Blazers podcast/Greg monroe

[blazedanugz]

Listening to john freeman and Casey H's podcast yesterday they talked blazer offseason and the name they said to definitely expect the blazers to chase is Greg monroe. A guy that can he a crazy 3rd big off the bench, start at C or....start at PF if that one guy leaves.
What do you guys think of him? I've never really had a chance to watch him play.
Who else do you guys think would be a good fit?

 

[BlazerCaravan]

I like Monroe; he'd be a fine consolation prize if the worst came to worst.

 

[Natebishop3]

Monroe would have been great.....if we would have traded LA for Wiggins or someone like that. Getting Monroe as a consolation prize and letting LA walk for nothing is going to sting. A lot.

 

[BBert]

I thought the idea was to add Monroe to the bigs we have. Like to replace Freeland.

Can he play center?

 

[Natebishop3]

I thought the idea was to add Monroe to the bigs we have. Like to replace Freeland.

Can he play center?

If JJ Hickson can play center, I think Monroe can play center

 

[blue9]

What's Greg's max offer sheet look like? I've wanted him in the past - he scores well in the paint and can easily learn to be a good defender. In that regard he's like a young Zbo. But he won't be the centerpiece to the team like Zbo/LMA was/is, and that's a good thing. I think Greg at $12M is better than LMA at $18M. I'm guessing that $12M is what his yearly salaries would average out to? Hopefully it'd be less, but I'm guessing not.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

What's Greg's max offer sheet look like? I've wanted him in the past - he scores well in the paint and can easily learn to be a good defender. In that regard he's like a young Zbo. But he won't be the centerpiece to the team like Zbo/LMA was/is, and that's a good thing. I think Greg at $12M is better than LMA at $18M. I'm guessing that $12M is what his yearly salaries would average out to? Hopefully it'd be less, but I'm guessing not.

His max would be the same as Eric Gordon or Roy Hibbert likely. 4/58

 

[magnifier661]

I would say Monroe is fully capable of being a center on the offensive end. What he lacks is the defensive prowess I think we need. We would have a huge upgrade scoring in the post, probably rebounding, etc. What I worry about is how our pick and roll defense sucks, and it would suck even more if we didn't have a rim protector in the paint.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

I would say Monroe is fully capable of being a center on the offensive end. What he lacks is the defensive prowess I think we need. We would have a huge upgrade scoring in the post, probably rebounding, etc. What I worry about is how our pick and roll defense sucks, and it would suck even more if we didn't have a rim protector in the paint.

We'd need to sign Tyson Chandler if we went with Monroe. Maybe we could get both rolo and Tyson on 3/24s with Monroe's mini max? A front court of:

Monroe / Leonard
Chandler / RoLo

Would be pretty good.

 

[BBert]

But LaMarcus isn't leaving.

Meyers/Monroe would seem to be a pretty good combination off the bench on offense.

Monroe plays center on offense, guards PF on defense. Meyers plays stretch PF on offense, guards centers on defense.

Also great injury insurance.

 

[santeesioux]

Would Monroe want to come here to be a back up, though?

 

[KeepOnRollin]

Knicks are throwing the MAX at Monroe this summer.

 

[blue32]

we need defense, defense, defense. oh and someone to set good screens

 

[PtldPlatypus]

we need defense, defense, defense. oh and someone to set good screens

Can we bring the Przybilla back to properly instruct Leonard on the above?

 

[Blazinaway]

we need defense, defense, defense. oh and someone to set good screens

Monroe's a good offensive player and rebs fairly well, not much of a defender however, I do think we need one big who is a good defender/shot blcker

 

[blue32]

Can we bring the Przybilla back to properly instruct Leonard on the above?

Def miss the vanilla gorilla.

 

[blue9]

What I worry about is how our pick and roll defense sucks, and it would suck even more ...

As the great Ralph Wiggum once said: "That's unpossible!"

 

[BigGameDamian]

Knicks are throwing the MAX at Monroe this summer.

Good point! Would the Blazers go that far?

 

[Rastapopoulos]

If you like Al Jefferson's game, you'll like Greg Monroe.

I, personally, do not like Al Jefferson's game.

 

[blue9]

oh and someone to set good screens

Good point! I wonder how Monroe is at setting picks?
While he's not known as a good defender, defense can be taught - look no further than Meyers Leonard. If we had Thibs coaching, rather than Stotts, I believe Monroe could be just fine on defense.
Another option to help with Monroe's defensive deficiencies would be to try to swing a trade for Hibbert. A frontline of Monroe/Hibbert, with Meyers backing up both spots, could be very good in the right system.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

The Pistons will be very happy to replace Monroe with Draymond Green. That should tell you something.

 

[blue9]

Knicks are throwing the MAX at Monroe this summer.

And if LMA goes elsewhere - without a S&T - we can offer him just as much as the Knicks, right? And since Frazier is better than anyone on the Knicks roster surely Monroe would rather play here!

 

[PDXFonz]

Monroe would have been great.....if we would have traded LA for Wiggins or someone like that. Getting Monroe as a consolation prize and letting LA walk for nothing is going to sting. A lot.

Wiggins is the SG Kevin Love. Love might be in Cleveland now, but Wiggins will fill his spot of great stats on a meaningless team with ease.

 

[KeepOnRollin]

And if LMA goes elsewhere - without a S&T - we can offer him just as much as the Knicks, right? And since Frazier is better than anyone on the Knicks roster surely Monroe would rather play here!

Monroe should think that way but I doubt he does. Even though they stink the Knicks hold a lot of glamour. Plus the endorsement money is off the charts compared to here. Lee made a lot there and that dried up when he went to GS.

 

[Boob-No-More]

I've never been a huge Monroe fan. He's sort of a bigger, slightly better version of J.J. Hickson. Like Hickson, I wouldn't mind a guy like Monroe coming off the bench to back up the starting center and PF positions, but if we lose Aldridge and replace him with Monroe in the starting line up, we're fucked.

A couple red flags about Monroe:

I'm always leery of guys who put up good numbers on crappy teams. Call it the Kevin Love factor. Love put up comically big numbers on some comically bad MIN teams. Monroe has been in the league 5 years and has never played on a team that's won more than 32 games. His numbers have been solid, usually in the 16 pt/9 reb range as a starter on a bad team. Like Love, whose numbers were much higher in MIN, put Monroe on a good team with other scoring options and his numbers will likely drop. Again, this is why I say were fucked if we think we can replace Aldridge's 23/11 with Monroe's 16/9 (or less).

The second red flag is that while Monroe isn't quite the net negative type player that J.J. Hickson is, according to 82 games, Monroe has had a net negative production in 2 of his 5 seasons in the league. He always puts up good "Own Production" numbers, but usually gives up almost as much as, or more than, he gets. The good news is, this season was his best net production to date with an Own Production of of 22.8 and an Opp Production of 18.5 for a Net Production of +4.2 (their rounding error, not mine). Still, with an Opp Production of 18.5, he's not exactly a defensive stopper.

Compare this to Aldridge's Own Production of 24.1 and a Opp Production of 13.7 for a Net Production of +10.4, you can see why I say if we replace Aldridge with Monroe in our starting lineup we're fucked big time.

So yeah, I'd love Monroe to back up the 4 and 5 positions, but as a replacement for Aldridge, no thanks.

BNM

 

[Schilly]

I say we go hard after Monroe, yes to play Center.... ANd then if Lamarcus Leaves also go after Roy Hibbert, and move Monroe to PF. Maybe do a S&T with Batum to Detroit.

 

[blue9]

I'm always leery of guys who put up good numbers on crappy teams...

...Again, this is why I say were fucked if we think we can replace Aldridge's 23/11 with Monroe's 16/9 (or less).

Like, say, LMA during the 10/11 - 12/13 seasons? Or Zbo before him?

I hear what you're saying - it's something to take into consideration. But Monroe on the Blazers would be better than Monroe on the Pistons simply by virtue of being on a better team with better teammates.

We don't WANT LMA's replacement to replace his scoring - that's not what you want out of a PF. But if his replacement can give us 60-70% of his scoring, while providing good rebounding, setting good screens, and keeping the ball moving on offense, (and hopefully playing good defense), then the rest of the team should be able to make up the remaining 30-40% of LMA's points.

 

[Schilly]

One Great thing about Monroe 92% of his field goal attempts come from inside 10 feet. We sorely lack a real scoring threat in the paint. His career Defensive rating is better than Robins as well, though he's not the rim protector I don't think.

If we could throw Lillard, Lamarcus and Monroe at people every night, that would be tough to contend with... Especially if Wes recovers.

 

[magnifier661]

Good point! I wonder how Monroe is at setting picks?
While he's not known as a good defender, defense can be taught - look no further than Meyers Leonard. If we had Thibs coaching, rather than Stotts, I believe Monroe could be just fine on defense.
Another option to help with Monroe's defensive deficiencies would be to try to swing a trade for Hibbert. A frontline of Monroe/Hibbert, with Meyers backing up both spots, could be very good in the right system.

I think Monroe sets damn good picks. As I said, his offensive game is stout! The knock has always been his defense.

 

[magnifier661]

The Pistons will be very happy to replace Monroe with Draymond Green. That should tell you something.

Because Green is a better perimeter player and defender. If they didn't have Drummond, and build around Monroe, I would suspect they would try and find a stretch 4