Greg Monroe Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bucher’s Latest: Kings, Pelicans, Cavs

January 9th, 2015 at 1:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

It’s no secret that the Nets trio of Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson are available on the trade market, and they’re among a long list of players that GMs say teams are open to trading as the February 19th deadline approaches, according Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher. Jeff Green, Brandan Wright, Lance Stephenson, Greg Monroe, Brandon Jennings, Goran Dragic, Nik Stauskas, Ben McLemore, Jason Thompson, Arron Afflalo and most of the other Nuggets are also on that list, with Bucher, in many cases, confirming earlier reports. Still, Bucher hears plenty of new rumbles, as he passes along in his piece, and we’ll hit the highlights here:

Kings owner Vivek Ranadive unilaterally made the decision to fire former coach Michael Malone, sources tell Bucher, even though GM Pete D’Alessandro claimed the decision as his own. Most of the Kings organization was pleased with the direction the team was headed in and believed the team was overachieving, though there were doubts that Malone was the long-term solution, Bucher writes.
Ranadive wanted to make a splash with Malone’s successor, but Kings front office executives prevailed upon him to keep Tyrone Corbin as head coach, according to Bucher. Ranadive would relish the chance to turn the screws on the Warriors, of whom he used to be a part-owner, by hiring Mark Jackson, the ex-Warriors coach, a source tells Bucher, who nonetheless believes that the team won’t hire Jackson during this season.
Talk “circulating around the league” suggests that Pelicans owner Tom Benson is eyeing former Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars and former Mavs and Nets coach Avery Johnson if he decides to make changes, Bucher writes. Still, Pelicans sources tell Bucher that the club hasn’t contacted either Dumars or Johnson, and that there are no signs that Benson is definitively displeased with either GM Dell Demps or coach Monty Williams.
Several executives from around the league don’t believe the pair of trades the Cavs made this week assure the team of any more than a second-round appearance, according to Bucher. One exec tells Bucher that the Cavs “overinflated” the market with what they gave up for Timofey Mozgov.

Poll: Can The Pistons Make The Playoffs?

January 3rd, 2015 at 9:17pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Addition by subtraction is an overused phrase in the sports world but sometimes it holds true. The Pistons were struggling during the first two months of the season, and the team decided that a change was necessary. Josh Smith signed a four-year, $54MM contract with the Pistons during the 2013 offseason but after playing just 105 games with the team, Detroit waived him.

At 5-23, the 2014/15 season seemed to be a good opportunity for Detroit to tank and end up with a valuable pick in the 2015 draft. However, the team responded by winning four straight games and its unified play has drawn comparisons to the Raptors of last season. Toronto traded Rudy Gay midseason and earned the third seed in the Eastern Conference with stellar play in the second half of the 2013/14 campaign. It’s early but the Pistons are only four games behind the Heat for the eighth seed and only four teams in the Eastern Conference have longer win streaks than Detroit’s current four game streak.

There remains a lot of uncertainty with this team. Although starting point guard Brandon Jennings has emerged as a leader since Smith’s departure, the 25-year-old is reportedly on the trade block. There have been rumors of Greg Monroe being dealt since he signed his qualifying offer, but the fifth-year forward would have to approve any trade since he essentially has a de-facto no-trade clause in his contract. After the shocking release of Smith, it’s clear that Stan Van Gundy isn’t shy about moving on from players whom he inherited from the previous regime.

Still, the Eastern Conference isn’t strong beyond its top five teams and to earn a lower seed, teams will most likely not even need a record above .500. The Pistons have the talent to compete with any contender for the eighth seed and 35 of their 49 remaining games are against Eastern Conference foes. Will Detroit keep up its current play and reach the postseason this year?

Eastern Notes: Monroe, Nets, Embiid

December 23rd, 2014 at 10:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

A number of league insiders believe that Greg Monroe, who will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, will end up with the Knicks, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops writes. “I could see $48MM for four years. I don’t think he’s a max [contract] guy, but he is pretty good. He might get more based on who is left on the board. I could see New York overpaying him,” a league executive told Scotto.

An Eastern Conference scout also believes that Monroe and the Knicks could be a fit down the line. “I think the Knicks are a possible free agency destination,” the scout told Scotto. “He has above-average passing ability, which makes him attractive for the triangle. If the Knicks strike out on the so-called top-tier guys, I think it makes sense.”

Here’s more from the East:

Jorge Gutierrez has been acquired as a returning player by the Canton Charge of the NBA D-League, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports (Twitter link). Gutierrez was recently waived by the Sixers after they acquired him from the Nets in the deal for Andrei Kirilenko.
According to Howard Beck of Bleacher Report, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov is to blame for the mess that the franchise has become. Prokhorov’s push for “star power” to be added to strengthen the team’s brand during the move to Brooklyn led to a number of questionable decisions, as well as the team stripping itself of future draft picks and tradeable assets, Beck opines.
While Joel Embiid isn’t likely to suit up for the Sixers this season, coach Brett Brown is still counting on the rookie to become a leader on the team, Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com writes. “We’re really trying to go overboard and help him understand what leadership is,” Brown said. “I’m desperately trying to build something that’s not top-driven. I don’t want it to be top-driven down. It needs to be the team dictating some rules and habits. And what is culture? What’s the behavior we want amongst our players? And I think the most powerful way to do that is something that’s player-driven.”

Central Notes: Pistons, Love, Bucks, Stephenson

December 22nd, 2014 at 5:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

Greg Monroe and agent David Falk have made it clear that they don’t want any trade this season, though the Pistons have asked about Monroe’s willingness to approve a trade, writes Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. Monroe has the right to block any deal because he signed his qualifying offer in the offseason, and he’d lose his Bird rights if he were to be traded. There have been conflicting reports about whether the Pistons are shopping Brandon Jennings, but Goodwill writes that he is indeed on the block. The team’s brass is setting a high price for its assets, but other front offices have yet to meet those demands, according to Goodwill, who wrote his piece before today’s Josh Smith bombshell. We’ve been tracking the latest on Smith all day, and as we continue to do so, here’s more news from the Central Division:

Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders insists that had it not been for the offer from the Cavaliers, he wouldn’t have traded Kevin Love this year, as Saunders told reporters, including Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter link). There were simply no other proposals he liked, despite seemingly fevered interest from half of the league’s teams.
Saunders also seemed to confirm that Love had forced his way off the Wolves, as Krawczynski relays in a full piece. “Minnesota people are pretty loyal,” Saunders said. “When you turn on Minnesota they don’t forgive you.” Still, Saunders added that he has no hard feelings, Krawczynski tweets.
Bucks owners Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry saw the Milwaukee franchise as a “blank slate,” Krawczynski writes in another piece, adding that the ownership duo has quickly revamped the business side of the team and is very pleased with how their roster is taking form. “It’s better than the Spurs. Those are the old guys,” Edens told Krawczynski. “Would you trade Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and Jabari [Parker] and all the rest of the young guys for them?”
While initial reports had Edens and Lasry pledging $100MM towards a new arena in Milwaukee, the actual number the owners have agreed to commit has since grown to $150MM, reports Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Walker reminds us that former Bucks owner Herb Kohl agreed to kick in $100MM himself and that there might be additional private capital coming. Whatever amount on top of that is required to build the arena will come from public financing, Walker says, adding that the team faces an NBA-mandated deadline of fall 2017 to have the new facility in place.
Pacers players aren’t embracing the idea of bringing Lance Stephenson back to the team, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). Indiana’s front office was reportedly cool to the idea as the Pacers engaged in preliminary talks with the Hornets about trading for the shooting guard.

Alex Lee contributed to this post.

Pistons Rumors: Monroe, Hawks, Smith, Kings

December 17th, 2014 at 2:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons are 5-20 with three frontcourt pieces that don’t appear to fit, making them a ripe contender to pull a trade this season. There’s been plenty of chatter in recent days, and we’ll round up the latest here:

Falk made it clear to Zillgitt, who writes in a full story, that Monroe doesn’t want a trade in part because he wants to honor a commitment he made to Pistons coach/president of basketball ops Stan Van Gundy. Teams have been calling the Pistons about Monroe, but the fifth-year big man continues to stonewall the idea of leaving Detroit. “He made a commitment to Stan (Van Gundy) when he took the qualifying offer that he would work as hard as he could and help the team as best that he could and he would keep his mind open and at the end of the season, he would evaluate all of his options,” Falk said. “That was his plan in July, and that’s his plan in December and that will probably be his plan in February and will be his plan when the season ends.”
Monroe will be seeking the best fit and not necessarily the highest payday in free agency this coming summer, as he and Falk have said, Zillgitt writes.

Earlier updates:

The Pistons are “shopping” Josh Smith and willing to trade him for the right return, writes Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. The Kings remain interested in Smith, a source tells Goodwill, and Kings owner Vivek Ranadive was behind Sacramento’s pursuit from the start, Goodwill adds. Yet while the Kings are still thinking about trying to trade for Smith, they’ve been gradually moving past that idea, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick (video link).
Greg Monroe says the Pistons would have to initiate discussions about a trade, since he wouldn’t ask for one, as Goodwill notes in the same piece, writing that it’s likely that Pistons GM Jeff Bower asked agent David Falk about his willingness to approve one. Monroe has a de facto no-trade clause this year because he signed his qualifying offer in the summer, and he’d lose his Bird rights if he gave the OK to a trade. Monroe prefers to play out the season as a Piston, agent David Falk told Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, who passes along his report in the same video with Amick.
Detroit asked the Hawks for Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver in exchange for Monroe this summer, but Atlanta wasn’t willing to go along with the sign-and-trade idea, Goodwill writes. The Hawks are reportedly set to pursue Monroe in unrestricted free agency this coming summer.
The Pistons never believed that Monroe would ultimately sign the qualifying offer, according to Goodwill.

Central Notes: Monroe, Parker, Hansbrough

December 16th, 2014 at 5:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Greg Monroe is growing weary of the trade rumors surrounding him and the Pistons, Vince Ellis of USA Today reports. “The same thing happened this summer,” Monroe said. “They put that stuff out there, say somebody said it, and then I got to answer for it. I really don’t have time for that. Especially right now. After losing 13 straight and finally getting a couple of games, and then you got to come in here and hear this when you getting ready for a game. At this point, it’s definitely annoying. We’re trying to turn things around here right now, and I gotta come in here and answer to stuff that I absolutely have nothing to do with. It is annoying, yes.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

After being drafted by the Bucks with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, Jabari Parker said that he would like to remain in Milwaukee for his entire career, a statement Parker still stands by, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. “I want to be here as much as possible, I want to stay as long as possible,” Parker said. “I want to just grind it out and see what happens. Even if I were to slump and they wanted to trade me, I would probably want to try and get better so I could stay here.”
The primary reason for Parker’s comfort level with the Bucks is how team owners Marc Lasry and Wes Edens have sold their vision for the future of the franchise to the young player, Deveney notes. “I feel very comfortable with them [Lasry and Edens],” Parker said. “A lot of times, when you think of ownership, it is almost like you think of slavery. You’re a piece of property. But with them, it is a partnership.”
Ben Hansbrough will have his D-League rights rescinded by the Grand Rapids Drive, the Pistons‘ affiliate, to accommodate an overseas deal, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports (Twitter link). Hansbrough was in training camp with the Bulls this season.
Larry Drew doesn’t harbor any resentment toward the Bucks after being fired as head coach so that Milwaukee could replace him with Jason Kidd, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. “I’ve seen stranger things happen,” Drew said. “Whether you think it’s fair or not, I don’t really dwell on that. I look back at guys who have been in similar situations and had stuff happen to them. I’ve learned to move on. I don’t any hard feelings about how things happened. Certainly, I wish it could have been handled a little differently [in Milwaukee] but it wasn’t.”

Latest On Pistons, Josh Smith, Jennings, Monroe

December 16th, 2014 at 1:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 1:54pm: Smith is the only player the Pistons have talked about trading, and those discussions have merely been preliminary, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.

MONDAY, 9:20pm: Monroe refuted Deveney’s report and said he would never initiate trade talk on his own, writes David Mayo of the MLive Media Group. Van Gundy also brushed aside the idea that the team is actively looking to move Monroe and is asking for a first round pick in return, reports Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (via Twitter). “I don’t know where that stuff comes from,” he said. “We haven’t talked to anybody about trading Greg Monroe. We know there are teams with interest and that’s it.”

2:47pm: A source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that Monroe would approve almost any deal, conflicting with Zillgitt’s report that Monroe is putting the kibosh on trades. The Pistons are seeking a first-rounder in return for Monroe, Deveney hears. Monroe and agent David Falk had sign-and-trade deals in place for Monroe this summer, but the Pistons didn’t want to take back too much salary, according to Deveney.

2:09pm: The Pistons are looking to move Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith, executives from teams around the league tell Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck. Teams have been calling Detroit about Greg Monroe, but the soon-to-be free agent has made it known that he’s not interested in waiving the de facto no-trade clause he received when he signed his qualifying offer in the summer, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt tweets. Monroe would lose his Bird rights if he approved a trade, meaning whichever team that acquires him would need ample cap room to re-sign him in the offseason, and that’s dissuading the big man from giving the OK to a move, Zillgitt notes. There are no such restrictions on Jennings or Smith, both of whom are on contracts that cover next season.

Sacramento’s front office targeted Smith this summer over the objections of soon-to-be former coach Michael Malone, though Detroit reportedly had no interest in Sacramento’s proposals, none of which appeared to offer the Pistons much in return. Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press surmised today that the Pistons would probably need to attach a first-round pick to Smith to find a trade partner, making a deal unlikely, though that appeared to be educated speculation. Smith makes $13.5MM this season and each year through 2016/17. His 13.7 points per game this season are his fewest since 2005/06.

Jennings is on a cheaper contract and is only signed through 2015/16. He’ll make $8MM this season and more than $8.344MM next year. He, like Smith, has experienced a dip in scoring production this season, as Jennings is putting up 12.7 PPG, a career low. The Pistons are 5-19 in their first season under coach/executive Stan Van Gundy, who’s pointed to a four-day stretch of off days next week as a time when he’ll assess the direction of the club.

Hawks, Knicks To Pursue Greg Monroe

December 6th, 2014 at 5:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Hawks and Knicks are set to pursue Greg Monroe in free agency this coming summer, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. Over a dozen teams should have the necessary cap space to attract Monroe, who will almost assuredly be seeking a max contract, notes Charania. The Knicks see him as a secondary target if they can’t convince Marc Gasol to leave Memphis and come to New York, Charania adds, and landing Gasol is prospect they’re reportedly pessimistic about.

Monroe took the risky route this offseason when he signed Detroit’s one year qualifying offer after he and the team were unable to come to terms on a new long-term deal. The fact that Monroe spurned the Pistons’ attempts to lock him up for the long term and that he was willing to accept a salary of approximately $5.48MM for 2014/15, which is definitely below the market value for a player of Monroe’s talents, suggest that he has no intention of returning to Motown next season, Charania notes.

Monroe’s camp was also reportedly active in seeking sign-and-trade deals this past summer rather than attempting to secure offer sheets, with the fear that the Pistons would match and he would then be forced to stay in Detroit. Despite speculation that big-market teams like the Lakers and Celtics were pursuing Monroe, neither were an interested party when Monroe was seeking suitors, Charania’s sources told him. For their part, the Pistons rejected the proposed sign-and-trade offers, and they instead decided to take their chances that new president of basketball operations and head coach Stan Van Gundy could convince Monroe during the course of the season that Detroit was indeed a desirable place for him to continue his playing career.

The Knicks’ interest in Monroe furthers the notion that New York is focused on adding a center via free agency next summer. Monroe is the No. 4 player on the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings, and he’s the third-ranked center behind Gasol and Al Jefferson, who holds a $13.5MM player option for the 2015/16 season. The Knicks certainly will have enough cap flexibility to offer Monroe a maximum-salary deal, with roughly $25.9MM to spend. I do question how well Monroe would fit into the triangle offense that New York is transitioning to, since he is not known as a willing and competent passer, something that is required of big men in that system.

As for the Hawks, Monroe would be a curious fit alongside Al Horford and Paul Millsap and could find himself in a situation similar to the one he is now in with Detroit, where the Pistons’ experiment with an oversized frontcourt has not worked out well for any involved. Millsap is set for unrestricted free agency this coming summer, too, so Atlanta’s interest in Monroe could portend that the Hawks are either not confident in re-signing Millsap, or that they would prefer to add Monroe to their squad instead. Atlanta is expected to have more than $24MM in cap flexibility available next summer.

Eastern Notes: Monroe, Celtics, Love, Heat

December 4th, 2014 at 11:00am CST by Chuck Myron

Friends and former Georgetown Hoyas Greg Monroe and Jeff Green share an agent in David Falk, and Monroe, an unrestricted free agent at year’s end, says they’ve playfully discussed the idea of playing together, observes Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com.

“We joke about it,” Monroe said. “We all joke about it, man, but obviously it’s a lot more than us two coming here [to Boston] or us two talking about it. Right now, I’m just focused on where I’m at. Whenever the time is and if everything is right, then obviously I’ll always weigh my options, but right now I’m not worried about that.”

Boston has enough cap flexibility to offer Monroe a max contract, as Rohrbach points out, but if Green exercises his $9.2MM player option and the Celtics re-sign Rajon Rondo, much of that flexibility would be gone. Here’s more on the Celtics and their Eastern Conference rivals:

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge reiterated his desire to find a rim protector as he spoke this morning on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, as Rohrbach notes within the same piece. “I’m always trying to get quality,” Ainge said. “We’re trying to get better players, more impactful players. We do have a hole from a rim-protecting standpoint, and you can’t just add rim protection and then give up other things that you have that are solid. So, they’re not easy to find. A quality one, I should say, is not easy to find. Maybe through the draft or free agency, but we will continue to work all the way to the trade deadline to see if we can fix that hole in the meantime.”
Kevin Love said the Knicks “are a great franchise to be a part of” but reiterated his intention to remain with the Cavs for the long term as he spoke in an interview with Steve Serby of the New York Post.
Alex Kirk is back on D-League assignment, the Cavs announced. It’s the fourth such trip to the Canton Charge for the rookie, though none have last as long as a week, as our log of D-League assignments and recalls shows.
The Heat assigned Andre Dawkins to the D-League, the team announced late Monday. It’s the first time Miami has sent anyone to its affiliate this year. Dawkins, who made the Heat out of camp, has seen a total of just 13 minutes so far in the regular season.

Eastern Notes: McDaniels, Sixers, Cavs, Pistons

November 22nd, 2014 at 8:43pm CST by ChrisCrouse

With the Sixers season already taking a turn for the worse, rookie K.J. McDaniels needs to play more, argues Tom Moore of Calkins Media. McDaniels, who signed an unusual deal for a second-round draft pick that keeps him under contract for only one season, is averaging 9.3 points per game while playing only 22.6 minutes per game. If McDaniels continues to show potential, he could end up with a more lucrative deal than most players with his experience and draft status. If that is the case, his success may pave the way for other second-round picks to emulate his strategy of signing just a one-year deal, though that is just my speculation.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Sixers do not have a timetable for when the team’s turnaround will begin, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The team began this season with a record of 0-12. Pompey compares the club to the 2007 SuperSonics, who lost their first eight games on their way to 20-62 record. The main difference between the two teams is that the Sonics had Kevin Durant during his rookie season, while the Sixers currently lack so much talent that many suggest the top team in college could beat them.
Kevin Love hasn’t looked like the superstar who many people hailed him as last summer, writes Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Kawakami also cites the Cavs’ current need for an additional wing defender as further evidence that the team shouldn’t have traded Andrew Wiggins. While Wiggins isn’t totally developed as an NBA player, defense is one of his specialties. Cleveland is reportedly one of the teams looking to add Wolves defensive specialist Corey Brewer to its roster.
If the Pistons attempt to trade any of their players this season, Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings make the most sense as candidates due to their large contracts, opines David Mayo of MLive.com in his weekly mailbag. Although trading one or both of these players would financially benefit the team long term, Detroit has no financial urgency to move either contract as the team will be comfortably under the NBA’s salary cap this offseason. Mayo suggests that while the team may have the financial flexibility to re-sign Greg Monroe, it is unlikely he stays since he already turned down a substantial offer from the Pistons and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.