While Greg Monore thinks he deserves a max contract, the Detroit Pistons (and almost everyone else) are quite sure that he isn’t worth that kind of money. Maybe it’ll end with a qualifying offer that means unrestricted free agency a year from now, and maybe they’ll work out a long term deal. However, without too many options, time is certainly on the team’s side, not the player’s.

Monroe is eligible for a qualifying offer of $5.4 million. With the Pistons willing to give him around $48 million over four years, this means he will lose money this season, but can probably make up for some of it on the next deal he signs, although the market might not be as favorable as he thinks. In a situation similar to the one Eric Bledsoe is in, it looks like Monroe is being pushed by agents who are harming the situation between him and the team.

This non-talk isn’t going to last forever. Monroe is going to play basketball next season, and it’s most likely going to happen with the Pistons. There isn’t a team that can give Monroe an offer sheet that’s better than what the Pistons are offering him, or no team that wants him. A trade is something that’s going to be easier to work out, but so far Stan Van Gundy hasn’t been to eager to break up a trio of big men that clearly isn’t working as expected by some delusional people who put the group together.

How does this end? In the long run, unless something special happens this season, with Monroe playing basketball on another team. For now, he’s probably going to “suck it up” and take the real value for his talents and not the exaggerated contract he thinks he deserves, which should mean another season of frowning faces on the court for the Pistons, although with a much better head coach calling the shots.

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