Spurs rule out forward Leonard (hand) for Wed.

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Reports: Josh Smith, Brandon Jennings available, not easy to move

It’s not exactly a secret that Detroit would love to get out from under Josh Smith’s contract. Stan Van Gundy has made the Andre Drummond/Greg Monroe/Smith trio less toxic on the court (they have played just 174 minutes together and are -2.9 per 100 possessions when paired) but Monroe is unhappy and wants out. Drummond is the future. And Smith has an albatross of a contract to go with his refusal to play to his strengths (although he is taking fewer threes this year).

While we’re at it, point guard Brandon Jennings doesn’t really fit the SVG mold either, so the coach/GM is shopping Smith and Jennings as we move into NBA trade season, reports Howard Beck of the Bleacher Report.

New Pistons president Stan Van Gundy needs to trade one or both of these guys if he wants to preserve the sanity of new Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy. Both are firmly on the block, per rival executives.

Would teams really take on Smith and the two years, $27 million he is guaranteed beyond this one? Maybe, but not in a way Van Gundy would want, reports Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.

Folks asking about Smith trade prospects. Would say not good currently. Think teams would want a first-rounder to TAKE Smith.

— Vincent Ellis (@Vincent_Ellis56) December 15, 2014

This is the trade talk season. Teams — all 30 of them — try to get a feel for the market value of their guys, both the ones they really want to move and some of the ones they don’t. It’s part of the process. There are only a handful of guys around the league who are genuinely untouchable.

Andre Drummond is one of them. After that everyone on this Pistons roster should have a go bag by the door just in case. Detroit has turned out to be a bigger overhaul project than Van Gundy thought and this could and should mean a house cleaning. It’s just that there is no Goodwill of the NBA, it’s going to be very hard to get someone to take a few of these pieces off he Pistons’ hands.