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News broke early Wednesday morning by our good friend Darren “Doogie” Wolfson that, to the surprise of many, the Minnesota Timberwolves would NOT be re-signing Greg Monroe to another 10-day contract:
NEWS: Thought otherwise, especially after Celtics game, but assuming #Timberwolves are good Covid-wise today, they won't sign Greg Monroe to another 10-day. Good news for him is that he will sign a 10-day with the Washington #Wizards.
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) January 5, 2022
The original reporting from Doogie was quickly backed up by Shams Charania, who added that Monroe’s 10-day contract with Minnesota technically expires at the end of toady.
Sources: Free agent center Greg Monroe plans to sign a 10-day contract with the Washington Wizards on Thursday. Monroe is finishing up a 10-day contract with the Timberwolves today.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 5, 2022
There’s mixed emotions here — while Monroe did help lead the Timberwolves to a much-needed victory last week against the Celtics, his playing time and overall role practically disappeared once Naz Reid and Jarred Vanderbilt returned to the lineup (not to mention the recent emergence of Nate Knight as well). With Karl-Anthony Towns also expected to return to the lineup tonight against Oklahoma City, there was no real playing time available for Monroe, and that’s before we get into the whole cap situation/luxury tax:
A reminder that signing Greg Monroe for the rest of the season would have put the Timberwolves into the luxury tax. https://t.co/3CY9NimO2L
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) January 5, 2022
Again, between the salary cap and the current depth chart, it makes perfect sense why the Wolves declined to sign Moose to another 10-day deal. With that said, it’s still disappointing, as many of us (myself included) quickly grew fond of Monroe, his ability to rebound, and the potential veteran leadership he could add to a rather young roster. Nevertheless, it looks like Monroe will now get a chance to help the depleted Washington Wizards frontcourt, which will also allow him to be closer to home (prior to signing with Minnesota, Monroe was playing for the Wizards’ G-League affiliate).
We’ll always have that performance against the Celtics, and more than anything, I hope this latest stint in the NBA showed other teams around the league that the former 7th overall pick back in the 2010 NBA Draft can indeed still play at the highest level. Monroe is only 31-years old and has a nice skillset for a backup big man, so here’s to hoping that his next 10-day with Washington isn’t the last time we hear from the man known as Moose.
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