Count Andre Drummond among those optimistic that Greg Monroe will return to the Detroit Pistons.
"He's got to go through his process of what he wants to do but I'd love to have him back," Drummond said Friday in Orlando, according to MLive's David Mayo. "I'd do whatever it takes to get him back. It comes down to what he wants to do. I told him, 'I can't stop you if you want to go.' But he loves it here (in Detroit), so I feel like he's going to come back."
As for Josh Smith? Drummond doesn't believe the trade rumors and expects Smith will be back, as well -- even if it means Smith, Monroe and Drummond are forced to share minutes at the power forward and center positions.
"That's something that's going to have to be discussed between Greg and Josh and myself, with Stan, to figure out who's going to be that guy not starting the game," Drummond said. "I feel like it's not going to be a problem or an issue. It just comes down to who is going to do it."
[...] "Stan knows what he's doing," Drummond said. "He knows our personnel, I'll put it like that. He knows what each guy can do, what they have to offer, and he knows that Josh is better off at the four. He knows that. It comes down to who's going to start the game. And it doesn't really matter who starts and ends, it matters who wins the game."
I'm curious if Drummond actually believes that, or if he's simply trying to offer the least controversial answer. Either way, I dig how confidently he speaks about Stan Van Gundy's abilities -- as well as the revelation later in the article that he speaks with SVG every single day:
"I think I've talked to him every single day since he was hired as the coach," Drummond said.
At almost exactly 11 a.m. daily since mid-May, Drummond said his phone rings.
"He'll call me, and if I miss the phone call, he'll text me and I'll call him right back," Drummond said. "So we're in constant, constant communication. It's good that we're building a relationship so early."
I love it. The one knock on Van Gundy's resume -- even if it's more myth than reality -- is that his relationship with star players eventually fractures, so I really like that he's going out of his way to build a strong foundation with Drummond.
There's definitely more worth reading in Mayo's article -- including Drummond talking about potentially representing USA Basketball at the World Cup, his thoughts on the free agent signings, etc -- so click on over.