The Detroit Pistons have new management and the team has Isaiah Thomas as their top target in free agency this summer and a trade with Josh Smith or Brandon Jennings could be coming now that Stan Van Gundy is leading the way and with Greg Monroe as a restricted free agent, he could be traded as well over Andrew Drummond, who is the main building block for the team moving forward.
The Pistons are working on rebuilding their team under Van Gundy after some years of missing the playoffs and Isaiah Thomas appears to be the top free agent target for the team. According to Pro Basketball Talk, Thomas is a target for the Pistons along with the LA Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns after a great year with the Kings. Thomas is considered the best point guard left on the market and this comes after Kyle Lowry opted to stay with the Toronto Raptors rather than sign with the Heat or Mavericks. Thomas was impressive last season, averaging 20.3 points and 6.3 assists per game and shooting over 45 percent from the floor for career best numbers and he also was second on the team in win shares and his PER was excellent as well.
Thomas is a small guard, but he has great speed and vision and could be a perfect fit with the Pistons if they opt to make trades this offseason. Jennings had a solid season with the Pistons, but he could be trade bait along with Smith, as Monroe, Drummond and Smith are a bit redundant and SVG likely will trade at least one of those names. Monroe is a restricted free agent and with teams interested in him, the Pistons could try and pull off a trade.
The Pistons have already started making moves this offseason apart from Monroe or any trades, as they signed Jodie Meeks to a three year deal worth around $20 million. While some in the league saw that as a head scratcher, the Pistons see Meeks as a player on the rise and since they have a decent amount of cap space, they felt they could give him a little extra to ensure that he signed with the team. The deal has no options in it and Meeks capitalized on the best year of his career, putting up 15.7 points per game with the Lakers and during the season he also shot over 45 percent from the field, including 40 percent from three point range, which was very attractive to the Pistons.
Last season Detroit was one of the worst long range shooting teams in the league and the offense was wildly inconsistent and now Van Gundy brings in a capable scorer that can shoot the three. After taking over as coach and president of basketball operations, Van Gundy spoke about what the team would be doing in free agency and he spoke more about adding solid players and players that can fill roles rather than hit a "home run", comparing the plans in baseball terms. Monroe is a restricted free agent and he could be on his way out of town, while Brandon Jennings came in on a deal under Joe Dumars and he also could move.
