The Boston Celtics and free-agent big man Greg Monroe agreed to terms on a deal on Friday, and the team announced it as going official after the trade deadline ended on Thursday:
Boston Celtics @celticsIt’s official! We have signed veteran center Greg Monroe. 🗒:
Monroe, 27, split time with the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns. He averaged 10.4 points and 7.4 rebounds in 25 appearances, most coming after his trade to Phoenix. The Suns reached a buyout agreement with Monroe on Feb. 1 after he fell out of the rotation as the team looked to play its young bigs.
While he'll be playing for his third team of the season, Monroe has been effective when he's on the floor. He shot 62.6 percent from the floor in Phoenix and racked up six double-doubles despite inconsistent playing time. The Suns played him in five straight games immediately before his buyout, which came following a stretch of six games where he played three minutes.
Boston will look for Monroe to simply play his game. His effectiveness has varied at times, but Monroe is generally always the same player. He's an old-school big who grabs boards and does most of his work inside on the offensive end while being a glaring minus defensively—especially against small-ball lineups.
The Bucks found a way to hide him well within their defensive scheme last season, and he had a good year playing a sixth-man role. Monroe will likely expect similar playing time to the 22.5 minutes per game he got last year in Milwaukee.
Given he should be an improvement over the Celtics' backup bigs, that shouldn't be a problem.
Power forward Al Horford is Boston's top big man, and backup power forward Marcus Morris has been a solid contributor as well.
The Celtics have primarily utilized Aron Baynes as the starting center. While it is unclear if Monroe will supplant him in that role, his arrival adds a different dimension to Boston's frontcourt.
Monroe's arrival should help cement the Celtics' status as the favorites in the East.
