rmfc wrote:Q00 wrote:Hypothetical:
Lets say MIN trades Love for the Celtics/Lakers pick and then has money to spend in FA on a big man to replace him, and they target Monroe to pair with Dieng longterm.
They offer him the max at 14.5 mil/yr (essentially giving him Love's salary slot). But because they will no longer need Pekovic if signing Monroe, and would like to get out of his contract if possible, they offer him back in a S&T deal.
The Pistons then have the option to match and keep Monroe at 14.5 mil/yr over 4 years, or get Pekovic at 12 mil/yr over 4 years.
Which would you choose?
2014 stats
Monroe: 15 pts, 9 rebs on 50% FG in 33 mpg
Pekovic: 18 pts, 9 rebs on 54% FG in 31 mpg
Pekovic is a C. Why would we need him? (4/12 for Pek is a good deal, though)
Monroe is a C too, so what's the difference?
The differences are one costs 4/12 and produces more, and the other would cost 4/14 and produce less.
And one is 24 and the other 28. But Pek is young enough to where age shouldn't even be a factor in my opinion.
In terms of skillset, they are very similar players. So while Pek wouldn't necessarily be a better fit, he wouldn't fit any worse either.
The only real differences in playing style is Pek is a physical big, while Monroe is more finesse. But neither have a consistent jumpshot, and neither are good defenders, and both rely on scoring all their points inside, and both are about equal rebounders.
So its really a pretty even trade in basketball terms. Which is why if we could get the same thing from Pek for 2-3 mil yr less I'd look strongly at it. I also think we could use a physical big like him more than a finesse guy, and Pek's style is more conducive to defensive success. Even though he's not a great defender now, his strength/physicality can be big assets that you can use to your advantage on defense. Whereas Monroe doesn't really have many assets to contribute on defense.
I think it would be a fair trade and maybe Pek fits a little better defensively and costs a little less, so its something to maybe look at.
The reason I brought it up is because a MIN fan on the GB said he would trade Pek and the 13th pick for Monroe.
