Uptempo Suns considering signing Greg Monroe to offer sheet
This move doesn't make much sense considering Monroe is more of a traditional big man that will anchor your defense as opposed to someone who fits in with Phoenix's NBA fifth highest scoring offense last season.
Having said that, for Danny Ainge's protege, Phoenix GM Ryan McDonough, this would once again be more about asset acquisition as opposed to making the Suns better in the short term:
How does Monroe, a methodical big man, fit into Phoenix’s up-tempo attack? The same way Isaiah Thomas fit into a point guard rotation that already included Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and Tyler Ennis.
The Suns want value where they can find it. If they can get Monroe at a price they believe falls short of his production, they probably would – and definitely should – sign him and sort out the rest later.
Phoenix has enough cap space to offer Monroe a max contract, which is likely what it would take to sign him. I can’t see him locking himself into anything less at this point, especially if it opens the door for the Pistons to match and put him back on a roster with Josh Smith.
It’s possible Monroe is worth more than his max deal, though his true value is probably a touch shy of that. If the Suns want to make an aggressive push, there’s really no downside. This late in free agency, they won’t risk losing other targets during the the three days Detroit has to match. Besides Bledsoe, there’s nobody left even near Monroe’s level.
If the Suns do offer the max it is uncertain whether new Piston GM Stan Van Gundy would match. He initially said that he would but more recently has been ambivalent on the topic.
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