It was a rough summer for Detroit Pistons big man Greg Monroe. He’ll sit out the regular season’s first two games due to a guilty DUI plea, and dealt with talk of locker room discord with teammates such as Josh Smith.
Greg Monroe inked a one-year, $5.5 million qualifying offer, setting himself up for unrestricted free agency next summer.
Monroe says that despite all the offseason turmoil, he’s perfectly happy in Motown.
Per the Detroit Free Press:
“It wasn’t rumors, it was all lies,” he said of things leaked about him over the summer. “Because I know what really went on, I’m not worried about it. … I know the truth. At the end of the day, I’m focused on getting ready for the season. All that stuff is behind me. I could (not) really care less.”
“My family and I made the decision,” Monroe said of signing the qualifying offer. “I have an agent who handles that and I don’t feel as a player it’s something I should talk about. Just because I signed a qualifying offer people assume I’m leaving. That’s not the case. I love Detroit and the people here. I’m looking forward to playing for this coaching staff. There’s no problem with any of my teammates. I went to Josh [Smith] and we talked. He knows what I said and didn’t say.”
“The contracts don’t have anything to do with it,” Pistons president and head coach Stan Van Gundy said when asked about who would start (at center between Monroe and Andre Drummond.) “Look, we’re going to try and put the lineup in and the rotation on the floor that we think gives us the best chance to win. Greg will be a professional. […] He made a decision based on what he thought was best for him. My impression of that decision, as I said, wasn’t driven by greed. I don’t think he was sitting there making his decision based on I’m worth a lot more money. I think he had some things he wanted to accomplish, personally, and he did that. I think Greg’s fully committed to what we’re trying to do.”
