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The Pistons also have shopped Josh Smith on the trade market, though Drummond said he questioned the prospect of moving last summer's major free-agent acquisition after one season.

"I highly doubt that," Drummond said. "I don't see that happening. I just don't see it happening."

He said what he can envision, after quietly questioning last year's alignment in which he started alongside both Monroe and Smith, is the big-three rotation at two positions favored by new president of basketball operations and head coach Stan Van Gundy.

With the trio playing almost exclusively at center and power forward, that leaves only the question of who comes off the bench.

"That's something that's going to have to be discussed between Greg and Josh and myself, with Stan, to figure out who's going to be that guy not starting the game," Drummond said. "I feel like it's not going to be a problem or an issue. It just comes down to who is going to do it."

Drummond said as long as the trio confine their minutes to two spots, with little or no time at small forward for Smith, they can coexist.

"Stan knows what he's doing," Drummond said. "He knows our personnel, I'll put it like that. He knows what each guy can do, what they have to offer, and he knows that Josh is better off at the four. He knows that. It comes down to who's going to start the game. And it doesn't really matter who starts and ends, it matters who wins the game."

Drummond has spent most of his offseason working in Los Angeles with well-known basketball trainer Rob McClanaghan and Pistons teammate Brandon Jennings.

Drummond said his offseason training has been focused on conditioning, free-throw shooting, footwork and post moves. He added that the regular message he receives from USA Basketball's men's national team director Sean Ford is to "just continue to play the way I'm playing."

Those conversations aren't nearly as frequent as the ones between Drummond and Van Gundy, however.

"I think I've talked to him every single day since he was hired as the coach," Drummond said.

At almost exactly 11 a.m. daily since mid-May, Drummond said his phone rings.

"He'll call me, and if I miss the phone call, he'll text me and I'll call him right back," Drummond said. "So we're in constant, constant communication. It's good that we're building a relationship so early."

Greg Monroe and his agent David Falk visited a Detroit Pistons summer league practice Thursday, so Andre Drummond used it as something of a personal recruiting opportunity for his free-agent teammate.

“He’s got to go through his process of what he wants to do but I’d love to have him back,” Drummond said about Monroe on Friday, on the eve of the Pistons’ opening game at Orlando Pro Summer League. "I’d do whatever it takes to get him back.

“It comes down to what he wants to do. I told him, ‘I can’t stop you if you want to go.’ But he loves it here (in Detroit), so I feel like he’s going to come back.”

Moose10Fan wrote:Drummond on Monroes Free Agency situation.

Greg Monroe and his agent David Falk visited a Detroit Pistons summer league practice Thursday, so Andre Drummond used it as something of a personal recruiting opportunity for his free-agent teammate.

“He’s got to go through his process of what he wants to do but I’d love to have him back,” Drummond said about Monroe on Friday, on the eve of the Pistons’ opening game at Orlando Pro Summer League. "I’d do whatever it takes to get him back.

“It comes down to what he wants to do. I told him, ‘I can’t stop you if you want to go.’ But he loves it here (in Detroit), so I feel like he’s going to come back.”

MotownMadness wrote:Drummond better not come off the bench all because Josh Smiths dumb ass is here, **** that he needs to be the man here not 2nd fiddle.

Kilo wrote:Drummond said his offseason training has been focused on conditioning, free-throw shooting, footwork and post moves.