He did choose to be a second banana rather than be the man. There was a time before ring culture, where players would view that as giving up. When being traded meant the player wasn't a franchise player.
We could offer DDR straight up and they'd open up a ton of space either opting out next year or keeping him one year and letting him expire, they seem to be setting up for the 27 free agent off-season which is a big reason for why they do not want Monk.
He did choose to be a second banana rather than be the man. There was a time before ring culture, where players would view that as giving up. When being traded meant the player wasn't a franchise player.