It appears Greg Monroe will remain a Piston, at least for next season. According to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt, Monroe will sign a one-year qualifying offer for $5.479 million next season and become an unrestricted free agent after next season.

It’s a risky move for Monroe, who will have to avoid injury and have another solid season to earn the big pay day he was hoping to get this offseason.

There are no guarantees he will ever be able to recoup the money he will be this upcoming season by signing the qualifying offer.

The positive for Monroe is next offseason he will be free to sign anywhere he pleases.

Monroe was a restricted free agent this season which made teams reluctant to sign him to an offer sheet when odds are the Pistons would match.

There are even reports Monroe and his agent David Falk didn’t seek any offer sheets because he didn’t want to give the Pistons the option to match. Monroe and Falk were reportedly seeking a sign-and-trade deal, but couldn’t find a trade the Pistons would agree to.

Monroe signing the qualifying offer likely means his days as a Piston are numbered. The Pistons could trade him before the trade deadline this season or risk having him walk away for nothing next summer, but teams will be reluctant to trade for Monroe unless he agrees to an extension beforehand.

Monroe has spent his first four seasons with the Pistons, who took him with the No. 7 pick in the 2010 draft.

He averaged 15.2 points and 6.2 rebounds last season, but the frontcourt of Monroe, Josh Smith and Andre Drummond did not mesh well.

The crowded frontcourt could be a major reason why Monroe doesn’t want to sign a long-term deal with the Pistons.

The Pistons reportedly offered Monroe a five-year, $60 million deal, but Monroe Tweeted earlier this week that wasn’t true by saying, “Can’t reject anything that was not offered to me...carry on.”