Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News reported on Friday that five Detroit Pistons players skipped Friday morning's practice in what a source called a "player protest" of coach John Kuester.
According to the report, Tracy McGrady, Tayshaun Prince, Richard Hamilton and Chris Wilcox did not show up to the shootaround. Center Ben Wallace also did not attend, but he has reportedly been dealing with a personal issue for several weeks.
Two other players, Austin Daye and Rodney Stuckey, showed up to practice after the media was let in as the practice was ending.
The Detroit News also outlined the players' excuses for missing practice:
According to team spokesman Cletus Lewis, McGrady was out with a headache, Prince had the stomach flu, while Wilcox and Hamilton apparently missed the bus without a reason. A team source confirmed Prince's and McGrady's illnesses, adding Wilcox overslept.
"We'll go with the group that was here," Kuester said. "We got a number of guys that have a bug, but these guys went through shootaround the way it was supposed to. We have some things, some excuses, not excuses, but absences because of headache and stuff like that."
Kuester has reportedly been battling with some of his players all season.
In November, Kuester and Prince got into an argument during a game and the coach had to be restrained by an assistant.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.