Greg Monroe Reportedly Plans to Sign with 76ers After Stint with Celtics

Veteran center Greg Monroe plans to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, according to ESPN.com's Jordan Schultz.

Schultz reported the Sixers will waive Justin Patton to open up a roster spot for Monroe.

The 28-year-old center has made 40 appearances this season for the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics. The Boston Herald's Mark Murphy noted Monroe's 10-day contract with the Celtics expired Tuesday, which allowed him to join another team.

SportsRadio 94WIP's Jon Johnson and Philly.com's Keith Pompey added some perspective behind the move:

Monroe has generally fallen victim to the NBA's shift away from traditional centers who can't protect the rim.

He signed a three-year, $50 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks in July 2015. One year into the contract, his minutes per game fell from 29.3 to 22.5, and he didn't make a single start for the Bucks in 2016-17. Milwaukee sent him to the Phoenix Suns in November 2017 as part of the Eric Bledsoe trade.

The Raptors signed Monroe for one year and $2.2 million in August. He averaged 4.8 points and 4.1 rebounds in 38 games before Toronto traded him to the Brooklyn Nets, who immediately waived him.

According to NBA.com, Monroe had a minus-8.8 net rating with the Raptors.

Signing Monroe makes sense for Philadelphia ahead of the playoffs. While he's clearly no longer the player who averaged 15.9 points and 10.2 rebounds with the Detroit Pistons in 2014-15, the Sixers won't need him to play a big role. Monroe will be the team's third center behind Joel Embiid and Boban Marjanovic.

The Sixers are beyond the point where they can make a really impactful addition to the roster. Monroe at least brings some experience and gives head coach Brett Brown a proven inside scorer off the bench when he wants to rest Embiid and Marjanovic.