NBA Free Agency: The Best Play For Greg Monroe Is to Sign Qualifying Offer
By Tony Fischer
Mar 24, 2014; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Greg Monroe (10) warms up prior to the game against the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
It’s nearly August and Greg Monroe is still on the free agent market. That is far the expectations of Greg Monroe’s agent who vowed prior to free agency that his client would get a max offer from somebody if not the Pistons.
It looks now as if Monroe’s agent may have overestimated his clients market value or the market’s ability to pay his value.
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Truth be told the dry market isn’t really a reflection of Greg Monroe’s talents as much the free agency stalemate created by LeBron James, Carmello Anthony and others who opted out of their contracts. Because Monroe was commanding a high salary teams who thought they had an outside chance at one of the big name free agents held on to their cap space. While other teams couldn’t wait and filled their rosters with the second tier of free agents.
That left Monroe stuck in the middle.
Now as August nears the number of teams that can afford to give Greg Monroe a max offer are dwindling faster than a tub of popcorn in a movie theatre. If Monroe doesn’t act soon his free agency adventure could turn into a horror show.
Greg Monroe’s best move is to accept the Pistons qualifying offer of $5.5 million and hit the market next year as an unrestricted free agent. He will have a bigger role in Stan Van Gundy’s offense and will (barring injury) build his market value with a break-out season.
In Greg Monroe’s current situation the Detroit Pistons have all the leverage. The Pistons will likely match any offer given to Monroe. Problem is there aren’t many teams left with enough cap space to entice Monroe with the max offer he is looking for. By signing the Pistons qualifying offer, Monroe will flip the script and force the Pistons to come to him with a max offer in 2015.
In short signing the offer puts Monroe in control of his own destiny. With the prospects of a max deal vanishing fast there is no sense in Monroe dragging this out any longer.