The landmark signing of Greg Monroe gave the Milwaukee Bucks a jolt of credibility five years ago, yet lasting success didn’t come until after his departure.
All throughout their existence, the Milwaukee Bucks have heard their rep of not being a free agent destination, whether it was due to the cold weather, the relative anonymity, or the blue-collar digs around the city.
In the summer of 2015, Milwaukee literally bucked that trend, suddenly rising into big players in free agency with the flush of cap space they had at their disposal. Furthermore, the Bucks had just capped off a 41-41 season and a feisty first round series against the Chicago Bulls. With a push to build what eventually became Fiserv Forum coming to a head that summer, the Bucks were set on making a big splash.
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Indeed, the Bucks did land a big fish, or in this case, a Moose in Greg Monroe, who they thought would vault them over the top.
Monroe was viewed as one of the biggest free agents available that summer in a class that was headlined by a number of veteran big men. As such, Monroe was chased by glamour giants such as the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks once the clock struck midnight on July 1, 2015.
The symbolism of the small-market Bucks winning over a highly sought-after free agent like Monroe was at the time wasn’t lost on anyone. But as Monroe discussed in his opening press conference with the Bucks in July of 2015, the basketball fit and the chance to land with an up-and-coming team like the Bucks offered something that neither the Lakers nor the Knicks couldn’t match:
"“I feel like this was the best fit for me,” Monroe told reporters assembled on the Bucks practice court. “It was purely a basketball decision. I’m a basketball player. I love this game. Nothing else mattered but basketball to me and that’s why I’m here.”"
It was Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry that really struck a chord with Monroe during the Bucks’ free agent pitch as Monroe’s agent, the legendary David Falk, recounted to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst wrote in October of 2015:
"“He was very down-to-earth, but also passionate, and he connected with Greg,” Falk said. “We didn’t need parades or balloons; this was a business decision. Marc treated it that way. What they had already put in place was strong, and he sold that.”"
With the grand visions the Bucks and the ownership envisioned in how Monroe could fortify a promising core between Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jabari Parker, the team would be held to a different standard that comes when bringing in such a marquee free agent.
But you know the saying about the best laid plans of moose and men…
Greg Monroe’s signing with the Milwaukee Bucks didn’t pan out as many expected, as the league underwent a revolution in playing style that made life tougher for traditional big men.
Monroe’s arrival to Milwaukee came at an interesting time in the NBA. For example, the Golden State Warriors spent the entire 2014-15 season showing the power of small ball, pace and space and the value of the 3-pointer on their way to the first NBA championship in nearly 40 years.
Through no fault of Monroe’s own, a predominantly post-driven big man who could occasionally hit shots out to the elbow, the Bucks were on the opposite end of such a revolution. The 2015-16 Bucks had even gone as so far as rank last in total 3-point makes and 3-point attempts during Monroe’s first season in Milwaukee, per NBA.com/stats.
As the Bucks struggled to find a working formula with cramped spacing offensively, their work defensively wasn’t all that much better. The Bucks’ excessive trapping defense that had been their foundation to their 26-win turnaround the previous season had been figured out by the rest of the NBA. And Monroe and the rest of the Bucks’ young players struggled to execute to the tenets of Kidd’s scheme, especially with the veteran departures of Jared Dudley, Ersan Ilyasova and Zaza Pachulia.
Former Bucks forward Johnny O’Bryant, Monroe’s teammate during that 15-16 season, reflected on the unhappiness that was palpable in the Bucks’ locker room during a recent appearance on the Gyro Step podcast with Ti Windisch and Rohan Katti:
"“I think, honestly, guys were not happy. I just think guys weren’t happy. I think [Michael Carter-Williams], he wasn’t really happy. I think the bench guys weren’t happy. I don’t think Greg Monroe was happy, even though he just got paid. I just think there were a lot of unhappy guys on that roster…Rashad Vaughn…so that’s what I’d chalk it up to. It was a group of unhappy guys and we kind of underachieved.”"
Suddenly, not even a year removed from being the Bucks’ biggest free agent signing in their history, Monroe’s name was being stirred among trade rumors. While such rumors didn’t come to fruition before the 2016-17 season, Monroe had to make the biggest adjustment of his career to that point as he played all 81 games coming off the bench.
Monroe’s role and minutes decreased as a result, but acting as the Bucks’ sixth man helped buoy the Bucks’ frontcourt and center rotation and pack an efficient scoring punch for the Bucks’ offense.
Even as the Bucks suffered key injuries with Middleton and Parker, that season provided the playoff run that had eluded Monroe in his previous six years in the league. And by and large, Monroe acquitted himself in his first taste of playoff action by averaging 13.2 points on 52.9 percent shooting from the field (83.3 percent from the foul line), 7.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals over the Bucks’ six-game first round series against the Toronto Raptors in the 2017 NBA Playoffs.
That was essentially the cap to Monroe’s time with the Bucks. After making just five appearances with the Bucks into the 2017-18 season, Monroe was a part of the trade package that saw Eric Bledsoe come to Milwaukee and Monroe set off to the Phoenix Suns.
Monroe has been on a basketball odyssey ever since his Bucks departure, having logged stops between the Suns, the Boston Celtics on two separate stints, the Toronto Raptors and the Philadelphia 76ers. Having lost his footing in the NBA, Monroe went overseas to play for Bayern Munich in Germany this season and subsequently put up very respectable numbers while seeing the floor more regularly.
The Bucks, meanwhile, have since turned into the title contender, the kind of which Monroe once envisioned them becoming, in large part due to the arrival of reigning NBA Coach of the Year, Mike Budenholzer. Antetokounmpo has risen to become the reigning MVP, Middleton has become a two-time All-Star and players such as Bledsoe and Brook Lopez have helped fortify a foundation that had yet to settle into place during Monroe’s time in the Cream City.
Given how things played out for Monroe, both in the sense of his time in Milwaukee and how the game has seemingly passed players of his ilk by, it’d be natural for the 30-year-old big man to view his decision to come to Milwaukee as a regret, knowing what he knows now. But Monroe shot that down when asked that very question by Georgios Kyriakidis of Talk Basket earlier this year:
"“No, I don’t regret it at all. When I went there, I knew where I had based my decision on. I thought about it clearly and going there was no regret. The fans and my teammates are great. That’s a wonderful organization. The owners are among the best in the league, I believe. With all that, I definitely didn’t regret it.”"
The Bucks have clearly gone on to bigger and better things as they’ve put themselves in prime position to vie for an NBA title over the last two seasons. As for Monroe, his pursuit to reclaim a prominent role in the NBA goes on.