The New York Knicks are already zeroing on their free-agent consolation prizes.
Big names like LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, Goran Dragic, Kevin Love and Paul Millsap are tossed around haphazardly when it comes to the Knicks’ offseason plans. Each of those players would certainly expedite their rebuilding process, and each, subsequently, is a pipe dream. Most of this summer’s star free agents are expected to remain right where they are or, you know, sign places other than New York.
That’s left the Knicks to have eyes for Detroit Pistons tower Greg Monroe, according to the New York Daily News‘ Frank Isola:
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.”
A done deal is illegal of course and would open Jackson and the Knicks to tampering charges. A more likely scenario is that representatives from both parties have made their interest known and will proceed accordingly once the free-agent recruiting period begins on July 1st. It happens all the time.
Still, the talk among scouts and executives who attended the Portsmouth Invitational is that Monroe is Jackson’s primary free-agent target. 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.
A done deal? In April? Months before free agency?
Sounds ominous. And illegal.
And totally not true, according to Monroe himself.
Per MLive.com’s David Mayo:
“You write it’s a done deal, there must be another Greg Monroe around here that I don’t know about, because I haven’t agreed to anything,” Monroe said before the Pistons’ home finale today against the Charlotte Hornets. …
“This stuff right here, it’s just unfortunate that we have to talk about it,” Monroe said. “I know we have to. But I talk to my agent every day, and I know for sure, I’m 100-percent, 1,000-percent confident, that he hasn’t done anything. If they (the Knicks) have interest, maybe they might have commented on that. But I haven’t even gotten to that place yet.”
Look, nothing is a done deal already, especially for a guy like Monroe, who isn’t an undeniable superstar yet is looking for a max contract. He’s not the type of player you make illicit promises to months in advance.
But that doesn’t mean the Knicks aren’t interested or going to be interested. They’re in the market for everything this summer, and Monroe is a double-double threat who can put the ball in the hole.
He’s also a fringe star at best. He has never made an All-Star appearance, he has yet to play for a team that’s won 35 games or more and his back-to-the basket chops aren’t reminiscent of a superstar, fortunes-turning big man.
The Knicks, in all likelihood, will have to explore Plans B-Z this summer, because the odds of them landing a true superstar in free agency aren’t especially good. But any and all backup plans cannot be ridiculously expensive, pinning them to a mediocre core—kind of like the one they’d have if they do, in fact, sign Monroe.
