The Detroit Pistons have been shopping a Josh Smith trade this offseason and the Sacramento Kings have been the most interested and now the Pistons could look at trade Smith to sign Greg Monroe and over trading names like Andre Drummond and Brandon Jennings, although a deal with the point guard is not off the table yet this summer for Stan Van Gundy,
According to ESPN.com writer Marc Stein, the Pistons and Kings were talking a deal last week about Smith and while those talks have slowed down, there is a chance they could pick back up as the summer pushes on. Stein writes that the Kings see Smith as a great option down low with DeMarcus Cousins and they are looking to make some trades, as they have a glut of forwards with Derrick Williams and Jason Thompson as well as Carl Landry. The Kings have been open to making trades the past year, as they acquired Williams from the Timberwolves and also took Rudy Gay from the Raptors and now they could bring on Smith.
The Pistons have made a number of moves already this offseason in free agency and that includes signing Jodie Meeks and Caron Butler. When Stan Van Gundy was hired Pro basketball Talk reported that Smith would likely be traded so the team could build around Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe, but right now that is up in the air. Yahoo reports that SVG said to Smith that he likely would remain with the Pistons, but if the team signs Greg Monroe back there is a chance that he still could be dealt.
Monroe is a restricted free agent and he hasn't received much interested on the market because most teams think he will be signing back with the Pistons. The Suns are interested in a deal, but they also have their own player to deal with in Eric Bledsoe.
The Pistons added Butler this offseason and he was signed for two years and that fits into what Van Gundy wants to do, as he was looking for "singles and doubles" and not "home runs" this summer. The team has filled out their roster with Butler and DJ Augustin and depending on what happens with Smith, the bench could have some other names as well. Butler was with the Thunder last season and Augustin comes in after averaging 13.1 points for the Bulls and he will be a nice backup point guard off the bench.
The first big deal for Van Gundy was Jodie Meeks and that was a three year deal worth about $20 million, according to ESPN.com. Meeks was solid for the Lakers last season and set career highs across the board, including averaging 15.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game and he also shot over 45 percent from the field. The biggest thing is his three point shooting, as he was 40 percent from three and that comes after the Pistons were ranked near the bottom of the league in long range shooting and now they have a solid option from beyond the arc.