Turns out Greg Monroe was serious about waiting until unrestricted free agency next season to sign a long-term deal. According to USA Today, Monroe has decided to postpone his free agency until he is free to decide exactly where he wants to go in the summer of 2015.
Forward-center Greg Monroe has informed the Detroit Pistons’ he will accept the qualifying offer, play for Detroit in 2014-15 and become an unrestricted free agent next summer, two people familiar with Monroe’s plan told USA TODAY Sports….
Monroe, 24, was a restricted free agent this summer but decided not to sign an offer sheet with another team or sign a multiyear extension with the Pistons….
Monroe’s qualifying offer is for $5.479 million in 2014-15 and cannot be traded without his consent once he signs. He’s expected to sign it before the Oct. 1 deadline.
It’s pretty rare for a young restricted free agent to take the qualifying offer over a longer, guaranteed contract. However, like Eric Bledsoe, Monroe was in a no-win situation as teams were unwilling to offer him a big contract for fear of the Pistons automatically matching. The Pistons also used their advantage of matching to offer Monroe a contract that was less than he was looking for.