Boston Celtics: HH sets C’s price for landing Malcolm Brodgon in a trade

The price that the Boston Celtics would be willing to trade for Indiana Pacers PG Malcolm Brogdon has been set: several role-playing catch-and-shoot options taken in recent first rounds of the NBA Draft, as well as a veteran the team brought back this past trade deadline after shipping him off just a year prior.

Brogdon is currently a part of a Pacers backcourt that is growing increasingly talented and crowded every chance Indiana GM Chad Buchanan gets to add another player via the draft, free agency, or the trade market.

Buchanan brought on another point guard this past Thursday at the 2022 NBA Draft, taking Andrew Nembhard out of Gonzaga with the very first selection (No. 31 overall) of the second round. That followed a trade deadline performance this past February that saw Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield join the backcourt party after being shipped away from the Sacramento Kings. Haliburton and Hield joined a Pacers backcourt that included 2021 first-round NBA Draft pick Chris Duarte, Brogdon, who was poached from the Milwaukee Bucks in a sign-and-trade for $85 million over four years back in 2019, and former Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell, who was originally signed to a $7 million dollar deal over two years by the Pacers that same summer —  and has since been extended another four years for a $36 million payout.

Brogdon is now almost certainly the odd man out, with the former Zags facilitator Nembhard forcing him out the door that this past trade deadline’s acquisitions pointed him to. The Boston Celtics, while not in true need of a point guard with Marcus Smart in tow, should do what it takes to capitalize on that without giving up members of the team’s core and compromising their title hopes.

HoopsHabit’s Peter O’Keefe came up with a trade package that any Cs fan would be crazy not to accept to honor that stance:

"“Realistically, to acquire Brogdon, the Celtics would have to give up a combination of picks and youngsters in Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard. Then, they’d have to include Daniel Thies and Aaron Nesmith for salary matching purposes.”"

Several future Boston Celtics first-round picks would be necessary in such a swap for Malcolm Brogdon

In that group of role players that includes Grant Williams, Payton Pritchard, Daniel Theis, and Aaron Nesmith, there is not a single Celtic that would be thought of as having star potential. In order to truly move the needle on a deal for the 2016-17 NBA Rookie of the Year, several future first-round draft picks would likely need to be included.

That’s a lot to pay for a guy that may not start, but Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has shown every indication he’ll be aggressive on the trade market come early July. Perhaps the price the Pacers set for Brogdon will be met by the Cs in some form or another.