The Detroit Pistons have a number of trade targets with Greg Monroe, Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings this season and teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings could be interested in making moves and this comes as Monroe is heading into free agency and since he is on a one year qualifying offer, he can control if he is traded or not.
The Pistons have once again been terrible this season and that has led to speculation that Jennings or Smith could get moved at the deadline. According to Pro Basketball Talk, both players are available in trades this season and while Monroe is also a target, he is not looking to get traded, as he would like to keep his Bird rights and the chance to sign a max deal next summer. Jeff Zillgett of the USA Today and others have speculated that if the right team comes along, Monroe could accept a trade.
Right now it looks more likely that Smith or Jennings will get traded, but the biggest issue with those players is their contracts, as they are hard to move. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Pistons tried to shop a trade this summer for Jeff Teague with the Hawks for Monroe, but the team rebuffed that since they could try and sign Monroe this summer while also keeping Teague and the likely draft pick that would be needed in the deal.
The Kings showed heavy interest earlier in the summer in Smith, as they wanted to add a scoring big next to DeMarcus Cousins to help push the offense.
The Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers may previously discussed a trade this offseason with Greg Monroe and Roy Hibbert, but the two sides did not get far on that deal. The Pacers issues changed with Paul George and his injury and that basically put an end to those talks, although the Pacers could look again down the line. The team also could be interested in Lance Stephenson. The talks with the Pacers came as the Pistons had been trying hard to get Josh Smith traded over summer and the Sacramento Kings showed the most interest.
Monroe has been healthy through the first four years of his career and he played in all 82 games last season and that is why he bet on himself to make it through this year. Monroe is leading the team with 14.5 points per game and last season he averaged 15.2 points and 9.3 rebounds, giving him three straight years of at least 15 points and nine rebounds per game.
The Pistons have been terrible this season and they are 5-21 and heading towards another top 10 draft pick. Monroe said earlier in the season that he was willing to stick it out here for another year and that he would consider the Pistons in free agency. Monroe did not want to sign long term last summer because he had been though four different coaches and he wanted to see how Stan Van Gundy handled things in his first season. Either way, whether it be a trade or in free agency, Monroe will be a major target for NBA teams.
