Palace Picks: Josh Smith is not on the Block?

Every morning, Pistons Palace brings you the reading material you need before you start your day at the office. We bring you the morning’s Palace Picks — Detroit Pistons Links from across the web to get you ready for the day.

Good morning and welcome to what already seems like a slow day. After a Monday that included the hiring of Assistant General Manager Brian Wright. That was after Detroit signed Aaron Gray to back up Andre Drummond at center.

Now the roster sits at 16, which we’ll touch on a little bit later today.

It’s game day as well, as the Pistons take on the Miami Heat at 5 PM ET in Orlando Pro Summer League play.

Let’s get you ready for it all with today’s Palace Picks.

So, the Pistons don’t have intentions of moving Josh Smith? I’ve written about this topic before with some belief that Stan Van Gundy want’s to keep a player of that caliber around.

USA Today’s Sam Amick confirmed that — at least through his sources on twitter last night.

Well then.. Looks like Pistons fans better get used to having Josh Smith around.

From Josh Smith to the Summer League — Let’s start with the fantastic inside look at what it’s like to be in Orlando for Summer League play from Detroit Bad Boy’s Mike Payne.

"The types of things you overhear at the Orlando Summer League are every fan’s fly-on-the-wall dream. It’s the scouts for a team I won’t name sitting behind me, commenting on players’ strengths and weaknesses and which ones are exploitable. Every player on every team appears to have a verbal file of sorts, and while many are accurate, you’d be surprised at the misconceptions. The comments I heard about Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, for example, seemed to change with every outside shot he made in Orlando this year.There’s also the coded playbook calls you hear on court but can’t quite make out on TV.  As Detroit inbounds the ball after an opponent make, coach Bob Beyer shouts a command to Peyton Siva who repeats it, which is repeated again by Caldwell-Pope as Siva crosses half-court.  “Elbow Thumb,” Siva shouts, and a pick-and-pop follows with Brian Cook attempting a three-point shot."

The Pistons will take on the Miami Heat in Orlando later today. They’re led by James Ennis, who is having a great Summer League. Basketball Insiders caught up with him yesterday on the Heat’s day off.

Pistons rookie point guard Spencer Dinwiddie is on the Pistons Summer League roster, but will not play while he heals from ACL surgery. Dinwiddie has been able to workout in limited drills. Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News spoke to Dinwiddie who believes he can be the third player in NBA history to go from 2nd round pick to max player.

"“That ain’t nothing but money,” said Dinwiddie, referring to the difference in being a first-rounder to a second-round pick. “Money can be made. So that’s not my focus. I landed in the perfect situation. I have a coach that really believes in me and I’ll have a chance if I’m medically cleared to challenge people for spots. Money can be made on the back end.“If you fancy yourself as a max player, someone that’s gonna be around in this league for a long time, then 2 or 3 million on your first contract isn’t that much in the long run.”"

Spencer Dinwiddie might be the point guard of the future, but it seems like there is no immediate plan to add another floor general. USA Today’s Sam Amick reported that the Kings’ Isaiah Thomas is part of Detroit’s free agency plans.

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