Is Greg Monroe a valuable piece to the Detroit Pistons? Obviously. But is he untouchable? Probably not, and it seems there’s only one player on the team that the Pistons will turn down any trade offer for.

According to Joe Dumars, speaking to Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News, Drummond is the only player on the current team he isn’t willing to move for anything. Probably Josh Smith as well, considering he just arrived and signed a huge contract. But the question is – if Drummond isn’t movable, what about Greg Monroe?

Heading into this season, it feels like the Pistons are counting a lot on their “twin towers” concept, with Josh Smith probably playing small forward more than he’s used to (which he has no problem with), but Monroe might not be such an immovable centerpiece as some might think.

Compared to Drummond, as both players prefer playing as centers, Monroe is older (by four years) and hitting free agency in 12 months, and a slightly worrying sign has been his lack of improvement on the defensive end. He’s more polished that Drummond offensively, obviously (Averaging 16 points per game last season), but is he worth turning down everything for? Probably not.

It’s more than likely the Pistons will try and sign Monroe on a long-term deal as he hits restricted free agency, but a lot depends on how this season goes. If the Pistons finally get out of their bottom-feeder mode and make a run for the NBA playoffs, which seems completely reasonable considering their competition for the final three spots in the East’s top 8 (It’s hard to see anyone but the Heat, Bulls, Knicks, Nets and Pacers finishing in the top 5 spots), Monroe is going to stay.

If it’s going to be a fifth consecutive season with no postseason on the horizon, the Pistons might be a bit more tentative to trade offers (and teams have contacted them about Monroe before the draft, with the Pistons turning them down), and suddenly, maybe the proposed Rondo-Monroe trade won’t be such a far-fetched option.

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