Detroit Pistons’ big man, Greg Monroe has at long last signed a one year deal worth approximately $5 million. His acceptance of the Pistons’ qualifying offer comes after holding out for weeks, seemingly in hopes to find a new team before the kickoff of the 2014 - 2015 season.
Monroe has made it abundantly clear that he is not interested in being a part of the rebuilding Motor City squad any longer.
By signing the team’s qualifying offer, Monroe guarantees himself a shot at free agency next summer. He’s decided to test the waters as an unrestricted free agent after this season and will likely draw the attention of myriad teams searching for the final piece to a championship puzzle.
A clear trend is developing in the current contract negotiations going on across the NBA and Monroe’s management are wise to it. As we approach a CBA that might change the game forever, players and their agents are looking to find new deals for larger amounts as soon as possible. When I say they’re looking for large amounts, I mean they’re are going to be swinging for the fences in hopes of deepening their pockets. With a salary cap increase, we could see a young, developing NBA talent’s value double or even triple.
Where Monroe is worth $5 million in Detroit in 2014, he will probably be worth upwards of $10 to $15 million in Los Angeles, Miami, New York, or Washington just a year into the future.
To play for a contender while simultaneously collecting an oversized check to stuff into your bank account is the dream of many a pro athlete; a dream often sought yet achieved by a very few, an elite class of legendary offensive monsters and iron-wrought defensive anchors. That is, until now.
Now that dream is closer to being realized for many more players than ever before in the history of the NBA. Finally, the younger players with developing talent could be compensated on a level more befitting of the job they do on the court. Monroe is counted among those players that are ambitious enough and confident enough to ask for what they feel they deserve; the odds are, Monroe will find what he’s looking for in a contract and a new team after this season.
