The Detroit Pistons and Sacramento Kings have been in discussions about a Josh Smith trade involving Derrick Williams and Jason Thompson and while no deal is imminent, a trade for Smith has been talked about by the Pistons all offseason and it could be the first major move of the Stan Van Gundy era, as he clearly wants to build around Andre Drummond and Brandon Jennings heading into the future.
According to ESPN.com, the Kings and Pistons have once again started up talks involving Smith and this comes after the teams had discussions earlier in the offseason about a deal. Reports from ESPN say that the teams may be looking for another team to help with a three team deal and names like Derrick Williams, Jason Thompson and Jason Terry could be moving in the trade. The move comes after the Blazers and Pistons talked about a sign and trade for Greg Monroe, but those talks fell through and led to Portland signing Chris Kaman to a deal.
The Pistons have been active this offseason, as Van Gundy spoke about singled and doubles and now home runs and one of those deals was for Jodie Meeks. According to ESPN.com, the Pistons signed Meeks to a three year deal worth about $20 million and that comes after he had a career year with the LA Lakers. Meeks is just 26 and he averaged 15 points and 2.5 rebounds per game and his biggest skill is shooting from three. Meeks shot 46 percent overall and 40 percent from three point range last season and that is big for the Pistons, as they were ranked 29th in the league in shooting from long range.
Stan Van Gundy has taken over as the president of basketball operations and the head coach and that is one reason why trade talks have picked up. Joe Dumars signed Josh Smith to the big contract last year and that is why SVG is not tied to him and he could trade Smith over Greg Monroe, as rumors came up when he was hired that Monroe could be the one to go. Most have thought that the Pistons would make a move, as the team has Drummond, Smith and Monroe all playing in the same area and someone has to go. Monroe is an RFA and this could be a move to get a deal done with him, as PBT wrote last week that Monroe was hoping the team would make a move.
Last season the Pistons went 29-53 overall and they were ranked 14th in points per game, but they were 27th in points allowed and that is one area Van Gundy will need to improve. The team was third in rebounding and that was no surprise, but they were 24th in assists and that means Brandon Jennings needs to have another solid season, as he led the team with 7.6 assists. Smith was tops in scoring at 16 points per game, while Drummond averaged 13 rebounds per game and he looks like a franchise building block for the Pistons.
