NBA Trade Rumors: Greg Monroe, Mindaugas Kuzminskas Among New Names on Block
The first trade domino of the 2017-18 NBA season fell this week, when the Phoenix Suns sent disgruntled guard Eric Bledsoe to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Greg Monroe and a future first-round pick.
Bledsoe had been away from the Suns since Oct. 23, a day after he sent a tweet saying "I don't wanna be here." His seemingly obvious request—which he said came from a hair salon—sparked the trade winds a little sooner than expected. Typically, the unofficial start of trade season is Dec. 15—the first day players who signed with a new team in the offseason can be moved on.
The Bledsoe deal could spark another move in the near future, as Monroe is not expected to be long for Phoenix. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reported the Suns would prefer to trade Monroe rather than buying him out. The veteran big man has no interest in being part of a rebuild in Phoenix and would prefer to join a contender, where he can increase his value for free agency.
Some sort of resolution here makes sense. The Suns were already logjammed in their frontcourt before even adding Monroe. Taking minutes away from Marquese Chriss, Dragan Bender, Josh Jackson, et al. would be a shortsighted move for a player who isn't sticking around for the long term.
The biggest issue, and the reason Monroe is more likely to be bought out than traded, is the big man's salary. Monroe is on the books for $17.9 million this season. The Philadelphia 76ers are the only team that makes a modicum of sense that has the cap space necessary to make a deal work. Monroe could take the minutes of Amir Johnson and be a better fit.
Otherwise, the Suns might be forced to take on a bad long-term contract to get any sort of value for Monroe.
Another roster crunch is happening in New York, with the Knicks needing to make a move to make room for the return of Joakim Noah. The veteran center is set to return from his 20-game suspension Monday, and the Knicks have 15 players on their roster.
Adding Noah would put them one over the NBA limit. Ian Begley of ESPN.com reported the team is shopping Mindaugas Kuzminskas ahead of Noah's return. Kuzminskas has only appeared in one game this season and does not appear to be part of head coach Jeff Hornacek's rotation moving forward.
"I know just what I read on the internet," Kuzminskas told reporters Tuesday. "I cannot comment on rumors and the things which are not coming officially from me or my team or my agent. So all the time there are a lot of talks and this time they’re about me. That's natural because we have 16 players when Joakim comes back and they have to do something but I have no information."
Kuzminskas, 28, will be a restricted free agent this summer. In his second NBA season, the Lithuanian averaged 6.0 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 68 games played in 2016-17.
At best, the Knicks might be able to get a protected second-round pick from a team hoping to take a flier.
