NBA News: Greg Monroe Settles for Qualifying Offer with Detroit Pistons, Joins Rich 2015 Free Agent Class
Greg Monroe and the Detroit Pistons couldn’t agree to a middle ground in this offseason resulting in the center deciding to sign the qualifying offer worth just $5.479 million for the 2014-2015 NBA season.
The development was first reported by USA TODAY Sports, which stated that the information came from anonymous sources who apparently know of Monroe’s plans.
Earlier reports in the offseason have stated that Monroe demanded the max contract-- possibly in the $13 million to $15 million range—while the Pistons have reportedly offered already a five-year $60 million contract extension.
Monroe shot down the latter report on his social media account on Twitter last Sunday:
"@millerfootball5: Come on @M10OSE how can you reject a 5 year 60 million deal" < cant reject anything that was not offered to me...carry on
— Greg Monroe (@M10OSE) August 10, 2014
Monroe is a restricted free agent (RFA), which means that he was allowed to sign with any NBA squad. However, as per the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) rules, the Pistons have the right of first refusal and could match any offer for their young center.
With the move, the 24-year-old big man can now sign with any team after the 2014-2015 NBA season as an unrestricted free agent (UFA) and free to leave the Detroit franchise. The Pistons also cannot trade him to another NBA team without his consent after officially signing the qualifying offer, which should happen before October 1.
Interestingly, Greg Monroe will now be part of the rich free agent class in 2015 featuring the likes of Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics); Ricky Rubio (Minnesota Timberwolves); Goran Dragic (Phoenix Suns); Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat); Rudy Gay (Sacramento Kings); LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers); Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs); Kenneth Faried (Denver Nuggets); and Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves) among the big name players who potentially can hit the free agent market.