Recent trade rumors suggest of a Greg Monroe-to-Chicago Bulls scenario as reports claim that Chicago is set to miss the inside presence of Pau Gasol.
The 26-year-old former Georgetown standout is actually being linked to a lot of teams since the start of the offseason as rumors went out that he is out-of-place in the Milwaukee Bucks roster.
Milwaukee signed him last summer in a three-year, $51.4 million deal as the club expected him to finally solve their frontcourt issues in the playoffs. However, instead of keeping themselves in the postseason, the Bucks ended 2015-2016 with a 33-49 record that is 12th in the Eastern Conference with Monroe as their starting center.
His incompatibility with head coach Jason Kidd's other starters was evident throughout the season, especially in the defensive end when Monroe seemed to be a liability, as per Fansided.
In offense, Monroe was still the inside scoring-machine that he is, but the young core of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, Michael Carter-Williams, and Khris Middleton were being held back from their transition game as the former Piston if more accustomed to playing with his back to the basket, which slows down the pace of the game.
With that, trade rumors involving Monroe were swirling since the end of last season and one of the latest to emerge is this one with the Bulls.
Sportsrageous reported that the rebuilding Bulls could target Monroe before the new season begins as the team aims to add an efficient inside scorer after Gasol moved to the San Antonio Spurs this summer.
Chicago is set to have a competitive backcourt with the additions of superstar Dwyane Wade and one-time NBA champ Rajon Rondo, but they lost Gasol and Joakim Noah up front.
The report noted that at the moment "no one on the Bulls' roster can replicate Gasol's performance, especially in the paint", but newcomer Robin Lopez will be able to replace Noah's contributions to the squad.
It then suggested trading for Monroe as the New Orleans native is still one of the best inside scoring big men in the league right now. Last season, he averaged 15.3 points and shot 52.2 percent from the field in his first season with the Bucks despite the team winning fewer games.
Surrounded with the right pieces, Monroe can still be a legitimate inside threat and is arguably still on his way to his prime as a player.
