Ram Shoham
Jul 27, 2017 · 1 min read
  1. Yup, Snell is actually the best part of the package you suggested. He’s useful.
  2. Within the context of what the Cavs would ask of him, Monroe is a lesser version of Thompson. He’s not as good an offensive rebounder, not as good a rim protector, and not as good switching onto ball-handlers (with that last point being the big one). The one big advantage he has is his solid mid-range + post game, and that just isn’t as valuable to the Cavs. Replacing Thompson with Monroe would cripple their already-shaky defense without noticeably improving their offense. As for the contract - Thompson is signed for three more years at ~17.5M per year (16.4 this year). Monroe is on an expiring contract that pays him 17.9M this year. Factoring in the tax effect, Monroe would cost them significantly more this year, and again, swapping them would weaken them as a team. Furthermore, even if I accept your claim that the Thompson contract is so very toxic, then the logical extension is that they’d have to give up more assets to get rid of him on top of everything else.

The important thing to remember here is that while Kyrie may want out, the Cavs have plenty of leverage. He’s signed for two more years (assuming he declines his player option). They don’t have to make a desperation trade that makes them worse for what is likely LeBron’s last season with the team. And your proposed trade would make them significantly worse without providing them any significant long-term benefits.