Forward Greg Monroe and the Detroit Pistons have yet to settle their differences with regards to coming up with a new deal. According to the latest report, the big man shunned the Pistons' latest offer worth $60 million over five years after rejecting the previous four-year, $58 million offer.
Monroe, who averaged 15.2 points and 9.3 rebounds last season with the Pistons, hasn't signed a new contract up to this point of the free-agency period. Although the Pistons have been aggressive in keeping their big man in the fold, the former Georgetown product seems to be not interested in staying further in Motown.
"The Pistons have moved from the initial five-year, $60-million offer and an offer that's slightly better on a per-year basis than the four-year, $54-million deal that Josh Smith signed last summer is on the table," Detroit Free Press writer Vince Ellis reported last week,
"But the offer to make him the highest paid player on the roster hasn't brokered an agreement. And negotiations aren't ongoing."
At 24-years old, Monroe is still years away from reaching his prime. However, he has already shown maturity in his game as an inside presence on both ends the floor. His lowpost scoring and rebounding makes him one of the most coveted young big men in the league. That's why many teams have tried to reach out with the Pistons for a trade - including the Indiana Pacers.
According to Detroit Sports Radio panelist of Matt Dery WXYZ 7 Sports Cave, the Pistons reportedly received a trade offer from the Pacers for Monroe. Indiana is reportedly using All-Star center Roy Hibbert as a trade bait in the negotiation.
"Lots of chatter about Greg Monroe today. Pacers shopping Hibbert and a source tells me they have called the Pistons about him. All I know," Dery posted on his Twitter account on Monday.
Hibbert has been on the trading block since the start of the offseason. Direly needing an offensive boost in the wake of Paul George's leg injury, the Pacers are apparently making a gamble by trading their best defensive player in Hibbert in exchange for the smooth low-block operator in Monroe.
However, Bleacher Report writer Steven Cook believed the trade chatter involving Hibbert won't gain much traction because the Pistons are committed to groom Andre Drummond into an elite center. Acquiring Hibbert in a sign-and-trade would be a surplus for them, unless Stan Van Gundy decides to move Drummond to the power forward position and form an impeccable defensive trio of Josh Smith, Drummond and Hibbert.
Kenneth Faried To Pistons?
Another option the Pistons should closely monitor is Kenneth Faried's situation with the Denver Nuggets. Ever since he landed a coaching gig in Mile High, head coach Brian Shaw wanted a more polished low-block scorer at the power forward position. Faried, who is known as an up-and-down energy player, showed some improvement in his low-post game, but it's not any near to Monroe's array of moves on the shaded lane.
Another factor to consider is Faried's contract situation. Next summer, he's going to hit the market as a restricted free-agent, and many teams out there will try to snatch him by offering a bloated paycheck. Working out a sign-and-trade deal sending Monroe to Denver for Faried makes sense, as it gives Van Gundy a player who can produce the same numbers Monroe provides every night.
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