Detroit Pistons

Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin will make his season debut against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Griffin has missed the Pistons' first 10 games with a left hamstring injury and posterior knee soreness. Detroit has gone 4-6 in his absence.

The 30-year-old averaged 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists last season while leading the Pistons to their second playoff appearance in 10 years. The ex-Los Angeles Clipper is a six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA player. 

Wojnarowski provided an additional update on Griffin's progress.

"Griffin, who's been rehabilitating a sore knee and hamstring since preseason, had been ramping up for a return in recent days," he wrote. "He had several pain-free practices that cleared the way for Griffin to return to the lineup."

Griffin had an arthroscopic procedure done in April to address left knee soreness that kept him out for six of the Pistons' final 11 games, including the playoffs. He worked through the injury to play the Pistons' final two postseason games against the Milwaukee Bucks, averaging 24.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists.

The Pistons have treaded water despite injuries to Griffin, starting point guard Reggie Jackson (lower back stress reaction) and Derrick Rose (hamstring).

Jackson played the first two games but has missed the last eight. Rose, who has averaged 20.8 points in just 25.0 minutes per game, has sat for four of the Pistons' 10 contests.

Andre Drummond's dominance and Luke Kennard's scoring surge have helped Detroit stay near the middle of the Eastern Conference pack, sitting in ninth place. Drummond has posted 21.2 points and a league-leading 18.0 rebounds per game, and Kennard is averaging a career-high 18.0 points on 45.3 percent shooting.

With Griffin back, Markieff Morris figures to move to the second unit. He has started 10 games at power forward in Griffin's absence, averaging 12.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

Detroit will host Minnesota on Monday at 7 p.m. ET.

Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond is the NBA's premier rebounder currently, but the two-time All-Star believes he also stacks up well against the all-time greats in that category.

According to Rod Beard of the Detroit News, the 26-year-old Drummond feels he is already the best rebounder in NBA history: "I think I'm definitely the best ever when it comes to rebounding. I don't think there's anybody who's even remotely close to the things I've done when it comes to [rebounding]."

With forward Blake Griffin having yet to play this season due to a hamstring injury, Drummond has put the Pistons on his back and generated career-best numbers thus far with 21.9 points, 18.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.

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Entering the 2019-20 campaign, Drummond had led the NBA in rebounding in three of the previous four seasons. He is also leading the league by a wide margin this season and hasn't averaged worse than 13.2 rebounds per game in a season since his rookie year in 2012-13.

Drummond is in his eighth NBA season and conceivably has many more productive years ahead of him, but his statement necessitates a look at where he stands on the all-time rebounding list currently.

In terms of total rebounds, Drummond is only 80th on the all-time NBA list with 7,591, although that is to be expected since he is a fairly young player still in his prime. Because of that, a better barometer is rebounds per game.

At 13.78 rebounds per game during his career, Drummond is seventh on the all-time NBA list behind Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Bob Pettit, Jerry Lucas, Nate Thurmond and Wes Unseld. All of them are Hall of Famers.

Chamberlain and Russell are leaps and bounds above the rest with 22.89 rebounds per game and 22.45 rebounds per game, respectively, but it should be noted that their prime years were in the 1960s when there weren't as many quality big men in the league.

The same can be said for every player ahead of Drummond, as they all played primarily in the 1970s or earlier, which was a different game than it is now.

Among modern players, the case can easily be made that Drummond is the best rebounder, and as the NBA continues to trend toward positionless basketball, he could become an even more dominant rebounder in the years to come as players with his skill set may be fewer and more far between.

Regardless of where Drummond stands among the all-time great rebounders, his career year is coming at a perfect time, as he can become a free agent at the conclusion of the season and is putting himself in position to land a massive contract from the Pistons or perhaps even another team.

Detroit Pistons power forward Blake Griffin, who's yet to appear in a game during the 2019-20 NBA season because of knee and hamstring injuries, has been cleared to resume basketball activities. 

Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic reported Thursday that Griffin is now day-to-day.

The 30-year-old University of Oklahoma product is coming off a strong 2018-19 campaign for the Pistons. He averaged a career-best 24.5 points to go along with 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists while making a career-high 2.5 threes per game as the evolution of his game continued.

Griffin has a history of injury problems, though.

He missed his entire first year in the NBA because of a knee injury. After missing just four games over the next four seasons, he's sat out 114 contests over the last five years with various injuries, including further knee issues.

The six-time All-Star had an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee in April.

"I'm close, very close," Griffin told Charania on Monday about his return. "The training staff tells me it's one day at a time. They tell me what I'm doing the next day, and that's it, because they know I'd go crazy if I have a timetable."

He added: "I feel great and I'm ready to go whenever they give me the green light."

Griffin will likely be on a minutes restriction upon his return, but once given full clearance he should one again create one of the league's best froncourt tandems with center Andre Drummond.

His return is going to decrease the playing time for Markieff Morris, Christian Wood and Thon Maker.

Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson will miss an extended period of time with a back injury. 

The Pistons announced Jackson will be out for at least four weeks due to a stress reaction. 

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium first reported the news. 

Jackson hasn't played in Detroit's last four games with what the team called lower-back tightness. 

On Friday, Rod Beard of the Detroit News reported the tightness was being exacerbated by doing activity. 

"He can go a certain amount of distance and then it starts to flare up," Beard wrote. "Once it starts to spasm up, he's not moving right."

The Pistons had to start this season without Blake Griffin due to knee and hamstring injuries. He told reporters this week there is no definitive return timetable. 

Durability has been an issue for Jackson, though he was able to play all 82 games last season. The 29-year-old missed a combined 67 games in 2016-17 and 2017-18. He averaged 5.0 points and 4.0 assists in the first two games this season. 

Detroit is off to a 2-4 start, tied with the Chicago Bulls for last place in the Central Division.

Derrick Rose will be in the United Center as a visitor when his Detroit Pistons take on the Chicago Bulls in Friday’s Eastern Conference clash, but it wasn’t long ago he was seen as the new savior for his hometown franchise in the post-Michael Jordan era.

Chicago selected the University of Memphis product with the No. 1 pick of the 2008 NBA draft, and for a while, he was that savior.

He was the 2008-09 Rookie of the Year, 2010-11 league MVP in just his third season and a three-time All-Star. Rose was a blur in the open court with explosive athleticism and the best hope for any franchise in the Eastern Conference to challenge the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh juggernaut in Miami.

However, injuries sapped him of his prime and much of that athleticism for extended stretches, and he was criticized for not returning to the court sooner. The Bulls went from the Eastern Conference Finals in his third season to winning just one more playoff series when he was on the floor the rest of the way until he left following the 2015-16 campaign.

"I was going through a lot, I was going through injuries, I was dealing with things off the court," Rose said of his journey to the Pistons, per Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com. "It was a lot of circumstances that I was put in and I had to weave through to find the place that I'm in right now, which is what you see the happiness."

Woodyard noted Rose was in headlines for more than just his injuries in Chicago.

Rose was accused of rape in a civil lawsuit during the 2016-17 campaign when he was on the New York Knicks, although a jury dismissed the accusation. He also underwent a fourth knee surgery and was temporarily missing from the Knicks because of a family issue during that same season.

Rose also dealt with ankle and elbow injuries when he was on the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves the past two seasons.

"I've got my family now, I've got three kids, I'm happy with where I'm at right now, the destination I'm at right now and I'm just trying to take everything in and learn every day and be appreciative of where I'm at," he said.

While the season is still in the early stages, Rose has found success with the Pistons. He is averaging 20.4 points and 6.2 assists a night and thriving when given the opportunities to go up against second units.

Friday is the first of four matchups this season between his new and first team.

Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin will miss the start of the regular season due to knee and hamstring injuries.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Griffin is going to be out through the first week of November. 

This will likely force the Pistons to play without their best player for the first 10 games of the season depending on how his recovery goes. 

Griffin is coming off one of his best individual seasons in the NBA, averaging a career-high 24.5 points per game. He also added 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game while helping the Pistons earn a spot in the playoffs for the first time in three years.

The production was enough to earn his sixth career All-Star selection.

On the downside, his injury problems continued to slow him down, especially in the playoffs as a knee issue kept him off the court. He underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee in April.

The 30-year-old was at least healthy enough to play 75 games in 2018-19, but he averaged just 55.3 games per season over the previous four years.

It's a far cry from when he missed just four total games over four seasons between 2010 and 2014.

As good as he is on the court, it appears another health issue is slowing Griffin down and preventing him from reaching his potential. On a roster without much depth, an extended absence could be devastating for the Pistons.

Markieff Morris should see extra minutes if the All-Star is forced to miss time.

The Pistons will open the 2019-20 season on Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers. 

The Detroit Pistons are waiving Joe Johnson, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes reported earlier that Johnson was "experiencing swelling on his Achilles" but that testing didn't reveal a significant injury and he was "responding well to treatment."

The Pistons had signed Johnson to a one-year, $2.5 million contract that was partially guaranteed.

He made four preseason appearances for Detroit, averaging 3.8 points on 43.8 percent shooting from the field and 16.7 percent from three-point range.

A seven-time All-Star, Johnson went unsigned throughout the 2018-19 season and got himself back onto the radar of NBA teams through his performances in the BIG3 league. He was the league's MVP and leading scorer (21.9 points) in 2019.

The 38-year-old didn't look great in the NBA preseason, which followed a largely forgettable 2017-18 season. Splitting his time between the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets, he averaged 6.8 points and shot a career-worst 27.6 percent from beyond the arc. He finished 502nd in ESPN's offensive real plus-minus (minus-3.16).

Perhaps another franchise could see Johnson as a veteran leader in the locker room. He already defied expectations to work his way back to the league, but his move to the Pistons might have been his last shot at cracking an NBA rotation.

Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores told reporters Monday that re-signing center Andre Drummond is a top priority for the team moving forward.

"We know how dedicated we are to each other," Gores said. "I've said it many times: He's very underrated in a lot of ways for what he does, and culturally he's been so good for this team, just in terms of his attitude, and just watching him really grow up. I met him when he was 18."

Drummond, 26, can become a free agent after the season if he declines his $28.8 million option for 2020-21. It's widely expected he will do so and command a new contract that could reach max or near-max levels. He has already indicated he plans to opt out.

"Yeah, it should be fun. I'm excited. I think I'm the only one that has a big contract coming up for that year," Drummond told reporters of free agency in September.

The upcoming free-agent class is one of the weakest in recent memory, but Drummond's list of potential suitors is not large. Few teams are projected to have the space necessary to sign him to a major contract, though sign-and-trade possibilities are available.

Drummond has averaged a double-double in six of his seven NBA seasons, including marks of 17.3 points and 15.6 rebounds per game in 2018-19. He's twice made the NBA All-Star team and was a third-team All-NBA selection in 2016.

While he's not a building-block talent—especially in the modern NBA—Drummond is a valuable big who has attempted to create a more well-rounded game. He vastly improved his free-throw shooting the last two seasons and has flashed an increased willingness to extend his range. Those shots are yet to fall at a consistent rate, but Drummond's work ethic allows him to project well for when his athleticism begins to wane.

The Detroit Pistons and veteran swingman Joe Johnson reportedly agreed to a partially guaranteed one-year contract Thursday, bringing the BIG3 MVP back to the NBA for what should be a final chapter.  

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium first reported the news, and Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports noted Michael Beasley will be waived in a corresponding move.

Johnson, 38, was out of the NBA last season. He last played for the Houston Rockets in 2017-18, falling out of the rotation as his borderline Hall of Fame career seemed to end.

However, a brilliant run in the BIG3 reopened Johnson's NBA window. He won the regular-season MVP as part of Triplets, scoring 21.8 points per game and almost single-handedly leading the team to the championship.

"To be honest, I'm not at peace with how my career ended," Johnson told the Salt Lake Tribune's Eric Walden. "Especially in Houston, not even getting a chance to play in the postseason for whatever reason. That's the only memory that really sticks in my head."

The BIG3 has largely been a showcase for players who are years past their NBA viability, but Johnson is the league's biggest success story yet. Founder Ice Cube said Johnson's NBA return increases the league's exposure. 

"No question," Ice Cube told Frank Isola of The Athletic. "If that's the goal of some players, great. Our main goal is to establish three-on-three as a viable professional sport. If some of our players make it back that does a lot for the credibility of the league. We'll do anything to help our players reach their goals."

"We've done everything to push the credibility of the league. We have Hall of Fame coaches. The Olympics will make people who are still skeptical take the league more serious. Five, six years into this, people will just roll with it. We know we're ahead of the curve."

It's unclear what Johnson has left in the tank. While the BIG3 has grown in each of its first three seasons, it's still a three-on-three half-court league that plays once per week. There is a Grand Canyon-sized chasm between that and an 82-game grind of the world's best players in their prime.

Johnson averaged 6.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per game on 40.6 percent shooting during his most recent NBA campaign, split in Houston and Utah. The Rockets found little use for him after he struggled following a midseason acquisition from the Jazz.

The Pistons will hope Johnson's year off got his body right and will help him contribute off their bench as a floor spacer with playoff experience. His signing is a little perplexing given their full roster and lack of championship chances. That said, he could give them some scoring punch and shooting. 

The Detroit Pistons reportedly have the inside track on adding veteran wingman Joe Johnson.

On Thursday, Jeff Goodman of The Athletic reported the Pistons are "on the verge" of landing Johnson, adding the team would likely release Michael Beasley in a corresponding move.

Goodman's report comes after Frank Isola of The Athletic said the Pistons were favorites to land Johnson during an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio on Wednesday (h/t Noah Coslov).

Johnson has not played in the NBA since he was a member of the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz during the 2017-18 campaign.

The Pistons have reportedly been in on Johnson for some time, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN noted they were one of three teams he worked out with on Sept. 2. He also worked out with the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets.

On the one hand, Johnson is 38 years old and wouldn't be the same version of himself who made seven All-Star Games (the last in 2014) and averaged as many as 25.0 points per game in 2006-07 on the Atlanta Hawks. On the other hand, he impressed during BIG3 play and won the league MVP before leading the Triplets to a championship in their first season.

The 6'7", 240-pound forward wouldn't be asked to shoulder many of the offensive responsibilities in Detroit and would likely look to take advantage of open shooting windows created by playing alongside Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond in the frontcourt.

Johnson shot just 27.6 percent from three-point range in his most recent NBA season but isn't far removed from his 41.1 percent mark in 2016-17 as a member of the Jazz.

That type of shooting—and the play that was on display in the BIG3—could help the Pistons battle for positioning in the Eastern Conference playoff picture after they were swept by the Bucks in the first round last season.