Free Agent Profile: Greg Monroe

With about 50 days remaining until NBA Free Agency negotiations officially begin, the Sixers are taking hard looks at all possible options. They may have a plan that would shock the world by going after a big superstar like LeBron James, they may have a plan that includes adding multiple assets to their team like Gordon Heyward, or they could even have a plan in mind to bring a young skilled player to Philly to help contribute alongside Noel, Detroit Pistons F/C Greg Monroe.

Monroe, a 6’11 F/C out of Georgetown, just finished up his fourth year in the league and is now a restricted free agent. Like Jazz forward Gordon Heyward, Monroe won’t be able to sign with the team of his choice without the approval of the Pistons. They will be able to match any offer sent towards Monroe which would result in him staying put in Detroit. This being said, with the Pistons struggling to rebuild over these past few years they could make the decision to let Monroe walk and start all over again. If this becomes the case, Philadelphia could become a potential landing spot for the big man.

As the leader of the Pistons this past season, Monroe averaged 15.2 points per game, which is actually the lowest total he’s had since his rookie season in 2010-11, when he averaged just 9.4 PPG. Rebounds were also slightly below his averages from his last two seasons. Monroe averaged 9.6 RPG in the 2011-12 season, 9.7 in 2012-13, but this past year he found himself at 9.3 RPG. Now keep in mind, these slightly decreased numbers are most likely because the Pistons drafted F/C Andree Drummond in this past draft. From 2010-2012 Monroe had full control of the Pistons low-post game as he was virtually their only big piece on the floor at times, but now with the addition of Drummond, Monroe was forced to share some of the painted area. A critic of Monroe would say he doesn’t accumulate enough blocks to be effective defensively. He averaged 0.6 BPG this season and has never been higher than 0.7 BPG.

The Pistons were really bad this year. Not as bad as the Sixers but still very bad. They finished the season at 29-53, which was good for fifth worst in the Eastern Conference. As bad as their record looks, they have some quality young talent on the roster. Many of whom experienced typical growing pains during their first grueling NBA season. At only 23 years of age, Greg Monroe is considered a seasoned veteran on this roster. Most fans don’t understand going from about 30 games per year in college to the 82 game NBA schedule can completely tear down rookies mentally and physically. Monroe had to really push and lead the young Detroit roster on and off the court this year. If Monroe were to land in Philly when all is said and done, he would inherit almost the exact same role here as he held in Detroit. He would be asked to do virtually the same thing, develop the younger players on and off the court.

So how well would Monroe fit playing alongside Noel?  This scenario is practically identical to the Pistons Monroe/Drummond duo. Both Drummond and Noel are more defensively minded players, while Monroe is more of an offensive minded player so they would have no problem being on the floor at the same time. Noel would serve exactly as Drummond did in Detroit. Noel handles the defensive end and Monroe puts up solid offensive stats. Has the potential to become pretty lethal if you ask me.

There will be a new coach in Detroit though, and just today they hired Stan Van Gundy today to be their new head coach, so he will certainly have a role in making the decision of whether or not to match any offer Monroe receives. I would have to imagine he would want to keep Monroe because of his leadership ability to all the younger players and his consistent production on the floor so it may surprise me if they let him leave but anything’s possible. We all are aware of Van Gundy’s relationships with other Centers around the league, such as Mr. “I love my coach” himself, Dwight Howard, so hey maybe Van Gundy has developed a hate for all big men and decides he only needs 5 guards to win games. Although Monroe seems a lot less “Showbiz” than Dwight so I highly doubt it. We hardly ever hear anything about Monroe. He just puts on his jersey, goes out and leads all the younger players on his team, and puts up consistent numbers night in and night out. Maybe that’s the type of guy we need in Philly right now.

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