NBA Rumors: Greg Monroe excited about free agency

When the Detroit Pistons hired former Miami Heat and Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy to be their head coach and president, many pundits believed that would end Greg Monroe’s time in Detroit.

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Van Gundy has continued to praise Monroe’s career and makes it known that he wants to keep Monroe, but it may not be completely in his hands. Monroe is a restricted free agent, so the Pistons will ultimately decide whether or not they will keep him.

According to Nakia Hogan of NOLA.com and The Times-Picayune, Monroe is looking forward to free agency.

"As a restricted free agent, the 24-year-old Monroe said he doesn’t know if he’ll be moving on from Detroit, where he played his first four NBA seasons, or if he’ll sign elsewhere. Ultimately, though, the Pistons will have final say, as they can retain Monroe by matching any offer he receives on the open market.Still, Monroe expects there to be plenty calls.“From what I have been told, it’ll be like that (college recruiting) a little bit,” Monroe said. “But the NBA has really strict rules and you can’t talk about it until July 1. Different things come out about teams who are interested, but I won’t know for sure until July 1 when I can actually talk to them.”"

The Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs are all expected to show interest in Monroe.

Monroe put up 15.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 49.7% from the field and 65.7% from the free throw line  last season.