The Detroit Pistons are coming into the offseason with a new leader in Stan Van Gundy and he could look at trades this summer with players like Greg Monroe, Brandon Jennings, Andre Drummond, Josh Smith or Rodney Stuckey to try and rebuild the team after a few years of losing seasons and missing the playoffs.
Van Gundy wants to bring championships back to Detroit after their success in the mid-2000s and of course from a couple decades ago and one move he could make is to trade Monroe, who will be a restricted free agent this offseason. Reports have the team looking to trade Monroe, although SVG has said that he likes what Monroe brings to the table and that could mean he stays after all. The team has moves they can make and while Drummond is likely staying, Jennings and Smith may hit the block, but the biggest issues will be moving their large contracts.
Last season the Pistons flirted with the eighth playoff spot for a hot minute before faltering and the team ended up firing long time GM Joe Dumars and now Van Gundy takes over. The team went just 29-53 last season and did not factor into the east playoffs and they ended up ranking 27th in the league in points allowed per game. The Pistons will need to shore that up and they averaged over 100 points per game, but they still can be more efficient on offense. The team has big men and ranked third in the league in rebounds with 45 per game, but the team was 24th in assists despite trading for Jennings and that is one reason why they could look at a Williams deal.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, there is a chance that Deron Williams wants to be traded away from Brooklyn and the Pistons could be interested in making a move. Williams has a huge contract and that makes things tough and the only way to get it to work would be moving Smith and Jennings and possibly Monroe as well. The Pistons have the chance to keep Monroe, but with Drummond already in the fold, it may not be the road SVG wants to go down. Howard Beck at Bleacher also wrote about the move and the 29 year old had surgery on both ankles and he could be traded so that the Nets can get younger and build around Book Lopez as well as Joe Johnson.
The Pistons love what they have in Drummond and that is one reason why they did not sign Monroe and he could get traded since the team basically has three players that need to work at the same position. Van Gundy has a long contract and can do what he wants and here he has the chance to make an impact. The Pistons have some big decision to make and they have the chance to be a player this summer, as Van Gundy brings some fire to the team and could even draw some free agents in after his success in Orlando and in Miami.
Monroe is from the area and went to Georgetown and he has been rumored as a trade target for the Pistons, who just brought in Stan Van Gundy. Stein mentioned Anthony, as he has Baltimore ties, but he likely will be looking at the Knicks, Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls as his only options in free agency. Hibbert isn't moving since the Pacers know how important he is, but the Wizards would be an attractive destination since he also is from the area and went to Georgetown as well. Gortat nearly averaged a double-double for the Wizards and he has shown that he can be a force in the middle and that is another reason why he likely will be the one to sign back this offseason for the Wiz.