NBA Trade Rumors: Greg Monroe Is Dumars' Victim! J-Smoove Is Unmovable, So Georgetown Center Needs To Go
The NBA Trade Rumors reach fever pitch as the teams make the final playoff push. The Detroit Pistons are outside the playoff picture and it's clear that they need changes. Joe Dumars blew it once again, and now they have to give up one of their most successful draft picks.
Joe Dumars is one of the most polarizing GMs in the NBA. On one hand, he has drafted Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. Drummond is probably the biggest draft steal of the decade. A franchise center at no.9? That was awesome. That might be lucky, as well. ESPN True Hoop had a feature where the 2012 class would be drafted again, with the GMs knowing what they do now. According to coach/analyst David Thorpe, the top three would be Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard and Andre Drummond. Davis and Drummond would have the edge because they are big men and younger.
Perhaps that's the only reason Dumars kept his job. When the team finally had cap space last summer, he spent it by overpaying Josh Smith. That was not so bad, as Smith is a consistent double-double machine at the power forward spot in Atlanta. He just forgot one important thing: The Pistons already have a Twin Tower combo and what they really needed was a swingman/scorer.
Now Dumars is stock with a logjam. With Andre Drummond being the next big thing, and Smith being overpaid with a contract no one even challenged (the Atlanta Hawks did not even bother), Greg Monroe has to go. The Tall Three combo just won't work, as Josh Smith is not Lebron James by a stretch.
Even the experts believe that Monroe should go at the trade deadline, and it's all because of Joe.
From ESPN: "If Greg Monroe had followed a natural progression, he should have been battling for an All-Star spot this season. Instead, his numbers are down all over. The Josh Smith signing gives the Pistons a frontcourt-heavy team at a time when the rest of the league is going to the perimeter. The Pistons are 26th in the league in 3-pointers made. They should trade Monroe, a player without a 3-point attempt this season, for an outside threat."
