The 2017 Kia Rookie of the Year has been traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for a first-round selection and a few players
According to a report on Friday by Adrian Wojnarowski, Malcolm Brogdon, a former NBA Rookie of the Year, is being traded from the Indiana Pacers to the Boston Celtics.
In exchange, the Celtics will give the Pacers their 2023 first-round draft pick as well as five players — Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith, Nik Stauskas, Juwan Morgan, and Malik Fitts.
Brogdon appeared in only 36 games last season, but if healthy, he will fill Boston’s need for a point guard.
Nesmith, a former first-round pick out of Vanderbilt who hasn’t played much for the Celtics, is a veteran two-way big man who could sit on the bench in Indiana, while Theis is a veteran two-way big man with experience.
Stauskas and Morgan were standouts at Michigan and Indiana, respectively, and have worked as depth reserves in the NBA. Fitts has only appeared in 18 games over the last two seasons.
According to Wojnarowski on Twitter, Boston wanted to keep the key pieces of its current roster while adding another guard.
“The Celtics wanted to land a true playmaking point guard and now acquire Malcolm Brogdon without costing themselves a core player,” Wojnarowski wrote.
“The Pacers land another first-round pick in the deal.”
Brogdon averaged 19.1 points per game, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.9 assists in limited action last season due to an injury-plagued season while shooting 44.8 percent from the field, a career-low 31.2 percent from three-point range, and 85.6 percent from the free-throw line.
Although he is no longer regarded as the game-changing defensive player he was in college, Brogdon is not certainly a liability on defense and should match up well with Boston’s line-up of long, athletic defenders.
The majority of Boston’s point guard responsibilities were handled by Marcus Smart, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard during the team’s run to the NBA Finals, and the trade for Brogdon will allow those three to spend so much time away from the ball if necessary.In the NBA Finals, the Celtics were defeated in six games by the Golden State Warriors.
