Greg Monroe reportedly agrees to deal with Celtics

Free agent big man Greg Monroe has agreed to sign with the Celtics, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com. The 6-foot-11 forward/center will sign a one-year, $5 million with Boston for the remainder of the regular season. Boston is using its disabled player exception to sign Monroe to the deal. Monroe picked Boston over a starting spot in New Orleans after getting waived by the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday following a buyout agreement. Monroe will officially clear waivers on Friday afternoon and will likely sign with the team at some point this weekend. The 27-year-old has averaged 11.2 points and 8 rebounds in 23 minutes per game with the Suns this year.

BSJ Analysis

I wrote long on Monroe in November and reflected on him as a free agent fit for the Celtics back after he was traded to the Suns. Here's what I wrote then:

All of this would be potentially good news for the Celtics in a potential free agent pursuit for Monroe. If the Suns don’t like the trade offers they are getting, (they will probably wait awhile to gauge the market), they’ll probably opt to save money and figure out a buyout solution for the veteran scorer. At that point, the Celtics would be in pole position to land him on the open market with their $8.4 million disabled player exception (if they wanted him). That’s far more money than any other playoff team in the Monroe market would be able to offer.

There’s no guarantee that the Celtics would offer up that entire chunk of change for the big man, but they could still offer just a fraction of that amount and outbid the others. The question for Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens is whether a guy like Monroe would be a strong fit in the C’s scheme. As a bench piece, my answer would be yes. Monroe has provided some reliable second unit scoring for the Bucks over the last couple years and he could do the same here as top scoring option off the pine. He’s still in his prime as a post player and rebounder and the C’s would have enough strong defense around him his shortcomings in that area.

It’s not clear if a bench role would be enough to appeal for Monroe to sign after a buyout, particularly since he’ll be heading into unrestricted free agency next summer. If another team offered him a starting spot or bigger minutes, he could choose there to help him bigger numbers and potentially earn a bigger paycheck next year. Stevens has a history of getting the best out of his players though and that would certainly be a selling point for the team if Monroe does become available.

All of this analysis holds true a few months later. Landing Monroe without giving up an asset besides cash is a big boost to a team that is shallow on the frontline. The Celtics don't play with two traditional bigs a ton but they only have three guys in that mold (Al Horford, Aron Baynes, Daniel Theis) and only Theis is an elite rebounder in that group.

With Monroe, the Celtics are getting an old school post player to provide a boost on the rebounding front. He ranks No. 13 overall in total rebounding rate (top-15 on both ends of the floor) which immediately makes him the Celtics' best rebounder. He's got great finishing ability at the rim (73 percent accuracy inside of three feet) and can score well with his back to the basket with efficiency. He's also an above-average passer for his size, giving Brad Stevens another weapon from the high post to facilitate some offense.

For an offense that has struggled for lengthy stretches all year long, Monroe should be a boost. He anchored the Bucks second team offense for much of the past two seasons and he could do something similar in Boston.

There are some potential drawbacks in Monroe for Boston. He's never been much of a defender and he does have a high turnover rate compared to his usage. His lack of 3-point range could make him a strange fit at times in the pace-and-space offense that Stevens runs as well. However, this team has been very reliant (almost too reliant at times) on the outside shot all year. Having an interior presence as an alternative isn't a bad thing.

More importantly for the Celtics, this is a win for them in terms of their appeal from around the league. They were able to offer Monroe far more than the Pelicans, but New Orleans was offering Monroe a far bigger role than Boston. Barring a trade of a big man like Aron Baynes, Monroe isn't going to get big minutes in Boston. Still, the appeal of playing for a contender and the lure of thriving under Brad Stevens was probably very appealing for the power forward, since he has only made the postseason once in his career.

In the meantime, don't look for this to be the end of roster changes for the Celtics. They won't have the disabled player exception to use any longer but they could still be in the market for a shooter in the coming days via trade or free agency. Stay tuned.