After rampant speculation, Malcolm Brogdon — the 2017 NBA Rookie of the Year — finally has a new team after the Indiana Pacers sent the point guard to the Boston Celtics in a trade for a 2023 first-round draft pick and five players.
The Celtics bolstered their bench and added a ball handler in Brogdon, but they did not have to give up any key players that helped lead them to the 2022 NBA Finals. To complete the Brogdon trade, the Celtics sent Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith, Malik Fitts, Nik Stauskas, and Juwan Morgan to the Pacers.
| NBA TRADE: CELTICS/PACERS |
| BOSTON CELTICS GET | INDIANA PACERS GET |
| Malcolm Brogdon | 2023 First-Round Draft Pick |
| Daniel Theis | |
| Aaron Nesmith | |
| Malik Fitts | |
| Nik Stauskas | |
| Juwan Morgan |
After the addition of Brogdon, the Celtics are now +550 odds and the betting favorite to win the 2023 NBA championship. The Pacers are moon shots to win the title at +100000 odds, which means a $100 long-shot wager at DraftKings would net $1 million if the Pacers won the 2023 championship.
Brogdon was mentioned in trade rumors with the New York Knicks, but that seemed more like a backup plan if the Knicks did not sign Jalen Brunson in free agency.
Brogdon Gets Out of Indy
The injury-prone Brogdon will come off the bench for the Celtics and anchor their second unit. There’s a rumor that the Celtics will make a pitch for Kevin Durant, so Brogdon could slide into the starting five if they include Jaylen Brown in a trade package to the Brooklyn Nets. If the Celtics stand pat, they have the same core unit that won the Eastern Conference championship and pushed the Golden State Warriors to six games in the NBA Finals.
Brogdon used to play with the Milwaukee Bucks before he headed to the Indiana Pacers in a sign-and-trade in the summer of 2019. The Bucks won a title in 2021 without Brogdon, but he thinks the Celtics are his best shot at getting a ring.
“This Boston team is experienced and hungry to win a championship,” said Brogdon. “I’m excited to be a part of the Boston family and compete for that championship.”
Brogdon averaged 19.1 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.1 rebounds in 36 games with Indiana last season. He’s a career 37.6% shooter from 3-point range but struggled with a 31.2% clip last season. Two seasons ago, he averaged 21.2 ppg and shot 38.8% from deep in 56 games with the Pacers.
In four postseason games with Indiana in the 2020 NBA playoffs, Brogdon averaged 21.5 points and 10.0 assists per game.
The Indiana Pacers are in rebuilding mode after they sent All-Star Domantas Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings for Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield. Chris Duarte had a strong rookie campaign with the Pacers last season. The Pacers also added Bennedict Mathurin with the sixth pick in the draft and they have a solid quartet of guards heading into this season after the Brogdon trade.