Report: Greg Monroe signs 1-year qualifying offer, set for unrestricted free agency in 2015
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The lengthy restricted free-agency process for Detroit Pistons center Greg Monroe has come to an end, with the 24-year-old reportedly signing his one-year qualifying offer with the Pistons.
The news was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, who confirmed that the two sides could not come to an agreement on a long-term deal.
With Monroe's agent unable to find a sign-and-trade partner, and most teams without the requisite cap space to sign Monroe outright at his asking price, Monroe was left with the choice of either signing a long-term deal at what he deems a discount or playing out the season on the qualifying offer.
Signing the one-year pact, which will pay Monroe $5.48 million, is a significant risk for the Georgetown product. Most players opt for long-term security when first coming off their rookie contracts, but Monroe is gambling that the market for his services when unrestricted - and thus without the threat of the Pistons matching an offer - will be more robust than it was this summer.
He'll hope to have a strong fifth NBA season and avoid significant injury, but it's unclear how much he can fetch on the open market. In Detroit, he'll share a frontcourt with Andre Drummond and Josh Smith, a combination new head coach Stan Van Gundy will look to utilize better than Maurice Cheeks and John Loyer did last season. Monroe averaged 15.2 points and 9.3 rebounds while shooting 49.7 percent a year ago, but his upside is likely higher than that if separated from Detroit's other interior offensive players.
The option to sign a one-year qualifying offer is somewhat rare in the NBA, especially with players as good as Monroe. David Lee is perhaps the best comparison, as he played out his fifth season with the New York Knicks in 2009-10 on a one-year, $7-million deal before cashing in with a six-year, $79.6-million contract with the Golden State Warriors via sign-and-trade the following summer. Lee also became an All-Star that season, so the pressure on Monroe to improve has surely increased.
As it stands, the Pistons will get Monroe at below market value for this year, but could very well lose him for nothing after the season. It's also possible they could look to deal Monroe, now on a friendly one-year deal, to a team looking for help during the season, though an acquiring team would not own his Bird rights entering free agency and Monroe has what amounts to a no-trade clause due to a wrinkle in the collective bargaining agreement. That's still an attractive asset for the year, and one the Pistons may be willing to move if certain they'll lose him for nothing otherwise.