My expectations are somewhat low for Monroe as a rookie. I am thinking below average but serviceable defense and rebounding + 14/15ppg on a solid TS% + very good passing.
A solid contributor but not a difference maker.
The type of contribution you'd expect to receive from a good to very good role player making $5-6 million.
--------------------------------------------
I wonder if he'll be better off long term as a power forward.
I haven't seen enough of him to be sure ... but he seems a little small as a center + lacks explosiveness / engine to make up for it. He looks like he might be limited athletically at the next level. I haven't seen enough of him to be sure but I am concerned.
He might be better off at the four where he'd have a size advantage most nights.
--------------------------------------------
Detroit should be a 40-45 win team if their coach gets it together ... but I am not optimistic about that.
Some better health injury wise should allow them to be a 34-37 win team though.
They didn't replace Kwame Brown. I didn't like that. Someone like Kwame would have been a valuable backup center. A defensive presence when Big Ben sits. Their big man rotation is now very thin on defensive play + legitimate size. They should have kept Kwame.
Kuester should have, finally, a fully healthy roster to work with this year. That will be huge for them.
I still think they have an overabundance of guards (Stuckey, Bynum, Gordon, Rip, and now McGrady), and not enough legit size. I suspect they will probably play Maxiell at C, perhaps even Villanueva. [Wilcox has never seized an opportunity to grab meaningful minutes with the Pistons; I doubt he will this coming season either.]
We'll have to see about Monroe. Could he play C if paired with a hustler/banger at the PF? A guy like Jerebko or Maxiell? Or perhaps alongside Wallace?
Jerebko is a lot like Ersan Ilyasova defensively only with less rebounding than Ersan and none of the offensive game. Jonas is a borderline rotation player at this point in his career.
Unless he makes a major improvement defensively, he is always going to be limited player as a power forward. And unless he makes major progress offensively, Jerebko is going to be limited minutes wise as a small forward.
He is an excellent 10th-12th man but he shouldn't be counted on for more than that without substantial improvement.
----------------------------------------------------
Jerebko doesn't have the size to be a banger at the four.
He does have a nice physical presence as a small forward though. A good option for battling with those power threes like Carmelo Anthony.
----------------------------------------------------
Charlie Villanueva is a train wreck as a center. He is an abomination in man-to-man defense and gets lost with shocking frequency in team defense scenarios. He costs his team a huge number of points defensively.
The Pistons aren't good enough defensively elsewhere to live with Villanueva's defense as center. Nor or they good enough offensively or on the glass.
He needs to be a PF only. SF is a better option than C.
-------------------------------------------------
Jason Maxiell is their best option as a backup C ... unfortunately.
Ideally alongside Monroe but more likely alongside Villanueva in that second unit.
I don't see Greg Monroe scoring 14-15 PPG next year as a rookie. Not anywhere near that. Try half that, tops.
It depends on minutes, touches and shot attempts.
That Detroit roster as weak as it is in the frontcourt ... I would expect Monroe to play 31-34 minutes a night right away and for a lot of his minutes to come alongside Ben Wallace.
With his passing ability and a well-rounded offensive game, I think he gets enough time on the ball + shot attempts to score around 14ppg.
On a team with more talent in the frontcourt, I wouldn't expect Monroe to play as much. Around 20mpg and only 8-9ppg + 4.5rpg.
Poll