Greg

[Timmaytime]

I have been quite active in Greg Monroe trade ideas, but after the recent tear he's been on I think he might be changing my mind.. In 6 games in February, he's averaging almost 20 ppg, 13rpg, about 3.5 assists, and 1.5 of each blocks and steals. The only noticeable changes? No Drummond, and Calderon. Not having Drummond only changes one thing, he has to play a lot more minutes. He's averaging 37 mpg with Drummond out and he seems to be playing better when he gets long stretches of minutes. Should we rely on him even more? Or do you think it's Calderon that's padding his stats?

[DetroitPistons]

Monroe is our best and most consistent player. It would be foolish to trade him now. Rebuilding teams don't trade their best player who is still on a rookie contract. I've been saying all year that Frank rides the bench too much and it ends up screwing the starters out of an extra 3-5min a playing time. It's no surprise that Monroe is excelling when he is on the floor for the minutes that he deserves. I think one of the biggest reasons we have played better the past couple of games is because we have an 8 man rotation. It's sad when injuries and trades were needed for Frank to realize that we should be playing our best players around 36min a game.

[princeofpalace]

As I mentioned before, Greg turned a corer in 2013.

January: 17 points/10 boards/3 assists
Feburary: 19 points/13 boards/3 assists

This isn't a product of Jose Calderon, Greg's been doing this for a solid 6 weeks now.

[Timmaytime]

As I mentioned before, Greg turned a corer in 2013.

January: 17 points/10 boards/3 assists
Feburary: 19 points/13 boards/3 assists

This isn't a product of Jose Calderon, Greg's been doing this for a solid 6 weeks now.

Nice to see after a putrid December

[Blkbrd671]

What PoP said, for whatever reason, Greg normally starts off slow. Additionally our entire team seems to be playing better which helps free up moose

[DetroitDon15]

Clearly the Pistons are playing better with Calderon. I think we are starting to see that Knight was hurting the team at the point guard position. If I have seen anything though, I'm not sold on Drummond and Monroe together long term.

[Blkbrd671]

Clearly the Pistons are playing better with Calderon. I think we are starting to see that Knight was hurting the team at the point guard position. If I have seen anything though, I'm not sold on Drummond and Monroe together long term.

yes and no, Calderon isn't exactly a average pg that you just pick up off the street. i think what we are seeing is that Calderon is a better pg and experienced one. IF Calderon was our PG from the beginning i think we have 3-5 more wins in which we held leads in those games, however we lost those games because the entire team let up not just knight

[Piston Pete]

Clearly the Pistons are playing better with Calderon. I think we are starting to see that Knight was hurting the team at the point guard position. If I have seen anything though, I'm not sold on Drummond and Monroe together long term.

I too, am skeptical about how well they will mesh. A lot will depend on whether we will ask Monroe to be our full-time PF next to Drummond, or if we want him to split time between PF and C. If the latter, then we need a dynamic backup PF to be relied on for big minutes:

Monroe at PF full-time:
PF - Monroe (32) / backup (16)
C - Drummond (32) / backup (16)


Monroe split between PF and C:
PF - Monroe (16) / backup (32)
C - Drummond (32) / Monroe (16)

[DetroitDon15]

Clearly the Pistons are playing better with Calderon. I think we are starting to see that Knight was hurting the team at the point guard position. If I have seen anything though, I'm not sold on Drummond and Monroe together long term.

I too, am skeptical about how well they will mesh. A lot will depend on whether we will ask Monroe to be our full-time PF next to Drummond, or if we want him to split time between PF and C. If the latter, then we need a dynamic backup PF to be relied on for big minutes:

Monroe at PF full-time:
PF - Monroe (32) / backup (16)
C - Drummond (32) / backup (16)


Monroe split between PF and C:
PF - Monroe (16) / backup (32)
C - Drummond (32) / Monroe (16)

I think the biggest problem going with Monroe split is that you are just going with a three man big rotation. Teams rarely do that. I think once Drummond comes back that we need to see more Monroe/Drummond period. If it just doesn't work, Monroe would bring back a huge king's ransom. Detroit needs to realize that they shouldn't hold guys till they lose their value like Rodney White, Darko, and so. It's my hugest problem with Joe D as a GM. He doesn't trade guys at the right time.

[Piston Pete]

I agree that Monroe split between PF and C will be a problem.

1) In this scenario, we need to find another legit big man who is good enough to warrant being the 3rd guy, and if so...
2) Long-term, how do we afford to pay all three of these guys? Monroe and Drummond are gonna command a huge pricetag, as will the 3rd guy. Backup bigs (10-19 minute per night guys) don't command nearly as much $$ as guys you want to give 30 minutes/night.

[DetroitDon15]

I agree that Monroe split between PF and C will be a problem.

1) In this scenario, we need to find another legit big man who is good enough to warrant being the 3rd guy, and if so...
2) Long-term, how do we afford to pay all three of these guys? Monroe and Drummond are gonna command a huge pricetag, as will the 3rd guy. Backup bigs (10-19 minute per night guys) don't command nearly as much $$ as guys you want to give 30 minutes/night.

In all honesty, a hustle guy who will go to the glass, grab a rebound, and block a shot will do well. I think you can find guys like that in the second round (Jeff Withey) or in FA (Chris Anderson or Louis Amundson). I think next season though Jonas has to reassert himself as the back-up PF if DNP-CV is gone.