The Detroit Pistons have passed on signing veteran center Jason Collins, according to a published report.
Sports Illustrated, which published Collins' co-authored April essay in which he announced he is gay, reported Detroit has elected not to sign Collins after recently working him out, citing an official in the team's front office.
ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein first reported earlier this month the Pistons had opened talks with Collins, who is the only openly gay male athlete in North America's four major team sports.
The Pistons have aggressively remade their roster since the end of last season, highlighted by the acquisitions of Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings. One guaranteed contract shy of the league's limit of 15, Detroit was initially said to be intrigued by the veteran know-how Collins possessed and pursued him as a potential insurance signing in support of its two blossoming big men, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond.
The 34-year-old Collins continues to train in Los Angeles in hopes of finding a new team. League-wide interest has been scarce during the first two months of NBA free agency, but that was not wholly unexpected given Collins' age and recent employment history.
Collins didn't land a one-year deal with the Boston Celtics last season until mid-August and had to wait until September 2010 to sign a one-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks before the 2010-11 campaign. Collins signed a one-year deal with the Hawks again in 2011 just a few days after the lockout was lifted in December.
