The Detroit Pistons might not want to trade Greg Monroe, but that might be their only option. Currently a restricted free agent, Monroe is starting to garner serious interest on the market. Realizing that their team cannot have three big men on the court, the Pistons are prepared to let Monroe go and the Phoenix Suns are prepared to make a deal.
According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, The Phoenix Suns are hopeful to acquire Monroe while also re-signing Eric Bledsoe to a contract of his liking. This is certainly easier said than done. The Suns must first decide how they are directing their offseason. IF they are merely focused on 2014 then this plan makes sense. However, getting both players under contract could easily hurt their intentions for the long-term given financial space will be tight.
Bledsoe is looking for the most money he can ear. Phoenix ideally wants to retain the point guard, but after acquiring Isaiah Thomas, he is no longer a necessity. That is not stopping the Suns from continuing negotiations, but they also have no intentions of overpaying for the star. If it looks more and more like Bledsoe is leaving, trade talks surrounding Monroe could go more serious.
There is certainly a strong debate for whether or not Phoenix truly needs to make a move for Monroe. The team runs an up-tempo attack, something the big man does not function well with. They already have Miles Plumlee at center who fared well in his rookie year, along with last year's No. 5 pick, Alex Len, sitting behind him. Monroe would just go from one crowded roster to another.
The Pistons are trying to make this deal happen considering interest around Josh Smith continues to dip. The forward is signed to a contract that no team is looking to take on. The Sacramento Kings have been the only team to show interest in a deal, but the Pistons are unhappy with the return package being offered. The Kings were willing to offer Derrick Williams and Jason Thompson for Smith, but Detroit wanted more.
According to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, talks surrounding Smith never got too serious. Detroit called teams back in June about a possible deal, but never took anything further. It is unclear exactly just how serious the Kings were about wanting the forward. Several NBA sources reported that Sacramento's intentions were to deal for Smith and use him as a recruiting tool for point guard Rajon Rondo who is on the team's radar in 2015.