Scouting report
+ Long lefty with great nose for rebounds. Below-rim finisher. Makes foul shots.
+ Iffy outside shooter who can handle and pass. Doesn't block shots.
+ Tweener defensively. Lacks muscle for 5 but slow for a 4. Struggles in help D.
Analysis
Monroe had a breakout second season, and while some weaknesses remain it's getting pretty easy to imagine him showing up on an All-Star team in the near future. He averaged nearly a point every two minutes with a strong true shooting percentage, showing a low-post game and some face-up skills while having great hands and a knack around the basket.
Monroe isn't particularly athletic and gets turned away at the rim quite a bit, plus he tends to bring the ball back into defenders when he goes up. That said, he got himself more than seven shots a game in the basket area, and if you do that it's easy to be a high-percentage player. It's away from the basket where he can still improve; Monroe shot a lot of short hooks but made only 39.3 percent from 3 to 9 feet, and shot just 35.7 percent from 10 feet and beyond.
In addition, Monroe is already a good passer and will carve up double-teams once they inevitably start coming at him in greater quantity. Despite a lack of muscle he was also in the top quarter of centers in rebound rate at both ends; he has long arms, good anticipation and catches everything.
His biggest drawback is defense, where he's not physical, is occasionally sluggish, and doesn't block shots. Only seven centers blocked fewer shots per minute, although his length did lead to a high rate of steals. He didn't look great in one-on-one defense, but in help situations he was infinitely worse -- either late arriving or MIA entirely. Opposing centers had a 19.3 player efficiency rating against him, according to 82games.com, and the Pistons gave up 9.4 points per 100 possessions more with him on the court. That's simply unacceptable, and will have to improve dramatically for him to achieve stardom.
