Brandon Jennings has returned from that dreaded Achilles injury but rather than a warm welcome, the 26-year-old guard has been plagued by NBA trade rumors instead.
Apparently, critics see Jennings as someone who will likely be dispensable with Reggie Jackson picking up the playmaking duties. With that in mind, Jennings may find himself either playing backup or moving over to the shooting guard position if he stays on with the Detroit Pistons.
Jennings has been known to be an explosive player, someone who can make things happen. But all that was witnessed before he incurred that ruptured Achilles injury, thus placing him in “under observation” mode.
One team that was immediately linked to Jennings was the New York Knicks. The Knicks are in needs of someone to man their backcourt which has unfortunately not panned up with Jose Calderon.
That plus the fact that the Knicks have nothing more than rising young guards in Jerian Grant and Langston Galloway is enough for many to believe that the Knicks may need a major overhaul in the backcourt soon if they are to make a serious run at a potential playoff berth.
The Knicks have however made it clear that they first want to see how Jennings performs coming from injury. Based on the first couple of games, Jennings hasn’t exactly captured the eye of Phil Jackson and company.
Given the benefit of the doubt, however, it may still be too early to see Jennings return back to form. He did put up good numbers Monday against the Orlando Magic, chipping in 17 markers with the Pistons winning it (115-89).
The doors may not yet be totally closed between the Knicks and Jennings. And when asked if he knew about it, Jennings didn’t seem to be bothered by it.
"I can't really get away from it because it's all on my Twitter feed every time I tweet something," says Jennings via Mlive.com. "But it's rumors. It's something that I'm not worried about. I just want to play basketball and I'm just blessed to be healthy again."
But are the Pistons really planning to trade him soon? If Stan Van Gundy’s words are to be taken into consideration, it seems Detroit may be keeping Jennings after all.
“I think Brandon does a lot for our team — even besides what he does on the court. What his goals will be and everything else would have to mesh up, but from my standpoint, I’d love to have him,” says Van Gundy via the Detroit Free Press.