Can SVG get Smith to play like a All Star?

[MotownMadness]

We all know Smith has talent but can he finally play the right way under a coach like Van Gundy. Honestly if there ever was a coach that could do it then I think SVG is it.

Looking at his numbers in his last season at Atlanta is impressive and if you can contain him is it worth it to trade Monroe for a legit SF? I would rather keep Monroe but at the same time he gives us our best shot at acquiring a good wing player that we haven't been able to get for a while now.

So if Smith can play right I think we should look to trade Moose and sign shooters in FA. Now obviously if SVG can actually trade Smith then we go that route and never look back but that will be very unlikely.

Smith (at PF)
17.4 ppg, 46 fg%, 30 %3fg
8.4 rpg
4.2 apg
1.8 bpg
1.2 stls.

Monroe
15.2 ppg, 49 fg%
9.3 rpg
2.1 apg
0.6 bpg
1.1 stls

[ComboGuardCity]

Hope to never see him play for SVG personally.

[Pharaoh]

I'm hoping that with 96 minutes available at PF & C SVG can get Monroe & Smith to put aside their egos and do the right thing for the team.

32 mins each night is "enough" for each to "get his"


Sent from my GT-I9300 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[Joe Berry]

I hope Smith is gone by draft night.

[Kilo]

I hope Smith is gone by draft night.

Everything will be in holding pattern until Love is first dealt.

[MotownMadness]

We All want him traded (well about 98% of us) but that won't happen. What will happen though is we will have 2 PFs eating up most of our cap space while our center is going to be getting a max contact in 2 more years that we also have to save for. Something has to be done about it.

[Joe Berry]

We All want him traded (well about 98% of us) but that won't happen. What will happen though is we will have 2 PFs eating up most of our cap space while our center is going to be getting a max contact in 2 more years that we also have to save for. Something has to be done about it.

yes keep Monroe, trade Josh - its not impossible, every guy is movable - all other GMs in the league know what Smith can do at PF, he is not toxic waste, he was and still is just a very bad fit for this team.

[MotownMadness]

We All want him traded (well about 98% of us) but that won't happen. What will happen though is we will have 2 PFs eating up most of our cap space while our center is going to be getting a max contact in 2 more years that we also have to save for. Something has to be done about it.

yes keep Monroe, trade Josh

Obviously, but you can't just trade Smith like you can Monroe.

[Joe Berry]

We All want him traded (well about 98% of us) but that won't happen. What will happen though is we will have 2 PFs eating up most of our cap space while our center is going to be getting a max contact in 2 more years that we also have to save for. Something has to be done about it.

yes keep Monroe, trade Josh

Obviously, but you can't just trade Smith like you can Monroe.

You have to sign and trade Monroe - in that case you add another significant amount of salary anyway. And getting fair value here is not easy either. So if you can't trade Smith right away show some patience and deal him asap.

[MotownMadness]

yes keep Monroe, trade Josh

Obviously, but you can't just trade Smith like you can Monroe.

You have to sign and trade Monroe - in that case you add another significant amount of salary anyway. And getting fair value here is not easy either. So if you can't trade Smith right away show some patience and deal him asap.

I wouldn't deal him in a sign and trade for scrubs. You sign him if you Can't get a Good deal and then trade him around December for what we need. It's not so much about the salary as it is of log jamming all your salary into one position. No team wants to pay two players at the same position 12+ mil per. That just makes for a pretty flawed roster.

[Southern Piston]

We got to start with 96 minutes is enough, and see how it goes.

[DBC10]

Where's the reasonable third option? Where we trade Smith and play the twin towers like we were supposed to last season to see if it works in this small ball and jumpshooting/moneyball league.

[MotownMadness]

Where's the reasonable third option? Where we trade Smith and play the twin towers like we were supposed to last season to see if it works in this small ball and jumpshooting/moneyball league.

that's not a option

[bobeenfly_est92]

Josh Smith is a great fit for Detroit. He's just not so good at the 3. I think finding a True 3 and putting smith at the 4 with Drummond would be a powerful Front Court. And to think about it Guarding all those better small forwards this season probably will make him even better at the 4 now. #KeepSmith


-@bobeenfly_est92

[Pharaoh]

No team wants to pay two players at the same position 12+ mil per. That just makes for a pretty flawed roster.

Would you rather pay the back up C $6 mil and the back up PF $6 mil?

It makes no difference, especially with Drummond, Jorts & Mitchell all being paid below average.

I personally think people look at the pay structure the wrong way, assuming we match and keep Monroe.

IF you believe SVG keeps Monroe & Smith (& obviously Drummond) and we're paying $30 mil for those 3 why not think of it as $10 mil each?

Or imagine Drummond gets $15 mil while Monroe & Smith both get $7.5 mil each?

We're not in a situation where Smith or Monroe kill our cap flexibility yet so we don't have to act like desperate teenagers and chase suitors.

Even with Monroe's cap hold we figure to have $13 mil in cap room!

Sent from my GT-I9300 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[MotownMadness]

No team wants to pay two players at the same position 12+ mil per. That just makes for a pretty flawed roster.

Would you rather pay the back up C $6 mil and the back up PF $6 mil?

It makes no difference, especially with Drummond, Jorts & Mitchell all being paid below average.

I personally think people look at the pay structure the wrong way, assuming we match and keep Monroe.

IF you believe SVG keeps Monroe & Smith (& obviously Drummond) and we're paying $30 mil for those 3 why not think of it as $10 mil each?

Or imagine Drummond gets $15 mil while Monroe & Smith both get $7.5 mil each?

We're not in a situation where Smith or Monroe kill our cap flexibility yet so we don't have to act like desperate teenagers and chase suitors.

Even with Monroe's cap hold we figure to have $13 mil in cap room!

Sent from my GT-I9300 using RealGM Forums mobile app

Why would we pay a back up PF and C 6 mil a piece?

[OneBadMutha]

Without a draft pick, the Pistons can't afford to give away assets to have other teams take their bad contracts...and as much as I'm not a Monroe at the 4 fan...if he doesn't max out and signs a contract that will be tradable later, Pistons will be forced to keep him too.

They must add 3 and D guys and play a 3 man rotations at the 4/5 with Drummond, Monroe and Smith. They must increase the value of what they have before they can win a trade.

The biggest problem won't be Smith. He can play near starter minutes as a 6th man at his natural position. It is and will continue to be Jennings. If you decide to give Drummond and Monroe another shot together, the only hope is that they're surrounded by the right compliment of perimeter players. Guys who don't get blown up on the perimeter in pick and roll situations and guys who can spread the floor. If you aren't playing inside out, there's no benefit to having Drummond and Monroe start together.

[Q00]

He played like an all-star in Atlanta with a much worse coach than Stan so I don't see why Stan couldn't get the same out of him.

If the Pistons are going to trade him, might as well get his value to the max instead of selling low. When he was playing like an all-star in Atlanta he was involved in trade rumors all the time. Lakers were willing to trade Pau for him just a year ago.

For all the talk about how untradeble he is, people forget that there's always teams looking for productive bigs. The Pistons just need to re-establish him as a big man. Right now he's seen as a SF and SFs are a dime a dozen. Play him exclusively at PF for half a season and I bet he will garner lots of interest at the trade deadline next year. (That's assuming we don't want to just keep him for ourselves if he's playing that good.)

[RTM]

I'm hoping that with 96 minutes available at PF & C SVG can get Monroe & Smith to put aside their egos and do the right thing for the team.

32 mins each night is "enough" for each to "get his"

Short term, that's ideal if SVG could get them to buy in. I like the idea of rarely having to play a "bench" big, and getting Smith to play like he did in 2012-13 (far more likely to happen if he's reigned in and a full time PF) would return him to tradable status. I could see a Kevin Love sweepstakes loser deciding to make a move for him if he shows he can put it back together.

Long term, we need to play Drummond as many minutes as he can play without being worn down. I would say the same for Monroe. Those are the guys for now and the future.

In any case, we just need to make sure there is some legitimate shooting on the wings, unlike last season.

[Baller2014]

Smith isn't really tradeable, and Monroe is. More to the point, Monroe is about to cash in, and doesn't fit next to Drummond (the guy SVG is building the team around) at all. It's a pretty obvious choice. I am sure SVG would prefer to move both of them, and in the long term perhaps he will, but he'll work with the hand he has been dealt. That hand means one of these guys has to go, and since Smith is untradeable it's pretty obvious who is has to be.