Malcolm Brogdon was supposed to be the one traded away for Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics to acquire Kristaps
Porzingis. All of that changed when the Los Angeles Clippers backed out due to the Sixth Man of the Year’s injury concerns.
His name has now been on the rumor mill once again. But, will his future be with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown?
Malcolm Brogdon was essential to the success of the Celtics as much as Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were. This is why
Brad Stevens’ trade proposal to the Clipper raised eyebrows when it dropped. A league source finally cleared the air on the
Boston front office’s decision, via Steve Bulpett of Heavy.
“They didn’t want to move him in the first place. They really like Malcolm. But they had to balance out their roster. They
didn’t want to go into another season having to rely so heavily on (Robert) Williams and (Al) Horford. They had a bit of a
logjam in the backcourt, and they really needed some insurance up front,” they disclosed.
The insider also discussed what it meant when the Celtics’ bench spark plug went down mid-playoffs due to injuries.
“He was huge for them all year. They’d go to the bench, and Brogdon would make sure the offense would keep coming. They
had good depth, but he ran that second unit. Even when something broke down, he’d drive or stick a 3. They got into some of
their old iso habits in the playoffs, and it really hurt them when Brogdon wasn’t able to come in and hold the fort like he’d
been doing,” they concluded.
There’s a whole lot of nothing to fill the void between the NBA Summer League and the start of Boston Celtics training camp.
One of the few lingering storylines that ties the two events together is the finalization of Boston’s roster.
The Celtics currently have 14 of their 15 roster spots filled, and two-of-three two-way slots occupied. If they’re interested in
creating even more room, the Cs could elect to waive either Luke Kornet or Justin Champagnie — the two players with non-
guaranteed contracts.
According to MassLive’s Brian Robb, Champagnie is the more likely of the two to be let go.
“The first intriguing decision the Celtics have to make soon is with the future of Champagnie, who had a mediocre run in
Summer League last week,” Robb wrote. “He was a late-season signing last year with Boston’s open roster spot at the very
end of the regular season so he hasn’t played any meaningful minutes with the team. Champagnie’s partial guarantees on his
deal begin to kick in on August 1st with a $50,000 guarantee and that jumps up to $350,000 on opening night. With luxury
tax penalties figured in, those guarantees are far more costly to Boston’s books than those totals indicate. Champagnie could
compete for a roster spot in camp with just the $50,000 guarantee but it sounds like the Celtics have bigger goals for the
wing spot based on Brad Stevens’ comments last week.”
If the Boston Celtics waive Justin Champagnie, then what?
In the case that Champagnie is sent on his way before the start of next season, then the idea would be to add another wing
off of the bench in his place.
Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens hinted at a move like that last week.
“I think we’ll try to add obviously a little bit,” Stevens said in Las Vegas, per Robb. “I’d like to get a little more depth, maybe
on the wing, and then also maybe with a 4/3 type. I feel pretty good about our bigs. We’ve got a couple two ways, so we’ve
got some things we’re still very much looking at.”
When taking a deeper look into Stevens’ comments, one name that comes to mind is former Celtics wing Javonte Green.
Green is currently available as an unrestricted free agent, after spending two seasons with the Chicago Bulls. Green would
reportedly “welcome a reunion” with the Celtics.
The 29-year-old suited up in 73 total games for the Celtics from 2019-2021. He averaged 3.7 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.6
steals per game while shooting 51.8% from the field and 29.1% from beyond the arc.
Leave a Reply