Greg Monroe rumors: Paul Millsap trade with Hawks unlikely

When Greg Monroe became a restricted free agent this offseason, multiple reports suggested that the Atlanta Hawks would show interest in the Detroit Pistons big man. But fearing that any offer sheet they presented Monroe would be matched, nothing much came of the rumors.

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But a month later, Greg Monroe still sits in restricted free agency and remains unsigned by the Detroit Pistons who’ve said they’ve attempted to get the former Georgetown product under contract.

Citing a resistance to signing a long term deal and desiring a opt-out clause in his third season, the Detroit Pistons remain in a stalemate with their center. They’ve reportedly held sign-and-trade discussions with multiple teams over the past few weeks, though none of them have went very far considering Detroit’s understandable high price tag.

Given all of this, could the Atlanta Hawks attempt to make a play and make Paul Millsap available? It’s been a rumor swirling the internet, but Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders says he’s heard nothing of the sort.

While such a move makes some sense for the Pistons if they were to lose Greg Monroe for nothing, they’re better served by retaining their young big man. As for the Hawks, Paul Millsap will be a free agent at season end and they’d probably prefer to replace him with a younger Greg Monroe, but there just doesn’t seem to be much incentive for the Pistons in the said scenario.

For now, it appears to be a rather baseless rumor though the Atlanta Hawks interest in the former Georgetown star is well documented, so it’s something worth keeping an eye on.