Boston Celtics: Malcolm Brogdon reveals why Wizards didn’t trade for him

Malcolm Brogdon recently revealed that he chose to be traded to the Boston Celtics over the Raptors ahead of their preseason finale on October 14 — a game in which Toronto won with a 137-134 final.

According to Brogdon, the Cs are closer to a championship than the Raptors, and thus it was a no-brainer for the 29-year-old guard. While Toronto won a title in 2019, all the pieces from that roster are gone besides Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Chris Boucher, and Malachi Richardson. Truthfully, only Siakam and Anunoby were vital elements of that squad.

With the Raptors no longer featuring the likes of Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard, the Boston Celtics core of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Al Horford, and Robert Williams III was too appetizing of a situation to pass up for Brogdon.

With that said, there was another trade option for Brogdon that fell off the table following the 2022 NBA Draft: the Washington Wizards. Brogdon explained why D.C. took itself off the table as an option during an appearance on Sirius XM NBA radio this past week (h/t MassLive):

"“At the end of the day, we knew there was Boston, we knew Toronto we knew DC. DC fell off after the draft since they were thinking about trading that 10th pick for me.”"

The Boston Celtics are the perfect landing spot for Malcolm Brogdon

Truthfully, the Toronto Raptors could have used some guard help in the form of a Malcolm Brogdon trade, but ultimately, the Boston Celtics qualify as the best landing spot for a free agent looking to win a title on an expiring contract in order to sign another max deal in the 2023 offseason.

With the Cs looking like they will be starting Derrick White in a small-ball lineup until Robert Williams III returns, Brogdon becomes the de-facto sixth man. That’s an ideal spot on a team that lost in the NBA Finals because their second unit was so outclassed by the competition.