The Pistons have been operating without a clear idea of when they can expect Brandon Jennings back in the lineup. He suffered a torn left Achilles in January, and there’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding his return. But head coach Stan Van Gundy thinks that sometime around Christmas is realistic for a return.
From Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press:Jennings gave a 6-to-9 month timetable at the time of his injury. He will miss that deadline, but Van Gundy thinks a return around Christmas is reasonable.
“They’ve given us sort of Christmastime, sort of tentative, very general, though, before or after so I think there’s a reasonable chance he could play in a game before the first of the year,” Van Gundy said.Jennings was playing some of the best basketball of his career when he went down, and the Pistons responded to his injury by trading for Reggie Jackson at the deadline. They re-signed Jackson to a five-year, $80 million deal this summer, so Jennings’ role once he gets healthy is unclear. But he adds depth and scoring in the backcourt, and he could be a solid trade chip at the minimum if he comes back and his play resembles what it was before the injury.