Golden State Warriors trade rumors 2016: Greg Monroe the answer to center position issue?
Three championship-winning centers left the Golden State Warriors this off-season because of Kevin Durant joining them. The issue was already addressed but they can better their rotation at the no. 5 position by trading for the Milwaukee Bucks' Greg Monroe.
Before Durant decided to head to Oakland, the Dubs had starter Andrew Bogut with backups Festus Ezeli and Marreese Speights at center. All of them played efficiently for Golden State and there were times when they had to switch roles.
Sadly, the acquisition of arguably the biggest fish in the free agency market this year led to all of them having new homes.
When the Warriors parted ways with the three, they only had Anderson Varejao at center. They immediately gave him company at the position by signing his fellow veteran Zaza Pachulia.
Currently, the Dubs have three centers on the roster in Varejao, Pachulia, and 2016 draft 30th overall pick Damian Jones.
Pachulia is expected to take the starting job, with Varejao as the second stringer. About Jones, since he is only a rookie, there is a chance he will be sent to the Developmental League (D-League).
This leaves the Warriors with only two centers, one short of their usual count. They can fill that gap by trading for Monroe.
Despite being a steady and decent contributor on both ends of the floor, Monroe is rumored to be on the trade market because he failed to fit in with Milwaukee's system. A number of teams are already being linked to him.
The Warriors could trade for him and again have a group at the no. 5 spot in which all of the players can take over the starting job or backup duties.
Even if Pachulia is favored to start for the Dubs, Monroe could end up sealing that role if they land him. Last season, the 26-year-old averaged 15.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, with 2.3 assists in 29.3 minutes of action per contest.