Tom Gores insisted that the Detroit Pistons remain hopeful to re-sign Greg Monroe and the owner expects a contract agreement.

“We think Greg is a great player," Gores said. "First of all, he’s done a really great job of establishing himself as a player in Detroit. He’s shown great respect to the city and as a young man he’s really done everything we could ask of him.

“With Greg we just believe in him. I’d like Greg to really get excited about being in Detroit because he deserves it. He’s really been good to the city. You’ve seen him. He’s good to the city. Stan is going to have to figure out exactly everybody’s role, but we’re believers in Greg Monroe. He’s not just a great player; he also has a good basketball character. I know it’s been a lot of the off-season stuff, but I’m a believer in Greg Monroe.”

The Pistons are offering slightly more than the four-year, $54 million deal that Josh Smith received last offseason.

“Of course we would like him to do that, but the fact is Greg has to decide what’s exactly right for him and he has great people representing him," Gores said. "We’d like Greg to get on board, but he’s got time to think about it and we should give him that time.”