The Detroit Pistons met with Josh Smith at 12:01 AM EST on Monday and intend to make a substantial four-year offer.

The Atlanta Hawks have expressed more interest in working with Smith on a sign-and-trade than to re-sign him.

Smith is the Pistons' top priority in free agency, along with re-signing Jose Calderon.

The Pistons hope to make a preemptive strike on Smith knowing that he is a secondary pursuit for teams interested in signing Dwight Howard.