Detroit Pistons: Greg Monroe’s Summer To Forget
By Adam McGee
When last season ended Greg Monroe likely envisioned a very different summer for himself than the one that eventually played out. I’m sure, just like everyone else, Monroe expected to get paid this summer. Yet in spite of other guys from the 2010 draft class now earning big money such as John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Paul George and Gordon Hayward, Monroe is going to have to wait at least one more season for his pay day.
With no offers of significance coming from the Detroit Pistons or anybody else, Monroe was virtually forced into signing Detroit’s qualifying offer, and as a result he will remain in the Motor City for another year before becoming a free agent. You’d expect that to leave Monroe eager to have a career year and show just how much he’s worth with his play this year, but he’s going to have to wait a little longer than most for the chance to do so.
Following a DUI arrest last week, Monroe has been suspended for two games by the NBA. According to James Herbert of CBS Sports, the police report states that Monroe failed numerous field sobriety tests, before urinating on himself in the booking process. After a messy three month long contract saga, this was even more bad news that Monroe could have done without.
With the arrival of Stan Van Gundy as the new head coach and president of basketball operations in Detroit, this is supposed to be a new beginning for the Pistons. Last season couldn’t have been much further away from what many Pistons fans had imagined at the beginning of the year, and so Van Gundy is starting to implement a very conscious shift away from that style of play.
From Greg Monroe’s perspective he needs to be careful that he doesn’t get lost in the process. Whether he ends up signing a new deal with the Pistons, or moving on to a new team, Monroe must use this season to showcase his talents. It’s not necessarily a guarantee that he’ll get a chance to do that either. After the three big man frontcourt that became a spacing nightmare last season, many expect Van Gundy to bench a big name in favor of a more coherent system.
Although due to his exorbitant contract Josh Smith has been a convenient pariah for many Detroit fans to this point, there’s cause to believe that he might be Van Gundy’s preferred option when all is said and done. Van Gundy’s priorities are shooting and defense, and although neither Smith nor Monroe are skilled shooters, Smith has shown much more defensive talent than Monroe during the span of his career.
Historically, Van Gundy has preferred slightly smaller, agile power forwards to partner dominant centers, and if he was to stick to that philosophy, you’d have to expect Smith to have the edge. That leaves Monroe at a genuine crossroads in his career. Whether he stays with Detroit or not, he needs to impress Van Gundy for the benefit of his career, and his recent actions are unlikely to have done so.
The 24-year-old is undoubtedly talented, and for all intents and purposes seems to generally be a good guy, but there’s one problem that stands out.
Monroe isn’t improving.
In fact from his sophomore season on, if you look at his stats per 36 minutes, there’s a year-on-year regression in many key categories. Monroe’s per 36 minute numbers have fallen back every year since his sophomore season in points, rebounds, steals, blocks and free throw percentage.
Add into the mix that Monroe’s strengths remain very similar to the skill set that he entered the NBA with, and it becomes an increasingly worrisome theme. Monroe has all the physical tools to become a good defender, and yet there has been no real sign of progress towards that. His offensive play could do with a midrange game to offer a more dynamic threat, yet it’s a shot that the Louisiana native still doesn’t have in his arsenal.
Greg Monroe needs to be focused, as he’s about to enter by far the most important season of his career to date. If he doesn’t show signs of further development, who knows, maybe the Pistons will be proven right for not coughing up the cash this summer.