Trade Rumor: Detroit-Sacramento Trade Talks Reach Impasse

ESPN's Marc Stein had been reporting on a potential deal between Sacramento and Detroit sending Josh Smith to the Kings as late as this afternoon. There never appeared to be one nailed-down incarnation of the trade, with Carl Landry, Derrick Williams, Jason Thompson, and Jason Terry all suggested as possible Kings pieces.

Now, however, Draft Express' Jon Givony reports the deal is dead.

Rumored Sacramento-Detroit trade is "dead" according to a team source. Talks were ongoing for a few days, but Detroit nixed it this morning.

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 24, 2014

Detroit Bad Boys appeared to like the deal from the Pistons' perspective, with Smith representing dead weight to them both financially and in Detroit's packed front court. It's less clear what the Kings would be trying to accomplish exactly; the Rudy Gay move was, to me, a head-scratcher though Gay did play very well in 55 games for the Kings last season.

All of this to say: if Sacramento is truly out of the picture as a Josh Smith destination, is New Orleans in play (to get Greg Monroe)? Is this all just a ploy for Detroit to trade back into the first round and nab the Kings' 8th overall pick?