The Detroit Pistons are trying to decide the exact moves they should make this offseason. With new head coach Stan Van Gundy in place, the Pistons must try and figure out what went wrong after the team thought they have the right competitive roster in place last season. While most of the talk surrounds the drama unfolding between Josh Smith and Greg Monroe, the Pistons are eying a few other options as well.
According to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, the Pistons are very serious about acquiring Isaiah Thomas from the Sacrament Kings. Right now, the point guard is a restricted free agent, but if presented with the right deal, the Kings will not match the contract offer given to him. Detroit is getting serious about their pursuit and could try for a sign-and-trade deal with the Kings.
Sacramento is essentially done with Thomas. They inked Darren Collison to a three-year, $15 million contract on Thursday to essentially take Thomas' place. Detroit is in an excellent position to make a move. They could easily place an offer on Thomas and hope the Kings do not match it, or they could orchestrate a sign-and-trade deal instead. This is where Smith and Monroe come in.
There has been a lot made about these two players and their future's in Detroit. The Pistons brought on Smith with the hope that he would round out a Big Three of Andre Drummond and Monroe. Instead all three failed to function together and were a mess. Monroe is a restricted free agent while Smith still has several years on his deal. It was reported on Wednesday by ESPN's Grantland that Monroe wants Smith out of Detroit.
The issue is that Monroe is the better piece, but the Kings like Smith more. ESPN is reporting that the Kings have been trying to negotiate a trade for Smith for some time now. The Kings could easily drop Thomas and possibly someone like Derrick Thomas into a deal for the forward.
Van Gundy continues to stress that the Pistons want Monroe back with the team and still have no intentions of trading away Smith. The reason Monroe would request that Smith gets traded is unknown, but considering Monroe is the easier player to move, his wish might not be granted.