NBA trade rumors: 5 trade destinations for Greg Monroe
By John Buhler
. West. Southwest. New Orleans Pelicans. 1. player. 69
On the surface, the New Orleans Pelicans don’t seem like the best landing spot for Monroe, but upon further inspection actually makes for a potentially great fit. The best thing for the Pelicans is to give star stretch four Anthony Davis a strong front court teammate who can get rebounds, score in the paint, and anchor a defensive alignment.
Monroe meets all those requirements and would give the Pelicans a great front court pairing for defensive-minded head coach Alvin Gentry and defensive coordinator Darren Erman to work with for at least the 2016-17 NBA season.
The Pelicans outside of Davis have a roster chock full of often-hurt former stars and a bunch of frankly D-League players. General manager Dell Demps has summoned former disgraced Hawks general manager Danny Ferry to help right the Pelicans’ sinking ship that is their front office. Ferry may have had to resign from his post with the Hawks for the Deng comments, but he did pull off the Joe Johnson trade with the hapless Brooklyn Nets. In short, he’s the voice that Demps will lean on to fix this putrid Pelicans roster.
It’s a grind to get through the Western Conference Playoffs and New Orleans’ best bit is to have a healthy Davis ruining opponents as the dynamic stretch four/five he is. Monroe would perfectly compliment Davis in the New Orleans front court.
The Pelicans could send Omer Asik, Jrue Holiday, or Tyreke Evans in a deal to the Bucks, but maybe a sign-and-trade with soon-to-be free agent sharp shooter Ryan Anderson makes the most since. Anderson would give the Bucks the outside shot that they DO NOT have. He’s a near max player and the salaries would match in a Monroe trade.
Having two great players at the four and five would go a long way in making New Orleans a viable commodity in the Western Conference Playoffs for the next few years. In the playoffs, games are won and lost six feet from the rim. With Monroe joining Davis in the Pelicans’ front court, New Orleans could emerge as something real special by the end of the decade.
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