5 Malcolm Brogdon trades for Celtics after Marcus Smart move
By Jack Simone
5 Malcolm Brogdon trades for Celtics after Marcus Smart move: Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets have no reason to tank, as they don’t own their first-round picks. And if they plan on staying competitive next season, adding guard help and three-point shooting will be crucial.
This deal would help the Boston Celtics add some great forward depth in the form of Royce O’Neale, who just churned in an extremely underrated season with the Nets.
When Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were still in torn, O’Neale was an elite depth piece on a very competitive Brooklyn team. He brings a little bit of everything to the table.
O’Neale is an awesome defender, a great three-point shooter, an underrated passer, and plays with a ton of hustle. If the Celtics could pick any forward in the league to add to their roster, O’Neale would have to be toward the top of the list.
Patty Mills wouldn’t give the Celtics a ton of minutes, but he’d be a great veteran to have on the roster, and his shooting could be useful at times.
Meanwhile, Brogdon would fill two holes for the Nets, as mentioned, providing them with guard help and three-point shooting. He could either start or come off the bench behind Spencer Dinwiddie.
The Nets have plenty of forward depth on the roster with Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson (who needs to be re-signed), Dorian Finney-Smith, rookie Noah Clowney, and O’Neale.
There’s a chance that Brooklyn would rather give up Finney-Smith in the deal, and if that’s the case, the Celtics should still be interested.
Potential starting lineups
Celtics: Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Robert Williams, Kristaps Porzingis
Nets: Malcolm Brogdon, Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Nicolas Claxton