AUBURN HILLS -- With his teammates headed south for the warmth of South Beach (oh, and a game, too), Darrun Hilliard was boarding a flight for New York.
The struggling Detroit Pistons wing was assigned to the Grand Rapids Drive on Friday for a two-game stint with the NBA Development League affiliate.
He joins rookies Henry Ellenson and Michael Gbinije on the assignment, which begins Saturday at Westchester and continues Monday at Delaware. The trio are expected to re-join the Pistons on Tuesday.
"He hasn't been playing a lot -- and Darrun's been playing really, really well in practice," Pistons president-coach Stan Van Gundy said.