Greg Monroe will not be traded before the Feb. 19 trade deadline, Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News reports. "It's not gonna happen," Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy said Wednesday. "I don't know where Greg's head will be in the offseason, but we're sti

Monroe will not be traded before the Feb. 19 trade deadline, Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News reports. "It's not gonna happen," coach Stan Van Gundy said Wednesday. "I don't know where Greg's head will be in the offseason, but we're still hopeful of Greg Monroe for the long term. And with him going into free agency, you won't get a lot, maybe a pick. I'm not gonna walk in that locker room and give up a piece like that and then tell the guys we're trying to make the playoffs. They deserve the chance to ride this out. You never say never to anything, but I can tell you about 99.9 percent, Greg Monroe's not going anywhere."

Analysis:

With the word of Van Gundy, Monroe is locked in as a primary piece for the Pistons this season and the foreseeable future. Monroe will remain a must-start player for the rest of the season as long as he stays healthy. It's hard to imagine Van Gundy going back on his word, and given the fact that Monroe earned the right to deny a trade when he accepted his qualifying offer for this season, it'd take everything falling in the right place for a deal to result in Monroe playing on another team this season.