The Detroit Pistons have denied pursuing Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo or Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings. With the amnesty deadline passing, Charlie Villanueva appears to be part of the Pistons' plans for next season.
Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumar denied a report by the Boston Globe claiming his team was pursuing Jennings.
"Never happened, never even a conversation about Brandon," Dumar told the Detroit Free Press. "And today I saw something about Brandon Jennings. (Bucks general manager) John Hammond and I were on the phone talking about our dogs."
Dumar also addressed the report of a Brandon Knight for Rondo trade, but was less categorical with his denial.
"At this point, I really can't start talking about somebody else's player," he said. "That trade rumor is not true."
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has said Rondo isn't up for grabs, and the mercurial guard is expected to be an integral part of Boston's rebuilding.
It could be a smoke screen, however. Teams are usually reticent to disclose their offseason plans, but Detroit has only around $3.7 million in available cap space.
The Pistons do appear ready to move forward with Villanueva. The team's opportunity to amnesty the 28-year-old forward, who's due $8.5 million this season, passed on Tuesday. Detroit never had any intention to amnesty Villanueva, MLive.com reported.
*Salary information via HoopsWorld.
