NBA rumors: Pacers reportedly call Pistons about Roy Hibbert -- so what?

A bizarre story seemed to be dominating Detroit Bad Boys' Twitter feed Sunday morning. Suddenly, there was a stream of questions about a possible trade between the Pistons and the Pacers featuring former Georgetown big men Greg Monroe and Roy Hibbert.

On its face, the trade makes no sense, but that hasn't deterred several fans stuck in the offseason with nothing but idle speculation to entertain them. So questions quickly morphed into what the parameters of a three-team deal would be, because, surely, the Pistons wouldn't keep Roy Hibbert in a lineup also featuring Andre Drummond and Josh Smith.

The thing is, this is all a huge waste of brainpower because the Pistons and Pacers probably didn't actually discuss a swap of Monroe and Hibbert. What we know is that the Pacers called the Pistons about Roy Hibbert. But that's all we know.

We know this because that is what Matt Dery at 105.1 Detroit Sports told us:

Lots of chatter about Greg Monroe today. Pacers shopping Hibbert and a source tells me they have called the Pistons about him. All I know.

— Matt Dery (@dery1051) August 10, 2014

Does this say that the Pistons and Pacers discussed a Hibbert-Monroe swap? Not really. It says the Pacers called inquiring about interest in Roy Hibbert. In a follow-up, Dery told Detroit Bad Boys that the impression he got from his source was that the Pacers were calling a lot of teams about Hibbert and not just the Pistons.

This makes sense as the team looks to try and figure out how to salvage next season as a contending team after losing Lance Stephenson in free agency and Paul George to a devastating leg injury. There were also reports earlier Sunday that the Pacers had called the Phoenix Suns regarding a possible Hibbert-Goran Dragic trade.

But because Greg Monroe's name is used in the same tweet people are putting two and two together and coming up with five. Because, as every story on this bizarre fake rumor should tell you, a trade of Hibbert to the Pistons makes less than zero sense.

Before Dery published his tweet, there were stories popping up about a Hibbert-Monroe trade. The only problem is that those originated from a parody account that will go unnamed and unlinked.

Judging from the Twitter reaction, a few Pistons fans anxious for Monroe news fell for the bogus account, retweeted it or started talking about it. Then you hear it from a friend of a friend, then people start asking legit news outlets about it, then the rumor mill really kicks into high gear and all of a sudden a bogus story made up of whole cloth becomes legitimized because it was accidentally, partially correct.

So, yeah, the Pacers did call the Pistons about Hibbert. Did they talk about Monroe? Who knows? Did they talk about Andre Drummond or Josh Smith? No idea. Did they discuss the parameters of a three-team trade? Beats me.

All I know is that I can't wait for the Greg Monroe saga to end.