Boston Celtics Receive: C Greg Monroe
Milwaukee Bucks Receive: F/C David Lee, PF Jared Sullinger and 2016 top-seven-protected first-round pick
Dan Favale: Greg Monroe isn't DeMarcus Cousins, which is kind of a good thing. The Boston Celtics have been linked to him forever and cannot wait around for the Sacramento Kings to actually make him available.
The Milwaukee Bucks, mind you, haven't put Greg Monroe on the chopping block, as Zach Lowe of ESPN.com noted while proposing the Celtics make a run at him. But the Bucks also haven't performed up to snuff.
Monroe was signed with the expectation he could push Milwaukee past mediocrity. But the Bucks own the Eastern Conference's third-worst record, and Monroe, as Lowe underscored, has proved to be an awkward fit alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker:
It's going to be a long slog for Parker, and these Bucks. He doesn't have a post game yet. He has shot just 9-of-25 out of the pick-and-roll all season, and most of those are bricked pick-and-pop jumpers, per Synergy Sports. Parker can be explosive rolling to the hoop for dunks, but it's hard to find space when Monroe, [John] Henson or even Antetokounmpo is loitering around the paint.
Opponents are outscoring the Bucks by 2.5 points per 100 possessions when Antetokounmpo, Monroe and Parker share the floor. That's better than Milwaukee's overall net rating but nowhere near good enough to chase a playoff berth.
Monroe is easily the most expendable of the three. Antetokounmpo and Parker are still on their rookie deals, and Milwaukee's broken defense is better off with John Henson getting more burn.
Jared Sullinger and one of Boston's bajillion first-rounders, along with David Lee's expiring deal, is fair compensation should the Bucks decide to repurpose their season. Sullinger has more range on his jumper than Monroe and won't fetch anything in restricted free agency that approaches the $17.1 million Milwaukee owes his would-be predecessor in 2016-17.
Morry Gash/Associated Press
Boston needs offense, and Monroe is offense.
If there is a team that can deploy a top-tier defense with Monroe logging heavy minutes, it's the Celtics. They already rank in the top three of points allowed per 100 possessions without a strong rim protector. Their defensive success is tied more to perimeter pests Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and Marcus Smart.
Gambling on Monroe would be mostly about upping the ante on offense. The Celtics rank in the bottom 10 of points scored per 100 possessions, and Monroe is a borderline superstar on that end of the floor. He is one of just five bigs hitting 18.5 points and 2.5 assists per 36 minutes and averages far more points in the post than anyone else on Boston's roster.
Acquiring him, in this scenario, doesn't cost the Celtics many of their assets. They will still have the picks and prospects to pull the trigger on another blockbuster deal, and Monroe all but guarantees they don't miss the playoffs.
Adam Fromal: Something needs to change in Milwaukee, which has backslid more than anyone could've predicted behind a defense that would now have trouble stopping a nosebleed.
Even though the team is technically better at preventing points when Monroe is on the court, it's hard to imagine that being anything but a teammate-driven fluke. ESPN.com's defensive real plus/minus, for example, has Monroe as the No. 25 defender at his position.
I like the current structure of the proposed trade (so long as we can make that 2016 first-rounder a lottery-protected pick rather than just guaranteeing the top six slots). But I love it if we're viewing it as the first trade in a sequence of moves.
Gary Dineen/Getty Images
Juggling Henson's and Parker's minutes with those of Lee and Sullinger is the lone downside to this deal.
Bringing in both Jared Sullinger and David Lee is only going to get in the way of John Henson receiving the minutes he's deserved for quite a while, and it could prevent head coach Jason Kidd from playing Jabari Parker at the 4. Ultimately, that's the natural position for the Duke product, and the Bucks are best served getting him into that spot as soon as possible.
This is still a mutually beneficial deal—Boston gets the best player, and Milwaukee engages in a bit of addition by subtraction while getting its hands on rebuilding assets. But if the Bucks know there's a subsequent market for Sullinger or Lee (or both), that's even better.
Topic: Bleacher report says the celtics should go for monroe (Read 7624 times)