Sixers ink Elton Brand to one-year deal

By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor

In a very surprising move on Wednesday, the Philadelphia 76ers reached an agreement with veteran forward Elton Brand on a one-year contract.

Free agent Elton Brand has signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, league source tells @TheVertical.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) September 7, 2016

Last season, the Sixers brought Brand in to provide their young group of big men with some veteran leadership. This year, though, the team has already signed Jerryd Bayless and Gerald Henderson on the veteran end of things and Brand is unlikely to get any minutes with the surplus of bigs on the roster.

Philadelphia already has to juggle minutes with centers Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid while up and coming players like Richaun Holmes and Jerami Grant are right behind them on the depth chart.

Brand, 37, was inactive for the majority of last season but played in 17 games after Jahlil Okafor went down with an injury. He averaged 4.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in just over 13 minutes on the floor per game.

Signing the veteran forward brings the Sixers roster to their offseason maximum of 20.