Russell Bodine Color Rush Jersey from SADASD's blog

For two months Lorenzo Carter Color Rush Jersey , they looked like a team on the rise in the Eastern Conference during a 19-14 start that included victories at Golden State, Minnesota, Oklahoma City and Boston. Then an ankle injury to point guard Reggie Jackson derailed Detroit’s season, and even a bold trade for Blake Griffin wasn’t enough to push the Pistons to the playoffs.

Detroit’s promising start now feels like a long time ago, and the big question for this offseason is the status of Stan Van Gundy, who has just one playoff appearance in four seasons as coach and president of basketball operations.

”I think we have to make changes,” owner Tom Gores said earlier this week.

It’s not clear if those changes will involve moving on from Van Gundy, who never had much of a chance to coach the Pistons at full strength after Jackson’s ankle injury Dec. 26. He didn’t come back until the latter half of March.

After faltering badly following Jackson’s injury, the Pistons acquired Griffin in a blockbuster trade at the end of January. Detroit went on a brief run after that deal but quickly regressed and finished 39-43.

The Pistons have made the playoffs only once in the past nine seasons.

”Hopefully we can have a more healthy year next year,” Jackson said.

Jackson has played only 97 games over the past two seasons Sampo Ranta Blackhawks Jersey , a big reason the Pistons have been unable to build on their playoff appearance in 2016.

LIMITED FLEXIBILITY

The Pistons now have Griffin and Andre Drummond locked into expensive deals, and they’ll probably need to make that combination work because they sent the Los Angeles Clippers a protected first-round draft pick in the deal for Griffin. Although there are always health concerns with Griffin, his production wasn’t an issue. He averaged 19.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 25 games with Detroit.

YOUNGER OPTIONS

The first-round picks Detroit has had under Van Gundy have produced decidedly mixed results. Stanley Johnson can provide a boost defensively but is still limited at the offensive end, and Henry Ellenson played in only 38 games this season. Rookie Luke Kennard shot over 40 percent from 3-point range, but even that felt like a missed opportunity since he was taken one spot ahead of Donovan Mitchell in last year’s draft.

BRIGHT SPOT

Drummond came into the season with a lot to prove, and he delivered with perhaps his best season as a pro. Not only did he improve his free throw shooting to a more respectable 60.5 percent, but he also averaged 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.

NEW ARENA

This was the team’s first season at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. A glaring number of empty seats early in the season indicated that the Pistons couldn’t expect packed houses just because they were in a new venue, but the team hadn’t been drawing well at its previous home either, and the move downtown could still pay dividends if Detroit wins a few more games.

VETERAN

Anthony Tolliver did an impressive job as a role player for the Pistons this season http://www.cowboysauthorizedshops.com/authentic-bo-scarbrough-jersey , shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc and averaging 8.9 points per game. He’s carved out a decade-long career after going undrafted out of Creighton.

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Aqib Talib is reuniting with Wade Phillips in Los Angeles after the Denver Broncos agreed to trade the star cornerback to the Rams, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.

The Rams will send Denver a mid-round pick, believed to be a fifth-rounder, in next month’s draft for the perennial Pro Bowl cornerback, said the person, who spoke off the record because the trade isn’t official until the start of the new league year Wednesday.

”Man, I’m so excited,” Talib told The Associated Press from Dallas on Thursday night. ”I can’t wait to play for Coach Sean McVay, go back with working with Wade, and playing with my young man Danny Shelton Color Rush Jersey , Marcus Peters. He’s going to bring that young energy back to me.

”I’m super excited to play with those guys. Aaron Donald is a good friend of mine, too, so I get to go from playing behind Von Miller to playing behind Aaron Donald. That’s not too shabby. I got another MVP in front of me.”

The NFL Network first reported the agreement. The Broncos had been in talks with the Patriots, 49ers and Rams about Talib, who signed a six-year, $57 million deal in Denver in 2014, part of a defensive makeover that carried the team to the Super Bowl title two years ago.

In Los Angeles, Talib will reunite with Phillips, who was his defensive coordinator in Denver until last year, and will play alongside a fellow star defensive back in Peters http://www.coltsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-quenton-nelson-jersey , whom the Rams are acquiring from Kansas City .

Talib had an eventful four seasons in Denver, both on and off the field. He missed the Broncos’ visit with former President Barack Obama to celebrate their Super Bowl 50 triumph after accidentally shooting himself in the leg during a night of partying only to come back to have an All-Pro season in 2016. He was suspended for one game for fighting Michael Crabtree last season.

None of that is why the Broncos are moving on from Talib.

They needed to clear both salary cap space and room for rising cornerback Bradley Roby, who’s getting a big pay raise from about $1 million in 2017 to $8.526 million this year in the final season of his rookie contract.

On Thursday, the Broncos also picked up cornerback Chris Harris Jr.’s $1 million option, guaranteeing his 2018 salary of about $7.5 million. He’ll cost them $10.26 million against the cap in 2018.

By trading Talib, who’s due $11 million this season and $8 million next year, the Broncos will have about $35 million in salary cap space to pursue free agents, including quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Talib said Donald was the first Ram to reach out to him after word of the deal got out Thursday night. They share an agent in Todd France.

Talib said he’ll miss playing with Harris, his college teammate at Kansas, and the rest of the Broncos Russell Bodine Color Rush Jersey , however.

”It’s a business, man, so them guys understand,” Talib said. ”Chris hit me up. We’re all talented corners and they couldn’t pay all of us. They got that quarterback situation they’ve got to fix.”

Talib’s departure further breaks up the ”No Fly Zone ” secondary that saw its first departure last fall when the Broncos cut safety T.J. Ward so they could play second-year safety Justin Simmons more.

Talib, who was one of the Broncos’ defensive captains last season, called his stay in Denver special.

”I’m going to miss it. It’s a one-of-a-kind group in that locker room,” Talib said. ”Von’s going to be out here in Dallas this weekend for the grand opening of my workout facility. So, I’ll get to hang out with him again. But I’m definitely going to miss it. A lot of good memories in that locker room.”

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