Washington Wizards Should Not Trade For Greg Monroe

The Washington Wizards have been connected to Greg Monroe in the past, but they should not trade for the Milwaukee Bucks big man

After making the NBA Playoffs last year, the Milwaukee Bucks wanted to make a splash during free agency. They signed Greg Monroe, who was considered one of the best available free agents, to fortify their front court.

The Bucks won 33 games, finishing 12th in the Eastern Conference standings.

Obviously, things didn’t go according to plan for the Bucks nor Monroe.

Milwaukee lacked a true point guard and the addition of Monroe’s scoring wasn’t enough to compensate for the loss of perimeter shooting. The young players hit rough patches and the team, much like the Washington Wizards, never got into a rhythm.

Now the Bucks are trying to reshape their roster again this summer.

According to Michael Scotto, the Bucks are looking to get rid of Monroe just a season after viewing him as one of the team’s cornerstone pieces.

The Bucks currently own the 10th pick in this year’s NBA Draft and could be looking to add a young big man to their already impressive core. With Khris Middleton, Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the way, Milwaukee has one of the most promising group of players in the NBA.

Monroe simply doesn’t fit into the equation.

All of the three aforementioned players have qualities that make them productive in today’s NBA. They can all defend, play multiple positions and knock down the outside shot.

They all have a modern skill-set. The same cannot be said for Monroe.

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Nowadays, big men aren’t asked to do what traditional bigs did back in the day.

Teams no longer rely on their bigs for scoring inside the post.

Quite frankly, there are only a handful of players in the NBA that could be go-to options with their back to the basket.

Monroe has an old-school game – one that doesn’t necessarily transfer well to the ever-changing game.

The league has become perimeter oriented, and the bigs that stand out are capable of effectively spacing the floor.

The other productive bigs – the ones that aren’t adept at shooting from deep – have elite defensive skills either defending the pick-and-roll or protecting the rim. Monroe has averaged half a block for his career. That kind of sums up the player he is defensively.

For all of those reasons, the Washington Wizards should absolutely stay away from trading for Greg Monroe.

Monroe’s name has been in the rumor mill ever since he arrived to Detroit in 2010.

The Pistons, who decided not to re-sign Monroe, made the NBA Playoffs this past season after shaping their roster with versatility in mind.

It’s not a coincidence that the Bucks and Pistons both missed the playoffs with Monroe as a key cog.

Washington has been linked to Monroe in the past, but that was before the league fully embraced the pace-and-space game. That was also before the Wizards began focusing on adding versatile players to their roster – just like Detroit did this past season.

Given the amount of cap space the Wizards have and the limited about of game-changing free agents available in the market, it wouldn’t surprise me if Monroe is connected to the team again.

Washington could absorb Monroe’s contract without having to give up anything of significance. The “fit” problem remains, though.

Both Markieff Morris and Marcin Gortat are better two-way players than Monroe. While neither is going to win Defensive Player of the Year anytime soon, both players provide solid rim protection and Morris’ ability to switch on guards gave Washington a much-needed boost prior to the end of the season.

Monroe could still be effective as a go-to player off the bench.

Putting up nearly 19 points and 11 rebounds Per-36 minutes, a team could use Monroe like the Oklahoma City Thunder used Enes Kanter. He wouldn’t start nor close out games, but he’s more than capable of dropping a double-double and providing a change of momentum off the bench.

Given that he played for the Georgetown Hoyas, the connection to the nation’s capital will always be there, but he’s not quite what the Washington Wizards need.

The team needs to focus on adding versatile, defensive-oriented big men, allowing the guards to facilitate and run the offense.

As a last option, Monroe wouldn’t be the worst acquisition in the world, but there are going to be other ones available. Thaddeus Young, for instance, is much more versatile and could probably be had for the same price.

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If it was 1986 and the Wizards needed a big man, then Monroe would fit right in. His game hasn’t evolved and his minutes have steadily dipped as a result. With a player-option attached to his contract, the Wizards would likely owe Monroe $35 million over the next two seasons. His production, or lack thereof, just isn’t worth it.