Juwan Morgan Traded From Boston Celtics to Indiana Pacers in Package for Malcom Brogdon

Former Indiana University basketball player Juwan Morgan was traded from the Boston Celtics to the Indiana Pacers on Friday. Morgan was included in a package alongside four other players and a first-round pick in exchange for Malcom Brogdon.

USA Today

NBA free agency is in full swing, making way for plenty of signings and trades over the next few weeks.

On Friday, former Indiana University forward Juwan Morgan was traded from the Boston Celtics to the Indiana Pacers. Morgan, along with Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith, Nik Stauskas, Malik Fitts and a first-round pick were sent to Indiana in exchange for Malcolm Brodgon, who now joins Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum on the Celtics.

Previously, Morgan signed a two-year, $1,834,863 deal with the Boston Celtics on April 9 to fill an open roster spot before the NBA playoffs. Morgan joined the Celtics during their run to the NBA Finals, which ultimately fell short in a game six loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Morgan appeared in 10 total games during his time with the Celtics, but never played more than five minutes in any game. He'll now join a Pacers team that is in rebuilding mode. Indiana drafted Arizona's Bennedict Mathurin with the sixth-overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. 

The Pacers are hoping to build around a core of Mathurin, Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner and Chris Duarte. Morgan will likely compete with Oshae Brissett, Isaiah Jackson and Jalen Smith for playing time at forward. 

Joining the Pacers will serve as a homecoming of sorts for Morgan, who was a two-time All-Big Ten selection at Indiana University. The Waynesville, Mo. native averaged 16.5 points and 7.4 rebounds as a junior and 15.5 points and 8.2 rebounds as a senior for the Hoosiers. He started 85 of 128 games and was part of Indiana's 2016 Big Ten regular season championship team as a freshman.

Morgan joined Steve Downing as the second Indiana basketball player to ever record a triple-double when he scored 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on Dec. 22, 2018 in Indiana's 94-64 win over Jacksonville. He scored a career-high 35 points in Indiana's win over Butler in the 2018 Crossroads Classic, which also broke his own record of 34 points in the Crossroads Classic set the previous season. 

The 6-foot-7 Morgan started his professional career as an undrafted free agent with the Utah Jazz. Morgan played for Utah in the 2019 Summer League and signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Jazz in August of 2019. He spent the following two seasons playing for the Jazz and their G-League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars.

Morgan notably started his first NBA game for Utah in Game 1 of the 2020 Western Conference first-round matchup against the Denver Nuggets. Utah lost the game 135-125, but Morgan finished with a team-high plus-17 plus/minus rating, contributing three points, seven rebounds, one assist and one steal.

Following two seasons with the Jazz and Stars, Morgan signed with the Celtics in September of 2021. He was waived a few weeks later, but was quickly resigned by Boston's G-League affiliate, the Maine Celtics. Playing 13 games, Morgan averaged 12.3 points on 53.1 percent shooting, 6.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.0 steals in 28.2 minutes per game. Morgan signed a 10-day contract with the Toronto Raptors in December of 2021 but was reacquired by the Maine Celtics on Jan. 1, 2022 after his 10-day contract expired.

With his most recent move from the Celtics to the Pacers, Morgan is entering his fourth NBA season. 

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