2015 NBA Free Agents: Latest Rumors and Predictions for Greg Monroe and More
The Detroit Pistons' Greg Monroe is headed to the New York Knicks in free agency—at least that's what Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (h/t Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press) is reporting based on information from an unnamed NBA executive.
On Saturday, Isola wrote: "Maybe the worst kept secret in the NBA is that Phil Jackson plans to pursue Detroit Pistons forward Greg Monroe in free agency this summer. In fact, one league executive called it 'about as close to a done deal as you can get.'"
It should be noted that Monroe has denied there is any deal or agreement. Per Ellis, Monroe said:
"It’s a shame that people just write stuff that’s not factual at all but we as players have to come in here and answer for it when we have absolutely nothing to do with it. I guess he’s doing his job. That’s what you guys do. You write it’s a done deal then they must have another guy named Greg Monroe somewhere around there I don’t know about because I haven’t agreed to anything.
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Obviously, Monroe hasn't agreed to anything officially. Isola's report never said that he had. Even if Monroe were strongly leaning toward entertaining an offer—that, of course, has never been submitted—he'd have to take this approach.
If the Knicks do believe they have a bead on Monroe, that could drastically impact which player they take in the draft. The Knicks currently have the second-worst record in the NBA, which would give them a pretty fair shot at the No. 1 pick. Many believe the Duke Blue Devils' Jahlil Okafor and Kentucky Wildcats' Karl-Anthony Towns are the odds-on favorites to go No. 1 and No. 2.
However, if the Knicks were to grab one of the top two spots, and if the team believes it can sign Monroe, that would seemingly make guards D'Angelo Russell out of Ohio State and Emmanuel Mudiay from the Congo more sensible selections.
A Knicks team with a healthy Carmelo Anthony, D'Angelo Russell and Greg Monroe sounds pretty exciting. Monroe seems like a logical fit for the Knicks—especially if they can't get the Memphis Grizzlies' Marc Gasol.
At this point, New York would be my prediction to be Monroe's next team. We'll see what happens in what could be a very eventful offseason in the Big Apple.
Kyle O'Quinn Still Wanted?
You might not be able to tell based on the amount of minutes Kyle O'Quinn has been receiving of late, but apparently, the Orlando Magic still plan to make him a qualifying offer in the offseason, per a source referenced by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The offer would make O'Quinn a restricted free agent. Quinn has played in just one game this month. In that contest, he saw just six minutes of action.
The 6'10", 250-pound power forward/center might draw attention from a team looking for frontcourt depth. He's shown some flashes of production this season. In December, O'Quinn had three double-doubles and averaged 8.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots in just 21.1 minutes per game.
Since then, his playing time has dropped dramatically every month. If this is what he has to look forward to in the 2015-16 season, O'Quinn may be hoping the Magic let him go free.
With few teams likely willing to submit an offer to pry O'Quinn away, it seems the big man stays in Orlando if the rumored qualifying offer comes to fruition.
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