Analyst: Team that passed on Sixth Man of the Year now set to disappoint

Malcolm Brogdon not ending up on the Los Angeles Clippers after the franchise was in talks to land the Boston Celtics’ reigning Sixth Man of the Year will lead to LA being a perennial postseason disappointment, as they have been, according to NESN’s Gio Rivera.

“Los Angeles was so undecided about whether or not Brogdon’s health concerns warranted a complete shutdown of interest,” Rivera prefaced before saying, “However, none of that mattered in the end. The Celtics reportedly shut down trade discussions overall, electing to stand by Brogdon after Boston already surrendered Smart.

“In the end, the Clippers’ interest in Brogdon came as no surprise considering their lack of depth at the guard position. And passing up on a chance to snag Brogdon will likely leave Los Angeles aching down the line following consecutive playoff disappointments in failing to win a single round.”

Malcolm Brogdon wouldn’t have elevated the Clippers had he been traded by the Boston Celtics

The Clippers were likely to end up as a perennial postseason disappointment regardless of whether Brogdon was in uniform. Ever since signing Kawhi Leonard and trading for Paul George in 2019, the franchise has made one conference finals — and Leonard wasn’t even active in the lineup when it happened. Otherwise, a second-round bounce, a gentleman’s sweep, and a play-in loss have defined the current era of Clippers basketball.

Even before then, the Lob City squad starring Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan never made it past the conference semifinals. That franchise’s history before then isn’t even worth delving into.

Brogdon wasn’t going to change things much for LA considering his lack of availability in recent seasons due to injuries and the Clippers’ insistence to feature Russell Westbrook in the offense. Boston certainly needs him more than the Clippers would’ve considering the Celtics’ own lack of point guard depth.