Greg Monroe to OKC?

[DontH8TheBrody]

Good call from the Brody

Too bad this didn't go through, wonder what the S&T options were looking like. Probably something similar to what we were all discussing. Would have loved to have that post threat as our 3rd option.

[kd 35]

Could we afford him if it hypothetically happen?

Depends, if they're willing to go into the tax for sure. If not, still possible but it would depend on his extension. They're about 1-2 mil under now, so figure Perk/Lamb/another player go out, that would leave about 12 mil in room. Should be plenty I'd think, but it would depend on details.

Wow. If this were to happen, I'd be ecstatic. I really didn't think too much of the idea of him coming to OKC but it sounds conceivable at this point. I'd do Perk/Lamb/1st in a heartbeat but I'd be shocked if they took it. They'd not only want more but should have better offers on the table.

A line-up of Westbrook/Jackson/Durant/Ibaka/Monroe would be absolutely lethal. A 2nd unit of Jackson/Morrow/Jones/McGary/Adams is solid as well.

I think a trade of this caliber would almost have to involve Jackson but they already have a lot of ball-dominant players in their backcourt. Jennings/KCP/Meeks/Augustin/Bynum/Dinwiddie. Hypothetically, I'm guessing we'd have to take at least one of them in such a deal. Ideally we keep Jackson if he's willing to re-seign with us but I would take Dinwiddie or Augustin.

With that said it makes more sense for them to want one of our young bigs in return. Either Adams or McGary with his UM connection would be a nice prize for them. I'd want Monroe but would hate to give up either one of them. I just don't think Detroit has much leverage to get max value from another team. He'll walk for nothing next summer. I think we had similar issues with maximizing value in the trade involving Harden.

and to DontH8TheBrody:

[Kizz Fastfists]

Now that Monroe has made it clear he is going to sign the QO is makes a trade much more plausible. However, it would still require the team going into the luxury tax and coming to an agreement with Detroit. It just reduces the leverage Detroit has because Monroe won't sign an offer sheet that they could match. I still don't think Detroit would give him up without at least two of Reggie, Lamb, Adams and McGary being involved. I think they would get just enough interest they could drive the bidding up to a point where Reggie and McGary would be the price and a reasonable one.

The reason you don't mind including Reggie is because adding Monroe's contract means you are not going to re-sign him anyway. Lamb has some ball handling skills and you have two other PGs that can fight for the backup role. With Russ plying 32-35 min a night you only need a ball handler for 15ish min a night. KD can also run the point some. So between Lamb, KD, Semaj and Telfair they would be alright without Reggie.

The biggest problem I have with it is that I'm not anywhere near as high on Monroe as a lot of people. I view him as a poor man's Zach Randolph. He is very similar to the player Randolph was before he developed a mid-range jumper. Monroe is so certain he is a center that he hasn't put in the work he needs to on a mid-range game. If he had the mid-range game where he could play center with Ibaka and PF with Adams I would be very much for acquiring him. However, his lack of rim protection and being a guy that needs the ball in the paint just doesn't appeal to me at the cost in terms of dollars and players. He'll want a max, or near it contract, and with KD, Russ and Ibaka all up for new contracts before Monroe's deal would be up you are looking at 4 max contracts. That would be 115% of the cap tied up in 4 players. Monroe at $10M and I'd be all for it, but not at max. I can't see OKC being a repeat offender on the tax so you are either going to have to trade Monroe in a year or two or let Ibaka or Russ walk.

[Devilanche]

At what point do Detroit dare Monroe to sign the QO rather than arrange an S&T to a team for less than ideal value?

If we can put worth in terms of draft picks, i believe Detroit would want at least 2 late first minimum for arranging a S&T. He's easily worth a 10th to 15th pick on an extended contract but if they let him sign the QO he's worth a late first since the team that traded for him won't have his rights.

[Kizz Fastfists]

Monroe has already said he will sign the QO over a long-term deal with Detroit. The question is at what point does a team view it not worth it work out a S&T and try to sign him outright next off-season. A team like Boston is better off not trading for him. OKC would have to trade for him if they wanted him, because they will not be able to offer him more than the MLE. If you are OKC what is it really worth to add Monroe, go over the cap now, and lock yourself in as a repeater in a few years?

If you sign Monroe you are probably going to be forced to let Ibaka go in two years, unless you trade Monroe before that. OKC won't be affording four max contracts. Monroe would be a short-term boost, but it would also cut OKC's window to two years. If you believe KD is going to leave for an inferior team when he hits FA you have to trade for Monroe because it makes you slightly better today and much worse in two years. If you believe KD will stay and the process is working you can not consider Monroe. OKC can't afford the repeater tax which means you are giving up almost any chance of extending Reggie, Ibaka and Adams by trading for Monroe.

OKC is good enough to win a championship as the team sits. So there is no reason to impose a short time frame on yourself by adding Monroe. The cost for Monroe would be something around Reggie, McGary and Perkins in addition to being in the luxury tax. Replacing Reggie is the easy part. McGary is relatively irrelevant to THIS season. Monroe is better than Perkins offensively, although inferior on defense, but overall a very solid upgrade. Monroe, on a max contract, would make more than Perkins, Reggie and McGary combined. Then the Thunder would have to fill the roster spots adding more salary.

If Monroe will sign for $10M/yr then it is a whole different conversation. However, since everything reported has been he wants a max contract to be a starting a center it makes him an almost impossible fit for OKC. Next off-season you lose Collison, assuming he's going to retire due to age and decline, and Thabeet. You add Huestis, Pleiss and possibly a draft pick to the roster to replace them. You can spend the tax payers MLE, but how big of a tax bill can OKC take on?

Then for 2016-2017 you have to re-sign KD and have to make decisions on Lamb and PJ3 which probably means not matching their RFA offers. Morrow is on a team option so they could shed a little salary there also. However, it is almost impossible for them not to be in the tax for a 3rd year. That means the next year they have to shed serious payroll or be a repeat offender. That means letting one of Westbrook and Ibaka go and probably not matching any RFA offers on Adams, who is probably a better center at that point than Monroe. You can't let Westbrook go so you let Ibaka and Adams go and have no rim protector, except Pleiss, and you are seriously lacking depth and quality as you have had to shed salary to afford three max players for the last three years along with Ibaka's $12M.

[Devilanche]

Detroit probably daring Monroe to sign the QO rather than just say he will sign it.
His role minutes etc is still dependent on them. if he doesnt get showcase enough, then that max offer will probably be a few million lower. They already have drummond/josh smith and if the minutes aren't there Monroe might accept a trade to a contender where he get minutes and its for maybe a late first and some minor asset nearer to the trade deadline (assuming he sign QO)

Does monroe want to move due to max or does he want to play on a better team? I dont think its purely the max, its kind of a huge gamble to reject 12m/yr just to get an additional 3-4m. He's better off negotiating a higher per year for lesser year with maybe a personal/team option for the 3rd year.

Right now, Detroit and Monroe best option is probably to sign a 2 year contract for 14m with the 2nd year a player option. That way he get paid abit more this year and Detroit still have trade value for him.

At what cost does trading for Monroe become prohibitive? i think anything more than 12m per year is prohibitive..If Durant leave, he's definitely leaving for an inferior team but the team will be more willing to spend more i guess. I dont think ownership is that cheap though. If they did, they would probably sell the Huestis pick rather than give him a guaranteed contract eventually. sell that first rounder and buy a pick in the 40s. OKC has generally spend money for picks so i dont think its a case of being cheap. probably delaying repeater tax or presti does believe the team is ready.

[Kizz Fastfists]

Monroe feels he is a starting center. Drummond will continue to be the starting center in Detroit. That is why Monroe wants out. Detroit would probably give him a max contact if he would sign it, which is why he didn't sign an offer sheet. He knew Detroit would match and would be stuck at PF. He is Detroit's version of James Harden. Pouting in the corner because he wants to be the starter. He might not want a max, although that was reported repeatedly early in FA. He might be willing to sign for $12M to be a starting center. However, I still don't like him that much for OKC, because I believe Adams will be the better player by 2015-2016 and if Adams makes the same offensive jump this off-season as he did from the end of the college year to the start of last NBA season he could be better this year.

That leaves you with a better player stuck behind an expensive inferior center. So now you either trade Monroe, continue to start him over the better player or move him to come off the bench and he blows up the locker room. OKC already got rid of one player with a me first attitude. I see no reason to add another. There is also no guessing to how long it would take Monroe to start crying about his lack of touches on a teach with Russ, KD and Ibaka. You think Monroe would be happy with 6-8 touches a night?