Celtics may have found perfect fit in Brogdon originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
After being in trade rumors for about two years, Malcolm Brogdon was finally traded by the Indiana Pacers on Friday and it may have landed him in the perfect situation. According to ESPN, Brogdon will now join the Boston Celtics, who just lost in the NBA Finals to the Warriors but are very close to being a championship team.
What they seemed to need, based on how the Finals transpired, was another playmaker in the backcourt, ideally a point guard who could run the offense and take some of those responsibilities away from Marcus Smart. They found a guy who can do just that in Brogdon and, health permitting, could form a very dynamic defensive duo with Smart.
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Smart was the 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year, a rare guard to win the honor. He and Brogdon will form a big, physical duo on the defensive end that is going to make for some long nights for opposing guards. Brogdon could also help the Celtics with their good, but not great 3-point shooting, as he holds a career 37.6% from deep.
The Wizards had actually been linked to Brogdon by Bleacher Report before they traded for Monte Morris in a deal with the Denver Nuggets. While NBC Sports Washington had also heard of their interest in Brogdon, it's unclear how serious it became. With Morris, they were able to fill a need without giving up a first-round pick, which is usually how they like to operate under president Tommy Sheppard.
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The Celtics, though, were willing to part with a 2023 first-round pick, plus a long list of players to match Brogdon's $22.6 million salary for the 2022-23 season. Heading to Indiana are Aaron Nesmith, Daniel Theis, Nik Stauskas, Malik Fitts and Juwan Morgan.
Boston had enough to get to the NBA Finals, but a player like Brogdon was missing from their offense. They had to rely on Jayson Tatum to execute plays and he struggled at times in that role, setting an NBA record for turnovers in a single playoff run.
Brogdon now joins a starting lineup that should include Smart, Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams. Plus, they are reportedly also likely to sign Danilo Gallinari for their bench. That might be enough to win it all.
