Greg Monroe's Return Forces Detroit Pistons to Expedite Josh Smith Trade

Things are just starting to get interesting for new Detroit Pistons president and head coach Stan Van Gundy. His summer-long quest to reach an agreement with restricted free agent Greg Monroe has come to a conclusion for the time being, leaving still more questions in its wake.

The Pistons announced that Monroe "has signed the team's one-year qualifying offer for the 2014-15 season."

"I have said from day one that we have great respect for Greg as a person and like what he brings to this team as a player," Van Gundy said in the statement. "We have had good dialogue with Greg throughout the offseason with the understanding that there were multiple options for both parties involved, and we respect his decision."

The "good dialogue" Van Gundy cites apparently wasn't enough to secure a long-term commitment from Monroe. The 24-year-old is looking to preserve his flexibility as an unrestricted free agent in 2015. While the Pistons could have matched any offer he received this summer (and thereby retained his services), they'll no longer control his fate next summer.

The Georgetown product's decision includes some risk, which may indicate just how desperately he wants out of Detroit.

Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski explains, "For Monroe, this is a bold step that few have taken before him. It brings with it significant financial risk if he suffers a serious injury this season and loses market value. Nevertheless, Monroe has wanted out of Detroit, where he was drafted in 2010, and he'll get his wish next summer."

Reasons for Monroe's disaffection are likely varied. The franchise hasn't made the playoffs since his arrival and looked no closer to doing so despite significant investments in point guard Brandon Jennings and forward Josh Smith.

Smith himself may be another reason for Monroe's angst.

Back in July, Grantland's Zach Lowe reported, "Multiple sources say Monroe’s camp has made it known Monroe will sign the one-year qualifying offer if Smith remains on the roster."

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While Lowe added, "Monroe’s camp denies that," it's not especially difficult to imagine Monroe wanting the power forward spot all to himself. 

Detroit's attempts to play Smith at small forward last season were an unmitigated disaster. 

Asked to do more of his work from the perimeter, the 10-year-veteran made a career-low 41.9 percent of his field-goal attempts, including just 26.4 percent of his 3.4 three-point attempts per contest. That translated into a lot of missed buckets.

And it also translated into an offense that ranked 20th in field-goal percentage and—per Hollinger stats—24th in effective field-goal percentage. It wouldn't be fair to attribute all the blame to Smith, but consider him highly symptomatic of a team in disarray.

With a career mark of 27.9 percent from beyond the arc, it's hard to get behind any system that encourages Smith to hoist away from the perimeter.

He's a power forward, pure and simple.

Accordingly, early word from Smith himself suggests that's the position he plans on playing this season.

"I'm ready to play whatever position is asked of me," Smith told Pistons.com's Keith Langlois. "But I’m going to play a lot of (power forward) and that was my main focus on being able to get more in the weight room and put some more muscle on my body to be able to withstand that physicality in the paint." 

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That immediately raises a pretty straightforward question: Smith and Monroe can't play the 4 at the same time, and center Andre Drummond isn't going anywhere.

In turn, Van Gundy would seem to have two choices: bring either Smith or Monroe off the bench or start Smith at small forward once again.

Neither scenario is ideal, particularly in light of the fact that neither player is accustomed to bench duty.

A third option may be in order, and there are some indications it's an option Van Gundy and Co. have already explored.

If the organization has any hope of keeping Monroe happy (and ensuring him minutes at power forward), it's probably time to trade Smith.

In June, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported, "Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com...that the Pistons have engaged the Sacramento Kings in trade discussions...that would potentially land Josh Smith in the same Sacramento frontcourt as DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay."

Later in July, Stein indicated, "The Detroit Pistons and the Sacramento Kings have resumed trade discussions on a deal that could send Josh Smith to Sacramento, according to sources with knowledge of the talks."

Trade rumors come and go in this business, but this particular nugget has been pretty persistent.

That doesn't mean Smith will necessarily wind up in Sacramento, but it does suggest that Detroit is already open to the idea of shaking things up. Given that Monroe owns a no-trade clause for the 2014-15 season, dealing Smith is the only way to alleviate the logjam at power forward anytime soon.

To be sure, dealing Smith is only the first step in persuading Monroe to stick around long-term.

It may not be enough.

The Washington Post's Michael Lee reported in August that "Monroe and his agent, David Falk, never sought an offer sheet from another team but pursued sign-and-trade proposals with at least five other teams, including Portland and Oklahoma City, according to a person familiar with the discussions."

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Put simply, these are the machinations of a man who wants out. He likely avoided those offer sheets so as to prevent Detroit from matching one, and the pursuit of sign-and-trade arrangements speaks for itself.

Nevertheless, Detroit's desire to keep Monroe has remained steadfast—even if unrequited.

"With Greg we just believe in him," Pistons owner Tom Gores told the Detroit Free Press' Vince Ellis in August. "I'd like Greg to really get excited about being in Detroit because he deserves it. ... He's not just a great player; he also has a good basketball character. I know it's been a lot of the offseason stuff, but I'm a believer in Greg Monroe."

The question is whether Gores also believes Monroe will even listen to the Pistons' pitch next summer. There's a danger in trading Smith if Monroe is already set on leaving in 2015. 

But there may be even more danger in expecting the two to coexist for the time being.

Convincing Monroe to stay first requires some demonstration that Detroit is heading in the right direction, and parting ways with Smith is almost certainly part of that equation.