The NBA offseason is officially here and Greg Monroe is a main target for teams on the free agent market and as a restricted free agent he could be trade bait for the Detroit Pistons and teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic, Portland Trail Blazers and LA Lakers could be interested in signing him.
Monroe is one of the top targets on the RFA market and he is coming off of a solid season with the Pistons and during the offseason, rumors popped up that he could be traded. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Blazers, Hawks, Magic and Lakers are all interested and the Cavaliers could join into the mix as well now that they have signed Kyrie Irving to a max extension. The team is thrilled at that and drafting Andrew Wiggins and that could spark a move for Monroe, who is considered to be one of the best young bigs in the league.
The Pistons like Monroe, but they also have Andre Drummond and Josh Smith in similar positions and that could lead the team to move him. Monroe could be a great fit for the Blazers, as they may lose LaMarcus Aldridge in the future, while the Magic are looking to add players with all of the cap space they have. Monroe is young and has more years to develop and that could lead to a sign and trade for the Pistons if they find a team willing to make a deal, just so they can at least get something out of him if he leaves.
The Pistons are also reportedly looking into Isaiah Thomas as an option on the free agent market and he is coming off of a very good season with the Kings. Thomas is a target for the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets and he is one of the top young players on the market at his position. Thomas put up great numbers on a bad team with 20.3 points and 6.3 assists per game and he also shot over 44 percent from the floor and those types of numbers could lead him to a big deal. The Pistons are in the top 10 in salary cap space this offseason and that puts Detroit in the mix for him.
The Cavaliers come into things with some money to burn and they could be feeling frisky after signing Irving, but if they can't get Monroe there are other bigs on the market as well. The team has a dream of signing back LeBron James, but it's pretty clear that he is staying in Miami and that means teams like the Rockets and Bulls may start to focus hard on Carmelo Anthony. The Pistons have Stan van Gundy running things and after he took over, reports came out that the team could trade Monroe over Drummond.
While SVG came out to dispute those reports, the move makes sense for Detroit, as they already have Smith and Drummond there and could try and get something out of Monroe. The Pistons are rebuilding and this could be a major step for the team if they get something in return for Monroe.