The Detroit Pistons are slowly coming to grips with the fact that keeping both Greg Monroe and Josh Smith together is nothing more than a fantasy. The team struggled last season, and Monroe has made it clear he does not want to continue in Detroit if things remain the same. It seems one of the two have to go.
According to ESPN, the Sacramento Kings have continued to express interest in Smith and supposedly the two team are on the hunt for a third team that could help facilitate the deal.
Detroit and Sacramento have been involved in discussions that would potentially put Smith in the same frontcourt with DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay. If they could pull this off, then team chemistry would probably also improve in Detroit.
Smith has over $40 million on his contract, and many might question why this is a good idea for Sacramento. There is no doubt Smith as the talent to be a star in the NBA, and he played well in Atlanta before being traded to Detroit before last season. The issue for Smith last season occurred because the Piston team never jelled the way management had hoped. ESPN's sources in Sacramento claim the team is giving Smith serious consideration, largely because the discussions to date have not required them to part with any players in their long-term plans and would also add a versatile and athletic defender to a roster that badly needs one, given how much Kings coach Mike Malone is known to want a defensive team.
It is also widely known that Smith and Boston free agent Rajon Rondo are friends and have wanted to play together for some time. Some think the addition of Smith could help the Kings land Rondo, another of their top trade targets.
Jay King from Mass Live notes that the Kings would want some assurance that Rondo would hang around for more than a year if they were to pursue him, and they would have to offer him enough money to draw him away from Boston. Also, Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors addressed the trade possibilities, and noted that the Pistons would need a long term commitment from Monroe to part company with Smith.
