CelticsBlog Roundtable: should Boston be in the Greg Monroe business?

Bill Sy: I'll start with the cop-out answer: maybe. Like everything in the NBA, it's a matter of timing. If Monroe sits in expiring contract limbo in Phoenix while the Suns diligently look for all trade avenues before the February 8th trade deadline, he could be in green by March's DPE deadline. Danny will put off the decision until he knows the entire buyout market and more importantly, what the team needs.

However, the one Twitter argument I want to quash is that Monroe isn't a good fit. I'm a big subscriber to "Brad Stevens will make it work." Monroe may not be the prototypical big like Al Horford is for the Celtics' offensive system, but he could slide nicely behind Aron Baynes as another enforcer in the paint. Daniel Theis, Semi Ojeleye, and now Marcus Morris have so far been a solid rotation in the front court, but none of them (with Morris being a little bit of an exception) can create with their back to the basket. Adding yet another element to Boston's offense could make them a more dangerous team in the playoffs.

Jeff Clark: Put me in the "let's try it out" camp. I think he's proven that he can come off the bench and provide instant offense and rebounding. The price would be right on a buyout and you are getting a free look at him. In a worst case scenario if he doesn't fit in, he could be buried on the bench or waived. With all that said, if he's a free agent looking to maximize his next payday, Boston might not be the best fit for him. Ideally he'd be going to a place where he could start or maximize his playing time. Also, I'm not sure if the Celtics would have the cap room to re-sign him this offseason even if he impressed everyone.

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Mike DePrisco: I’d love for the Celtics to bring in Monroe if he gets bought out by Phoenix. The Celtics have an abundance of versatile wings and bigs that can stretch the floor and defend multiple positions. Brad Stevens could use Monroe as a lone big in a wing-heavy lineup where he would benefit from one-on-one post ups with little help defense compared to what he saw in Milwaukee. Monroe would give the Celtics a different type of presence in the front court that I’m sure Stevens would find a way to utilize it effectively against teams that struggle with post defense.

Jeff Nooney: I think he could thrive in a limited role. Monroe doesn’t offer a ton of spacing or versatility, would still help the offense. He’s a good rebounder and solid post-up player. But he adds more than just his post-game. Last season he ranked in the 89th percentile as the roll-man on pick-and-rolls, per Synergy. He was good the year before that too. I’d love to see what he could do with Kyrie handling the ball. Even if he mostly plays in bench lineups with Rozier and Smart, he could still bring a nice scoring punch to the mix.

Defense is obviously a concern, but I have faith that the team culture is strong enough to get him to buy-in. If he ends up torpedoing the defense, Stevens can just bench him in the playoffs. Either way, it would be a low-risk pickup with some serious upside.