The NY Knicks have Phil Jackson building around Carmelo Anthony and while the team did not make any major signings this summer apart from Melo, 2015 could be different and names like Greg Monroe and Marc Gasol will be targets and this comes as the team could trade Amar'e Stoudemire, Pablo Prigioni, JR Smith or Iman Shumpert at some point this season.
According to ESPN.com, the Knicks have shopped Pablo Prigioni as well as JR Smith this summer and GM Steve Mills is looking to break up the logjam in the backcourt. The team already moved Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton, while they also traded Jeremy Tyler and Wayne Ellington to the Sacramento Kings for Quincy Acy and Travis Outlaw to give the team more depth. The NY Post reported earlier in the offseason that the Knicks would target Marc Gasol in 2015 free agency when they have more money to spend and now another name they could go after is Greg Monroe, as he will be a free agent after taking the qualifying offer from the Detroit Pistons.
Monroe is a restricted free agent and according to Pro Basketball Talk, Monroe is signing the qualifying offer with the Pistons for one year after rejecting a multiyear offer earlier in the offseason. The 24 year old will sign for $5.479 million and he cannot be traded next season without his consent as part of the deal and he will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Last season Monroe averaged 15.2 points and 9.3 rebounds and the Pistons have been looking to sign him while also trying to trade Josh Smith.
The Pistons reportedly offered Monroe over $10 million a year, but he is betting on himself and staying healthy to sign a deal next summer. The deadline for signing the offer is October, meaning the Pistons have the chance to pull a sign and trade or they can try and sign Monroe again to a long term deal. Monroe has tons of talent and now he is hoping to cash in next summer on the free agent market and he will be one of the biggest names with Kevin Love likely off the market after he gets traded.
The Pistons are building around Andre Drummond and now they also have time to try and sign Monroe, while they also could look at trading him if he approves the deal. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Pacers looked into a potential trade with Roy Hibbert, but that did not get far, while the Pistons have also been looking to trade Josh Smith to the Kings to help breakup their front court logjam.
The Knicks have big plans for next summer, as they will have some money to spend and now Marc Gasol and Greg Monroe are two targets for Phil Jackson to look at. The Knicks want more stars around Anthony and getting someone like Gasol would be massive boost for the franchise. The team knows it likely won't win a championship this season, but there is a good chance the team will make the playoffs after missing out this past year.
