Miami Heat Free Agency: Eric Bledsoe among potential targets
By Seth Partnow
Greg Monroe
Monroe is something of a throwback player; a plodding, post up power forward in a league moving increasingly moving towards mobility and shooting range. Still, Monroe can score and rebound in bunches. The fact that the league is moving in the other direction could paradoxically make him more effective: as the league gets smaller, his interior scoring could become harder for opponents to cope with as it becomes even less common.
Like Bledsoe, Monroe is a restricted free agent, giving the Pistons the right to match any offer. But unlike Bledsoe in Phoenix, Monroe is an odd fit on a Detroit Pistons team in the midst of regime change. Last years “Triplet Towers” lineup featuring Monroe, Andre Drummond and Josh Smith was a disaster, costing both head coach Maurice Cheeks and GM Joe Dumars their jobs a the Palace. New czar Stan Van Gundy may be happy to see the back of Monroe despite protestations to the contrary, and certainly any sort of sign-and-trade might grease the wheels? Perhaps Mario Chalmers would be a point guard more to Van Gundy’s liking than Brandon Jennings might be given Jennings’ shoot-first instincts and poor defense.