Malcolm Brogdon is now a member of the Boston Celtics. The veteran point guard was traded by the Indiana Pacers for a 2023 first-round draft pick and five players, including Aaron Neismith and Daniel Theis.
But before he went to Beantown, Brogdon thought his destination was going to be with the Washington Wizards. Talking to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on The Woj Pod, Brogdon detailed the thought process of believing he would land in Washington next to Bradley Beal.
“I thought it was going to be Washington,” Brogdon said (h/t MassLive). “I heard the Pacers loved the idea of having that 10th pick, having two picks in the lottery. And I knew Washington needed a good, veteran point guard to pair with Brad Beal. I knew I fit his timeline. I knew everything fit. And I’m basically homegrown in DC, lot of roots. University of Virginia, family there, it would have been a little too perfect.”
Rumors surfaced that Brogdon was one of the available point guards, the Wizards had their eyes set on. Ultimately, the Wizards went in a different direction and used the 10th pick in the draft – instead of trading it – on former Wisconsin guard Johnny Davis.
“As we got a little closer to the draft that day, my agent called and said ‘It’s probably not going to happen,” Brogdon continued. “Washington looks like its going in a different direction and going a little bit younger. They might actually use that 10th pick and not trade it like everybody had been said they were going to.’ So by the time we got to the draft that night, I realized I was not going to Washington, which wasn’t crushing. But, it was sort of a change of mindset.”
The Wizards traded for another point guard. Washington acquired Monte Morris — along with Will Barton — from the Denver Nuggets for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith.
Brogdon said the Celtics didn’t show interest until just before the trade. There were up to six teams interested. Celtics weren’t one of them initially. But, Celtics general manager Brad Stevens expressed interest to the Pacers and Brogdon’s agent before the trade was executed.
In six seasons in the NBA, Brogdon has developed into one of the better point guards. He won the 2016-17 NBA Rookie of the Year. From 2016-2020, he improved his scoring average each season from 10.2 as a rookie to 21.2 in 2020-21.
An Achilles injury marred last season for Brogdon. He missed 46 games. But still managed to average 19.1 points, 5.9 assists and 5.1 rebounds when he was on the court.
At the age 29, Brogdon will be in his last season of a four-year, $85 million deal that he signed with the Pacers. He turns 30 in December. Brogdon will make $22.6 million in 2022-23.
Brogdon may have entered a better situation for the short-term going to Boston.
Meanwhile, Morris has two years and a total of $18.925 million remaining on his contract. He’s a much cheaper option for the Wizards. However, Morris doesn’t score at the same clip of Brogdon. Last season he averaged a career-high 12.6 points and 4.4 assists in 75 games.
Considering what it cost the Wizards to land Morris in comparison to Brogdon’s trade, there could be a great deal of debate. Nevertheless, the Celtics are fresh off an NBA Finals appearance and are in win-now mode. The Wizards are trying to get back on track after failing to win 40 games in each of the past four seasons.
