Free-agent forward Elton Brand has signed a one-year deal to return to the Philadelphia 76ers, league sources told The Vertical.

Brand, 37, will be playing his 18th NBA season and returns to the Sixers in a role heavily influenced by his ability to provide mature mentorship to a young roster.

The Sixers have a talented but young frontline that includes Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, and rookies Dario Saric and Ben Simmons.

Brand, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft, is a two-time NBA All-Star. After announcing his retirement from basketball in August 2015, new Sixers CEO Jerry Colangelo signed Brand in January to take a leadership role in the Sixers’ locker room.

The Sixers have had periodic trade talks this summer involving Noel and Okafor and plan eventually to move one of them, league sources said. Philadelphia doesn’t believe the two players’ talents are complementary.

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