Boston Celtics get Pacers’ Malcolm Brogdon, improve backcourt depth: Report

The Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics improved their backcourt depth Friday by acquiring combo guard Malcolm Brogdon in a muitl-player trade with the Indiana Pacers, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.

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Indiana receives five players, all backup forwards with Boston, and a 2023 first-round draft pick, according to the person who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because the deal cannot officially be announced until next week.

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Brogdon’s fate with Indiana was essentially sealed when the Pacers acquired point guard Tyrese Haliburton from Sacramento in a flurry of moves at the midseason trade deadline. It was clear the franchise would rebuild the team with Haliburton as the foundational piece.

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Many expected Brogdon would be dealt on draft night, but Boston finally provided the offer Indiana was seeking on the second day of free agency.

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The Pacers receive Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith and Nic Stauskas — both first-round picks — Juwan Morgan and Malik Fitts. Aside from adding Theis’ physical presence, the Pacers could now have three first-round picks in 2023 and enough cap room to give them an additional $31 million to spend.

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In Brogdon, the Celtics are getting a proven leader who averaged 19.1 points, 5.9 assists and 5.1 rebounds last season. And he should fit right in with a backcourt that already features Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, who played a key role in Boston’s run to its first NBA Finals appearance since 2010. The Celtics lost to Golden State in six games.