Detroit Pistons rumors: Josh Smith to come off of the bench?
When former Miami Heat and Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy took over a head coach and president of the Detroit Pistons, he knew he had his work cut out for him. Van Gundy has already been busy – the Pistons have signed Los Angeles Lakers’ swingman Jodie Meeks, Washington Wizards’ guard Cartier Martin, Sacramento Kings’ big man Aaron Gray, Oklahoma City Thunder wing Caron Butler and Chicago Bulls’ point guard D.J. Augustin.
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Big man Greg Monroe, who remains a restricted free agent, is also expected to remain with the Pistons even though they are building around center Andre Drummond and owe forward Josh Smith $13.5 million in each of the next three seasons.
Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders explains Van Gundy believes Monroe and Drummond can mesh together and Smith can potentially come off of the bench to provide instant scoring with the second unit.
"Stan Van Gundy wants to see what he has and what fits and does not fit… that is the first thing. He believes Monroe and Drummond can play together with Smith possibly coming off the bench.That is the plan today, we’ll see if things change."
Drummond averaged 13.5 points, 13.2 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.2 steals per game shooting 62.3% from the field and 41.8% from the free throw line last season. Monroe put up 15.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 49.7% from the field and 65.7% from the free throw line. Smith went 16.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 41.9% from the field, 26.4% from three and 53.2% from the charity stripe.
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