Darrun

Hilliard

While Johnson showed flashes last year, this experience will also be great for his development as he struggled at times as well. Johnson is still just 19 years old and should and has a bright future in front of him, so he’s a player fantasy owners should be keeping an eye on. He’ll be joined at summer league by teammates Darrun Hilliard and Lorenzo Brown.

The injury forced him to miss the summer league, but it’s not as bad as originally thought. Hilliard will still have a bone scan to confirm the good news, but no timetable has been set for his return. The second year player likely won’t be in the rotation at the start of the season.

This is tough news for Hilliard because he would have been a key part of the action in Orlando. He might have had a chance to get some minutes this season with Jodie Meeks being traded to Orlando. He will be evaluated in the coming days and the team will share its prognosis after that.

“Darrun gives us a guy who can make plays off the dribble probably better than anybody on our team other than Reggie Jackson or Ish [Smith], Van Gundy said. “He and Stanley [Johnson] would be the two guys, but Darrun’s probably the best of the non-point guards on our roster. And then Reggie Bullock really emerged as our best perimeter shooter.” SVG likes what both players have to offer, but they will have a limited role right out of the gate with Johnson expected to see the bulk of the wing minutes off the bench.

It was initially reported that Hilliard suffered a stress fracture in his lower back, but an MRI cleared him of structural damage and it sounds like he’ll be healthy for training camp. Hilliard should earn a spot in the rotation this season but his fantasy appeal is scant with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope playing huge minutes as Detroit’s starting SG.

Hilliard is reportedly still bothered by a lower back injury he suffered during Summer League. Stan Van Gundy has been unstinting in his praise of Hilliard, but a backup role and a lingering injury mean he’s off the radar for most fantasy owners.

“He’s still trying to overcome that back problem,” said Van Gundy. “I expected Darrun will play really well. He had one great scrimmage the first day, but he’s just been limited in what he can do.” Hillard is battling Reggie Bullock for reserve minutes, but this injury will tilt the odds in Bullock’s favor of earning extended minutes with the second unit. Hilliard isn’t worth drafting anywhere.

It’s just a precaution, but Hilliard will only be allowed to participate in one practice per day during camp. The Pistons are loaded with depth this season and Stanley Johnson is going to have a larger role, meaning Hilliard may not be in the rotation.

Per the Detroit News, Hilliard has been participating in light optional workouts, but isn’t doing anything that could cause a setback."[The trainers] are trying to limit his workload a little bit but for the most part, he’s been doing everything,” coach Stan Van Gundy said. “He’s actually doing pretty well.” It is unlikely Hilliard will possess significant fantasy value at any point this season. Hilliard averaged 4.0 points and 1.2 rebounds, shooting 38 percent on 3-pointers in 38 games last season.

It looked like he might have dislocated his shoulder and he went to the locker room for X-rays, but there’s no official word from the Pistons yet on details. Hopefully the injury’s not as bad as it looked on television, but his immediate reaction and the way he left the court makes us believe he could miss some time. Stanley Johnson replaced him in the lineup tonight, and would likely be the beneficiary if KCP if he can’t return. Darrun Hilliard would also get a bump.