That pacemaker have agreed to trade Veteran Guard Malcolm Brogdon to the Celtsaccording to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
The deal will send center Daniel Theiswing Aaron Nesmithand a 2023 first-round pick for Indiana, reports Wojnarowski (via twitter). Nick Stauskas, Malik Fittsand Juwan Morgan are also going to the Pacers in exchange, adds Wojnarowski (via twitter).
The Celtics wanted to acquire a “real play-making guard”, explains Wojnarowski (via twitter) and were able to do so without including any of their key players in the package. Brogdon has struggled frequently with injuries over his six-year career but has been effective on both sides of the pitch when healthy.
In 2021-22, the 29-year-old averaged 19.1 PPG, 5.9 APG and 5.1 RPG in 36 games (33.5 MPG) for the Pacers. Brogdon’s three-point percentage has fallen to 31.2% this past season, but he’s still a 37.6% career shooter from beyond the arc.
Although Brogdon’s name was a frequent feature of trade rumors this offseason, he was primarily associated with the Wizards and Knicks in the weeks leading up to the draft. Washington acted on its point guard hole by agreeing to acquire it Monte Morris and sign Delon Wrightwhile New York landed Jalen Brunson in free agency. That opened the door for another Eastern Conference club to strike a deal with the Pacers.
Brogdon is set to earn $67.6 million over the next three seasons, including $22.6 million in 2022-23. To match his salary and make the trade legal, the Celtics need to add five players to their package – the most expensive of those players, Theis, will earn $8.69 million next season while Nesmith will earn $3.8 million will make dollars. Stauskas, Fitts and Morgan had unguaranteed minimum salary contracts that are guaranteed for matching purposes, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
The Celtics, who have also reportedly agreed to sign Danilo Gallinarihave according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link), so Team Ownership doesn’t seem concerned about paying a tax bill in 2022/23. Depending on how low tax Boston is willing to go, the club could also exercise its $17m trade exemption, which this deal won’t use.
The Pacers, meanwhile, were interested in Grant Williamsaccording to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link), but were ultimately willing to accept a 2023 Celtics first-round pick that could end up quite late in the 20s.
Indiana may also see value in Theis and Nesmith, but the deal is more about the first-rounder and the cap flexibility Brogdon brings. Not only have the Pacers freed up some long-term money, but they now have about $31 million in projected playtime this summer. tweets markings.
The two teams will have to wait until July 9 to officially finalize the trade, notes Marks (via twitter), as Morgan cannot be traded until then.