The Milwaukee Bucks are still shopping center Greg Monroe in trade talks, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein. The Bucks recently re-signed center Miles Plumlee to a large, long-term deal.
Milwaukee has seemingly been exploring trades for Monroe since they signed the big man last season. At the time, the signing was deemed to be a big one for a franchise not viewed as a free agent destination.
However, Monroe’s fit with the Bucks was almost immediately a poor one. On a team with a bevy of young, athletic players, most of whom are not shooters, Monroe’s slow, back-to-the-basket game was not very useful. More importantly, playing him as the center led to a terrible defense a year after having one of the best ones in the league.
Plumlee and John Henson, while not as skilled or talented as Monroe, are the much better fits. They are better rim protectors, if not perfect ones, Additionally, their athleticism makes them great pick-and-roll partners for the team’s ball-handlers, offensively.
The question now is whether any team will trade something of value for Monroe. He is a difficult player to build around considering his center-like offensive game but lack of rim protection defensively.
Monroe needs the perfect front-court partner. He needs someone who can space the floor on offense and protect the rim on defense. Unfortunately, those type of players are incredibly rare, making it difficult to envision a team taking on Greg Monroe.
