Greg Monroe is expected to garner max salary contract offers this summer when he becomes an unrestricted free agent, but that doesn’t mean the Pistons‘ big man will ink a long-term deal David Mayo of MLive.com writes. With the salary cap expected to jump significantly in 2016, courtesy of the league’s new television deal, Monroe could elect to sign a deal with an opt-out clause for the second year, which would allow him to sign a much more lucrative deal, Mayo notes.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- David Thorpe of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) wonders if newly-acquired Bucks guard Michael Carter-Williams has enough upside to turn into a guard similar to his head coach Jason Kidd. Like Kidd, MCW brings a lot to the table, but leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to his shooting. Kidd didn’t have much of a jumper to start his career, but he went on to have 12 seasons of shooting 34% or better from downtown. The Sixers, he writes, clearly didn’t see Carter-Williams figuring out his shot.
- While Pistons coach/exec Stan Van Gundy is certain that having Reggie Jackson for the long haul makes his team better, he’s also optimistic that the February deal will pay dividends in the short term, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. SVG also explained that even though he was high on Jackson, he was prepared to walk away if the bidding got out of hand. “We were aware of (other teams involved), but it didn’t matter to us. We knew what our interest was in him. That’s what mattered. And we knew what the parameters of a deal would be,” Van Gundy explained. “As much as we liked him, we weren’t going to give up a first-round pick – that was our sticking point. As much as we liked him, we wouldn’t have done that.”
- The Bucks‘ playoff hopes are in jeopardy after their deadline shakeup, Charles F. Gardner of the Journal-Sentinel writes. Milwaukee went 0-4 on their West Coast trip and they’ll try to get back in the win column against the Wizards on Saturday night.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.