Philadelphia 76ers: Examining the Greg Monroe signing

Let’s take a look at the Philadelphia 76ers’ decision to sign big man Greg Monroe and what it means for the team come playoff time.

On April 3rd, Elton Brand, general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers announced the team had waived 21-year-old center Justin Patton and sign 28-year-old center/power forward Greg Monroe.

Monroe who will be wearing number 55 is being signed for the remainder of the season and will be eligible for the Sixers playoff roster. With Monroe being in the league since 2010 this is another example of the Sixers adding experience to their bench, as well as getting another big man to come off the bench behind Joel Embiid.

A true issue with the Sixers this season has been their bench performance, especially at center.

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While Embiid is a legitimate MVP candidate and one of the most dominating players in the league, the player’s behind him haven’t always provided enough in his absence. Boban Marjanovic is the leading scoring center after Embiid with 6.9 points, a very hefty drop off from Embiid’s 27.6 and only goes down from there.

With the addition of Monroe, the team gets a selfless NBA veteran coming off the bench at center that can play physical and tough inside the paint as well as provide some finesse when needed which can hopefully help the Sixers win some tough, physical games come playoff time.

Monroe has now played on every team in the Atlantic Division except the Brooklyn Nets, though he was traded there before being immediately waived. After spending the first five years of his career in Detroit, Monroe bounced around the league; playing in Milwaukee for three seasons, Boston for two, as well going to Phoenix and Toronto for parts of the 2017-18 season.

Monroe’s decision to sign with the 76ers marks the second straight season that the 28-year-old big man has played for three different teams in one season. Although he has only appeared in 40 games so far this season, 38 with the Raptors and two with the Celtics, Monroe can still help the Sixers moving forward.

Looking at Monroe’s 2018-19 seasons stats, you see a pretty lackluster result: Only playing in 40 games with two starts. Monroe is averaging 4.7 points per game, four rebounds a game, 0.4 assists while shooting 46 percent from the field and 57.4 percent from the line.

Monroe’s best game of the season came on November 17th, where he recorded a season-high 17 points and nine rebounds, but outside of that game, the 6-foot-10 big man only scored in double-digits five times and never recorded double-digit rebounds.

Although his stat line isn’t impressive, it is an improvement on Patton’s; recording five points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 21 minutes of action. Even though the Sixers are losing potential in Patton, it’s clear he wasn’t going to help the team in the postseason. Adding a player who actually can play multiple positions and has experience is worth losing a player who was set to become a free agent anyway.

By signing Monroe, the Sixers are continuing their experienced bench philosophy as they head into the playoffs.

In the leadup to the trade deadline, the 76ers showed a willingness to part with young players with potential like Landry Shamet and Markelle Fultz to acquire four players that are at least 28 years old and have at least four years of NBA experience.

Fultz and Shamet only gave the Sixers 87 games in total with Fultz spending most of his time injured. Although they had Wilson Chandler and Mike Muscala who both have had at least six years in the league, they upgraded their starting line up with Tobias Harris and added tons of experience to the bench with a 30-year-old Mike Scott and Boban Marjanovic as well as a 29-year-old Jonothan Simmons, and 28-year-old James Ennis III.

Furthermore, Monroe actually played with the Raptors and Celtics earlier this season as well as the Bucks last season, all of which being possible playoff matchups depending on how things fall.

When all is said and done, the Philadelphia 76ers decision to sign Greg Monroe could simply be a small improvement that adds experience for the playoffs.  With more experience than Jonah Bolden and a more dynamic skill set than Amir Johnson, Monroe could be reliable ‘small ball’ center with the flexibility to play power forward if needed.