Greg Monroe willing to sign qualifying offer with Pistons, per report
Monroe could sign a one-year qualifying offer with the Pistons and become an unrestricted free agent next offseason, but that would be risky.
Detroit Pistons restricted free-agent big man Greg Monroe is "definitely" willing to sign a one-year qualifying offer of $5.3 million with the Pistons, according to Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News.
Monroe and the Pistons are currently at a stalemate in contract negotiations. There have been reports that Monroe has turned down both a five-year deal worth $60 million and a four-year deal worth north of $50 million, but the big man took to Twitter to dispute some of the rumors:
"@millerfootball5: Come on @M10OSE how can you reject a 5 year 60 million deal" — Greg Monroe (@M10OSE) August 10, 2014
Monroe reportedly hasn’t pursued an offer sheet from another team, but he has looked into possible sign-and-trade scenarios. The 24-year-old has until Oct. 1 to make a decision about his future.
Signing the one-year qualifying offer with the Pistons would make him an unrestricted free agent next offseason, but it would also be a bit risky. While Monroe has been durable throughout the course of his career, one freak injury could cost him a lot of money.
Monroe supposedly is a fan of new Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy, but there are still questions about fit in Detroit. The three-big lineup of Monroe, Andre Drummond and Josh Smith was a disaster last season, and as of right now, it doesn't look like Smith is going anywhere. With all three bigs still around, the logjam in the frontcourt remains.
Monroe averaged 15.2 points and 9.3 rebounds last season. His offensive efficiency was slightly up from the previous year, but he did see a major dip in his assist totals. The defense also left a lot to be desired, especially when Monroe played with Drummond and Smith. The Pistons gave up a whopping 110.5 points per 100 possessions with those three on the court together, per NBA.com’s stats page.
