The Pistons have pulled the plug on the Amir Johnson project after four mostly frustrating seasons. The Pistons confirmed Tuesday night that they have sent the power forward to Milwaukee, as part of a three-way deal with the Bucks and San Antonio. The Pistons got four-year veteran forward Fabricio Oberto in the deal. But the Pistons plan is to waive Oberto and gain nearly another $2 million is salary cap space. They now expect to have at least $19 million available to spend this summer.

With the Detroit Pistons looking to get as far under the salary cap as they can this summer, and the Oklahoma City Thunder being one of the few teams who are able to help them shed salary, the two teams have emerged as natural trade partners, multiple NBA sources told DraftExpress this past weekend. With very few teams projected to have cap space this summer (Oklahoma City, Memphis, Portland, Sacramento and Atlanta being the main ones), it appears that Detroit could be in great position to take advantage of the strength of this free agent class and nab a couple of pieces that would put them right back in the mix to compete for the Eastern conference finals. Detroit is currently slated to be around 20 million dollars underneath the cap, but could shed another five million or so by unloading the contracts of Amir Johnson and their first round pick (#15). Enter the Oklahoma City Thunder. They are reportedly high on B.J. Mullens (as is Milwaukee), and likely would be able to nab him with the 15th pick. Considering how far under the cap they’ll be this summer, they would have no problem taking on Amir Johnson’s expiring 3.66 million dollar ...

So it wasn’t that surprising in this corner when he told WDFN-AM (1130) this afternoon that he was putting 6-foot-11 Kwame Brown into the starting lineup in place of 6-9 Amir Johnson. Curry basically said that Amir Johnson and fellow starter Rasheed Wallace have too many similar qualities, as do Kwame Brown and reserve forward Jason Maxiell. The move seems to have been precipitated by the loss of reserve forward Antonio McDyess in this month's trade with Denver.

Calling him a "welcome addition," coach Michael Curry made official Saturday what he's long been hinting at -- Amir Johnson, as of now, is the Pistons' starting power forward. "Amir does things without having to have the ball," Curry said. "He's able to pick up baskets through his activity, by running the floor and playing off the other four guys. He does all the intangible things, and through that he's able to create offensive opportunities for himself." How long Johnson holds onto the spot is completely up to him.

There has been a lot of speculation on the internet, from various websites that cover the NBA, about a possible sign and trade of Josh Smith to the Detroit Pistons, one reason being that Smith does not want to play for the Atlanta Hawks and wants to be traded. The local media, especially Detroit's sports radio personalities, are talking about rumors of the Smith trade they are hearing from their sources. The national media, Stephan A. Smith, is telling his audience of a possible trade that would bring Tracy McGrady to the Pistons. Drew Sharp told listeners of 97.1 last week of a trade and a signing that he has heard rumors about. The sign and trade would go like this, Detroit sends Tayshaun Prince and Amir Johnson to the Atlanta Hawks for Josh Smith.