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Indiana Pacers Trade Malcolm Brogdon to the Boston Celtics

The former UVA basketball star will join the reigning Eastern Conference Champions

Matt Newton

Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon (7) gets defended by Detroit Pistons forward Marvin Bagley III (35) during the second quarter at Little Caesars Arena.
Malcolm Brogdon has been traded from the Indiana Pacers to the Boston Celtics :: Courtesy of Raj Mehta/USA TODAY Sports

For weeks, it has been clear that Malcolm Brogdon's days with the Indiana Pacers were numbered. It wasn't a question of if, but when he would be traded. On the second day of NBA's free agency period, we finally got our answer. 

In a massive six-player trade, the Boston Celtics traded five players and a first-round draft pick to the Pacers in exchange for Malcolm Brogdon, as reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday. 

According to ESPN's report, the Celtics are sending Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith, Nik Stauskas, Malik Fitts, Juwan Morgan, and a 2023 first-round pick to get Malcolm Brogdon in return. 

The 2017 Rookie of the Year just finished his sixth season in the NBA and third with the Pacers. He missed significant time with a right achilles injury this season and appeared in just 36 games, averaging 19.1 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game. 

Now, the former ACC Player of the Year and two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year will join the Boston Celtics, who are coming off a run to the NBA Finals, where they fell to the Golden State Warriors in six games. The Celtics have a strong roster, with two budding superstars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown along with a host of quality role players. 

Marcus Smart is currently Boston's starting point guard, and although he is an incredibly good defender, winning the 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, the Celtics have long been in need of a true playmaking point guard. That is a role Malcolm Brogdon should be able to fill for them. With Brogdon in the fold, Boston should be an early favorite to defend their title as Eastern Conference Champions. 

Brogdon has three years left on his four-year, $85 million contract. He's set to earn $22.6 million in 2022-2023, then $22.5 million in both the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 seasons. 

He also joins another former UVA men's basketball player on the Celtics roster in Sam Hauser. The Celtics declined their team option for Sam Hauser, making him a restricted free agent, but Boston is expected to re-sign Hauser to a new, longer-term contract in the coming days.

If Brogdon can stay healthy, his best chance at making the NBA Finals should come in the upcoming season. 

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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