There are a number of big men to be had in free agency this off-season. Marc Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge are the cream of the crop, but both are in good situations on playoff teams making it unlikely that they would leave.
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Greg Monroe of the Detroit Pistons, however, is widely expected to leave Detroit in free agency. Though he has been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports that Monroe to the Knicks is basically a lock:
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.”
Isola also points out that Jackson has a great relationship with Monroe’s agent David Falk, who also represented Michael Jordan:
It’s easy to connect the dots; Monroe’s agent, David Falk, is one of the few agents that Jackson has a relationship with going back more than 20 years when Falk was representing Michael Jordan. Falk is looking for a max contract for Monroe and the Knicks, coming off the worst season in franchise history, are happy to oblige.”
Monroe will undoubtedly be highly sought after by a number of teams this summer. Both the Lakers and Knicks will have maximum cap space this summer and expect to be major players after disappointing seasons from both.
Before free agency, however, will be the NBA Draft and with Jahlil Okafor and Karl-Anthony Towns expected to be the top two selections, that could impact who both teams choose to pursue should they end up with one of the top two picks.
Monroe is averaging 16.1 points and 10.5 rebounds in 31 minutes per game this season for the Pistons.
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