Detroit Pistons forward Josh Smith
Josh Smith was signed by the Detroit Pistons to a four-year $54M contract in 2013. The good news is that Stan Van Gundy has joined the franchise as head coach/general manager. The bad news is that SVG arrived a year late and Detroit still has to pay J-Smoove for the next three years. Maybe Van Gundy finds a good way to use Smith, who may finally find his jumpshot. For the meantime, $13.5M a year doesn't sound to good for the Pistons, which is in Year One of Rebuilding Mode Reuters

The Detroit Pistons have waived veteran forward Josh Smith in order to develop younger players and expand the roles of those in the rotation. The team is 5-25 and needed a change in focus. Pistons coach and team president Stan Van Gundy said that change in focus will reduce Smith's role, being someone who takes the mosts shots and dishes out a lot of assists. He feels that Smith wouldn't be happy with the new setup.

Smith, 29, was averaging 13.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game this season but his shooting precentage is down to 39 percent and is averaging 46.8 from the free throw line.

"In fairness to Josh, being a highly versatile 10-year veteran in this league, we feel it's best to give him his freedom to move forward. We have full respect for Josh as a player and a person," Van Gundy was quoted by espn.go.com.

According to ESPN.com, Van Gundy personally told Smith about the team's decision and assured him that it was not based on any incident or blowup. The 6-9 Smith's departure makes Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond the top frontcourt players for the Pistons. Van Gundy indicated that they will use a smaller lineup that could improve perimeter shooting.

Smith, who signed a four-year, $54 million deal with the Pistons before last season, still had two years and at least $26 million remaining on his contract after this season. He joined the team when Van Gundy's predecessor Joe Dumars was still head of basketball operations.

During the summer, the Sacramento Kings offered various packages for Smith that included the likes of Jason Thompson, Derrick Williams and Carl Landry. However, Van Gundy back then wanted to see how if they can make things work with Smith.

Yahoo! Sports/FOX Sports 1 NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Houston Rockets have the best chances of landing Smith. The Pistons will have to pay off what is owed to Smith beyond this season, but can use NBA's stretch provision to reduce the yearly hit to the $5 million range over the next few years.

RELATED STORIES