The Detroit Pistons reportedly are trying to find a sign-and-trade for unrestricted free agent Greg Monroe, who doesn't want to play for Detroit. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported Detroit has already spoken with the Atlanta Hawks and the Phoenix Suns about a potential trade.
Pistons president and coach Stan Van Gundy has espoused his desire to bring back Monroe, but the 24-year-old power forward appears to want to play elsewhere.
"Detroit has tried to help him with some sign-and-trade possibilities around the league. Monroe doesn't really have a great interest in going back and playing with the Pistons," Wojnarowski said during a podcast, via Fansided. "But if they're going to move him in a sign-and-trade, they've got to get value for him. And they've got to get back some significant players, some significant talent, to compensate for that loss. They haven't been able to find a deal for him. ...
"They've talked to Atlanta. I believe they talked to Phoenix for a while. Those are the two off the top of my head that they had conversations with and that there was interest. Portland had some interest early on but those teams moved on and they realized, you know, again, they could have signed Monroe to an offer sheet but Detroit would have likely matched it."
The Washington Wizards, once purported to be interested in Monroe, likely fall into the same category as Portland.
If Monroe isn't traded, his options are limited to either reaching an agreement with Detroit or signing his qualifying offer, playing the season and becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer. The problem with the latter option, though, is Monroe risks getting injured and having his value decrease heading into free agency next year.
