Before the Boston Celtics parted ways with Marcus Smart as part of the trade to acquire Kristaps Porzingis, Malcolm Brogdon was supposed to find himself in a new city this summer. The original trade package for Porzingis would have seen Brogdon head to the Los Angeles Clippers. However, the Clippers pulled the plug in the eleventh hour, forcing the Celtics to pivot and incorporate the Memphis Grizzlies into the deal.
Since then, there have been questions regarding how well Brogdon would have taken the news that Boston was willing to part ways with him. This past season, Brogdon accepted a bench role for the first time in his career and excelled. In fact, Brogdon performed so well in his new role that he was named the 2023 Sixth Man of the Year.
Yet, the Celtics were still willing to trade him.
When speaking at a recent press conference, head coach Joe Mazzulla noted how the Celtics were aware that a ‘healing process’ is needed.
“There is a healing process, there is a listening process and to see where we are at and where we have to get to,” Mazzulla said. “We’ve had some conversations as an organization but at the same time, we understand that’s the situation that it was and as the healing process goes on, we will move forward as well as you can.”
Given Brogdon’s success in his role off the bench, and his well-documented injury history, he will remain in the same role next season, while Derrick White will be elevated to the full-time starting guard role to replace Smart.
According to Boston Celtics analyst Adam Taylor, the Celtics should take a closer look at Christian Wood. https://t.co/sITDftXAbT
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) August 1, 2023
There hasn’t been any noise regarding Brogdon’s current mindset or how he took the news that he was almost traded. Nevertheless, Brogdon joined the Celtics to compete for a championship and now finds himself stepping into a slightly bigger role on a team that many believe will be a favorite to make the NBA finals next season.
Hopefully, the chance at a ring will be all the healing Brogdon needs ahead of the new season.
Such an alternative path taking shape instead of his exit to the Philadelphia 76ers could have resulted in very different roster moves and the retention of draft picks that could have strengthened … https://t.co/9LXPsy2b13
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) August 1, 2023
Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ
