NBA Trade and Roster Rumors: Boston Celtics Interested in Center Greg Monroe
Greg Monroe is already drawing interest from several teams after the Phoenix Suns bought out his contract on Wednesday.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Boston Celtics are expected to make a move to sign the veteran center once he clears waivers later this week.
"Boston has the advantage of using part of its $8.4 million disabled player exception gained after the Gordon Hayward injury to sign Monroe, which would give them the ability to pay him more than teams that could only offer the veteran's minimum," Wojnarowski said in his report.
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NBA.com's David Aldridge and Yahoo Sports' Chris Mannix have also reported that the Celtics are expected to pursue Monroe once he hits the free agent market.
The Suns have been actively shopping Monroe since they acquired him from the Milwaukee Bucks as part of the Eric Bledsoe deal, but they just couldn't find any takers because opposing teams knew they would eventually part ways with him.
Phoenix will reportedly place Monroe on waivers this Thursday, and he must remain there for 48 hours before he can become an unrestricted free agent.
Monroe's not exactly known for his defense, but he's a polished interior scorer who is also proficient at knocking down mid-range jumpers. The veteran center is an excellent rebounder as well.
"Monroe might not be a perfect fit in Boston, since he doesn't stretch the floor much and he isn't a great defender. But the Celtics' system is good at hiding players who aren't great individual defenders, and Monroe is an excellent interior scorer," Tom Westerholm wrote in his column for MassLive.com.
Monroe has only played sporadically this season. He averaged 11.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 20 games with the Suns, and he's also shooting 62.6 percent from the field and 67.4 percent from the free-throw line.
