Brandon Jennings Reportedly 'Not Close' To Being Cleared

By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby

According to David Aldridge of NBA.com, Pistons guard Brandon Jennings is "not close" to being cleared to play, after rupturing his Achilles tendon last season. With a surgery date of Jan. 27, Jennings had originally said he would be out six to nine months.

But according to Aldridge, Jennings is still running on a treadmill at only 60 percent of his body weight, and that he still has to make improvements before he's even allowed to participate in non-contact drills.

Jennings was drafted by Milwaukee as the 10th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft, and was first-team All-Rookie that season with the Bucks. Detroit traded for him in 2013 after giving up Brandon Knight, Khris Middleton and Viacheslav Kravtsov. Last season he averaged 15.4 points, 6.6 assists and 2.5 rebounds and shot 40.1 percent.

Last week, head coach Stan Van Gundy said that he expected Jennings to be back by mid to late December.