Greg Monroe was one of the biggest free agents available this offseason and was expected to get a max contract. Monroe ended up taking less than the maximum to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks but it seemed like his old team, the Detroit Pistons, were never really in the running to retain the big man. One of the reasons the Pistons didn't try very hard to keep Monroe was because they didn't think he and Andre Drummond were a very good fit together according to Jason Brunskowski of SB Nation.
The Pistons reportedly offered Monroe a five year $60 million extension a year ago so that he would never reach free agency but Monroe turned it down as he rightfully thought he could make more in free agency. Last season for the Pistons didn't go so well and Stan Van Gundy wasn't thrilled with the way Monroe was developing so he came to terms with letting him walk.
Van Gundy went on to say that it wouldn't have been impossible to make the Drummond, Monroe combination work but it would have been tough in today's game.
"I don't think that, you know, he and Andre Drummond are the best fit. Not saying you couldn't make it work, but certainly not the best fit. First of all, I think the game is moving smaller and quicker as it is. The teams that have continued to play with two big guys - at least one if not both are guys who can step away and make shots," said Van Gundy.
Drummond and Monroe are both centers that operate best close to the basket and neither of them really has the ability to step out and make jump shots. Because they both operate in the same space offensively it would be tough for them to work off each other. Van Gundy was by all accounts a huge Monroe supporter, even calling him a top-10 big guy in the league at one point, but Drummond is just 21 years old and is already a stud in the NBA so he was the clear choice to keep and build around.
This upcoming season the Pistons figure to replace Monroe in the starting lineup with Ersan Ilyasova who is a much better fit as he is a stretch four who makes 37 percent of his threes in his career. By replacing Monroe with Ilyasova the Pistons don't lose too much in the way of rebounding while spacing the floor better and giving Drummond room to work inside. The decision to let Monroe leave in free agency seemed to be a tough one for Van Gundy and the Pistons but in the end it was probably the right call especially the way the game is trending.
