Pistons Should Trade for a Power Forward

The Pistons will be forced into a tight spot this summer, assuming power forward-center Greg Monroe is still on the team after the trading deadline. He will be a free agent and may be considered a maximum contract player by some teams…and to Monroe. His versatility of playing both the center and power forward positions will bring many interested teams offering contracts. After an offer is provided by another team, the Pistons would have the opportunity to match it, or let him walk. Looking at what is best for the team, the Pistons must first decide how much money they want to allocate towards Monroe’s contract in order to sign him. Signing Monroe just to keep him, may cause devastating results on whether they stay under the salary cap and allow for less salary flexibility in the next four to five years. (Keep in mind, some team gave Corey Maggette, Rudy Gay, and Okafor these bad contracts that have crippled teams for years). Is Monroe worth similar money to what John Wall got this past summer with a 5 year/$80M contract? This article will provide some issues Dumars needs to consider as he contemplates what to do with Greg Monroe.

What Are His Credentials?

Typically, during a contract year a player will be “in the best shape of their life” and go full-throttle at all times throughout the season…or something like that.  In the business world, you are hired by what you have done in the past. This could include work production, experience, and opportunities to name a few. In basketball, Monroe’s experience is limited, his production has been steady, and he has had the opportunity to add “flexibility” to his resume by playing both center and power forward positions. Let’s take a look at Monroe’s current rankings and statistics. Since he plays some center, although he is known to the Pistons as their starting power forward, both position rankings will be provided for the rankings:

Some analysts will point out that Monroe’s production has gone down, as Andre Drummond and Josh Smith increased their minutes on the team. We can see his stats below, which come from ESPN:

Minutes, free throw attempts, free throw percentage, rebounding, assists, blocks, steals, turnovers, and points have all reduced this year. Prior to this year, you can see that Monroe’s stats were progressively increasing.

How Much Will Greg Monroe Improve in the Next 5 Years?

During his rookie contract, it appears Monroe grew in many areas. All numbers increased during his first three years, but decreased when better players surrounded him. We hope that the team gets continuously better in the next five years. Will improvement as a team equate to Monroe being less valuable? I can imagine he would improve his mid-range jumper, and I have no comment on him ever attempting 3-pointers. If Monroe saw his goal as an NBA power forward or center, don’t you think it would make sense in high school, college or at least during his rookie contract that he would add this mid-range jumper? The same holds for improving his free throw percentage. I wouldn’t hold my breath that Monroe’s numbers would improve, unless he chooses the money and is surrounded by less than optimal players.

What is the Knock against Monroe?

He gets bullied around by many of the NBA big men, no matter what position he plays. With Drummond around, he is able to take on the smaller of the opponent’s big men. Okay, so he can handle all of the “stretch 4s” and a few others. He also has a limited vertical jump! He isn’t known for his slams. He is not known for his power to put a rebound back up and make two points. His free throws are horrible. During his rookie season he was only ranked 6^th for rookie of the year honors. (Considering he was selected 7^th overall, maybe that is considered improvement). All this and within his four-year rookie contract he was not selected for THE all-star game.

Consensus:  Monroe is NOT a Max Contract Player

With all the above rankings, potential improvements, and limitations it is quite clear Greg Monroe is NOT a max contract player. However, you may see a team who bites on offering him a max contract due to his potential and maybe just because that team is desperate to sign a decent player.

Don’t Get “Koncaked”!

John Koncak played for the Atlanta Hawks from 1985-1994. After his rookie contract, the Pistons offered Koncak a lot of money (for that time) in 1990 that would have ended up more than all the Pistons (including Laimbeer, Dumars, Aguirre, Rodman, Salley, among others) except Isiah Thomas. The Hawks matched the offer, which made him the 3^rd highest player on that team behind Moses Malone and Dominique Wilkins. He did not average more than 25 minutes per game, and only occasionally scored or rebounded in double figures, while starting less than half of the games.

I do not believe that Monroe will be that type of a letdown, however, there needs to be some common sense with how much Monroe is worth to this team. Dumars needs to figure out how much money that would be and stick to it.

Pistons Should Trade for a Power Forward…NOW!

The above stats and information should cause some concern. Is there a way to cover the Pistons for the future? Yes! If they trade for a power forward before the trade deadline. Why would we do this? We need to be prepared for when Monroe goes into contract talks. The open gap in our lineup cannot be filled with Josh Harrellson, as Charlie Villanueva and Jonas Jerebko could also be gone at the same time. We need depth to prevent Monroe from getting this leverage and desperation. All leverage would be off the table if we had a good, potentially starting power forward, but worst case scenario that player would be bench depth.

Many desire to trade Monroe at the trading deadline. I tend to have mixed feelings on the issue. I can see Monroe as a player who can provide quality minutes off the bench, since he can cover both the power forward and the center positions. He would also add extra insurance in case of an injury. But we don’t want someone with a $10M/year contract doing that!  The Pistons have many wants, desires and needs. This trading deadline is an opportunity to bolster the depth and prepare themselves for contract negotiations this summer.

Yes, I’m saying that we should keep Monroe and add another power forward through a trade, preferably one who already is a mid-range and 3-point threat. We have a lot of bargaining power at the moment. What if we could put together a package of Villanueva and Jerebko and get someone who would upgrade each of them and fill their limited minutes? Villanueva has value due to his expiring contract, and many teams want to fight for Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh, as they all have player options after this year.  This would allow some to prepare for such a player. Some teams may be looking at tanking the rest of the season so they can get a higher draft pick. This was just one option Detroit could do. Let’s just hope we don’t get Koncaked! Regrets can be a terrible virus that can devastate a team.

What would you propose?

Which power forwards could you see Detroit getting?

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