Detroit Pistons

If Doc Rivers coaches the Clippers next season – and Kevin Arnovitz explains why that’s still a possibility even though talks have been reported to be dead – the Celtics will need a replacement. Lawrence Frank served as Boston’s defensive coordinator before the Pistons hired him, and that went well. So, apparently the Celtics would be interested in giving him more responsibility. A. Sherrod Blakely of CSN Northeast: In addition to Vinny Del Negro, former #Celtics asst. Lawrence Frank expected to emerge as candidate to replace Rivers as well. The Celtics can and should do better. I’m not convinced Frank would fail as their coach, but he’s shown enough in stints with the Pistons and Nets that Boston could either get someone with a better track record or at least someone who hasn’t shown so many negatives, and too few positives, as a head coach. Speaking of the Nets, Frank has an open and public invitation to join Jason Kidd’s staff. Mike Mazzeo of ESPN: Brooklyn Nets coach Jason Kidd has offered Lawrence Frank the opportunity to be an assistant coach on his staff. "The invitation is out there, so it’s up to him," Kidd said Friday on ESPN Radio’s "Mike & Mike." "He’s in a special situation. He’s at home, his wife is sick, so I understand coming off of coaching [the Detroit Pistons] and [possibly] wanting a year off with his family, so I respect that. The big thing is he knows how much I love him and how much I need him, but family comes first, and I respect that." That’s more in Frank’s wheelhouse, playing a role as prominent assistant for a completely inexperienced head coach. I’m rooting for Frank to get either job, mostly because that would signal his wife’s health has improved. But I’m also not sure the Pistons hired a better head coach in Maurice Cheeks than the one they fired. I’d be very intrigued to see what Frank and Cheeks do next season.

Ford drops Burke another spot to Detroit at No. 8, and now has him as the second-best point guard on his board. Tim Hardaway Jr., meanwhile, continues to rise -- settling in at No. 27 in Ford's latest mock draft.

Iversson allegedly took the kids on a short vacation and then never showed at the appointed time to return them to his ex-wife but the former NBA All-Star denies the allegations.

Chad Ford of ESPN just released his latest mock draft, and you might like his choice for the Pistons: Trey Burke. The Pistons are hoping, for a third year in a row, that one of the top seven players on the board slides to them on draft night. However, it the draft holds true to form, look for them to try to address their backcourt at No. 8. The team thinks Brandon Knight is more suited to play the two and would like to bring in a "pure" point guard to run the team. While Burke is a little undersized, he’s highly skilled as both a shooter and a penetrator and has great leadership capabilities. McCollum and Zeller also are possibilities here, especially if both Burke and Carter-Williams are off the board. Yes, a thousand times yes. I still don’t think Burke will be available at No. 8, and this part of the mock draft could change several times before the actual draft, but Ford reveals a couple hopeful tidbits. Ford on the Pelicans, who have the No. 6 pick: They like Trey Burke and Carter-Williams, but sources continue to say that they think Austin Rivers can still make the transition to point guard. Ford on the Kings, who have the No. 7 pick: Sounds like Trey Burke isn’t particularly high on their list This is the time for smokescreens, and maybe the Pelicans and Kings really do like Burke. But if they don’t, he could easily slip. The Magic (No. 2) want a point guard, but they’re probably picking too high for Burke. The Wizards (No. 3) have John Wall. The Bobcats (No. 4) have Kemba Walker. And the Suns (No. 5) have Goran Dragic. Burke seems like the most likely top prospects to fall to the Pistons, and I’d be absolutely ecstatic if he does.

Things had been looking grim for the Pistons ever since the NBA Draft Lottery when Detroit slid to the eighth spot in what was increasingly looking like a five-player draft. But if there is one thing you can count on in the NBA, it is that general managers fall in love with tantalizing prospects of size (Andre Drummond, bizarrely, notwithstanding). And true enough the latest mock draft from ESPN's well-connected Chad Ford has a trio of big men (and one extremely tall point guard) being selected in the first seven picks. That leaves the small in stature but not in production Trey Burke from the University of Michigan. While recent reports indicate that Detroit might not be too enamored with Burke, Ford has Detroit selecting Burke as its latest PGOTF (Point Guard Of The Future). Burke is available because Ford has the Cleveland Cavaliers selecting Nerlens Noel at No. 1, the Charlotte Bobcats selecting Anthony Bennett at No. 4, the New Orleans Pelicans selecting Alex Len at No. 6 and the Sacramento Kings selecting Michael Carter-Williams at No 7. The article is ESPN Insider, but I'll pull out his comment about the Pistons: Analysis: The Pistons are hoping, for a third year in a row, that one of the top seven players on the board slides to them on draft night. However, it the draft holds true to form, look for them to try to address their backcourt at No. 8. The team thinks Brandon Knight is more suited to play the two and would like to bring in a "pure" point guard to run the team. While Burke is a little undersized, he's highly skilled as both a shooter and a penetrator and has great leadership capabilities. McCollum and Zeller also are possibilities here, especially if both Burke and Carter-Williams are off the board. While I continue to be somewhat surprised that nobody ever links Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to Detroit (I'm a fan), having a choice between Burke, C.J. McCollum and Cody Zeller isn't all that bad. And I'm especially happy about whose names aren't mentioned -- Shabazz Muhammad, Anthony Bennett.

Today is the deadline for players with withdraw from the draft but the biggest impact is with international players.

With both Jose Calderon and Will Bynum pending free agents, it stands to reason Joe Dumars will solicit the opinion of Maurice Cheeks if the Pistons address point guard in the draft, Keith Langlois writes for True Blue Pistons.

For the first time in several years, the Detroit Pistons have a heap of cash to work with.They enter the offseason with somewhere between $20-$25 million in salary cap space.And while most teams' fans would be excited at this prospect, the Pistons

For the first time in several years, the Detroit Pistons have a heap of cash to work with.They enter the offseason with somewhere between $20-$25 million in salary cap space.And while most teams' fans would be excited at this prospect, the Pistons

Ukrainian big man is a good shot blocker and scorer inside but there are concerns about his health after undergoing offseason ankle surgery.