The Detroit Pistons have traded a third player this summer.

The Pistons agreed to deal 25-year-old combo guard Marcus Sasser to the Dallas Mavericks, coached by ex-Michigan coach Dusty May, on Tuesday, July 7, according to ESPN. The Pistons are also sending a protected 2028 second-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers.

This comes as part of a complex six-team trade that includes the Pistons dealing Caris LeVert in a salary-saving move to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday evening. The six-team trade also involves the previously reported moves of the Pistons trading Isaiah Stewart to the Memphis Grizzlies and the Pistons’ acquisition of John Collins from the Clippers.

The Pistons generate a trade exception worth $15 million in the trade-palooza, a person with first-hand knowledge told the Free Press, granted anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly. The trade exception is worth the same amount as Stewart’s outgoing salary for 2026-27 and allows the Pistons to take in salary up to $15 million without having to send any back. It expires in exactly one year.

Sasser joins a Mavs backcourt where Kyrie Irving is the starting lead guard, and could compete with second-year undrafted guard Ryan Nembhard for the backup role.

Sasser, who the Pistons traded up to draft 25th overall out of Houston in 2023 under previous general manager Troy Weaver, averaged 5.2 points and shot 41.5% from 3. He is on an expiring contract worth $5.2 million from his four-year, $13.5 million rookie deal.

When called upon, Sasser proved he can play. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder was one of the team’s best shooters, but only appeared in 38 games last season due to injury and the Pistons’ depth at guard.

Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon indicated a desire to add more ball-handling and shooting this offseason, after a 60-22 season ended in Game 7 of the second round.

Sasser’s path to minutes wasn’t going to get easier following the addition of first-round pick Ebuka Okorie, a 19-year-old from Stanford, whom the Pistons traded up four spots to draft No. 17 overall.

Then, Langdon traded for one of the NBA’s best 3-point shooters in guard Isaiah Joe in a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Sasser, who was out of the playoff rotation until Game 5 of the second round, sparked the Pistons in Game 6 at Cleveland, pouring in nine points on 4-for-5 shooting in 18 minutes in a win-or-go-home setting. He played 23 minutes in Game 7, scoring nine points on 3-for-12 shooting in a 125-94 blowout loss to the Cavaliers at home.

Pistons roster moves this offseason

The Pistons have turned over much of the roster this summer through the draft and NBA free agency.

Here’s who they’ve added and who they’ve lost:

Lost

• Traded Marcus Sasser (Mavericks)
• Traded Caris LeVert (Bucks)
• Traded Isaiah Stewart (Grizzlies)
• Tobias Harris (Spurs)

Added

• Drafted Ebuka Okorie (No. 17)
• Drafted Ugonna Onyenso (No. 53, two-way contract)
• Acquired Isaiah Joe (Thunder)
• Acquired John Collins (Clippers)
• Acquired Taurean Prince (Bucks)
• Acquired Gary Harris (Bucks)

Dusty May on leaving Michigan for the Dallas Mavericks

New Dallas Mavericks head coach Dusty May sat down with FOX 4’s Mike Doocy to discuss why he left the University of Michigan for an NBA job, how his wife and family have supported his journey, his expectations for transforming the Mavs into a championship contender, and more.

DALLAS – North Texans are eager to learn all about the Dallas Mavericks’ new head coach, Dusty May, and his plan for the team.

Dallas Mavs Coach Dusty May

What we know:

May is fresh off a national title win with the Michigan Wolverines.

In his two season in Ann Arbor, May guided the Wolverines to a 64-13 record.

In his prior stint as the head coach at Florida Atlantic University, May guided the Owls to a Final Four in 2023 and multiple NCAA tournament berths.

May comes in as the replacement for Jason Kidd, who the Mavericks parted ways with in late May. 

He’s the first big hire under Masai Ujiri, who was hired as the team’s new President of Basketball Operations in early May.

This will be May’s first stint as an NBA head coach.

What they’re saying:

In an interview with Mike Doocy, the 49-year-old coach said he thinks the Mavericks could become real championship contenders sooner rather than later.

He highlighted Kyrie Irving’s return, the potential of Max Christie, and, of course, the skills of star rookie Cooper Flag.

“I think it’s just his mindset, his tenacity, his ability to play every single position at a high level and play both sides of the ball. The fact that he’s always won. He hasn’t always been on the most talented teams, so he’s a competitor that’s up for the challenge. I could literally go on all day about the positive attributes that Cooper has,” he said.

In terms of adjusting from college basketball to the NBA, May said he’s excited about the coaching staff he’s putting together.

He plans to rely on the veterans on the team and in the office as he starts his professional basketball career.

A Travis County judge ruled the state’s child welfare agency violated the constitutional rights of a Dallas couple whose newborn daughter was temporarily taken into state custody for week after a hospital visit three years ago.

Temecia and Rodney Jackson sued the Department of Family and Protective Services, the agency that houses Child Protective Services, last year. The parents say the department put them on the Central Registry — a public abuse and neglect database — without a clear way to appeal and get themselves removed.

Travis County District Judge Catherine Mauzy ruled late last month two sections of the state administrative code used in the Jacksons’ case impair or interfere with the family’s constitutional due process rights.

One section states DFPS can label an investigation into alleged abuse as “unable to determine,” which means investigators could not rule out abuse or neglect, but the subject of investigation isn’t completely cleared of wrongdoing.

The Jacksons argued the Central Registry process and the “unable to determine” label didn’t give the parents an opportunity to appeal the determinations and defend themselves.

“That is a denial of procedural due process,” said Charelle Lett with the ACLU of Texas, which is helping represent the Jacksons in court. “And this court agreed that the Jacksons are entitled to that, and so is every other Texan that comes through this system.”

KERA News reached out to DFPS for comment and will update this story with any response.

CPS took baby Mila into custody after Baylor Scott and White Doctor Anand Bhatt reported the Jacksons for alleged medical neglect in 2023. Bhatt diagnosed 3-day-old Mila with jaundice during a routine postpartum checkup and believed she needed treatment in the hospital.

The Jacksons opted to pursue an alternative treatment plan at home with their midwife to avoid being separated from Mila. Texas law gives parents the right to consent to their child’s health care.

Bhatt named a different woman as Mila’s mother, according to the lawsuit. That woman’s name, criminal and family history were later written on the affidavit authorities used to take Mila into CPS custody. DFPS corrected the mistake days later but said CPS would still keep Mila.

At the time, DFPS found “reason to believe” there was medical neglect in Mila’s home — a label indicating abuse or neglect has likely occurred — and, without notice, put the Jacksons on the department’s Central Registry for perpetrators of abuse or neglect.

DFPS said the Texas Family Code requires the department to make these kinds of findings, according to court records. The parents requested an administrative review of those findings and provided DFPS with records to make their appeal, according to the suit.

DFPS ultimately dismissed the case and returned Mila to her parents after three weeks in CPS custody. The label on their case was changed to “unable to determine” nearly a year later, after an informal review by a DFPS specialist.

That removed the Jacksons’ case from the Central Registry. According to the suit, DFPS did not rule out the allegations because there was “significant concern for risk.”

But the Jacksons sued, arguing the DFPS process gives them no options to entirely clear their name from the department’s systems.

Temecia Jackson told KERA News last year that following Mila’s return, the family resettled in Dallas with Mila and their two older sons to get away from the traumatic memories of Mila being taken from their DeSoto home.

In their suit, Rodney Jackson says he felt his reputation has been jeopardized by the DFPS investigation, and he’s uncomfortable volunteering in the community or coaching his kids’ sports teams.

DFPS says its rules are consistent with what state law requires for child safety, and the Jacksons already used the existing process to successfully challenge their “reason to believe” finding. DFPS argued the Jacksons have already been removed from the registry, their case records are not public, and state law does not allow the family to get agency decisions changed or erased.

And DFPS says the family’s alleged reputational harms are hypothetical.

Unless the state appeals, Lett said, Mauzy’s ruling brings an end to the Jacksons’ case. While the future for the Jacksons and their case is uncertain, Lett called the decision a win for all parents.

“We are not trying to keep the DFPS from taking children out of dangerous situations,” Lett said. “There is value to what they do, but they could do it in a way that does not infringe on people’s rights.”

Toluwani Osibamowo is KERA’s law and justice reporter. Got a tip? Email Toluwani at tosibamowo@kera.org.

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