In news that will surprise no one, Greg Monroe is planning on meeting with five teams during free agency this offseason and none of them are the Detroit Pistons.
Hearing that Greg Monroe has four or five meetings for free agency. East and West teams. One is the Knicks, a strong candidate.
— Jared Zwerling (@JaredZwerling) June 26, 2015
None of these teams the #Pistons. https://t.co/YSzNOwvIbm
— VinceEllis (@AlabamaScribe56) June 26, 2015
The Pistons are certainly not shocked by this recent news, because the split between Monroe and the team has been well known.
Monroe is coming off a season averaging a 15.9 points and 10.2 rebounds a game. He is a gifted low post scorer and is a very skilled passer and seemed to find some balance playing alongside Andre Drummond last season. In fact, Detroit seemed to be finding its groove before Brandon Jennings went down for the season. It helped that Stan Van Gundy sent Josh Smith packing, too.
However, both sides knew the end was coming and the Pistons seem to be preparing for life after Monroe.
One of the teams Monroe is set to meet with is the New York Knicks, and on first glance the fit might work. The team could use a low post presence to pair with Carmelo Anthony. Kristaps Porzingis, the team’s first round pick, is a skilled big man, but many believe he is 2-3 years away from being a big time contributor – if he turns into anything at all.
Figuring out the rest of the possible teams Monroe may already have lined up is difficult. Obviously both the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics would have some interest in the skilled big man. His passing and low post scoring would work well in Brad Stevens’ system and complement Kobe Bryant and the young nucleus of Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell. Of course, both teams plan on acquiring or signing other big men before they would turn their focus to Monroe. LaMarcus Aldridge, Boogie Cousins, and Kevin Love for the Lakers, and Love and Cousins for the Celtics.
Monroe is entering free agency during a time where the league seems to be de-emphasizing players like him. He is an offensively gifted, slow-footed, sub par defender who doesn’t stretch the floor like teams want their big men to do nowadays. And the market is going to be flooded with big men this summer. Brook Lopez, Roy Hibbert, Robin Lopez, Omer Asik, along with aforementioned Cousins, Aldridge, and Love are all potential free agents this summer.
(Via Jared Zwerling and Vincent Ellis)
