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Getty Malcolm Brogdon, formerly of the Indiana Pacers, passes the ball in the game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Boston Celtics seem to have taken a nice step forward with the acquisition of Malcolm Brogdon from Indiana (for Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith, Nik Stauskas, Malik Fitts, Juwan Morgan and a 2023 first-round pick). The key may be to keep it on the active list.
Brogdon has dealt with a number of injuries throughout his career, playing just 36 games last season due to Achilles tendon and hamstring injuries. The Celtics hope to deal with this problem by easing their load. He is ready to come off the bench after starting every game he has played since his third NBA season (2018-19).
“The knock against him coming out of college is that he had terrible knees,” a rival GM told Heavy. “I mean, some of the tests were really fishy in terms of how long his lower body could take the beatings of the NBA. So that’s why he ended up going in the second round, because they almost red flagged him.
“So the fact is, I’m probably better off coming off the bench with limited minutes, trying to be impactful in 18 rather than trying to play 30 and always being injured. The question is how he will accept that.”
Another source pointed to the opportunity that awaits Brogdon if he accepts a new role, citing the possibility that less could be more, much more.
“There have been some problems with the coaches before, but now he is in a really big situation with a team that has a real chance to win it all,” he said. “I hear he’s been putting the right things in, and I hope he realizes this is his big break. You don’t have to be a big star there, a major minute guy, to have a big impact. Malcolm Brogdon at his best, if they can keep him on the floor, he can make a big difference in that rotation.
“You know how good Boston’s starters are, so what if they can go to the bench and keep the hammer down? Who’s going to be able to keep up with that kind of depth if he loses that stupid one-on-one, stalls and plays the right way? If they had done that consistently against Golden State, they would be getting rings.
“We’ll see if adding this kind of quality depth makes a difference. It should, but we’ll see.”
Will the Celtics enter the mix for Kevin Durant?
The Celtics are certainly a long shot in the Kevin Durant draft, although they will make their trade offer to Brooklyn. KD has reportedly stated that he would like to be traded to Phoenix or Miami, but the Nets will act in his best interest, not yours (on this note, don’t sleep on Toronto).
And while the Celts may not be at the top of Durant’s wish list right now, there was a time six years ago when they were one of six teams he agreed to meet with to decide his fate as a free agent. Sources told me at the time that Boston’s deal with prized free agent Al Horford that summer of 2016 put the club on his dance card.
He, of course, ultimately settled on Golden State, but shortly after that announcement, I spoke with him at a US Olympic team practice in Las Vegas and asked him how the Celtics got into the race.
“I just like the way they play,” Durant said. I like your coach [Brad Stevens at the time]. I feel like they have some good pieces.”
The Celts pulled out all the stops for their July 2 meeting in the Hamptons, bringing along one of their favorite athletes, then-Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, with Danny Ainge and the estate of C.
When asked for his reaction to Brady’s presence and the recruiting tone, Durant said: “I was ready to say, ‘Okay. Let’s go. I’m ready to go’, seeing Tom Brady there. Just to see someone so successful at his craft and just such a great ambassador for the game of football and the city of Boston, it was great to be in the presence of greatness.
“But at the same time, I knew I couldn’t let that distract me. But it was great. It was great to see.”
Six years later, Brady plays in Tampa and Brad Stevens works in the front office. But the Celtics, though now in the championship mix, are still trying to land Durant.
The couple Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns in Minnesota
There are high measures of both risk and reward for the Timberwolves in their trade for Rudy Gobert.
Bottom line: After sending Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley, Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro and four first-round picks to Utah for the 30-year-old center, the move worked better. If the pieces don’t fit, he could set the Wolves back for years. Then again, that’s relative, because Minnesota has been to the playoffs only twice in the past 18 years, losing in the first round both times.
But pairing Gobert with the 6-foot-11 Karl-Anthony Towns is an interesting mix when the league usually gets smaller. (The Celtics started Robert Williams and Al Horford, but both are versatile defenders.)
“It changes who they are drastically, that’s for sure,” a coach of a close Wolves competitor told Heavy.com. “We’ll see if those two guys can work together. I’m sure Towns will love being able to play on the perimeter more offensively; the question is can it protect anyone out there?
“We know Gobert can’t go out there and defend. There’s more protection for the rim, but that won’t mean much if we all just stay out there and shoot them.”
A basketball operations executive from another club delved into the Gobert issue.
“We saw Dallas isolate Gobert in the playoffs to where he wasn’t very productive, and he wasn’t productive because he couldn’t defend on the floor,” he said. “And of course he can’t move the needle down the other end. He can’t make up for not being a defensive force by offending. So if you remove him from being a defensive force by spreading it on him, you’ve removed him.
“If that happens, if the playoffs come around and somebody starts isolating Gobert, he’s going to do what Steven Adams did against Minnesota. He will have to go to the bench and be okay with it. Adams wasn’t complaining. He supported his team. Government has to do it. If he doesn’t agree, then you’re in the middle of the playoffs and it’s just… the trade didn’t work out. It may be something like that that decides how this works. Everything can be situational. But if you’re here to win, and win in the playoffs, not just the regular season, you have to think about those things. Those things have to work when you need them.”
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