Monroe or Smith off the bench?

[4Everbadboy]

Hey all, ive been reading this forum for years...I guess I finally feel annoyed enough by last season to finally make a thread. So my question:

Since an attempt to trade Smith didn't work out, we may go into the season with Smith, Monroe and Drummond on the roster. Starting all 3 obviously didn't work out last season so I would think SVG would bring one of these guys off the bench in order to space the floor with a shooter at the 3. Who do you see coming off the bench? Ive read numerous threads in realgm about stats with different variations of these 3 players on the floor at the same time but none of them stuck out to me as much better then another.

I worry about Smith having a freakout if hes forced to become a high priced role player.

[captainrebel]

I had always thought that Cheeks should have alternated the starting of Monroe and Smith according to match-ups. Maybe the Pistons would have made the 8th spot in last season’s playoffs. Maybe that’s the way SVG is going to do it this coming season if he is unable to move Smith or if he is unable to get a favorable deal for Monroe.

[GreekAlex]

Hey all, ive been reading this forum for years...I guess I finally feel annoyed enough by last season to finally make a thread. So my question:

Since an attempt to trade Smith didn't work out, we may go into the season with Smith, Monroe and Drummond on the roster. Starting all 3 obviously didn't work out last season so I would think SVG would bring one of these guys off the bench in order to space the floor with a shooter at the 3. Who do you see coming off the bench? Ive read numerous threads in realgm about stats with different variations of these 3 players on the floor at the same time but none of them stuck out to me as much better then another.

I worry about Smith having a freakout if hes forced to become a high priced role player.

I have super mixed feelings regarding this issue... I don't think Smith or Monroe are ideal complements for Andre and that's my top concern. Egos aside I think J. Smith would be better to start the game and set more of a defensive tone and Monroe would do well coming in as the backup center because I still view that as his strongest position.

In reality if the Pistons brass views Monroe as the future and want him and Andre together long term, I imagine it will be him starting. It's worth giving Monroe & Drummond a year with SVG to see if he can develop a scheme where they can work well together but long term I don't see Smith or Monroe as the answer at PF for a contending team with Andre as the Center.

[DCintheD]

Smith needs to go man there's no place for him on this team.. he was brought in to be a SF and clearly he's not that so time to cut ties...

[4Everbadboy]

I had always thought that Cheeks should have alternated the starting of Monroe and Smith according to match-ups. Maybe the Pistons would have made the 8th spot in last season’s playoffs. Maybe that’s the way SVG is going to do it this coming season if he is unable to move Smith or if he is unable to get a favorable deal for Monroe.

Id like to see that also. But Id hope Monroe would get more starts. I dont see Smith as a better option then Monroe for consistent post scoring.

[ImHeisenberg]

Monroe isn't a power forward. He has a lot of skill overlap with Drummond.

Smith is better as a power forward than a small forward from a defensive stand point. He was let off the leash last season and was absolutely terrible offensively, regardless of which position he was playing. For every 20+ point game, there was 5 terrible shooting nights.

In a vacuum, Smith is the better fit next to Drummond next season. Long term, I don't believe either of them are ideal.

I like Monroe a lot as a player. But, he is a center, through and through.

[DBC10]

If we do keep all 3 after free agency ends, I can definitely see Smith coming off the bench.

Sort of like a Diaw for the Spurs type to continue setting that energy and defensive tone. He's a willing passer and likes to run a lot but is an enigma on offense barring straight line drives or in transition which he is near elite at. Plus, I don't think anyone reasonable really expected all 35+ mins of the twin towers playing regardless if they had shooters. There's a reason why virtually no teams do it anymore since everyone runs smaller and plays a jump shooting scheme.

I trust SVG to know what to do.

[Q00]

Hey all, ive been reading this forum for years...I guess I finally feel annoyed enough by last season to finally make a thread. So my question:

Since an attempt to trade Smith didn't work out, we may go into the season with Smith, Monroe and Drummond on the roster. Starting all 3 obviously didn't work out last season so I would think SVG would bring one of these guys off the bench in order to space the floor with a shooter at the 3. Who do you see coming off the bench? Ive read numerous threads in realgm about stats with different variations of these 3 players on the floor at the same time but none of them stuck out to me as much better then another.

I worry about Smith having a freakout if hes forced to become a high priced role player.

I have super mixed feelings regarding this issue... I don't think Smith or Monroe are ideal complements for Andre and that's my top concern. Egos aside I think J. Smith would be better to start the game and set more of a defensive tone and Monroe would do well coming in as the backup center because I still view that as his strongest position.

In reality if the Pistons brass views Monroe as the future and want him and Andre together long term, I imagine it will be him starting. It's worth giving Monroe & Drummond a year with SVG to see if he can develop a scheme where they can work well together but long term I don't see Smith or Monroe as the answer at PF for a contending team with Andre as the Center.

This is pretty much exactly how I feel.

Also I'll add I remember SVG saying that he lets the market set the price for players, but then once they are signed he will use them however he wants and doesn't take salary into account at all. So I could really see him resigning Monroe just to retain the asset, and then just bringing him off the bench until he can be traded (if that's what is best for the team).

I agree on Smith starting to set the tone defensively, and knowing how much importance Stan places on defense I could see him agreeing as well.

I honestly wouldn't mind resigning Monroe to come off the bench. I think that is his best role on this team. I'd rather get something for him in a trade, but if we have to resign him and he comes off the bench for a year until we can trade him, I would be cool with that.

[4Everbadboy]

Monroe isn't a power forward. He has a lot of skill overlap with Drummond.

Smith is better as a power forward than a small forward from a defensive stand point. He was let off the leash last season and was absolutely terrible offensively, regardless of which position he was playing. For every 20+ point game, there was 5 terrible shooting nights.

In a vacuum, Smith is the better fit next to Drummond next season. Long term, I don't believe either of them are ideal.

I like Monroe a lot as a player. But, he is a center, through and through.

I agree Monroe is a Center, but then again there isn't much difference between those 2 positions. At Power Forward Monroe is mostly just playing against a smaller opponent which id think might result in more constant scoring. However he might have to defend quicker players some nights. If he improves on lateral quickness a little I like him at Power Forward. Far as the skills that overlap Drummond this is probably only rebounding imo.
I dont think Smith or Monroe are Ideal next to Drummond right now, but I like to think that at least Monroe has a chance to become ideal, while Smith is pretty much what he is going to be for the rest of his career.

[Temuhjan]

Smith needs to go man there's no place for him on this team.. he was brought in to be a SF and clearly he's not that so time to cut ties...

+1. Either Smith goes or another team is gonna to offer Monroe big money this summer. SVG better trade one of them while he still can. To do nothing will result in Monroe leaving for nothing.

[haulerch]

Smith is a better fit IMO next to Dre than Monroe is. I would like to see an up-tempo athletic starting 5 with Dre and Smith starting. Letting Monroe play the main fiddle on the second unit and get starter minutes.

In an ideal world, we could trade Monroe for some nice pieces. We'll see.

[GSR121]

It seems to me that Monroe would be the best "fit" off the bench. He can back up either the four or five spot, Smith can only play the four. That being said, Monroe is the future and is the one that needs to start so he and Dre can build some chemistry. The best resolution is to trade Smith. It might be easier than we are expecting after the whole Mello/Lebron thing works itself out.

[mercury]

Monroe isn't a power forward. He has a lot of skill overlap with Drummond.

Smith is better as a power forward than a small forward from a defensive stand point. He was let off the leash last season and was absolutely terrible offensively, regardless of which position he was playing. For every 20+ point game, there was 5 terrible shooting nights.

In a vacuum, Smith is the better fit next to Drummond next season. Long term, I don't believe either of them are ideal.

I like Monroe a lot as a player. But, he is a center, through and through.

Pretty much this.
Hopefully the goal is to have Smith play very little at SF... Monroe coming off the bench (for same minutes as last year) allows more flexibility for early fouls or performance.

[Mr Peanut]

Would love to package Monroe in a deal for Rondo and then bring in some shooters in FA.

[Redeemed]

Bring Smith off the bench and start Monroe. Monroe has a polished post game which goes well with Drummond knack for finding the ball on rebounds. Smith is a great utility guy not the scorer Monroe is. I think if we manage to keep Monroe and Smith, you will see two radically different players in SVG's system.


Monroe will be a better defender with the heart to shoot from outside, because SVG will demand it. Smith we display something that resembles a basketball IQ or he will be well rested going into the trade deadline. SVG is going to squeeze effort out of this team. No more of that the coach is your buddy crap. And none of that we're going to mutiny crap.

There's a new sheriff in town and he's the judge too.

[Laimbeer]

Start all three of them for ego and appearances sake. Then you can get into a substituion pattern fairly early in the first quarter that dictates only two of the big three being out there at once. They're probably going to play a few minutes together, it might as well be in the first. Who you sub out early can vary depending on matchups, etc.

[Ghost]

I think starting Smith would be best with Drummond/KCP and go for just athletic/defense/high tempo offense. Then bring Monroe off the bench as the center, maybe even then running part of the offense through him posting up and passing out of the high post. Monroe is a good guy and I can see him being okay with it more-so than Smith. He could get 12-14 minutes at center being the focal point in maybe even a small ball lineup like people want to do with Drummond and then another 12-14 at PF with Drummond next to him.

I'm still hoping that one of them get traded..

[MotownMadness]

Need to just get rid of one of them and not even worry about playing one of them off the bench for 13 mil plus. I really like Monroe but screw that. If you cant trade Smith then he needs to go in my opinion.

[The Penguin]

S&T Monroe for S&T Bledsoe