Pistons play small role in mega-NBA deal
The Detroit Pistons helped the Houston Rockets acquire ninetime all-star point guard Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
Detroit dealt six-foot-six, 205-pound shooting guard Darrun Hilliard to Houston for cash considerations and the Rockets sent him to the Clippers as part of the Paul trade.
Houston needed an expiring, non-guaranteed contract and got that in Hilliard, who will likely be waived by Saturday to prevent his contract of over $1.4 million from becoming guaranteed for next season. The 24-year-old Hilliard was a second-round pick by the Pistons in 2015 out of Villanova, but became expendable when Detroit selected shooting guard Luke Kennard with the 12th pick overall in this month’s NBA Draft.
In two seasons with Detroit, Hilliard appeared in 77 games with three starts and averaged 3.6 points per game and one rebound while playing just over 10 minutes a game during those appearances.
TIGERS ACTIVATE MARTINEZ
The Detroit Tigers activated designated hitter Victor Martinez from the 10-day disabled list prior to Wednesday’s game against the Kansas City Royals and placed him sixth in the batting order.
To make room on the roster, the Tigers sent catcher/first baseman John Hicks to the club’s Class AAA Toledo farm team.
The 38-year-old Martinez was on the disabled list after suffering an irregular heartbeat against Tampa Bay on June 15. Martinez is in the third year of a four-year contract for $68 million and is batting .261 in 60 games with five home runs and 29 RBI.
Hicks played in eight games for the Tigers while Martinez was out and made four starts. In three stints with Detroit this season, Hicks is batting .299 with three home runs and 12 RBI.
WINGS INK STREET
The Detroit Red Wings signed centre Ben Street to a one-year contract extension. The 30-yearold Street was set to become an unrestricted free agent on Friday.
The five-foot-11, 200-pound Street appeared in six games for Detroit last season and has also played in the NHL with Calgary and Colorado.