I've been a big fan of Monroe the few times I've watched him and don't blame him for all of his shitty team struggles. He looked good when they cut josh smith and had a healthy PG for a month. He is damn good inside. He's never had the quality of teammates he'd have here even without LaMarcus. The problem will be the cost to get him; either lose Nic in a sign and trade, lose Wes and Rolo in free agency, or as a fallback option if LaMarcus leaves. Those first two scenarios would be big gambles on Neil Olsheys part. But if he feels that's the player to get I'd trust Neil and be eager to see how he rounds out the roster. One thing I will say is this is the worst Robin has looked as a starting center for the Blazers. That's now 2 years of poor playoff performance so maybe we should be thinking how Monroe fits next to LaMarcus in the starting lineup instead of in place of him.
LOL Wiggins was a 19 year old rookie. Are you sure you want to close the chapter on what he is capable of?
Wiggins already is a good defender and might be 1st team all defense soon. He's nothing like Kevin Love.
Moose would be a solid option. I pimped that Monroe/Batum swap last summer. With Meyers flipping a switch and showing a skillset that is rare for a player his size, do you still go after Monroe? What impressed me the most from Meyers in the playoffs was his defense. He defended Gasol better than any other big on the roster.
Exactly. Aldridge hogging the shots pulls Lillard off his shooting rhythm. Lillard will shoot better when he doesn't have to keep Aldridge in his peripheral vision whenever Lillard wants to shoot. Monroe is the rare type of acquisition which excites me. If we can get talent like him without giving up much, grab it. Worry about whether he starts, or about teaching him defense, later. Just get him first.
Another underrated (or at least underreported) part of Monroe's game is his passing ability; his assist numbers don't reflect it, but he's displayed excellent interior passing ability. That one complaint that many have about Aldridge being unwilling to pass out of contested jump-shots--not an issue with Monroe. In Stotts' "flow" offense, his passing ability would be likely a valuable asset.
I don't foresee us losing LA for nothing. He IMO would accept a sign and trade (to get more money) to another team of his choosing.
From what others have said, there isn't an option of getting more money from a sign and trade. It would be for less money and less years even with the sign and trade. He only gets the extra money if he stays in Portland. At least that's what I've been told.
I'm still down for Monroe if the dude could defend and play center. He has the post presence to be a solid Center, but he is absolutely terrible on the defensive end. Now if Aldridge somehow accepts swapping defensively at center, it could very well work. I noticed Aldridge has really stepped up his help defense. If Monroe can just make sure that he keeps his man in front of him, Aldridge would be a fine help defender.
I'm just really not that impressed with LA as a defender. For his length, he should really be a much more effective defender, but he's not. In my opinion, it's his defense that will most likely keep him out of the hall.
They changed that; players no longer get more from a sign and trade it's the same if he signs with another team outright. He can only get more by staying here.
I'm often very perplexed watching him defend. He will do a great job on smaller players or stretch big men. We've seen him play great down low against a dominant Dwight Howard in single coverages. But then other times he doesn't help when it looks like he could easily effect a shot. Sometimes he swipes at the ball repeatedly for unlikely steals then gets scored on where he could've just stood straight up and forced a difficult shot. I've thought he's just saving energy and pacing himself for 80 games. It feels like he could be a great defender if he stuck to the basic fundamentals more often.
I just don't see the effort from him. He doesn't get out very well on the pick and roll. As you said, he swipes at the ball a lot, which is lazy in my opinion. He used to get called for it all the time because it's one of the easiest calls to make for an official. Swiping at the ball is extremely obvious, and really not that effective in my opinion. I think he floats on defense.
I think we take his defense for granted, especially during crunch time situations. The reason why we can have a stretch 4 offense in crunch time is just how well Aldridge rebounds, defends and help defends. He can't do it throughout the entire game, but he definitely can be one of the best defenders on the floor for a short stint.
A short stint is great, but that really just makes it more frustrating because we know he's capable of being a very good defender. He just doesn't do it very often. So, like I said, I think that's what will ultimately keep him out of the hall of fame.
Then he should sign with the Knicks and be their insanely overpaid version of J.J. Hickson. He'll be a double-double machine, steal rebounds from his teammates and allow anyone he's "guarding" to score 20 points and the Knicks won't understand why they still can't make the playoffs in the incredibly weak Eastern Conference. If the Knicks are dumb enough to throw max money at Greg Monroe, they will get what they deserve. I'm not saying Monroe sucks, but he's nowhere close to a max contract player. Any team that makes him one is foolish - which why the Knicks will probably do it. BNM
