Van Gundy assures Jackson he won't be traded for Bledsoe

With Reggie Jackson's name being floated around recently in trade rumors involving Eric Bledsoe, Detroit Pistons president and head coach Stan Van Gundy felt inclined to reach out to his starting point guard and let him know a deal with the Phoenix Suns is not on the table.

"It was crazy yesterday," Van Gundy said Friday, according to The Detroit News' Rod Beard. "I left practice yesterday and there’s a rumor out on Reggie and Bledsoe so I had to get home and call Reggie and say 'we’re not trading you for Bledsoe.' I don’t usually address all of them but it’s early in the (season). You can’t address all of them at the trade deadline, but I felt the need to address this."

Detroit entered Saturday's matchup with the visiting Sacramento Kings with a 6-3 record, good enough for second place in the Eastern Conference.

Jackson has improved his scoring, shooting percentages, and is averaging more assists and fewer turnovers, boosting his value to the point where he'd be an enticing trade chip after nine outings.

Bledsoe, meanwhile, was told by the Suns to go home following a meeting between the two parties. This came after an ominous tweet from the 27-year-old which said "I don't wanna be here," although he later chalked it up to his desire to leave a hair salon, and not his opinion of the franchise.

Any trade talks between opposing general managers, no matter how small, can be blown out of proportion. Working the phones is basically part of the job, which is why Van Gundy feels any reports that come out should be taken with a grain of salt.

"You always consider everything," Van Gundy added. "I’ve said it before and it’s absolutely true: At least 99 percent of the rumors that come out on trades never come to fruition. If Jeff Bower talks to anybody — to (Celtics president) Danny Ainge — there’s a rumored Boston trade.

"These guys talk to each other every day — that’s what they do."