The Milwaukee Bucks are reportedly still keen on trading Greg Monroe before the new season starts but there are still no interested trade partners for the out-of-place center even as training camp is just around the corner.
Milwaukee had been trying to deal the 26-year-old former Georgetown standout all summer and rumors abound that he will not be with the team anymore before the players arrive at training camp days from now.
However, it looks like nobody is still willing to gamble on the 2010 seventh overall pick even though he posted quality numbers of 15.3 points and 8.8 boards last season.
NBC Sports' Pro Basketball Talk reported that at "this point, it seems less likely they move him" as no team "would meet Milwaukee's low demands" for Monroe. Despite the individual stats Monroe produced last season, his incompatibility with the younger generation of players is what makes other teams hesitate in acquiring him.
Another reason for the snub is Monroe's massive $17 million annual salary that will expire in the summer of 2018. He also has a player option next season, which would be too risky for teams, plus there seemed to be no one willing to carry the cap burden for someone who will just come off the bench.
The report said that while "Monroe is a skilled interior scorer and good rebounder", something that his stats clearly show year-after-year, "his lack of mobility and shooting range just makes him a tough fit in the modern NBA".
Milwaukee signed him last summer in hopes of having that final piece to becoming a legitimate yearly playoffs contender. However, Monroe's inaptness on defense was just so clear with the Bucks' other starters that they ended up finishing at 12th place with a 33-49 record in the Eastern Conference last season from being at sixth place with a 41-41 slate and losing in the first round of the postseason the year before.
Meanwhile, Monroe's agent, David Falk, recently told reporters that the big man "expects" to be in training camp and is looking forward to staying with the team.
"Greg expects to be in training camp with the Bucks," said Falk, via ESPN. "He's looking to have a great season for the Bucks. If anything changes, we'll deal with it at that time."
"He (Monroe) wants to accomplish what they didn't accomplish this year - making the playoffs. We are trying to make this work. Whether it will happen, I don't know. But we're going to try," the agent added.
