…And the disappointment keeps coming! Adrian Wojarowski reports the New York Knicks have become the favorites to land Greg Monroe.
"“Knicks are frontrunners for two free agents — Greg Monroe and Arron Afflalo, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Those are realistic targets.”"
However, according to the New York Post, Monroe has stated how he wants to play for a team he considers “ready to win”. If this Knicks team enters this season with Carmelo Anthony and Greg Monroe as their one stars, this Knicks team will be nowhere close to being ready to win.
While I’d hate to see Monroe go to New York, he would admittedly be an intriguing player in a Triangle Offense. Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher will likely use the Triangle as a platform to sell the idea of coming to the Knicks, insisting to Monroe that he would excel in their offense.
I hate to say it, but they’d be right: the triangle would be very conducive to Monroe’s game.
If Carmelo Anthony and Monroe could lay their egos aside, their chemistry could essentially function similarly to Kobe Bryant‘s and Pau Gasol‘s. Of course, Monroe doesn’t quite possess the same level of passing finesse as Pau (he still has a relatively good eye for passing lanes and ball movement, though), while Carmelo doesn’t doesn’t have the same killer-instinct as Kobe Bryant.
Equipped with an arsenal of speedy post moves, Monroe would find a TON of easy shots in a pass-heavy triangle, as the rapid ball movement would prevent defenders from doubling-up on him in the post. Monroe would definitely need to work on his shot selection though.
While post-up specialists garner a positive reputation, seeing as they’re lauded for their skill at a relatively lost art, Monroe’s offensive game is surprisingly inefficient. Monroe is best operating inside the paint, however he occasionally finds himself far outside the paint, and attempts to make himself an isolation specialist. His efficiency has a big drop off once he’s outside the paint. While 40% of his shots are taken between 3-10 feet from the hoop, he only hits about 36% of those shots. His propensity to hold onto the ball once he get’s locked out of the paint often leads to him becoming a vacuum on offense.
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Playing within a Triangle, Monroe would have to pass the ball and quit killing possessions with his inefficient isolations. If anybody should be isolating on the Knicks, it’s Carmelo Anthony, and you don’t need to tell him twice.
Monroe would also likely see an increased efficiency in Boston as well. While the Knicks’ triangle largely marginalizes high screen and rolls, the Celtics’ offense highlights it. However, this really isn’t Monroe’s game. So, if Boston does acquire Monroe, expect Stevens to use Monroe very differently than he uses Tyler Zeller: who is gifted at pick n’ rolls. Stevens may even take a leaf out of Phil Jackson’s offense and attempt to largely involve Monroe as not just a scorer, but as a play-maker as well.
The best part of Brad Stevens’ offense is that it is manicured differently for each lineup. Some teams run their same offensive sets regardless of who’s playing, while Stevens will utilize each player to the best of their abilities.
Monroe would undoubtedly play the five in a Stevens offense, considering Stevens has primarily used long-range shooters at the four rather than bruisers.