The Boston Celtics have reportedly traded for Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
This move should bolster the backcourt for Boston as Brogdon, who won NBA Rookie of the Year in 2017, is a serviceable floor general and primary ball-handler.
One reason this trade is particularly interesting, though, is because Brogdon serves on the NBPA’s executive committee alongside Boston’s Jaylen Brown and Grant Williams. Those individuals are three of the nine who have been elected by their peers at the Board of Player Representatives Meetings. They are three of the six vice presidents.
Some of their responsibilities include, per the NBPA, include: directing NBPA affairs and policy-making decisions, reviewing and voting on all matters requiring player approval, as well as serving on the Board of Player Representatives.
From NBPA VP Malcolm Brogdon #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/dxzUhVbgG8
— NBPA (@TheNBPA) June 1, 2020
Brogdon and Brown led protests in Georgia after a former Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd. USA TODAY has videos of the two on the front lines together.
Brogdon wrote about his experience marching alongside Brown here:
“When I joined Jaylen Brown, a member of the Boston Celtics, last weekend to march with peaceful protesters in Atlanta, I gained a greater respect for the bravery and courage it has required for generations of leaders before us to stand up to their oppressors. With police flanked on either side of our crowd, the Georgia heat beamed and the fear was visceral.
“I grew up in Atlanta, home to Martin Luther King, Jr., the Atlanta University Center and a rich history of civil rights activism. My grandfather, John Hurst Adams, was a civil rights leader in Waco, Texas and Seattle, organizing protest marches, sit-ins and boycotts in the fight for racial equality. The concept of participating in the fight for equality is not new to me and I was fortunate enough to grow up hearing stories of my grandfather marching alongside Dr. King.”
Now that Brogdon will join Brown and Williams as teammates on Boston, we can expect players on the Celtics to have their voices heard by the NBPA.
Meanwhile, considering this is only his second year working in a front office, this move could give us a slightly better idea of the type of leadership traits that Brad Stevens may value when it comes to player personnel.
