When will Greg Monroe sign with the Celtics?

As first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com on Friday afternoon, the Celtics will be adding Greg Monroe to their roster in the coming days. When exactly that happens has yet to be determined. 

A league source told BostonSportsJournal.com that Monroe will clear waivers on Saturday afternoon, which would allow the big man to become an unrestricted free agent and sign with Boston right away. While the Celtics could potentially sign him as soon as later today, in order to have him in uniform for Sunday's game against the Blazers or Tuesday's game against the Wizards, there is a possibility that the team holds off on making the signing official until closer to the trade deadline on Thursday.

Why would the Celtics wait? It comes down to roster flexibility. Having a roster spot open on the 15-man roster is a valuable weapon in potential trade scenarios since it opens the door for 2-for-1 swaps for Boston. It's unclear if a trade like that is on the radar for Boston at the moment, but you can't rule out the possibility. It might be useful for salary-matching purposes for the Celtics to take on two contracts and only send out one. If Monroe signs right away, the Celtics won't have that luxury without waiving someone else on the roster (something they might not want to do).

Trade discussions will be ongoing with Boston and other teams leading up to the trade deadline, so this is a fluid situation, but it's one that bears watching in the coming hour and days.