efforts." 

LaVar Ball called the Detroit Pistons organization "raggedy as hell" after they waived his son, LiAngelo Ball, after he signed a one-year, non-guaranteed contract in early December.

The elder Ball was asked about the roster move in a Bleacher Report AMA on Monday afternoon:

"I definitely have thoughts on that. The people in Detroit are great. I love the fans, but the franchise over there is raggedy as hell. They don't know a good player. I was giving them a lottery pick for free! Has the skills to play and the notoriety to bring everybody to the game. How do you throw that out the window? They're gonna learn the hard way. My boys are gonna end up together playing somewhere. 'Gelo can shoot the lights out. That was raggedy what they did. But hey, they're gonna learn the hard way."

Ball didn't play in either of the Pistons' first two preseason games.

The 22-year-old California native was dealing with a right ankle injury, per Jacob Hancock of Sporting News. He underwent ankle surgery last year.

He joined the G League's Oklahoma City Blue as a practice player last December and signed a contract with the club in March. He didn't get to play in any games before the remainder of the season was wiped out because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ball last played professionally during the 2017-18 season alongside his younger brother, LaMelo Ball, with Prienai in the Lithuanian Basketball League. He didn't get selected in the 2018 NBA draft.

The 6'5'', 215-pound shooting guard averaged 12.6 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 42.5 percent from the field across 14 appearances for Prienai. He showed promise as an outside shooter, knocking down 2.4 threes per game while connecting on 41.5 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.

Ball, a 3-star recruit who signed with UCLA, should have a good chance to land another G League opportunity if the NBA's developmental arm resumes play during the 2020-21 season amid the pandemic.

LiAngelo Ball's time with the Detroit Pistons did not last until the regular season.

According to James Edwards III of The Athletic, the Pistons waived Ball, Anthony Lamb and Louis King following Sunday's preseason game against the New York Knicks. That means the chances of all three Ball brothers playing in the NBA this season are not looking great, although another team could always take a chance on LiAngelo now that he is no longer with the Pistons on a non-guaranteed contract.

Ball did not play in either of Detroit's first two preseason games, which came against the New York Knicks.

Detroit's decision to sign the middle Ball brother was part of a notable offseason for the family, as the Charlotte Hornets selected LaMelo with the No. 3 overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft. Lonzo Ball is on the New Orleans Pelicans, and their father, LaVar, reacted to all three being in the league:

This is a setback to that dream, although LiAngelo worked his way into such a position by playing in various leagues.

He played for the Los Angeles Ballers in the Junior Basketball Association, which is the league LaVar started, and also spent time as a practice player with the Oklahoma City Blue of the G League last season.

He did not appear in a G League game before the season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alas, it appears as if LiAngelo will have to go back to work if he hopes to join his brothers at the NBA level.