BURNABY, B.C. — Coolly, calmly, nondescriptly, Greg Monroe answered the questions one at a time. The Raptors have at least three new players who will be in or around what could be quite a lengthy rotation, and new players coming to established teams have to face the same sorts of queries about fit, role and why they have been brought in. Essentially, they are asked why their new team’s decision-makers decided to acquire them. Frankly, a lot of the questions would be better put to those decision-makers.



Monroe was rolling, on some version of a script he has obviously become very familiar with, when his soft eyes bulged. Monroe’s career has been fairly ordinary, but his place as a financial test case has been exceptional. He was one of the first players to accept a qualifying offer instead of opting to sign a new deal in restricted free agency, which is a risky play. In 2014-15, Monroe probably could have earned a contract that would have brought him an annual...