The Detroit Pistons have been mentioned as a team that could be active at the trade deadline with a deal for Greg Monroe and now that Mo Cheeks has been fired, names like Josh Smith and Rodney Stuckey could move and the New Orleans Pelicans could be a destination, as players Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson have been mentioned in possible deals.
The Pistons are still in the mix in the east, but owner Tom Gores did not like the direction of things and that is why he pulled the trigger on Cheeks. This could be a signal that Joe Dumars is next and that could prompt him to make some moves to try and win now and save his job. According to NBA.com, Monroe is a player that will likely be involved in trade talks leading into the deadline, but David Aldridge wrote that a blockbuster deal is the only way the Pistons will make a trade.
Josh Smith has already come up in talks after signing his $50 million contract in the offseason and he hasn't been all that great, while Stuckey or Brandon Jennings could be packaged together in a deal. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Pelicans have been looking for a big man and with Anthony Davis making the All-Star team, the Pelies need someone else to build around with him. The Pistons can still make the playoffs in the east and now it depends on the moves they make at the deadline this season.
Cheeks had the team at 21-29 through 50 games and while that isn't great, this team was never expected to eb that good and now they are on like their seventh coach in the past nine years and now someone like Memphis Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins could be next in line.
Monroe is a great player and the team did not sign him to an extension before the deadline, meaning he will be a free agent and the 23-year-old should have some suitors and he is expected to get a deal around four-years, $58 million and that might be too much for the Pistons after Smith. The team is planning on building around Andre Drummond and moving Monroe might be the first move the team decides to make.
