Smaller market teams often have difficulty wooing big-time free agents. In fact, for a number of reasons, the Detroit Pistons haven’t even made a serious run at such a player in a long, long time. That may change this summer, though, as they appear to be interested in a pair of free agent Smiths — Josh Smith and J.R. Smith. Read more after the jump.
“Josh Smith expected to have 5-6 suitors when free agency begins (HEARING DETROIT IS GONNA BE ONE OF THOSE 5-6),” tweeted ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Ramona Shelburne.
As for J.R., here is the New York Post’s Marc Berman’s take on his situation:
“The Knicks believe odds are they will retain J.R. Smith, but it hardly is a guarantee considering the bevy of under-the-cap clubs and a weak free-agent class,” he wrote. “The Bucks, Pistons and Suns are contemplating throwing money Smith’s way.”
The Pistons have plenty of cap space to make a play at Smoove or J.R. On the other hand, considering that both of them are flaky on and off the court at times, they don’t really fit into the profile of the heady, team-focused players that Pistons president Joe Dumars typically targets. However, Joe D knows that he has a ton of pressure to get his young squad back into the playoffs ASAP, so he may be willing to throw caution to the wind in order to bring in big talent to accomplish that goal.
