Greg Monroe rumors: Orlando Magic 'very interested'

Just after free agency began, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported the Orlando Magic were one of the teams interested in Detroit Pistons’ big man Greg Monroe.

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Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders believes the Magic are “very interested” in Monroe.

"I think they’re very interested in Greg Monroe. They’ll definitely meet with him. I’m not sure if they’ll make him a max offer, but they need to throw a lot of money at him in order to pry him away from Detroit since he’s restricted. If they miss on Monroe, then they’ll turn their attention to some smaller pieces. I think they could add a veteran or two so that they have some experienced guys in the locker room. With Arron Afflalo, Jameer Nelson and Jason Maxiell gone, they’ll need some leadership in there. They claimed Willie Green off of waivers, but they’ll need another guy or two like that to have around this young core. By the way, I just did an interview with Elfrid Payton and I’m going to be running a big article on him soon. Keep an eye out for that (and sorry for the shameless plug)."

The Magic have already traded away the contract of starting swingman Arron Afflalo to the Denver Nuggets, getting back the 56th-overall pick (former Iowa Hawkeyes’ guard Roy Devyn Marble) and a much cheaper option at guard in Evan Fournier. They also waived veteran point guard Jameer Nelson, saving $6 million in the process. The Magic now have over $28 million in cap space and although most don’t expect them to meet much of a player in free agency, they have the ability to do so.

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.

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Greg Monroe rumors: Orlando Magic ‘very interested’

By Andrew Melnick | Jul 1, 2014