If these rumors are true about Greg Monroe the Golden State Warriors have a great opportunity to cover up their only weakness.
When we talk about the Golden State Warriors, there is little talk about having an elite post scorer. The reasoning behind that is because they do not have an elite traditional big man. Andrew Bogut was an Elite Defender and that was good enough, however once Bogut was traded it left a glaring hole in the make-up of the 2016-2017 Golden State Warriors.
If there was any chance to mitigate the Golden State Warriors’ average Post efficiency and beef up their toughness in the interior and rebounding department this could be the biggest opportunity for Golden State. Into the picture enters Greg Monroe whom is rumored to be on the trading block. You may be asking, “how would Greg Monroe help the Golden State Warriors?”
And the first simple answer i would give you is that Greg Monroe would give the Golden State Warriors an otherworldly upgrade at the Center position as opposed to having to start Zaza Pachulia, whom is really good but better off the bench for a championship team such as the Golden State Warriors who could use the extra interior prescence. However, that is too easy. Let’s dig deeper into my seemingly inconceivable argument for the Golden State Warriors to at least consider Greg Monroe.
Greg Monroe Vs Zaza Pachulia
Zaza Pachulia will be an important part of the Golden State Warriors and so will David West, who will be replacing our fan favorite, Mareese Speights or “Mo Buckets” as we so adorably refer to him as on so many occasions. However when we talk about Golden State Warriors basketball, four of the five players are top 20 to say the least about them and the only one that isn’t is Zaza Pachulia.
This is not to say that Zaza cannot play, because we know he can hold his own more than effectively, but why not have him on the bench because David West and Zaza Pachulia would come in handy helping elevate the younger and inexperienced bench contributors on the Golden State Warriors. And also to consider is that the replacement starter in Greg Monroe would only be 26 years old and is way more suited to start as well as play heavier minutes. Beyond this reasoning lets compare the statistical production of Pachulia to the production of Monroe.
Greg Monroe Per Game Stats 2015-16
| 29.3 mpg/52.2 FG%/15.3 PPG/9.1 RPG/0.6 BPG/1.1 SPG/2.3 APG |
Zaza Pachulia Per Game Stats 2015-16
| 26.4 mpg/46.6 FG%/8.6 PPG/9.4 RPG/0.3 BPG/0.8 SPG/1.7 APG |
As you can see from the splits here Greg Monroe, numerically would be the upgrade at starter and dare i say elite due to the fact that he plays more minutes, has been a starter for his entire career, is a few years younger, and he is a sound playmaker who has a similar frame to Zaza Pachulia which mean the Golden State Warriors would not be giving up size by moving Monroe over to the center position (Greg Monroe- 6’11/265, Zaza Pachulia- 6’11/275).
Greg Monroe does something that was huge for the Golden State Warriors when they had Andrew Bogut and Is an elite scorer at his position.
We all know that Greg Monroe is a better scorer, however there is one thing we overlook about this young and developing Big man who has yet to reach his prime and it matters now because with the Golden State Warriors he would have legitimate elite level talent around him. Let’s watch what it is and then ill explain.
Amazing isn’t it. Greg Monroe has the feel for the game and passing ability that actually mirrors Andrew Bogut. This Golden State Warriors Offense could be a match made in heaven for Greg Monroe and the former NBA Championship runner-up.
Even if Monroe couldn’t score, which he can and at an elite level, The Golden State Warriors would be getting a High Caliber Playmaker who can make all the passes out of the High post and low post to cutters and find deadeye shooters like Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green in addition to being able to find gaps in an Offense that creates way more spacing and opportunities than his previous team.
It would be perpetually unfair, because Greg Monroe would allow the Golden State Warriors to destroy you from the Perimeter, Paint, and High/Low Post with his scoring ability, playmaking ability and elite post game.
THE LONG TERM BENEFITS OF GREG MONROE
If the Warriors were to somehow get Greg Monroe, The rest of league can pretty much stick a fork in their chances of winning because The Golden State Warriors already have locked up the greatest perimeter offense in NBA History by bringing Kevin Durant to reinforce that. Add In a 26 year old stud in Greg Monroe with superior Post Skills, Face-up game, and Passing ability to go along with the fact that Monroe has yet to hit his prime.
With how talented and loaded the Golden State Warriors already are adding a potential star who would have a clear cut role in the Golden State Offense and you have yourself a dynasty. This move would also get the most out of aging but skilled big men who you will need to anchor your second units in David West and Zaza Pachulia and allow them to prolong their careers as big time bench contributors.
We don’t know for sure how or if Greg Monroe to the Warriors would happen, but If the Golden State Warriors can pull it off we may see the best team in NBA history (Especially if their young talent pans out as well). The Rest of the league better hope this does not happen.
HOW PRACTICAL IS A GREG MONROE ACQUISITION FOR GOLDEN STATE?
The Golden State Warriors had give up pretty much the entire farm just to accumulate the fortune to afford Kevin Durant. Greg Monroe is due a hefty 16 million dollars in salary this coming season and the same goes for the next two years of his contract.
This 16 million dollars is so hefty because Golden State doesn’t quite have it right now. So if they wanted to trade they would probably have to unload salaries such as Andre Iquodala’s, and many other role players whom they barely mananged to keep in the KD sweepstakes which would be a huge no no for this team if they are looking to win a championship. So how practical is this trade? Not very, however you never know what can happen in the NBA so if the Warriors were to make it happen, I and certainly many others would not be surprised.