Thoughts on a post Dec 15 deal

[gom]

Jennings is one of the worst players in the NBA.
Afflalo has been crushing for the Nuggets.
There is absolutely no way they would do this.

[Paz]

This thread name should be changed to "Trades nobody but Heat fans would consider".

So no to this one too?

[MettaWorldPanda]

This thread name should be changed to "Trades nobody but Heat fans would consider".

So no to this one too?

Easy now Lebatard hahaha

[BallinGid3]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2302 ... reg-monroe

Also Bosh was not seen as a good defender before he came here... Now he is... Same could happen with Monroe.

[UD4MVP]

smh he once had trade value http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/23 ... o-Deal-Him

[gom]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnktUxroQTE

[UD4MVP]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnktUxroQTE

and? Dude has not played well at all since the opener, the defense has gone down imo and his shooting percentages are horrible, 39% from the field and 27% from 3. The low turnover rate doesnt say much to me cause he doesn't really do much with the ball. He seemed like he worked really hard in the offseason and he plays hard in the games but he looks like he's regressed instead of getting better.

[gom]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnktUxroQTE

and? Dude has not played well at all since the opener, the defense has gone down imo and his shooting percentages are horrible, 39% from the field and 27% from 3. The low turnover rate doesnt say much to me cause he doesn't really do much with the ball. He seemed like he worked really hard in the offseason and he plays hard in the games but he looks like he's regressed instead of getting better.

i agree he hasn't played well this year. I was just remembering a better time.

[UD4MVP]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnktUxroQTE

and? Dude has not played well at all since the opener, the defense has gone down imo and his shooting percentages are horrible, 39% from the field and 27% from 3. The low turnover rate doesnt say much to me cause he doesn't really do much with the ball. He seemed like he worked really hard in the offseason and he plays hard in the games but he looks like he's regressed instead of getting better.

i agree he hasn't played well this year. I was just remembering a better time.

I feel you man, I was really excited about the kid like many others. If he played well, Rio would've been expendable and we would have two young pg's on rookie deals.

[Slot Machine]

smh he once had trade value http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/23 ... o-Deal-Him

That was probably a false report leaked by the Heat front office.

[DefenseWins]

smh he once had trade value http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/23 ... o-Deal-Him

Cole has one season left on his rookie deal, and most personnel around the NBA view him as a starting-caliber point guard.

AHAHAHHAHAHAH

this has proven to be false

the dude is a bench player

Cole just has no play making abilities, no vision, **** up fast breaks, broken shot.

[gom]

I am more cynical but I come from a country where players get their coach fired by walking on a football field instead of running. Cole has no incentive to play. Once the offer wasn't made to him, he pulled up his stakes.

[ReturnofMVP3]

I still think the plan should be LeBron 2015!

[JLop]

Miami Heat Could Be Dark-Horse Trade Destination for Pistons' Greg Monroe




Greg Monroe might want to start thinking about how he would look in Miami Heat red and black.

Stocking up on shorts wouldn't be a bad idea either. Call it a precautionary investment.

The Detroit Pistons' big man reportedly isn't happy with his current situation and would prefer a trade, according to the Sporting News' Sean Deveney. If true, it comes as no surprise.

Neither is the Heat's apparent interest, per Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/EthanJSkolnick/status/544693538903306240[/tweet]

Assembling the necessary assets is an unavoidable obstacle. But, as of now, there's little else keeping the Heat from becoming a sneaky-good destination for the apparently disgruntled Monroe.



The Right Fit



Speculation has swirled since this summer, after Monroe, a restricted free agent, elected to sign his qualifying offer worth under $5.5 million. Doing so ensured he would become an unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason—meaning the Pistons won't have the right to retain him if he signs elsewhere—but it delayed a lucrative payday.

Such ploys have been considered taboo in the past. Waiting left Monroe's market value at the mercy of his health and this season's production. A decline in either area would cost him tens of millions of dollars.

Signing that qualifying offer, though, also made Monroe's return to Detroit beyond unlikely. If he was sold on the Pistons' roster and future, he wouldn't have positioned himself to have absolute freedom in one year's time; he would have brokered an offer sheet with another team, waited for the Pistons to match and cashed those checks for the next four years.

Opting for unrestricted free agency gives legs to this rumor—one Monroe vehemently denies.

"To say I was unhappy, losing 13 in a row, you can say that about everybody on the team," he said, per MLive.com's David Mayo. "Nobody's happy when you lose 13 games in a row. But as far as where he took it, that was completely false, and it's really, like, ridiculous to have to come in here and answer questions like this."

Even if Monroe hasn't requested a trade, that doesn't make his departure any less inevitable. Unless the Pistons find a taker for the remaining $40.5 million on Josh Smith's deal, they'll continue to have space- and cap-clogging overlaps in talent, rendering Monroe a formidable flight risk.

With no assurances that Monroe will return, team coach and president Stan Van Gundy wouldn't be unwise to field trade offers under his own volition. Receiving something for Monroe now makes more sense than losing him for nothing later ever could.


Van Gundy may have no choice other than to trade Monroe.

Roster needs alone make the Heat reasonable suitors if Van Gundy makes Monroe available. Although they remain inside the Eastern Conference's playoff bubble, the Heat are on track for 38 victories, their lowest win total since 2007-08.

Talent-tinkering sage Pat Riley did a phenomenal job recovering on the heels of LeBron James' departure, reacting to the decision swiftly and decisively by retaining Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade and bringing in two-time All-Star Danny Granger, Josh McRoberts and Shawne Williams.

But the on-court product, while hampered by injuries, has been underwhelming. The Heat rank a pedestrian 14th in offensive efficiency and troubling 25th in points allowed per 100 possessions.

To make matters worse, Bosh is nursing a sore calf, Wade has already missed seven games and McRoberts may be lost for the season after suffering a meniscus tear in his right leg, according to ESPN.com's Michael Wallace.

Acquiring Monroe is depth on the most fundamental level. He's a healthy body for a Heat contingent with very few. He's also interchangeable at the 4 and 5 spots, which allows him to complement Bosh nicely.


Bosh and Monroe can share the floor together.

Bosh has logged nearly 90 percent of his minutes at the center position this season, which is nothing new; he's been predominantly used as a center since arriving in Miami. But while the absence of James has turned him into the Heat's offensive focal point, he's not a conventional post presence like Monroe.

Around 76 percent of Bosh's shot attempts are coming outside eight feet this season, an amount actually exceeding that of last season's, when roughly 64 percent of his shots came outside eight feet.


Chris Bosh's Shot Distrubtion
____________________________________________________________________________
2013-14-----------------------36.0-----------------------13.5-----------------------27.6-----------------------22.9
2014-15-----------------------25.8-----------------------20.2-----------------------30.6-----------------------23.4

While Bosh is definitely more of a self-sufficient scorer—only 58.3 percent of his buckets are coming off assists, compared to 80.1 last season—he's still not an around-the-basket tower. He never has been, since he's more dangerous as a floor-spacing big who can knock down shots from mid-range and beyond the arc.

Monroe's a different animal altogether.

Nearly 92 percent of his shot attempts have come inside eight feet, and only 45 percent of his made baskets have come off assists. Landing an interior shot-creator would be huge for a Heat team without one. It's also necessary at this point.

Miami does a nice job moving the ball—the team ranks sixth in passes per game—but the Heat are thin on playmakers and remain outside the top 10 in assist percentage. Monroe is someone who doesn't need a conventional floor general to get high-percentage looks. And though he's point-blank oriented, he won't shy away from attempting mid-range jumpers, so he and Bosh can play separately or together.

There's a rebounding element to all this as well. The Heat are grabbing 46.6 percent of all available rebounds, the worst mark in the league. It's actually lower than the 47.8 percent last season's size-starved team collected.

Adding Monroe gives the Heat a strong presence on the glass. He's snagging 9.1 rebounds per game, hoarding 16.5 percent of all boards that come his way. That would instantly rank as the highest rebounding rate among anyone on the Heat seeing at least 15 minutes of action per game.


The Heat could certainly use Monroe's 15 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

Defense is admittedly this team's biggest pitfall, though—an area in which Monroe isn't known to excel. He's neither a premier shot-blocker nor a penetration-preventing big. His help defense can be spotty, and he's not mobile enough to guard stretch 4s off the dribble or close out on shooters.

The Heat have struggled on the inside. They rank 26th in opponent field-goal percentage at the rim as a team; Monroe, meanwhile, is allowing rival offenses to shoot 57.1 percent inside six feet.

Still, his absence of defensive acumen would be worth the risk for a Heat team that desperately needs to distinguish itself on offense and the boards. Monroe is also outperforming opposing power forwards and centers by at least two player-efficiency-rating points, per 82games.com. The Heat are giving up 2.4 PER points at center and are only outplaying power forwards by 0.3.

Shortcomings in mind, Monroe improves the team and is worth the cost of acquisition.

Provided the Heat can meet the Pistons' asking price.



Brokering a Deal



Deveney says Detroit is looking for a first-rounder as compensation for Monroe. The Heat's 2015 selection, while top-10 protected, is owed to Philadelphia. The soonest Miami could offer first-round compensation—assuming this year's winds up with the Sixers—is 2017.

Riley will need to get creative if the Heat are to acquire Monroe. Something like this might suffice:

. Miami Heat receive: Greg Monroe

. Detroit Pistons receive: PG Mario Chalmers, SF James Ennis and New Orleans' 2015 first-round draft pick (via Houston)

. Houston Rockets receive: PG Brandon Jennings and Miami's 2017 first-round draft pick

Houston and Detroit are among the most active trade-seeking franchises, according to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. The Rockets have a trade exception they can use to absorb Jennings' contract and need a point guard who doubles as a spot-up floor-spacer. Jennings, to his credit, is banging in 40 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes.

That his contract extends beyond this season isn't ideal, since it eats into the Rockets' highly coveted cap space this summer. But at just over $8 million annually, he's a reasonably priced scorer who can help Houston improve its floor general-less, 20th-ranked offense. General manager Daryl Morey also loves flipping expiring contracts.

This is a straight up fire sale for the Pistons. Cleaning house may not have been the plan at first, but league executives have told Bleacher Report's Howard Beck they think Detroit is ready to talk shop.

Chalmers and Ennis are two cap-friendly floor-spacers who should elevate the Pistons' 32.6 percent clip from downtown (25th). The real asset here, though, is New Orleans Pelicans' pick.

It's only protected for selection Nos. 1-3 and 20-30. With the Oklahoma City Thunder surging and Anthony Davis keeping the Pelicans on the brink of playoff contention, New Orleans is slated to fall in the stipulated sweet spot. The Pistons are looking at a high lottery pick, barring something incredible on the Pelicans' end.

Netting that kind of return for a big man likely on his way out and a notoriously inefficient guard isn't horrible. The Pistons could see if Miami's 2017 first-rounder can head their way instead of Houston's, but this is the framework of what the Heat can offer.



Certifiable Dark Horse



Does Riley pull the trigger on this?

Better question: How could he not?

These Heat don't consider themselves traditional rebuilders. They're not trying scrap together draft picks and young talent in hopes of transforming into a contender years from now. They spent money over the offseason trying to wedge their relevancy window open a little while longer.

As Skolnick says:

"The spirit wasn't supposed to leave, too. Not with Pat Riley quickly restructuring the roster, retaining and adding enough proven and promising talent that the prognosticators would be proved wrong and the Heat could still be "as competitive as anybody" in the Eastern Conference. Not with players re-energized by the challenge of winning without the world's preeminent active player. Not with fans rallying behind Riley and owner Micky Arison and coach Erik Spoelstra and the organization's community-building ("Heat Nation" and "Heat Lifer") campaigns.

The squad wasn't supposed to look so lifeless, the defense wasn't supposed to be so toothless, and a shot at the Southeast Division wasn't supposed to seem so hopeless—at least, not quite so soon."

Despite an admirable effort—which is to say, the willingness to spend on a whim—the Heat have failed at remaining Eastern Conference contenders. They're pacing themselves for a first-round exit at the hands of a truly elite team, be it the Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls or James' Cleveland Cavaliers.

Fending off obscurity wasn't part of Miami's contingency plan. Injuries have cornered the Heat, while a suboptimal offense and defense threaten to derail their postseason chances entirely.

Hoping the status quo morphs into something better won't do a darn thing. Lack of assets is clearly an issue, but if the Heat have an opportunity to grab a needle-nudger, they cannot walk away.

Monroe will cost a pretty penny, draining the Heat of what few assets they own. He'll cost them even more in free agency if they wish to keep him around long term. But this is the responsibility they bargained for when trying to rise above James' exit.

So yes, the Heat are most definitely a dark-horse landing spot for the supposedly antsy Monroe—if only because they have no other choice.


Full article:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2302114-miami-heat-could-be-dark-horse-trade-destination-for-pistons-greg-monroe

Note:

I wouldn't trade James Ennis. Maybe Shawne Williams? (I think that Norris Cole holds more value in a different trade.) Anyway, I am pretty sure that Pat Riley will make a better offer than the one this article mentioned.

[UD4MVP]

Interesting deal a clips fan suggested to me if they end up getting Ray, Hawes and Reddick for Deng. I'm not sure how the rest of their fanbase feels about that but what do yall think? I do think Deng is leaving us so I'm in favor of whatever gets us the best assets for him asap.

[MettaWorldPanda]

Interesting deal a clips fan suggested to me if they end up getting Ray, Hawes and Reddick for Deng. I'm not sure how the rest of their fanbase feels about that but what do yall think? I do think Deng is leaving us so I'm in favor of whatever gets us the best assets for him asap.

Not in our best interest to take on there contracts restricting 2016. Hoping Deng is involved in any deal with Detroit for Monroe.

[UD4MVP]

Interesting deal a clips fan suggested to me if they end up getting Ray, Hawes and Reddick for Deng. I'm not sure how the rest of their fanbase feels about that but what do yall think? I do think Deng is leaving us so I'm in favor of whatever gets us the best assets for him asap.

Not in our best interest to take on there contracts restricting 2016. Hoping Deng is involved in any deal with Detroit for Monroe.

Same I didn't want to do it at first, but based on how the season is playing out I'd offer that ASAP. Monroe is a bad defender but we're pretty terrible defensively but also offensively. He's like 23 y/o, can rebound, and score in the paint. Offensively I think he would work pretty well with Bosh, he'd have much more room to operate on the block than he does in DET. He's also a very good passer, maybe our training staff can work on his conditioning and turn him into a solid defender. Bosh wasn't always a defensive force but then he came here and worked on it.

[MettaWorldPanda]

Deng, Chalmers, and Williams for Monroe, Jennings, and Singler. Please oh please make this happen Riley.

[JLop]

Before any move, I would take a good look on what Boston is asking in return for Rajon (is not a secret that he is going to be traded). Deng, Cole and Granger may be used in a three way trade to acquire Rondo. Monroe, Bosh, Wade and Rondo will take us to the finals for one or even two more championships. We already have the location and there's no better way to enter the year 2016 than as the champions.

[RexBoyWonder]

Before any move, I would take a good look on what Boston is asking in return for Rajon (is not a secret that he is going to be traded). Deng, Cole and Granger may be used in a three way trade to acquire Rondo. Monroe, Bosh, Wade and Rondo will take us to the finals for one or even two more championships. We already have the location and there's no better way to enter the year 2016 than as the champions.

We have almost no one with trade value, WTH are you talking about Rondo AND Monroe?

We'll be VERY lucky if we can get even 1 of them (Don't even want Rondo here).