/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46661040/usa-today-8345690.0.jpg)
We knew this day was coming, we just didn't know where he would go exactly: Greg Monroe will sign a maximum contract with the Milwaukee Bucks when the free agency moratorium ends next week. That means Pistons fans will still see plenty of Monroe over the next several years in the Central Division.
Who else broke the news?
Free agent Greg Monroe will sign a maximum contract with the Milwaukee Bucks, league source tells Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 2, 2015
When free agency opened, it was kind of a foregone conclusion that Monroe would sign with the New York Knicks. Woj reported it! And it was the first team Monroe met with. Moose signing in Milwaukee is probably a pretty good indication that the Knicks did not offer him the max:
They did not, from what I was told. https://t.co/oVnjD0t3GY
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) July 2, 2015
It also probably means Portland didn't offer him the max, either. Monroe didn't sign the qualifying offer last summer to take less than the max. Signing in Milwaukee also affords Monroe the opportunity to stick it to the Pistons with a chip on his shoulder, squaring off directly opposite the guy who will be replacing him in Motown, Ersan Ilyasova, who the Pistons acquired from the Bucks before the draft.
Moose continues to gamble on himself and it has paid off thus far.
Monroe will sign a three year deal, with a player option on the third year, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 2, 2015
Now your thoughts.
Update: It seems Moose did in fact have options and didn't just chase money:
The Lakers offered Greg Monroe the max, per source. Of course they did.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 2, 2015