Joe Mazzulla sends strong message on nearly-traded Boston Celtics veteran
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla acknowledged that there is a fracture in the relationship between Malcolm Brogdon and the organization after the front office nearly acquired Kristaps Porzingis by sending the reigning Sixth Man of the Year to the Los Angeles Clippers but instead had to send Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies to land the Latvian big man.
While speaking to the media on July 31, Mazzulla said that the two sides would move on “as well as you can.”
“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 (h/t The Athletic). “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.”
Backcourt is the most fluid position group on the Boston Celtics roster
The way Mazzulla is speaking about Brogdon doesn’t spark much confidence that No. 13 is long for the team. Even if Brogdon begins the season with the Boston Celtics, there is likely a desire from the player deep down to go to a place he feels more wanted.
For those thinking, “What about Jaylen Brown?” the Houdini says this: never at any point was the 2016 draft’s No. 3 pick ever included in an actual proposed trade package. Brogdon was a goner before a failed physical brought him back.
Brogdon certainly feels like a potential goner, and it’d be a shocker to see Payton Pritchard back in a Celtics uniform after he hits restricted free agency in 2024. Those two situations, combined with Derrick White playing out of position to start at the 1, likely mean the next major acquisition Boston makes will be in the backcourt.
The Boston Celtics should aim to buy low on Ja Morant
If the Boston Celtics front office were able to land Ja Morant in a trade not involving Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Kristaps Porzingis, there’d have to be a serious internal discussion within the Cs organization about taking on the polarizing point guard.
Morant has certainly made his fair share of undesirable headlines — at the very least from his publicist’s point of view — in the past year but with an undisputed locker-room leader like Brown keeping him in check, it’s possible the Murray State product could play his best basketball in Boston while also staying out of trouble.
Just something to think about…