Talks between the Detroit Pistons and restricted free agent Greg Monroe have hit a crossroads despite the team offering a deal that would make him the team's highest-paid player, reports Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Specific terms of the contract offer are unclear, but Monroe would make more than the $13.5 million Josh Smith receives annually.
Pistons offering to make Greg Monroe highest-paid player, per report
The Pistons are ready to pay Greg Monroe more than Josh Smith, but that hasn’t been enough to get the young big man to sign a contract.
Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Since Monroe reportedly turned down a five-year, $60 million offer earlier this offseason, the Pistons have been working hard to find a resolution to the situation. They’ve considered sign-and-trade possibilities and offered contracts of varying terms, and have maintained the flexibility to match any offer he receives as an RFA.
However, the young big man seems to be holding out for a max-level deal that’s probably not going to come:
Teams around the league just don’t view Monroe as worthy of a max offer sheet —— especially with the perceived notion that the Pistons would just match. Despite a productive four seasons, stretch power forwards are high valued and inside players like Monroe have become devalued.
As Detroit Bad Boys notes, only two teams -- the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns -- still have the cap space to offer Monroe a max-level deal, making it highly unlikely he gets similar money to Chandler Parsons or Gordon Hayward. The market could always change as Kevin Love heads to Cleveland and the East takes shape, but a return to Detroit still seems like the most reasonable scenario for both sides.
The bigger question, of course, is what kind of deal will ultimately get Monroe in a Pistons jersey for 2014-15. It’s possible he accepts a one-year qualifying offer in order to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, but the lack of interest this summer might make him hesitate to gamble his long-term earnings on another year playing in Detroit.
The middle ground, where Monroe accepts a multi-year deal with an early termination option or player option, is also possible, since it would allow both sides to push the issue back while getting him under contract for the coming season. Quite frankly, this seems more likely than the Pistons forking up what Monroe wants.
It’s a messy situation, but one that will have to reach a conclusion by Oct. 1. That’s the deadline for Monroe to accept the one-year, $5.4 million qualifying offer from the Pistons, which would admittedly be more of a temporary solution than any real end to the saga.
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