April Fool's Day is the silliest day of the year. It is a liar's paradise and it is the toughest day of the year to separate the truths from the fibs. So we're here to help, kind of.
Below is a set of VERY REAL headlines with a link to the story and a little excerpt from the TRUE story below. Most of these are Pistons-related, but some are just general NBA. BEWARE of the below stories.
Marcus Morris suspended by league for rest of the season for guilty verdict on his felony charge
Morris, 26, will miss the remainder of the season after an Arizona judge ruled against the twins for a crime committed back in January 2015. "It's real disappointing, man," the younger twin said to assembled Detroit media. "Being this close to breaking this organization's playoff drought, then to have it all gone... Real disappointing. I just hope I get to share a cell with my brother."
Jodie Meeks waived by Pistons due to another setback in injury recovery
The President of Basketball Operations Stan Van Gundy, as well as General Manager Jeff Bower, made the difficult decision following a consultation with Meeks' specialist in New York. Meeks, 28, has suffered from numerous injuries since joining the Pistons in July 2014, including issues with his foot, back and shoulder. Stan Van Gundy said he is for sure filling the open roster spot by mid-week next week with Greg Oden.
Singler was, of course, part of the trade that sent Reggie Jackson to the Pistons, and that fact is not lost on his teammates. "To have someone that you trust, every day, then you find out that they're a former player of some other team, that no one cares about, it really makes me question his ability," Durant said. Westbrook added, "We knew there was something off with him, but we never thought it would be this bad."
"People will laugh at me" said Baynes, who was born in New Zealand but represents Australia internationally, "but this is a really important thing for a lot of Kiwis. My parents are Kiwi, and even though I was raised in Australia, they both want me to do this. It's something every boy does when he turns 18 in Gisborne [where Baynes was born]. My dad did it, and he's always ashamed when he has to tell his friends I haven't done it yet. Obviously my college career got in the way, so I've decided to follow his wishes and make up for lost time."
Comments have been made by Ibaka to media recently after his role in OKC's offense has diminished this season. He elaborated on that today. "Sometimes, after a really slow game for me, I take out this little photo of me, when I was in high school. It's the team photo, and I'm in the middle holding the ball because I was the captain. But now, sometimes I forget what the ball looks like, what it feels like, because I never touch it anymore. I just want to be loved."
Nick Young wants to switch international allegiance to Australia following engagement to Iggy Azalea
The American is engaged to Australian pop star Iggy Azalea, with the pair scheduled to marry next year. Young visited Australia for the first time last month when he joined Azalea for a promotional tour, and it seems the trip left an impression on him.
Basketball Australia confirmed today that Young did in fact make "an official enquiry" to play for the Boomers.
Aron Baynes retires from basketball to pursue his true passion of hairdressing
"Yeah, I'm big into hair," the big Australian said following the announcement, shortly after vowing to never play basketball again to go search for a ring in his native New Zealand. "I actually cut my own, you know, so I have been doing it for a while and would love to see where this takes me."
Aron Baynes and Steve Blake form a death metal group called Meat & Bones
"Aron came to me with the idea, actually," Blake said. "He has a lot of ideas and knows that I'm into that sort of stuff and he's a fan so we're gonna have a bit of fun with it." The pair are looking for additional members of the band. Baynes is the lead vocalist and chief headbanger/headrubber, while Blake has taken up post on bass guitar. "We'd love to add a really insane guitarist, as well as a lethal drummer," Baynes commented. "I feel that would make us more complete."
Kevin Durant apologizes to Pistons, follows them on Twitter
The revelation came after numerous screenshots were posted to Twitter yesterday showing KD among the list of followers on the Detroit Pistons' official Twitter account. This was seen as an official apology from many writers, including Ben Quagliata of Detroit Bad Boys, who said, "well, KD was a bit of an entitled asshat with his remarks, so it's good to see him take some responsibility and try to put this behind him. Russell Westbrook? Well, I don't have much hope for him."
Reports emerge that Iggy Azalea also cheated on Nick Young, with D'Angelo Russell
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The incident occurred at the 4:20 mark in the second quarter after Westbrook ripped down a breakaway two-handed dunk. His attempted fake Superman shirt rip was cut tragically and almost comically short after he collapsed clutching at his right pectoral, which had gone too far back.
"It's some real bulls**t," Westbrook said to gathered media, ice on his chest. "I was just celebrating a big play, and it went too far. I don't appreciate this, I don't like it for our team, I think it's irresponsible."
Westbrook will have scans to determine the extent of the injury on Friday.
Stanley Johnson and Andre Drummond co-adopt a child, name him Wilson
Wilson Jackmerius Tacktheritrix Drummond-Johnson was officially welcomed into the Pistons family on Thursday. The adoption was facilitated by UNICEF, which partnered with the NBA to see if they would make suitable parents.
"It's real exciting," Drummond said. "To enter this commitment with someone I care about, to start a family, it's something I always dreamed about."
Andre Drummond kicks Stanley Johnson out of his house after rookie spoiled ending of Movie 43
Johnson was seen checking into a hotel in downtown Detroit on Thursday night with several bags and a black eye. Reports are that Johnson, former housemate and new co-parent of Andre Drummond, accidentally spoiled Movie 43, which the pair were watching at the time.
Asked about the issue at Friday's practice, Reggie Jackson responded, "I think Stanley saved Dre a lot of time, that movie is terrible."
Reggie Jackson suspended by league for taunting following win vs. Thunder
Pistons G Reggie Jackson has been suspended for three games following his excessive taunting of the Oklahoma City Thunder during his Pistons' six-point victory on Tuesday night. This follows the news of Marcus Morris being suspended for issues relating to his criminal case.
"Trying to get his fans even more excited about a win was obnoxious enough, but that last little hop he did was reckless," the NBA said in a released statement.
"I wanted someone with experience, someone whom I could trust with this very important project," Trump told assembled media. "Stan has expertise in forming bleeping walls in the past, and in particular his work in San Antonio, an area close to the Mexican border, really makes him ideal for this job. He knows the area and the necessary tools and construction knowhow to get this done."
When asked to confirm and for his thoughts on politics in general, Van Gundy was speechless.
Pistons shun Steve Blake after he leaks video of Aron Baynes listening to country music
Video surfaced on the internet Friday morning depicting Aron Baynes listening to country music, and actually enjoying it, all just days after confirming he was starting a death metal band. The video appears to have been filmed by Steve Blake and his cell phone.
"He should know better," Stan Van Gundy said of Aron Baynes.
OKAY, okay... we're done, but one of the above is really REAL. No foolin'. Can you guess which one? Let us know in the comments.