Ekpe Udoh Vs Greg Monroe, did the Warriors miss? Marcus Thompson ContraCostaTimes.com "Greg Monroe’s production this season really has Warriors fans smarting over the general manager Larry Riley passing him up in the 2010 draft. Golden State instead selected Ekpe Udoh. So far, Monroe has clearly been the most productive of the two. After a better-than-solid rookie year, Monroe has been deemed the center of the future in Detroit. So far, from a distance, he seems to be living up to the anointing. He came into Sunday’s game against the Warriors averaging 16.6 points on 57.6 percent shooting with 9.2 rebounds – all team highs. And he’s doing it with such consistency, it’s harder to write it off as good numbers on a bad team. Meanwhile, Udoh struggles on offense, leaves a lot to be desired with his rebounding, and is lacking consistency. He’s a role player who sometimes doesn’t get much run, averaging 3.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 15.5 minutes. GM LARRY RILEY: “What he has to do is get a little bit better as far as his rebound game is concerned, and get a little more offensive confidence. He defends. We know will defend and block shots. We need to see a little more growth out of him. It’s coming, but its coming slowly. He’s a guy who can show the ability to make a few jump shots in practice and he’s gotten to where it looks like he’s comfortable with some low-post moves. But we need his game to grow. There is no doubt about it.”So, on paper, it’s looking glaringly obvious the Warriors made the wrong choice. But as Sunday’s game proved, it’s not that cut and dry." http://www.ibabuzz.com/warriors/2012/01/15/ekpe-udoh-vs-greg-monroe/ So, personally I think Dumars scored a homer on this one. And regardless of what the writer says, yes, the Warriors got "darkoed" in the Monroe draft....
This is not a close call. Monroe is becoming one of the best centers in basketball and he's several years younger. Udoh is a role player.
The irony is that Udoh would be a pretty good guy to have playing next to Greg Monroe. I say we trade our talent pool of Gordon, Garbage, Maxiel, Austin Daye, Will Bynum... ...nevermind
Not an improvement? ...not an IMPROVEMENT????? ...over WHO? ...Maxiel? ...Chuck V? With a few exceptions, pretty much ANY PF/C in the NBA is an improvement over who we trot out there to stand next to Greg Monroe every night. Brap, if YOU were 6'10", YOU would be the 2nd best front court player on the Detroit Pistons right now! (sorry for yelling )
LOL. I didn't mean to infer it wouldn't be an improvement - I think he would be better than what we have, just not THE improvement we've been wanting. We need a great player there, not a decently better player than one we have. BTW, I'm not sure he's even a quality player in this league.
I'd love to have a "great player" there. ...but "great" bigs are the rarest things in the NBA. I'd be satisfied with a couple of bigs that compliment Greg Monroe. ...a couple of "above the rim" guys who can own the paint, block a couple of shots, snag rebounds and throw down some dunks. Think Amir Johnson without the fouls and a higher b-ball IQ.
I'd like to see us get a superstar big that can dominate the game on both ends of the floor. That would be nice.
LOL.... sad but true. With the exception of Monroe we don't have any bigs that do anything well consistently.
I'm glad I saved all that money from ESPN Insider to use for my forum membership. This is really valuable insight.