It’s not hard to connect the dots between Greg Monroe and the New York Knicks. Monroe is a restricted free agent and quality center that a number of teams will go after (and offer the max, we’ll talk about that more in a bit). The Knicks need a presence in the paint at both ends of the court. Monroe’s agent, David Falk, Monroe’s agent, was Michael Jordan’s agent with the Bulls when Phil Jackson coached him, so there’s a relationship.
And there is scuttlebutt around the league that the Knicks may be the front runners to land him, with one report out of NYC saying it was all but a done deal.
As you would expect, Monroe denied this on Sunday, speaking to David Mayo of Mlive.com.“You write it’s a done deal, there must be another Greg Monroe around here that I don’t know about, because I haven’t agreed to anything,” Monroe said before the Pistons’ home finale today against the Charlotte Hornets....
“This stuff right here, it’s just unfortunate that we have to talk about it,” Monroe said. “I know we have to. But I talk to my agent every day, and I know for sure, I’m 100-percent, 1,000-percent confident, that he hasn’t done anything. If they (the Knicks) have interest, maybe they might have commented on that. But I haven’t even gotten to that place yet.”
Three things.
First, yes Monroe is going to get the max. He might have in any summer, he’s averaging 16.1 points and 10.4 rebounds a game, is shooting nearly 50 percent, and he’s got a little midrange game. He has looked a lot more comfortable in the offense since Josh Smith was sent packing. Bigs get paid in the NBA. That said, this summer he will for sure because he is a “market max” guy — paying him a max contract this season will not look bad when the cap spikes to $90 million or more in 2016 and climbs from there. A lot of guys are going to get bigger deals than you would think this summer based on that premise (Khris Middleton for example).
Second, you can be sure the Knicks and Falk have had some back-channel conversations to express and gauge interest. That’s how this works; it’s how every team does it. If you want a guy, you’re laying the groundwork now, not just waiting until July 1. How in depth those conversations are is up for debate, but they happened.
Finally, Monroe may well end up a Knick, he might even lean that way now, but no decisions will be made until all the cards are on the table. A lot of teams will reach out to Monroe, he will have options. And he’s played at a steep discount this season for the right to explore them, so you can be sure he will.