Greg Monroe on free agency: Pistons 'have the upper hand'

After making the rare decision to accept a one-year qualifying offer in order to hit unrestricted free agency earlier, it has been widely assumed that Greg Monroe will flee Detroit for greener pastures this summer.

Not so fast.

"I don't know why people have the notion or the thought that I am just out of here already, like it is one foot out the door," Monroe said, as reported by Terry Foster of The Detroit News.

"At the end of the day, I am going to do what any free agent would do. I will listen to everybody and assess it."

Monroe averaged 15.9 points and 10.2 rebounds this season, his fifth with the Pistons since being drafted seventh overall by the team in 2010.

The 24-year-old is a skilled offensive big man with underrated passing and defensive ability, but the Pistons have failed to make the playoffs during Monroe's tenure with the team. Their 32 wins this season were the franchise's most in six years.

Still, he won't rule out re-signing with the Pistons, even saying the team has an advantage in free agency.

"I have ties here; I have been here my whole (adult) life," Monroe said. "They drafted me, so of course I am going to listen to them with the same ear as I listen to everybody else. They have the upper hand."

That upper hand, of course, could simply be the extra year and additional money the Pistons can offer by virtue of owning Monroe's Bird rights as his current team.