NBA Trade Rumors: Dallas Mavericks Interested on Greg Monroe
As the 2016-17 NBA season progresses, trade rumors continue to flourish. Most of these rumors involve players who are a constant in trade speculations; some even as far back as the off-season. The following are the latest.
1. Greg Monroe to Dallas Mavericks
According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the Milwaukee Bucks have been looking for teams who would accept Greg Monroe in a trade. Monroe has logged significantly fewer minutes for the Bucks this season; particularly because of his defensive woes.
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Monroe is currently averaging a career low 8.5 points per game. Last season, he had 15.3 points per game. He currently also contributes 6.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 18.3 minutes played per game. His minutes on the court are also significantly lower compared to previous seasons.
One of the teams Monroe is rumored to be traded to is the Dallas Mavericks. The team currently has a dismal performance, with a standing of 3 wins and 15 losses. According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, this poor record all boils down to lack of defense.
In fact, Dirk Nowitzki said, "When we decide to play and we want to get some stops, I think we're capable. We saw it in November and December. When we want to play some defense, we're good."
One trade scenario is for Greg Monroe and a future 2nd round pick to go to the Mavericks, while the Bucks will get Andrew Bogut and Devin Harris in return. While it doesn't seem plausible for the Mavericks to let go of their best defensive center, Monroe is comparable to Bogut in terms of offense, and he is much younger, which means that he may be the better player long term.
If this trade pushes through, Bogut will be returning to his former team that he played for his first six years. Getting rid of Bogut, whose contract expires this year, also makes sense for the Bucks in terms of getting money to lure a topnotch free agent next summer.
2. Brandon Knight to New Orleans Pelicans
Brandon Knight is currently the Phoenix Suns' backup point guard to Devin Booker or Eric Bledsoe. According to Zach Lowe of ESPN, Knight's bench role stems from the notion that he isn't a classic point guard per se, but a combo guard the likes of Jamal Crawford.
Getting $14 million per season though, the Suns is giving Knight a lot of money for being a backup. That probably explains why Knight has been the object of trade rumors for quite some time now.
One of the teams that might be interested in Knight is the New Orleans Pelicans. According to Matt Moore of CBS Sports, Anthony Davis could use some help as his team is struggling despite his fantastic individual play.
Moore said that Brandon Knight is a good fit for the Pelicans because he can score and facilitate the offense at the same time. Knight may be the solution the Pelicans is looking for to get out of the losing record they are currently in.
