The Detroit Pistons release Josh Smith
The Josh Smith era in Detroit is over, as Stan Van Gundy has just announced the Pistons are letting him and his albatross contract go.
The Detroit Pistons have just announced the release of Josh Smith. Stunning
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) December 22, 2014Pistons waive F Josh Smith. "“We are shifting priorities to aggressively develop our younger players," says coach/president Stan Van Gundy.
— Sam Amico (@SamAmicoFSO) December 22, 2014Had heard from a Pistons front office member that Detroit daily pursued Josh Smith trades with all 29 other NBA teams. Zero were interested.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) December 22, 2014Safest bet in professional sports right now: Josh Smith will clear waivers in 48 hours and have the right to go elsewhere as a free agent
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) December 22, 2014Wow. SVG on Josh SMith "“Our team has not performed the way we had expected ... and adjustments need to be made in terms of our focus."
— Sean Deveney (@SeanDeveney) December 22, 2014Pistons will use stretch provision on remaining $26 million of Josh Smith's contract, league source tells Yahoo. This gives some cap relief.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) December 22, 2014So what does this mean for the Celtics? Well, any efforts to land Greg Monroe this summer just got a tad bit harder. Monroe had been coming off the bench for Detroit, but that likely won't be the case now. Monroe could still leave in the offseason, but his chances of sticking around the Motor City have shot up.
As for Smith, people are already speculating where he could sign. One destination has him playing with a good friend.
After lively, borderline-intense Josh Smith discussion, initial consensus in the back of the plane?
Dallas.
— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) December 22, 2014Follow Eric
@ericblaisdell13
