PistonPowered: Greg Monroe should be traded now

[bleedspeed]

Should we trade for Monroe? I wanted to draft him over Wes and Cousins the year he came out. It doesn't look like he will be back with Pistons. I am not sure if you trade for him if you keep his rights for offering him anything, but he sure would fit a need here. Not sure if he is a physical enough to play next to Dieng, but certainly is an upgrade over Young.

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2014/12/05/detroit-pistons-greg-monroe/19965911/

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

The best we'd get would be his Bird Rights, but he'd still be a UFA so you risk losing him. I also think he's a C more than a PF so I don't see the fit next to Dieng, but that's not the worst thing in the world. Dieng would fall back into his bench role which is probably best until he can learn to defend his man in the post better. The question is who would they want from us to get him. Would they take Bazz and filler for him? I'd rank the trade order from least wanting to trade to more willing to trade at Wiggins/Ricky/Dieng/Lavine/Bennett/Bazz and everyone else. To be honest we'd probably just be better off trying to sign him away from them in the offseason than giving away a piece now unless that piece is not someone in the long-term plans.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

One thing is for sure - we are going to need to augment our bigs for next season, whether it's through the draft or free agency. What at first appeared to be a very deep Center rotation with Pek, Dieng, and Turiaf now appears to be quite shallow and weak. We will never be able to count on Pek's health and the same goes for Turiaf. And Dieng is proving that he simply isn't capable of guarding opposing starting bigs (or a lot of bench bigs for that matter).

I'm not sure if Greg Monroe is the answer, but we're going to need to do something between now and next season.

[KiwiMatt]

Not a huge fan of Monroe. There's a reason he had to opt into the final year of the contract and not one chased his signature during the off season. He is not worth what he is expecting.

No doubt we need to address the PF position, but overpaying Monroe isn't the answer.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Not paying for another center when I have my sights on Karl Towns, who is capable of both PF and C in the NBA. Doesn't make sense.

Edit: Unless we find a way to move Pekovic. Towns/Monroe starting frontcourt with Dieng off the bench would be real nice.

[WildWolf2813]

Just what this team needs, another softy.

[bleedspeed]

This was posted on ESPN Insider under rumors:

Over the summer, when free agency got underway, the general assumption was that the Detroit Pistons would find a sign-and-trade partner so that they could squeeze some value out of restricted-free-agent Greg Monroe. Instead, they brought him back for one final season with the team before he becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2014-15 campaign.

It turns out that the team did have sign-and-trade deals in place but turned them down.

"Several NBA teams had pitched sign-and-trades scenarios to the Pistons' front office, but Van Gundy responded with a turn-off: The president and coach requested All-Star caliber players in return, league sources told RealGM," wrote Shams Charania.

"In one instance, two other franchises had agreed to a three-team deal that needed the Pistons' acceptance, delivering Monroe a maximum-level contract. Opposing team executives involved pushed for it. Only, Detroit rejected."

Charania suggested that the Pistons didn't feel they were getting enough back in those deals to justify trading him, instead of keeping him for one more season. Since Monroe holds a trade veto via his Bird Rights, he surely won't be traded during the season and will leave as a free agent in the summer.

Where might he land?

"Over a dozen teams should have the necessary cap space to attract Monroe," Charania wrote. "The New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks are two prospective suitors for the 6-foot-11 center, with the Knicks' possibility to move onto Monroe should Marc Gasol re-sign with the Memphis Grizzlies and the Hawks already placing an interest in the offseason.

"Despite speculation in top markets of the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, neither were an interested party when Monroe sought offer sheets, sources said."

[bleedspeed]

Not paying for another center when I have my sights on Karl Towns, who is capable of both PF and C in the NBA. Doesn't make sense.

Edit: Unless we find a way to move Pekovic. Towns/Monroe starting frontcourt with Dieng off the bench would be real nice.

I would love to have Karl Towns and Monroe. We need length so bad. If Young and Budinger opted out that would open up the room for Monroe. Certainly not perfect, but not sure we can do much better.

[mjs34]

Even if Bud and Thad opted out (which I highly doubt), the wolves are going to be lucky to have 10 mil to spend when you take into account Ricky's bump, the first round pick, and the minimum salaries to get the roster to 12. I'm guessing that puts us around 58 mil in salary already.

If those two don't opt out, we are sitting closer to 72 mil. Pretty poor cap management for this team, but a lot has to go on Love and Adelman I guess.

[bleedspeed]

Why are we so always cap screwed?