Detroit Pistons vs. Atlanta Hawks

Detroit Pistons guard Brandon Jennings (7) watches the crowd in the second quarter of their NBA game against the Atlanta Hawks at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Friday, January 9, 2015.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

AUBURN HILLS -- Brandon Jennings is available for trade, Stan Van Gundy said Tuesday, but he's no different than anyone else on the Detroit Pistons roster.

With offseason free-agent signings eligible to be traded on Tuesday, expanding the market now to include most players on NBA rosters, rumors and speculation have fired up about Jennings, the 6-foot-1 guard still rehabbing a torn Achilles suffered in January.

The New York Post on Sunday identified Jennings as possible target for the backcourt-thin New York Knicks, and when asked about it Tuesday Van Gundy said he nor Pistons general manager Jeff Bower have had any discussions with other NBA teams about trading him.

"We haven't one talk with anybody about him," Van Gundy said. "I just think that people assume that with Reggie (Jackson) here and the way Brandon played last year, I think people just make that assumption. He's no more or less available than anybody else we have."

Jennings is in the final year of a three-year, $24 million contract and becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. A starting point guard by trade, he averaged 15.4 points and 6.6 assists while starting in 41 games last season before the Achilles tear.

Detroit has since opted to go with Reggie Jackson as its long-term option at point guard, trading for Jackson last season and signing him to a five-year, $80 million contract in the offseason, relegating Jennings to the bench when he returns, expected to happen sometime in the next two weeks.

"Until he's back on the court and playing, there's nothing to even talk about," Van Gundy said. "My preference is, that when he's fully healthy, he's able to help us. That's my preference. I've even talked to him about a vision going forward where he helps us even beyond this. But right now, we're just trying to get him back."

As for the rest of his team, Van Gundy says he likes the group that he has now and its potential for growth, but that doesn't mean the Pistons aren't evaluating the market for upgrades.

Scoring off the bench is a necessity at this point, and they remain thin at power forward and shooting guard until Jodie Meeks returns in the spring.

"I think anytime anybody says we're not looking to do anything, they're more than likely lying or not doing their job," Van Gundy said. "We do, we like our group and what we've put together, we have a group we think we can grow together, but to say we're not looking, we wouldn't be doing our job."

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