Jennings firing on all pistons
AUBURN HILLS — Brandon Jennings got the gist. He knew the Pistons gave up on him as soon as they traded for Reggie Jackson.
And on Tuesday the Knicks guard returned to the Palace at Auburn Hills with no sentiment toward his former team, one way or another.
“It means nothing,” said Jennings, who scored 12 points in the Knicks’ 102-89 loss.
There was some irony Tuesday in the fact that Jennings was healthy and playing for the Knicks, while Jackson was sidelined with a knee injury that could keep him out for another month.
Two trade deadlines ago, Jennings’ future was in doubt because of a torn Achilles and Detroit president/coach Stan Van Gundy felt compelled to pull the trigger on a deal for Jackson.
The move signaled the Pistons moving on from Jennings, whom they had acquired in 2013 via sign-and-trade on a $25 million deal. Asked to rehash Jennings’ stint, Van Gundy waxed poetic about a brilliant 12-game stretch just before Jennings tore his Achilles when he led the Pistons out of the basement to respectability.
“Basically, he saved our season two years ago. I mean absolutely saved us. We were 5-23 and headed nowhere. Things were going very, very badly. We made a couple of roster moves but he just took over and played probably the best stretch of basketball that over 10 or 12 games that I’ve had anybody play – and I’ve had good players,” Van Gundy said. “And probably the best 10 or 12 games of his career. He was fantastic, turned our season around. Got us back toward competitiveness. … We wouldn’t have been a playoff team if it not what Brandon did two years ago because I think he just turned around the entire mood of our franchise, our fanbase. I’ll be forever grateful for what he did that year. And it wasn’t just his play. His play was great. But his energy, his swagger, everything else. He just really changed the whole place around. ... I’ll never forget what he did. He saved my sanity on top of everything else.”
Jennings was dealt to Orlando in February; Tuesday marked his first appearance back in Detroit.
“I knew it was over once they got Reggie Jackson,” said Jennings, who signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Knicks.