Detroit Pistons have some interesting obstacles this upcoming offseason when considering the contracts of guards Brandon Jennings, who is out for the season with an achilles injury, and newly acquired Reggie Jackson. There is also the larger issue with the contracts for big men Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond as they both can be free agents this offseason.
While there have been reports of Monroe joining a few teams, most recently the New York Knicks, he may be interested in staying with the Pistons.
Following from Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
Greg Monroe “absolutely” remains open to re-signing with the Detroit Pistons in the offseason, according to his agent David Falk.
Factors other than money will weigh in Monroe’s decision.
“He’s going to get the same money wherever he goes,” Falk said to two reporters courtside at the Verizon Center. “I told him that two years ago. All stars get the same amount. It just depends on what the intangibles are.
“Where do you want to move? Who do you want to play with? Who do you want to play with? Is there a coach you want to play for? Do you want to be the star on a rebuilding team or do you want to be a complementary player on a championship team? Those are all intangibles.”
Falk complimented Stan Van Gundy, who is in his first season as president-coach of the Pistons.
“I think Stan has said some great thing publicly,” Falk said. “Greg has said some great things about Stan publicly and Stan’s a great coach.”
Pistons and Monroe were unable to agree upon a long-term deal last offseason as a restricted free agent. Monroe signed a one-year, $5.4 million qualifying offer for the current season.
The Pistons can offer a five-year max deal valued at over $100 million while others can only offer four year max deal valued at about $80 million. Monroe should absolutely consider leaving a team that benched him in favor of younger talent like Drummond or a less effective forward in Josh Smith, who is no longer with the team.
It will be a messy situation for sure to decide at 2 positions which guy you want to keep for the long term. You either decide between Drummond or Monroe on the inside and on the perimeter it’s between Brandon Jennings or Reggie Jackson. Seems like a good problem to have, but it might also be a pricey one if they make the wrong choice.
