NBA Rumors: Detroit Pistons will have trouble trading Josh Smith

Now that former Miami Heat and Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy has taken over as both president and head coach of the Detroit Pistons, big changes are expected.

Although Greg Monroe does not seem like a perfect fit next to center Andre Drummond and will be a restricted free agency in the offseason, the forward Van Gundy would probably prefer to get rid of is Josh Smith. Smith signed a 4-year, $54 million deal with the Pistons last year.

However, according to Zach Lowe of Grantland, it is going to be very difficult to deal Smith.

"But Smith’s trade value has never been lower. Still, the Pistons should be targeting teams with room to spend, their own trade pieces and/or cap room, and foolish motivation to win right now — the Lakers, Knicks, and Nets come to mind. The Pelicans have a couple of ugly contracts linked to perimeter players, but they’ve expressed no real interest in Smith, according to league sources. Detroit might be stuck."

Smith averaged 16.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals per game last season. He shot just 41.9% from the field and 26.4% from beyond the arc.