The Detroit Pistons have thought about a Josh Smith trade to the Sacramento Kings this offseason and names like Jason Terry, Derrick Williams and Carl Landry still could be in the mix for the deal as August moves along and this comes as the Pistons are still trying to sign Greg Monroe as a restricted free agent to give Andre Drummond some support with Stan Van Gundy taking over as head coach.
According to eSPN.com, the Pistons and the Kings were discussing a trade for Smith earlier in the offseason, as the Kings wanted a scoring threat alongside DeMarcus Cousins, while the Pistons wanted to ease the logjam at forward. The Pistons are working on a deal for Greg Monroe and while there is a chance that he could sign elsewhere, the team is planning on trying to retain him and trading Smith could be part of that.
Smith signed a large contract with the team while Joe Dumars was still there and while Stan Van Gundy has told Smith he "likely" will remain with the Pistons, a deal could go down this summer before training camps open. The team is trying to sign Greg Monroe and moving Smith could be part of that effort, while reports have Monroe an option for the Atlanta Hawks in a sign and trade deal for the restricted free agent.
The original reports had Jason Thompson or Derrick Williams along with Jason Terry as potential trade pieces, but all that has slowed as August has come around. The Kevin Love trade talks are the main story and Love looks like he will be going to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Smith could end up staying in Detroit, but if the Pistons want to keep Monroe, the move doesn't make sense.
The Pistons have signed a number of players this offseason after losing Rodney Stuckey, including Caron Butler and Jodie Meeks. Van Gundy said that the team would be looking for singles and doubles aka baseball references and not home runs this offseason and Meeks looks to be right in line with that. Last season Meeks had a very solid season and set career highs while playing with the Lakers and now he has the chance to make some real headway with the Pistons. Detroit was one of the worst long range shooting teams in the league and now they have Meeks coming in after he shot over 40 percent from three and that could be massive for this season as the Pistons try to bounce back.
Last season the Pistons ranked 14th in points per game, but they were third to last in points allowed per game and SVG will try and get that right this season. Van Gundy is a good coach and now he has to show what his executive talents are and he has made some solid deals and he may be judged based on what happens with Monroe and Smith. Last season Smith led the team in scoring with 16 points per game, down from his usual average and if he remains with the Pistons he will be looking to improve.
