Minnesota Sports Forum

bleedspeed177 wrote:

northernhoops wrote:So we land the 5th pick in the draft, Kmart has let us know that he is opting in, Milwaukee calls and offers Greg Monroe and the 10th pick for Kmart and the 5th pick. Do you accept?

Tough one. I probably wouldn't do it. I would take Ellenson and shop for a wing in FA. I don't see a wing I would want at the 10th spot at this time. I like Monroe, but he is limited.

I think I would be inclined to because, 1. I'm not in love with any of the prospects around 5. I'm skeptical of Dunn, because I'm not sure he can do everything he's doing now at the NBA level, (which is similar to my stance on Valentine, but I'd be willing to take that risk at 10), 2. We'd still have 20 million in cap space if KG retires, big if obviously, but I feel as though it may be coming. 3. I think it puts us in great position to fight for a playoff spot, moreso than drafting Dunn, Brown, or Murray does.

northernhoops wrote:So we land the 5th pick in the draft, Kmart has let us know that he is opting in, Milwaukee calls and offers Greg Monroe and the 10th pick for Kmart and the 5th pick. Do you accept?

Rubio Jones
LaVine Valentine/Hield
Wiggins Shabazz
Monroe Bjelica
KAT Dieng

I'd do it in a heartbeat. We need to think of that second starting big as a position we don't need a star at. KAT is eventually going to give us 25/12/5 with great percentages. So if you have Monroe next to him, that's a pretty damn nice complement up front. He's also got some size and can help deal with the more physical Centers.

Add to that the fact you might be able to get Valentine or Hield at #10 and it's a no-brainer.

I say no, and the reason why is because I think we could get him for less than our No. 5 pick. Monroe's been in trade rumors already and just got delegated to an off-the-bench role. I think Milwaukee is happy with his individual production, but not the overall team fit. They've opted to go with a "defense first" big in Plumlee instead and for what it's worth, it's worked. For those reasons, I think he will be available this off-season, but I think the No. 5 pick might be too steep of an asking price.

I like Monroe the player/person. I like his individual game and his overall personality. I thought it was super cool that he signed with Milwaukee last summer over other more attractive off-the-court places, but his reasoning was about winning. That is a big deal to me.

So, I'm not sure what we could offer that would make sense for them, but if we could work something around Dieng/Bjelica/Martin and a future top-10 protected first (year 2020), then I'd be down for that. They get a big in Dieng that might better suit what they need in the middle, a cheap big in Bjelica that might provide some floor spacing (35.4 3P%) that they could use, Martin's expiring and a future first round pick. The pick and Dieng are the reasons why they'd be open to this deal, not really Martin. Thought I'd add that in there for some posters who might get it confused.

PG: Rubio / Jones
SG: LaVine
SF: Wiggins / Muhammad
PF: Towns
C: Monroe

We'd still have a bunch of cap space to fill in around those guys with some heady vets. Plus, we'd still have our No. 5 pick to play with.

For those that would be worried about potentially not having our 2018 (Payne) or 2020 (proposed Monroe) first round picks, I hear you. Those are assets that we could potentially need down the road to complete deals for role players or find cheap talent in the mid-to-late first round (if our development stays on course). In this case, I'm just making the deal early, but it'd be in an effort to get a fringe All-Star big that compliments Towns in a number of ways.

Q12543 wrote:

northernhoops wrote:So we land the 5th pick in the draft, Kmart has let us know that he is opting in, Milwaukee calls and offers Greg Monroe and the 10th pick for Kmart and the 5th pick. Do you accept?

Rubio Jones
LaVine Valentine/Hield
Wiggins Shabazz
Monroe Bjelica
KAT Dieng

I'd do it in a heartbeat. We need to think of that second starting big as a position we don't need a star at. KAT is eventually going to give us 25/12/5 with great percentages. So if you have Monroe next to him, that's a pretty damn nice complement up front. He's also got some size and can help deal with the more physical Centers.

Add to that the fact you might be able to get Valentine or Hield at #10 and it's a no-brainer.

You are aware Monroe is one of the major reasons Milwaukee's defense tanked this year because of his horrible rim protection. Monroe is a bad defender who will never be a starting big on a contender. His defense is that bad. Yes we need more competent bodies in the frontcourt, but getting an overpaid one-way big who submarines good defenses shouldn't be a target for us. I'd rather target a guy like Taj Gibson who's a much better defensive big who would fit between Dieng and Towns if we keep both of them.

Ya I say no, has he ever been on a playoff team. He needs the back to be effective on offense and he is terrible on defense. Don't want anything to do with him

After realizing he could be a one year rental (he is signed only thru 2017 with a player option thru 2018), I'd say no. He's getting $17 million plus a year. Isn't there some decent free agents we could sign with that money and keep our pick?

khans2k5 wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

northernhoops wrote:So we land the 5th pick in the draft, Kmart has let us know that he is opting in, Milwaukee calls and offers Greg Monroe and the 10th pick for Kmart and the 5th pick. Do you accept?

Rubio Jones
LaVine Valentine/Hield
Wiggins Shabazz
Monroe Bjelica
KAT Dieng

I'd do it in a heartbeat. We need to think of that second starting big as a position we don't need a star at. KAT is eventually going to give us 25/12/5 with great percentages. So if you have Monroe next to him, that's a pretty damn nice complement up front. He's also got some size and can help deal with the more physical Centers.

Add to that the fact you might be able to get Valentine or Hield at #10 and it's a no-brainer.

You are aware Monroe is one of the major reasons Milwaukee's defense tanked this year because of his horrible rim protection. Monroe is a bad defender who will never be a starting big on a contender. His defense is that bad. Yes we need more competent bodies in the frontcourt, but getting an overpaid one-way big who submarines good defenses shouldn't be a target for us. I'd rather target a guy like Taj Gibson who's a much better defensive big who would fit between Dieng and Towns if we keep both of them.

Mmmm, didn't realize he was thought of as such a poor defender. Was Milwaukee's issue more because ZaZa was just that good and Monroe is OK-ish or is it because Monroe is really that bad?

I would certainly reconsider if his defense is really that much of a liability.

These are decent articles talking about Monroe's defense. He's not as bad as khans makes him sound, IMO, but the Bucks defense has regressed this year in part because of the Monroe/Pachulia swap. That was obvious heading into the season. Also, playing with Towns will have its advantages, one of them being players that fit around him. I think Monroe's limitations on defense could be minimized with the right front-court partner.

http://www.si.com/nba/2014/07/30/greg-monroe-pistons-nba-free-agency

http://www.detroitbadboys.com/2015/1/30/7913159/pistons-news-roundup-greg-monroe-defense-trade-rumors

From the second article, it pulled a Stan Van Gundy quote from a different article:

"I think Greg's actually pretty good defensively," Van Gundy said. "I've thought that all year. He's a very good low post defender, in my opinion. And he's a smart defender. He doesn't make a lot of mistakes [...] His mental approach and ability makes him a solid defender."

Milwaukee would do it to get Dunn/Brown/Murray, because I think they're a point guard away from having a tremendous core. I do it mostly because I love Valentine and think he'll be available at 10 and Monroe is a better option at the 4 than any FA we have a chance at getting. But could still throw money at Barnes, Batum, Fournier, Crabbe.

I think a lineup of

Rubio LaVine Jones
Crabbe Valentine
Wiggins Shabazz
Monroe Bjelica
KAT Dieng

could battle for the 5 seed next season

Camden wrote:These are decent articles talking about Monroe's defense. He's not as bad as khans makes him sound, IMO, but the Bucks defense has regressed this year in part because of the Monroe/Pachulia swap. That was obvious heading into the season. Also, playing with Towns will have its advantages, one of them being players that fit around him. I think Monroe's limitations on defense could be minimized with the right front-court partner.

http://www.si.com/nba/2014/07/30/greg-monroe-pistons-nba-free-agency

http://www.detroitbadboys.com/2015/1/30/7913159/pistons-news-roundup-greg-monroe-defense-trade-rumors

From the second article, it pulled a Stan Van Gundy quote from a different article:

"I think Greg's actually pretty good defensively," Van Gundy said. "I've thought that all year. He's a very good low post defender, in my opinion. And he's a smart defender. He doesn't make a lot of mistakes [...] His mental approach and ability makes him a solid defender."

Good stuff Cam.

Speaking of Zaza, this dude has been in the league for 10+ years, right? Did he just suddenly become this bedrock defender of the paint in the last two seasons or was he always this good? He just seems like one of these obscure players that I never really thought about....until last year when he was credited with anchoring Milwaukee's defense and now doing it again in Dallas. What the hell happened?

(by the way, he's also not a shot blocker. It just goes to show that great interior defense can happen in more ways than one. It sounds like with him he's an immovable object that just knows how to position himself properly).